William C. A. Ross (ed.), 1914-1918 Roll of Honour of the Royal High School of Edinburgh (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1920) [Wikimedia]
Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Bent is awarded the Victoria Cross for leading a successful counterattack to re-gain lost positions at Polygon Wood.
Portrait of Jacques Cartier [Théophile Hamel]
Jacques Cartier arrives at Hochelaga (now Montreal) on his second voyage to North America.
Andrew McNaughton [LAC/4232580]
The largest military exercise staged in Great Britain, Exercise Bumper, ends. The Canadian Corps took part under the command of General Andrew McNaughton.
4 OCTOBER 1951
2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry successfully captures Hill 187, but at a cost of 11 casualties.
Battle of the Thames and the death of Tecumseh, by the Kentucky mounted volunteers led by Colonel Richard M. Johnson, 5th Oct. 1813. Lithograph, hand coloured. [US Library of Congress]
A disastrous defeat by the American forces at the Battle of Thames results in the death of Shawnee Chief Tecumseh.
British diplomat James Cross kidnapped. [Wikimedia]
The government of Canada deems the FLQ’s demands to be “wholly unreasonable” regarding the release of James Cross.
7-17 OCTOBER 1920
The first trans-Canada flight from Halifax to Vancouver is completed, at an average speed of 109 kilometres per hour.
8 OCTOBER 2001
Canadian navy ships are dispatched to contribute to the war on terror.
HMS Detroit [E.A Hodgkinson]
The United States navy launches a surprise attack near Buffalo, N.Y., capturing British ships Detroit and Caledonia.
10 OCTOBER 1918
After three days of heavy bombardment, 3rd Canadian Division clears the city of Cambrai, France.
Boer soldiers, including this commando group, were adept at guerilla warfare—something the British had difficulty countering. [ALAMY/E1GG2T]
The Boer War begins, marking Canada’s first official dispatch of troops overseas.
12 OCTOBER 1916
The Newfoundland Regiment captures Hilt Trench is less than 30 minutes. Three men are awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for their actions.
13-14 OCTOBER 1943
Canadians enter Campbasso, Italy. The town becomes a recreational hub for Canadian troops, earning it the nickname “Canada Town” and “Maple Leaf City.”
14 OCTOBER 1918
After volunteering to advance with his section commander near Ledeghem, Belgium, Private Tommy Ricketts doubles back under fire, pinning down the enemy and leading to the capture of four field guns, four machine guns and eight prisoners. He receives the Victoria Cross.
15 OCTOBER 1976
Canada announces an agreement to purchase 127 West German-made Leopard I C1 tanks to replace aging Centurion tanks.
16 OCTOBER 1970
Proclaiming a state of “apprehended insurrection” as a result of the FLQ kidnappings, the federal government invokes the War Measures Act.
HMCS Prince David [Air Museum]
HMC ships Prince Henry and Prince David land liberation forces in Greece.
18 OCTOBER 1914
No. 3 Section, Canadian Army Veterinary Corps is mobilized in Montreal.
The hydrofoil HMCS Bras d’Or, Musée maritime du Québec, l’Islet, Canada. [Bernard Gagnon/Wikimedia]
HMCS Bras d’Or vanishes without a trace in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, with 30 casualties.
20 OCTOBER 1871
Militia General Order No. 24 authorizes the formation of the first two batteries of the Regiment of Canadian Artillery, marking the birth of Canada’s permanent force.
21 OCTOBER 1916
The first of three attacks are launched on Regina Trench by 4th Canadian Division.
Squadron Leader E A McNab and his men, No 1 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force. [LAC]
Squadron Leader E.A. McNab is awarded the RCAF’s first Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in the Battle of Britain.
23 OCTOBER 1958
An underground earthquake in a coalfield mine at Springhill, N.S., traps 174 miners underground, killing 75. The mine was closed following the disaster.
24 OCTOBER 1962
Prime Minister Diefenbaker authorizes the DEFCON 3 alert in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Two Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornet fighter jets fly over Cold Lake, Alberta during Exercise Maple Flag in June 2016. [Corporal Manuela Berger/Combat Camera]
The first CF-18s are delivered in a ceremony in Ottawa.
A Canadian gun mired in mud at Passchendaele, November 1917. [LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA002137]
Plowing through mud and facing continuous enemy fire, the Canadian offensive is launched at Passchendaele.
27 OCTOBER 1943
Troops sail from Scotland to Italy to strengthen Canadian forces.
28 OCTOBER 1942
The Alcan Military Highway linking Yukon and Alaska, intended to move supplies north in the event of a Japanese invasion, is completed.
HMCS Athabaskan. [Wikimedia]
HMCS Athabaskan departs Esquimalt, B.C., for her third tour of duty in Korea.
30 OCTOBER 1991
A CC-130 Hercules transport crashes en route to Canadian Forces Station Alert in the High Arctic. Of the 18 CAF members onboard, 13 are rescued, five do not survive.
C. H. Best and F. G. Banting ca. 1924. [University of Toronto Archives/Wikimedia]
Frederick Banting conceives the idea of insulin, laying the groundwork for treatment of diabetes.
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