The Canadian Encyclopedia

Showing All of 290 results for "Military"

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The Korean War

When is a war not a war? For the Korean War, the answer is not always clear.

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Stories of Remembrance

From Alex Colville, Mike Myers, John Ralston Saul and more . . .

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Vancouver Asahi

Kaye Kaminishi — A Proud Benchwarmer

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The final 100 days of the First World War — from 8 August to 11 November 1918 — came to be known as the Hundred Days Offensive. But the Canadian Corps' significant contributions along the Western Front generated the name "Canada's Hundred Days." During this time, Canadian and allied forces pushed the German Army from Amiens, France, west to Mons, Belgium, in a series of battles — a drive that ended in German surrender and the end of the war.

				
					Dieppe RaidDuring the Second World War, on 19 August 1942, the Allies launched a major raid on the French coastal port of Dieppe. Operation Jubilee was the first Canadian Army engagement in the European theatre of the war, designed to test the Allies' ability to launch amphibious assaults against Adolf Hitler's "Fortress Europe." The raid was a disaster: More than 900 Canadian soldiers were killed, and thousands more were wounded and taken prisoner. Despite the bloodshed, the raid provided valuable lessons for subsequent Allied amphibious assaults on Africa, Italy and Normandy.

					Battle of the Gothic LineIn the Second World War, Canadians began fighting in Italy in July 1943. By the summer of 1944, the Allies had pushed German forces to one of their last defensive positions — a stretch of heavily fortified territory in northern Italy known as the Gothic Line. The main job of breaking the Line fell to the I Canadian Corps, which accomplished the task after a month of difficult combat, at a cost of more than 4,500 casualties. Although overshadowed by the Allied invasion of France, cracking the Gothic Line was among Canada's greatest feats of arms of the war.

					Battle for Hill 70The capture of Hill 70 in France was an important Canadian victory during the First World War, and the first major action fought by the Canadian Corps under a Canadian commander. The battle, in August 1917, gave the Allied forces a crucial strategic position overlooking the occupied city of Lens.

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					Hill 70 and Canadian Independence Canada’s war of independence was the First World War. Unlike the Americans, our war of independence was not fought against the country from which we became independent, but alongside it. We started the war as a colony of Britain and ended it as an ally. The remarkable performance of the Canadian Corps and its first Canadian commander made these gains in autonomy possible.

					Battle of Vimy RidgeThe Battle of Vimy Ridge, during the First World War, is Canada's most celebrated military victory — an often mythologized symbol of the birth of Canadian national pride and awareness. The four divisions of the Canadian Corps, fighting together for the first time, attacked the ridge from 9 to 12 April, 1917 and captured it from the German army. It was the largest territorial advance of any Allied force to that point in the war – but it would mean little to the outcome of the conflict. More than 10,500 Canadians were killed and wounded in the assault. Today an iconic white memorial atop the ridge honours the 11,285 Canadians killed in France throughout the war who have no known graves.

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					Battle of OrtonaIn December 1943, as part of the Allied advance through Italy during the Second World War, Canadian forces fought one of their toughest battles of the war in a bid to capture the town of Ortona. The month-long campaign — first at the Moro River outside Ortona, then with vicious street fighting in the town itself — cost more than 2,300 Canadian casualties, but eventually won Ortona for the Allies.

					American Civil War and CanadaThe American Civil War (1861–65) was fought between the northern (Union) states and the southern (Confederate) states, which withdrew from the United States in 1860–61. The war left cities in ruins, shattered families and took the lives of an estimated 750,000 Americans. The war also involved those living in what is now Canada, including roughly 40,000 who joined the fight. The war played a significant role in how and when Canada became an independent country.

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					The Canadian Peacekeeping ImpulseIn 1956, in the crucible of the Suez Crisis, L.B. Pearson invented United Nations 
peacekeeping. The Canadian foreign minister did not do so alone, and peacekeeping as it 
evolved was not exactly what he had in mind.

					Suez CrisisThe 1956 Suez Crisis was a military and political confrontation in Egypt that threatened to divide the United States and Great Britain, potentially harming the Western military alliance that had won the Second World War. Lester B. Pearson, who later became prime minister of Canada, won a Nobel Peace Prize for using the world’s first, large-scale United Nations peacekeeping force to de-escalate the situation.

					PeacekeepingPeacekeeping describes United Nations (UN) military intervention operations. Canadians have sometimes considered peacekeeping part of the country's identity. However, since the 1990s, this has been complicated by the failure of some of Canada's overseas missions.

					Francis PegahmagabowFrancis “Peggy” Pegahmagabow, Anishnaabe (Ojibwa) chief, Aboriginal rights advocate, war hero (born on 9 March 1889 on the Parry Island reserve, ON; died 5 August 1952 at Parry Island, ON). The most highly decorated Aboriginal person in Canada during the First World War, Pegahmagabow became a vocal advocate for Indigenous rights and self-determination.

					Korean WarThe Korean War began 25 June 1950, when North Korean armed forces invaded South Korea. The war’s combat phase lasted until an armistice was signed 27 July 1953.

					Mona ParsonsMona Louise Parsons, actress, nurse, resistance fighter (born in Middleton, Nova Scotia on 17 February 1901; died in Wolfville, Nova Scotia on 28 Nov 1976). Mona Parsons was the only Canadian woman to be imprisoned by the German army, yet her story is unfamiliar in Canada.

					NORADThe North American Defence Agreement was a 1957 pact that placed under joint command the air forces of Canada and the United States. Its name was later changed to the North American Aerospace Defence Command.

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					War Measures ActThe War Measures Act was a federal statute adopted by Parliament in 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War. It gave broad powers to the Canadian government to maintain security and order during war or insurrection.

					Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI)​The Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, also known as the Patricia's) is one of three permanent Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army.

					Canadian Women's Army CorpsDuring the Second World War, Canadian women, for the first time, were mobilized for service in the Canadian Armed Forces. Of the roughly 50,000 women who enlisted, more than half served in the Canadian Army.

					Battle of Amiens​Canadian and Allied troops won a major victory against Germany at the Battle of Amiens between 8 and 11 August 1918.

					First World War (WWI)The First World War of 1914–1918 was the bloodiest conflict in Canadian history, taking the lives of more than 60,000 Canadians.

					Women's Royal Canadian Naval ServiceThe Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS) came into being during the Second World War on 31 July 1942.

					Military Service Act​The Military Service Act of 1917 was a controversial law allowing the conscription of Canadian men for service in the final years of the First World War.

					TecumsehTecumseh, Shawnee chief, leader of a First Nations confederacy, military leader in the War of 1812 (born c 1768 in south-central Ohio; died 5 October 1813 near Moraviantown [Thamesville, ON]).

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					The Italian Campaign ​Canada’s longest Second World War army campaign was in Italy.

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					The No. 2 Construction Battalion and the Fight to FightThe No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) — also known as the Black Battalion — was a segregated non-combatant unit during the First World War. It was the first and only all-Black battalion in Canadian military history. This is their story.

					Richard PierpointRichard Pierpoint (also Pawpine, Parepoint; Captain Pierpoint, Captain Dick; Black Dick), loyalist, soldier, community leader, storyteller (born c. 1744 in Bondu [now Senegal]; died c. 1838, near present-day Fergus, ON). Pierpoint was an early leader in Canada’s Black community. Taken from West Africa as a teenager and sold into slavery, Pierpoint regained his freedom during the American Revolution. He settled in Niagara, Upper Canada, and attempted to live communally with other Black Canadians. In the War of 1812, he petitioned for an all-Black unit to fight for the British and fought with the Coloured Corps.