HMCS Racoon was sunk by U-165 while on convoy duty near Pointe-au-Pere, Quebec, killing 37 crew on board.

1940 The London Blitz started. The Luftwaffe directed its bombing offensive at London and other major populated centres.

1944 The 4th Canadian Armoured Division took Bruges, Belgium, from its German occupiers.

Corporal Leo Clarke led an attack to clear the enemy at the Battle of Courcelette. A counterattack was repelled by his exceptional bravery. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for […]

The Americans gained control of the upper Great Lakes after they defeated the British at the Battle of Lake Erie.

U-517 torpedoed and sank HMCS Charlottetown in the St. Lawrence River near Cap Chat, Quebec. Six of her crew were lost that day, with four later dying of wounds sustained during […]

Allied forces attacked along the Western Front, regaining almost all the ground lost to the Germans during the spring and summer offensive.

General James Wolfe led the British in an attack against the French, led by General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm at the Plains of Abraham. Both generals died from their wounds sustained […]

The first overseas expedition by Canadians began as several hundred boatmen departed Canada en-route to Egypt to take part in the Nile Expedition.

With unemployment at 3 million, the Nazi Party made its first electoral breakthrough in the Reichstag elections, winning 107 seats.

The Nuremberg Laws were passed which deprived Jews of full German citizenship.

Operation Market Garden, a bold but unsuccessful Allied attempt to shorten the war, began.

Sir John Hamilton Gordon, 7th Earl of Aberdeen, was sworn in as Canada's 7th Governor-General.

The Newfoundland Regiment landed (September 19-20) at Sulva Bay, on the western side of the Gallipoli Peninsula.

1944 The last German defenders surrendered on August 20th to Le Régiment de la Chaudiere, the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, and the Nova […]

1944 Le Régiment de la Chaudiere, the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, and the Nova Scotia Highlanders forced the German occupiers of Boulogne, France […]

William Lyon Mackenzie King was sworn in as Prime Minister for the second time.

The long process of loading men, animals and equipment into transport ships for overseas duty began at Quebec City.

The Hudson Strait Expedition began, which led the RCAF to explore the eastern Arctic and to establish radio stations.

The Munich Pact was signed in which Britain, France and Italy agreed to the transfer of Sudetenland (northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were primarily Sudeten Germans) […]

Allied forces entered Naples.

Hitler ordered the creation of an air force and the expansion of the army and navy.

1944 The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and the 7th Canadian Infantry brigade forced the German occupiers of Calais, France to capitulate. 7,500 Germans were taken prisoner and the damaged port […]

1944 Calais, France capitulated to the Canadian Infantry on October 1, 1944, and "...7,500 Germans trudged to the barbed wire prisoner camps".

The Battle of the Scheldt began.

More than 30,000 men of the Canadian Expeditionary Force departed en-route to Europe, the largest convoy ever to sail from Canada.

The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was unveiled at Malton, Ontario.

The Polish Army surrendered to the Germans. Germany and the Soviet Union gained full control of the country.

1944 Operation Switchback was the name given to an offensive operation on October 6th, in the Battle of the Scheldt, by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, which involved removing German […]

King George III issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which announced the new administrative structure for British North America as the Treaty of Paris went into effect, nullifying the government […]

Private James Richardson stood in full view of the enemy, playing his bagpipes as his company attacked Regina Trench, which inspired the men to capture their objective. He then helped […]

The merchant ship Carolus was torpedoed by U-69 and sunk. Eleven of the crew of 30 were lost.

Round the Sky, Bad Arrow, Miserable Man, Iron Body and Little Bear were tried in Battleford, Saskatchewan for their involvement in the Frog Lake Massacre. They were all found guilty […]

British Major-General Sir Isaac Brock was killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights.

Germany left the League of Nations.

Canada's first all-female flying club, The Flying Seven, was established.

Troops from the 1st Canadian Division entered the village of Pecquencourt, France, and were greeted by 2,000 starving citizens.

The Americans defeated the British in the Battle of Cook's Mills, the penultimate engagement fought on Canadian soli during the War of 1812. The victory was short-lived, however, as the […]

U-537 arrived at martin Bay in northern Labrador and its crew set up an automatic weather station on the shore. Codenamed "Kurt"., it was only discovered in 1977.

Troops from the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division began clearing Germans from the South Beveland peninsula in the Netherlands as part of Operation Vitality.

1944 The 4th Canadian Armoured Division liberated Bergen-op-Zoom, Netherlands on October 24th, 1944. It was a costly event. The Bergen-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery contains 1,087 casualties, most of whom are […]

Troopship Empress of Britain, already damaged by enemy fire, was torpedoed by U-32, while being towed by HMS Marauder and HMS Thames. She was the largest ship sunk by German U-boats during the Second […]

The collapse of the U.S. stock market in the Wall Street Crash signaled the start of the Great Depression.

Daily coast-to-coast flights are launched by Trans-Canada airlines.

Hitler and Mussolini signed the Berlin-Rome Axis an agreement formulated by Italy's foreign minister Galeazzo Ciano which formally linked the two fascist countries.

A proclamation announces the creation of the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint.

The Hamilton Foot Ball Club was formed.

The 1st vehicular tunnel to a foreign country was opened between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan.

Sergeant Colin Barron and Private James Robertson earn the Victorai Cross for actions in the Battle of Passchendaele.

RCN cruiser HMCS Rainbow arrives at Esquimalt, B.C. after becoming the first Canadian ship to sail around South America by the Strait of Magellan.

German spy Werner von Janowski is dropped off by U-518 at Chaleur Bay, Quebec, and is later captured.

As chairman of the infant National Socialist Workers' (Nazi) Party, Hitler launched an unsuccessful armed coup in Munich.

A U.S. Air Force B-50 bomber accidentally detonated an unarmed Mark IV atomic weapon over Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Quebec.

The Armistice brings an end to the First World War. Nearly 620,000 Canadians served, more than 66,000 gave their lives and some 172,000 were wounded.

The Battle of Ancre, November 13 - 18, 1916, the final large British attack of the Battle of the Somme, results in a British victory.

Devised by Canadian External Affairs minister, Lester B. Pearson, the United Nations Emergency Force arrives in Egypt to help end the Suez Crisis.

A large-scale trench raid at night (November 16-17) by Canadian troops serves as a blueprint for how future raids should be conduced.

Members of the elite American-Canadian First Special Service Force (The Devil's Brigade) arrive in Naples, Italy.

The U.S. Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles which officially ended World War I.

Convicted in Canada's first piracy trial, Edward Jordan was hanged in Halifax.

Negotiations were revived for a ceasefire in Korea.

Canadian merchant ship Fort Cataraqui led the first convoy following the Battle of the Scheldst into Antwerp, Belgium.

The Lucarno Pact was signed by Germany with Britain, France, Belgium, and Italy and which confirmed Germany's western borders with France and Belgium - as was established by the Treaty […]

An RAF Wellington bomber, crewed mainly by Canadians, is badly shot up but still acquires key data on German airborne rader.

1944 Canadian 1st Division captured Ravenna, Italy.

Canada declared war on Finland, Hungary and Romania, the same day as Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.

The BAttle of Hong Kong began following the attack on PEarl Harbor.

The Battle of Kong Kong began following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Canadian troops crossed the Moro River and pushed toward Ortona, Italy.

RCAF Pilot Officer John Gillespie Jr., composer of the sonnet "High Flight", died when his Spitfire collided with another aircraft during tactical training exercises.

1943 The Canadian 1st Division led off teh attack to dislodge the Germans from Ortona, Italy

An arsonist burned down the Knights of Columbus Hostel in St. John's. 99 died, and 109 were injured. German sabotage was suspected.

The Canadian destroyer HMCS Saquenay (DDH 206) was commissioned.

Germany launched the Battle of the Bulge, its final offensive on the Western Front.

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was announced.

Japanese forces landed on Hong Kong Island.

The Newfoundland Regiment was among the last to be evacuated (December 19-20) from Suvla Bay after the disastrous Battle of Gallipoli, Turkey.

The Royal Canadian Dragoons and the Royal Canadian Regiment were formed.

As Christmas approached, soldiers of the Canadian Corps suffered through a cold, wet winter in Flanders.

U-806 was torpedoed HMCS Clayoquot off Halifax. Eight hands were lost.

Britain's Constitutional Act created Upper and Lower Canada and set the stage for rebellion.

1943, About December 27th: The German 1st Parachute Division quietly left Ortona, Italy to the Canadians. Canadian battle losses for December exceeded 2,300, including 500 dead.

Germany dropped incendiary bombs on London, England.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was created.

The RCAF reached its peak strength with 215,000 personnel, including 15,000 members of the Women's Division.

French and Belgian troops began the occupation of the Ruhr following German failure to maintain reparation payments.

Japan withdrew from the Second London Naval Conference after its request that its fleet be granted parity with the fleets of Britaain and the U.S. was refused.

President Hindenburg appointed HItler as chancellor.

1943 Convoy SC-118, which sailed from Halifax, was attacked in mid-Atlantic (February 4 - 7) by 20 U-boats. 13 merchantmen were sunk.

1945 In 1945 the Allies were driving eastward into the Rhineland, west of the Rhine River, and east of the Maas River, toward Germany's centre. Operation Veritable started on February […]

1941 The RAF raided oil-storage facilities in Rotterdam.

1945 Dresden was a site of German wartime production. On February 13, 1945, 796 bombers, including 67 from the RCAF No. 6 Group, bombed Dresden, Germany. Thousands died. It was […]

The Nazi Party secured 44% of the national vote.

Hitler adopted "Plan Sickle" for the invasion west, with the main thrust made through Ardennes (Belgium. Luxembourg, France).

Germany reoccupied the Rhineland.

German troops marched into Austria and Anschluss (political union) was proclaimed.

Hitler came second to Hindenburg in presidential elections, having gained 30% of the vote.