11/12/1944
Royal Air Force bombers sink the massive German battleship Tirpitz in the Norwegian fjord of Tromso. More than 1,200 sailors perish.

11/12/1944
Along with Royal Navy ships, His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Algonquin takes part in a surface operation against German vessels along the Norway coast. The Canadian ship scores a hit on an enemy minesweeper and assists in the sinking of another.

11/13/2006
In Afghanistan, a report from the Joint Co-ordination and Monitoring Board states that approximately 3,700 lives were lost in 2006 to militant violence. The report also points to the rising drug trade.

11/14/1940
Coventry, England, is devastated by a German air raid.

11/15/1919
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Leckie is appointed superintendent of the Air Board’s Flying Operations Branch.

11/15/2009
Operation Hydra is launched. It is a Canadian-Afghan operation aimed at clearing insurgents from Nakhonay and Hajji Baba villages in the Panjwaii district of Afghanistan.

11/16/1885
Louis Riel is hanged at Regina. The French-Canadian Métis leader had been found guilty of treason by an all-English Protestant jury. Riel led the Red River Rebellion of 1870 and the North-West Rebellion of 1885, seeking rights for his Indian and Métis followers as the Canadian government expanded into the Northwest Territory. In a bitter debate during the trial, Ontario demanded Riel’s execution while Quebec sought pardon for a man they considered a hero.

11/17/1913
The Panama Canal opens.

11/17/1934
Grote Stirling is appointed defence minister.

11/18/1916
After capturing Regina Trench on the Somme, 4th Canadian Division attacks Desire Trench. It is an impressive showing, but flanking forces are held up and bad weather also slows operations.