09/03/1943
The Allies invade mainland Italy by crossing the Strait of Messina and then landing near the town of Reggio di Calabria. First to land in Operation Baytown are members of the Carleton and York Regiment from New Brunswick and the West Nova Scotia Regt., making them the first Allied troops to land on the European continent with the intention of staying since the British evacuation from Dunkirk, France, in 1940. The two battalions face no opposition as the Germans abandoned the area in anticipation of larger landings further north.

09/03/1939
Britain and France declare war on Nazi Germany.

09/03/1943
The Allied invasion of mainland Italy begins.

09/04/1914
The military camp at Valcartier, Que., swells with 32,000 men and 8,000 horses.

09/04/1985
The first photographs of the wreck of the Titanic are released to the public. The ship sank in 1912 with a loss of 1,500 lives.

09/5/1918
The Royal Canadian Navy Air Service is authorized to operate United States Navy air stations in Nova Scotia.

09/5/1945
The defection of a Soviet embassy worker exposes a Soviet spy ring in Canada.

09/6/1952
The CBC inaugurates Canada’s first domestic television broadcast service.

09/6/1970
Four airlines bound for the United States are hijacked over Western Europe by a militant Palestinian group.

09/7-13/1942
During one disastrous week at sea, three Royal Canadian Navy ships are sunk by U-boats. On Sept. 7, the yacht His Majesty’s Canadian Sip Raccoon is torpedoed by U-165 in the St. Lawrence River while escorting convoy QS-33 to Sydney in Cape Breton. Thirty seven men are lost. Four days later, HMCS Charlottetown meets the same fate. The corvette is torpedoed by U-517 strike. Charlottetown sinks in two minutes. Six of the nine men lost are killed when the ship’s depth charges explode. On Sept. 13, HMCS Ottawa is torpedoed while escorting a convoy by U-91 south of Greenland. The convoy, which is chased by 13 U-boats, loses seven ships in three days. The intense battle marks one of the low points in the Battle of the Atlantic. Ottawa sinks quickly; 69 men are rescued while 114 perish in the frigid waters.