11/5/1937
Hitler announces his plans to create more “living space” for his people.

11/5/1966
Canada’s first and only military hydrofoil, Bras d’Or (2nd), is damaged by fire while under construction in Quebec.

11/6/1914
1st Canadian Division settles into a routine training schedule on England’s Salisbury Plain. It will be a difficult winter for Canadian troops with record levels of rain and cold temperatures.

11/6/1940
His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Ottawa and His Majesty’s Ship Harvester open fire on a surfaced submarine as it attacks a merchant ship southwest of Ireland. The Italian U-boat dives and Ottawa drops 21 depth charges in four attacks. Harvester launches five attacks. Two explosions are heard and a large oil patch is spotted, however the kill is not confirmed until many years later.

11/7/1885
Donald A. Smith (Lord Strathcona) drives the “last spike” at Craigellachie, B.C., to complete the Canadian Pacific Railway. Previously that year, the almost-complete rail line proved its worth during the Northwest Rebellion. Troops were transported from eastern Canada riding in open flatcars while their officers travelled in heated cabooses. Where the line was not finished north of Lake Superior, the necessity of moving through snow more than three feet deep emphasized the need to complete the line for defence and supply purposes. New support for additional funding helped complete the CPR.

11/8/1910
His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Rainbow, the second cruiser acquired under Laurier’s Naval Act, arrives at Esquimalt, B.C.

11/8/1942
Fleet Air Arm pilots operating in North Africa make first operational use of anti-G suits.

11/9/1944
The troops of 1st Canadian Army settle into a three-month period free of major operations in Northwest Europe.

11/9/2001
The fall of the town of Mazar-i-Sharif clears the land logistics route Uzbekistan into Afghanistan.

11/10/1941
The Royal Canadian Air Force is awarded its first George Cross when Leading Aircraftman K.M. Gravell is posthumously awarded the decoration for the attempted rescue of his pilot from their crashed Tiger Moth.

11/10/1975
Nearly 30 perish in the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior.

11/11/1813
A small force of regulars, militia and First Nations defeat American forces along the St. Lawrence River in the Battle of Chrysler’s Farm.

11/11/1918
After more than four years of fighting, the First World War is suddenly ended by an armistice at 11 a.m. On this day, the Canadians reach Mons, Belgium, the scene of an epic British struggle during the opening weeks of the war in 1914. Canada’s navy has grown to 100 vessels and 5,500 members. As well, about 3,000 men recruited for the Royal Canadian Navy served with the Royal Navy. More than 628,000 Canadians served in uniform since 1914 and approximately 66,500 died.