08/20/1944
Allied forces begin their pursuit of German forces fleeing the Falaise pocket.

08/21/1968
Military forces from the Warsaw Pact invade Czechoslovaki. Dozens are killed.

08/22/2001
The beginning of Canadian involvement in Operation Forage in Macedonia. Two hundred Canadian Forces personnel work with 3,500 North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops to collect and destroy weapons which are used by militia during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia.

08/22/2011
New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton dies of cancer.

08/23/1944
In the third major action of Operation Kinetic, His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Iroquois takes part in the destruction of eight enemy ships in Audierne Bay south of Brest, France. Alongside His Majesty’s Ship Mauritius and HMS Ursa, Iroquois fires almost 1,200 rounds of 4.5-inch shells in sinking five armed trawlers, a minesweeper, a flak ship and a mine destructor ship. The new Type 293 radar on board Iroquois proves its worth throughout the operation, with the Canadian Tribal-class destroyer often taking the lead in action due to its superior radar capability.

08/23/1979
In Iran, Kurds oust government troops near the Iraqi border. The revolt started when Kurdish tribesmen attacked and overpowered Iranian troops in the town of Paveh.

08/24/1870
The first Red River expedition under British Colonel J. Wolseley arrives at Fort Garry (Winnipeg) only to discover that Métis leader Louis Riel has disappeared westward.

08/24/2007
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation announces it will name a section of Highway 401 the Highway of Heroes in memory of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. The stretch of highway runs from Trenton to Toronto.

08/25/1944
In Italy, Canadian, British and Polish forces attack the Gothic Line.

08/25/1944
Paris is liberated.

08/26/1939
Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons begin moving to war stations.

08/26/1975
Attempts to bring about a ceasefire in Rhodesia breakdown between the government and the African National Council.