Military history of Canada
Encyclopedia
The military history of Canada comprises hundreds of years of armed actions in the territory encompassing modern Canada
, and the role of the Canadian military
in conflicts and peacekeeping
worldwide. For thousands of years, the area that would become Canada was the site of sporadic intertribal wars among Aboriginal people
. Although not without conflict, European/Canadian (c. late 15th - early 16th centuries) interactions with First Nations
and Inuit
populations were relatively peaceful. The Inuit had more limited interaction with European settlers during that early period.
Starting in the 17th and 18th century, Canada was the site of four colonial wars
between New France
and New England
which spanned almost seventy years, as each allied with various First Nation groups. In 1763, after the final colonial war - the French and Indian War
- the British emerged victorious and the Canadien civilians, whom the British hoped to assimilate, were declared "British Subjects". After the passing of the Quebec Act
in 1774, giving Canadiens their first charter of rights under the new regime, new challenges soon arose when the northern colonies
chose not to join the American Revolution
and remained loyal to the British crown. The victorious Americans
looked to extend their republic and launched invasions in 1775 and in 1812. On both occasions, the Americans were rebuffed by British and local forces; however, this threat would remain well into the 19th century and partially facilitated Canadian Confederation
in 1867.
After Confederation, and amid much controversy, a full-fledged Canadian military
was created. Canada, however, remained a British colony, and Canadian forces joined their British counterparts in the Second Boer War
, and the First World War. While independence followed the Statute of Westminster
, Canada's links to Britain remained strong, and the British once again enjoyed Canadian support in the Second World War. Since the Second World War, however, Canada has been committed to multilateralism
and has gone to war only within large multinational coalition
s such as in the Korean War
, the Gulf War
, the Kosovo War
, and the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan
. Canada has also played an important role in UN peacekeeping
operations worldwide and has cumulatively committed more troops than any other country.
The first conflicts between Europeans and Native peoples may have occurred around 1006, when parties of Norsemen attempted to establish permanent settlements along the coast of Newfoundland. According to Norse sagas, the native Beothuk
(called skraelings or skraelingars by the Norse) responded so ferociously that the newcomers eventually withdrew and gave up their original intentions to settle. Among later European settlers, the First Nations developed a reputation for violence and savagery. The Natives gave no heed to the idea of surrender
, and tended to torture and kill those who did so.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, some First Nations warfare tended to be formal and ritualistic, and entail relatively few casualties. But there is also evidence of much more violent warfare, even the complete genocide of some groups by others, such as the total displacement of the Dorset culture of Newfoundland by the Beothuk mentioned above, as well as by the Inuit
in other regions. There is no evidence of genetic or cultural continuity, so the Dorset are presumed to have simply been wiped out. Just prior to French settlement in the St. Lawrence River valley, the local Iroquoian peoples were completely eradicated, probably in warfare with their neighbors. Study of whether any of these people, who had several large towns along the St. Lawrence River, survived the 16th century is inconclusive.
After Europeans arrived, fighting tended to be bloodier and more decisive, especially as tribes became caught up in the economic and military rivalries of the European settlers. By the end of the seventeenth century, the East Coast First Nations rapidly adopted the use of firearms, supplanting the traditional bow
. While a skilled warrior
could dodge an incoming arrow, and wooden armour
offered some measure of protection against arrows, nothing could protect them from a bullet
. Even wounds to limbs from these large-calibre, low velocity bullets eventually proved fatal. The adoption of firearms significantly increased the number of fatalities. The bloodshed, involved in native conflicts, was also dramatically increased by the uneven distribution of firearms and horses among Native groups.
Native tribes became important allies of the French and English in the struggle for North American hegemony during the 17th and 18th centuries; these alliances escalated the violence. Scalping
, which is now believed to have existed before the arrival of the Europeans, became more common as the Europeans demanded the presentation of scalps as evidence of their military success.
The French under Samuel de Champlain
founded settlements at Annapolis Royal in 1605 and Quebec City
in 1608, quickly joining pre-existing Native alliances that brought them into conflict with other indigenous inhabitants. For example, soon after the founding of Quebec City, Champlain joined a Huron-Algonkian alliance against the Iroquois Confederacy. In the earliest battle, superior French firepower rapidly dispersed a massed groups of Natives. The Iroquois changed tactics by integrating their hunting
skills and their intimate knowledge of the terrain with their use of firearms obtained from the Dutch; therefore, they developed a highly effective form of guerrilla warfare
, and were soon a formidable threat to all but the handful of fortified cities. As well, as the French gave few guns to their Native allies, the Iroquois waged devastating warfare against the tribes of the Great Lakes region. For the first century of its existence the chief threat to the inhabitants of New France
came from the Iroquois
Confederacy, and particularly from its eastern-most people, the Mohawks
. While the majority of tribes in the region were allies
of the French, the Iroquois were aligned first with the Dutch, and, after the ceding of New Netherland to England, with the British, and received their weapons and support.
The French and Iroquois Wars continued intermittently until 1703, with great brutality on both sides. In response to the Iroquois threat, the French government dispatched the Carignan-Salières Regiment
, the first group of uniformed professional soldiers to set foot on what is today Canadian soil. After peace was attained, this regiment was disbanded in Canada. The soldiers settled in the St. Lawrence valley and, in the late 17th century, formed the core of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine
, the local militia. Later, militias were developed on the larger seigneuries.
Canada was colonised by two major European powers that were historically at odds with each other, and it was inevitable that this age-old tension would spill over into Canada; during the 17th and 18th centuries, there was almost continuous conflict between the colonizing powers in Canada.
Two years after the French founded Annapolis Royal, the English began their first settlement, at Jamestown
, Virginia
to the south. From these original footholds, much larger colonies of Acadia
and other colonies of New France
would emerge. The French colony of Canada on the Saint Lawrence River
was based primarily on the fur trade
and enjoyed only lukewarm support from the French monarchy. The colonies of New France
grew only slowly amidst the tough and unyielding geographical and climatic circumstances. The more favourably located New England
colonies to the south developed more diversified economies and flourished. There were four colonial wars
between New France
and New England
before the British were victorious.
By the 1750s, when the economic, political, and military rivalries came to a head in the struggle of the last colonial war - the French and Indian War
- the total population of the 13 English colonies was 1,500,000, whereas that of their French rivals to the north was only about 70,000. As a result, outside of their strongholds of Quebec City and Louisbourg, the French were forced to employ both guerrilla warfare
tactics, largely borrowed from the Natives. The guerilla form of fighting became known as la petite guerre.
s. During the Anglo-French War (1627–1629), under Charles I of England
, by 1629 the Kirkes
took Quebec City
, Sir James Stewart of Killeith, Lord Ochiltree
planted a colony on Cape Breton Island
at Baleine
, and William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling
established the first incarnation of “New Scotland”
at Port Royal, Nova Scotia
. This set of British triumphs which left Cape Sable
as the only major French holding in North America was not destined to last. Charles I’s haste to make peace with France on the terms most beneficial to him meant that the new North American gains would be bargained away in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1632)
.
During this time when Nova Scotia briefly became a Scottish Colony, there were three battles between the Scots and the French: one at St. John
; another at Cape Sable Island; and the other at Baleine, Nova Scotia
.
was plunged into what some historians have described as a civil war in Acadia (1640–1645). The war was between Port Royal, where Governor of Acadia Charles de Menou d'Aulnay
de Charnisay was stationed, and present-day Saint John, New Brunswick
, where Governor Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour
was stationed.
In the war, there were four major battles. la Tour attacked d'Aulnay at Port Royal in 1640. In response to the attack, D'Aulnay sailed out of Port Royal to establish a five month blockade of La Tour's fort at Saint John, which La Tour eventually defeated (1643). La Tour attacked d'Aulnay again at Port Royal in 1643. d'Aulnay and Port Royal ultimately won the war against La Tour with the 1645 siege of Saint John. After d'Aulnay died (1650), La Tour re-established himself in Acadia.
During King William's War
, the next most serious threat to Quebec in the seventeenth century came in 1690 when, alarmed by the attacks of the petite guerre, the New England colonies sent an armed expedition north, under Sir William Phips
, to capture the source of the problems: Quebec itself. This expedition was poorly organized and had little time to achieve its objective, having arrived in mid-October, shortly before the St Lawrence would freeze over. The expedition was responsible for eliciting one of the most famous pronouncements in Canadian military history. When called on by Phips to surrender, the aged Governor Frontenac
, then serving his second term, replied "I will answer ... only with the mouths of my cannon and the shots of my muskets." After a single abortive landing on the Beauport shore to the east of the city, the English force withdrew down the icy waters of the St Lawrence.
During the war, the military conflicts in Acadia
included: Battle at Chedabucto (Guysborough); Battle of Port Royal (1690)
; a naval battle in the Bay of Fundy (Action of 14 July 1696
); Raid on Chignecto (1696)
and Siege of Fort Nashwaak (1696)
.
In 1695, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
was called upon to attack the English stations along the Atlantic coast of Newfoundlandin the Avalon Peninsula Campaign
. Iberville sailed with his three vessels to Placentia
(Plaisance), the French capital of Newfoundland. Both English and French fishermen exploited the Grand Banks
fishery from their respective settlements on Newfoundland under the sanction of the treaty of 1687, but the purpose of the new French expedition of 1696 was nevertheless to expel the English from Newfoundland. Iberville and his men left Placentia on November 1, 1696, and marched overland to Ferryland
, 50 miles (80.5 km) south of St John's
. Nine days later, Iberville joined with naval forces and both detachments began the march north to the English capital, which surrendered on November 30, 1696, following a brief siege. After setting fire to St John's
, Iberville's Canadians almost totally destroyed the English fisheries along the eastern shore of Newfoundland. Small raiding parties terrorized the hamlets hidden away in remote bays and inlets, burning, looting, and taking prisoners. By the end of March 1697, only Bonavista
and Carbonear
remained in English hands. In four months of raids, Iberville was responsible for the destruction of 36 settlements.
At the end of the war England returned the territory to France in the Treaty of Ryswick
.
—the fortress of Louisbourg, the so-called "Dunkirk of the North."
The first of four colonial wars
- King William's War
was fought at the end of the 17th century. Three times during the 18th century, New France
and New England
were at war with one another. The second and third colonal wars, Queen Anne's War
and King Georges War, were local off-shoots of larger European conflicts—the War of the Spanish Succession
(1702–13), the War of the Austrian Succession
(1744–48). The last, the French and Indian War
(Seven Years' War
), started in the Ohio Valley. The petite guerre of the Canadiens left a trail of terror and devastation through the northern towns and villages of New England
, sometimes reaching as far south as Virginia
. The war also spread to the forts along the Hudson Bay shore.
, the British Conquest of Acadia
, took place in 1710 when a British force managed to capture Port Royal
, the capital of Acadia
in present-day Nova Scotia
. As a result, France was forced to cede control of mainland Nova Scotia to Britain
in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), leaving present-day New Brunswick
in disputed territory and Prince Edward Island
, and Cape Breton Island
in the hands of the French. British possession of Hudson Bay was guaranteed by the same treaty.
During Queen Anne's War
, military conflicts in Nova Scotia
included: the Raid on Grand Pre
; the Siege of Port Royal (1707)
; the Siege of Port Royal (1710)
and the Battle of Bloody Creek (1711).
(1722–1725), Mi'kmaq raided the new fort at Canso, Nova Scotia
(1720). Under potential siege, in May 1722, Lieutenant Governor John Doucett
took 22 Mi'kmaq hostage at Annapolis Royal to prevent the capital from being attacked. In July 1722 the Abenaki and Mi'kmaq created a blockade of Annapolis Royal with the intent of starving the capital. The natives captured 18 fishing vessels and prisoners in the area stretching from present-day Yarmouth
to Canso
. They also seized prisoners and vessels from the Bay of Fundy
.
As a result of the escalating conflict, Massachusetts Governor Samuel Shute
officially declared war on the Abenaki on July 22, 1722. The first battle of Dummer's War happened in the Nova Scotia theatre. In response to the blockade of Annapolis Royal, at the end of July 1722, New England launched a campaign to end the blockade and retrieve over 86 New England prisoners taken by the natives. One of these operations resulted in the Battle at Jeddore
. The next was a raid on Canso in 1723. Then in July 1724 a group of sixty Mikmaq and Maliseets raided Annapolis Royal.
The treaty that ended the war marked a significant shift in European relations with the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet. For the first time a European Empire formally acknowledged that its dominion over Nova Scotia would have to be negotiated with the region's indigenous inhabitants. The treaty was invoked as recently as 1999 in the Donald Marshall case
.
(War of the Austrian Succession), a force of New England militia, under William Pepperell
and Commodore Peter Warren
of the Royal Navy
, succeeded in capturing Louisbourg in 1745. Yet by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
that ended the war in 1748, France got Louisbourg back by trading off other of its conquests in the Netherlands
and India
. The New Englanders were outraged, and as a counterweight to the continuing French strength at Louisbourg, the British founded the military settlement of Halifax
in 1749, with a strong naval base in its spacious harbour.
During King George's War
, military conflicts in Nova Scotia
included: Raid on Canso
; Siege of Annapolis Royal (1744); the Siege of Louisbourg (1745)
; the Duc d'Anville Expedition
and the Battle of Grand Pré
. Fortress Louisbourg was captured
by American colonial forces in 1745, then returned by the British to France in 1748.
and the French and Indian War
in Acadia
and Nova Scotia
. The war was fought by the British and New Englanders, primarily under the leadership of New England Ranger John Gorham
and British Officer Charles Lawrence. They fought against the Mi'kmaq and Acadians who were led by French priest Jean-Louis Le Loutre
. The overall upheaval of the war was unprecedented. Atlantic Canada witnessed more population movements, more fortification construction, and more troop allocations than ever before in the region.
During Father Le Loutre's War, the British attempted to firmly establish control of the major Acadian settlements in peninsular Nova Scotia and to extend British control to the disputed territory of present-day New Brunswick
. The British also wanted to establish Protestant communities in Nova Scotia. During the war, the Acadians and Mi'kmaq also left Nova Scotia
for the French colonies of Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island
) and Île Royale (Cape Breton Island
). The French also tried to maintain the disputed territory of present-day New Brunswick. Throughout the war, the Mi’kmaq and Acadians attacked the British fortifications of Nova Scotia and the newly established Protestant settlements. They wanted to retard British settlement and buy time for France to implement its Acadian resettlement scheme.
The war began with the British unilaterally establishing Halifax
, which was a violation of an earlier treaty with the Mi'kmaq (1726), which was signed after Dummer's War
. As a result, Acadians and Mi'kmaqs orchestrated attacks at Chignecto
, Grand-Pré
, Dartmouth
, Canso
, Halifax and Country Harbour
. The French erected forts at present day Saint John
, Chignecto and Port Elgin, New Brunswick
. The British responded by attacking the Mi'kmaq and Acadians at Mirligueche (later known as Lunenburg
), Chignecto
and St. Croix
. The British also unilaterally established communities in Lunenburg and Lawrencetown
. Finally, the British erected forts in Acadian communities located at Windsor
, Grand-Pré
and Chignecto
. The war ended after six years with the defeat of the Mi'kmaq, Acadians and French in the Battle of Fort Beauséjour
.
. In the maritime theatre of the conflict, military conflicts in Nova Scotia included: Battle of Fort Beauséjour
; Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
; the Battle of Petitcodiac
; the Raid on Lunenburg (1756)
; the Louisbourg Expedition (1757)
; Battle of Bloody Creek (1757); Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
, Petitcodiac River Campaign
, Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
, St. John River Campaign
, and Battle of Restigouche
.
The British Conquest of Acadia
happened in 1710. Over the next forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians participated in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French Fortress of Louisbourg and Fort Beausejour.
During the French and Indian War
, the British sought to neutralize any military threat Acadians posed and to interrupt the vital supply lines Acadians provided to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia.
The British began the Expulsion of the Acadians with the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
. Over the next nine years over 12,000 Acadians were removed from Nova Scotia.
and land speculators
for supremacy in the Ohio Country
to the west of the Appalachian Mountains
—land that was claimed by some of the British colonies in their royal charters. In 1753, the French started the military occupation of the Ohio Country by building a series of forts. In 1755, the British sent two regiments of the line to North America to drive the French from these forts, but these were destroyed
by French Canadians and American Indians as they approached Fort Duquesne
. War was formally declared in 1756, and in Canada, six French regiments of troupes de terre, or line infantry
, came under the command of the newly arrived general, the 44-year-old Marquis de Montcalm. Accompanying him were another two battalions of 'troupes de terre', bringing the total number of French professional soldiers in the colony to about 4,000. This was the first significant aggregation of trained professional soldiers on what was to be Canadian soil.
Under their new commander, the French at first achieved a number of startling victories over the British, first at Fort William Henry
to the south of Lake Champlain, where, in 1757, over 2,400 men, mostly British regulars, surrendered. In the following year, an even greater victory followed when the British army—numbering about 15,000 under Major General James Abercrombie
—was roundly defeated in its attack on a French fortification at Carillon
(later renamed Fort Ticonderoga
by the British) at the southern tip of Lake Champlain. The French numbered no more than 3,500, but before the British withdrew, the French had inflicted a loss of about 2,000 men, mostly regulars, for a total French loss of about 350. In the meantime, the British war effort had been galvanized by the appointment of William Pitt
as British Prime Minister
, who was determined to win battles, and who decided that North America would be the crux of the British war effort. In June 1758, a British force of 13,000 regulars under Major General Jeffrey Amherst, with James Wolfe
as one of his brigadiers, landed and permanently captured the Fortress of Louisbourg
.
A year later Wolfe set his gaze on Quebec City. After several botched landing attempts including particularly bloody defeats at the Battle of Beauport
and the Battle of Montmorency Camp, Wolfe succeeded in slipping his army ashore, forming ranks on the Plains of Abraham
September 12. Montcalm, against the better judgment of his officers, sallied out with a numerically inferior force to meet the British. An epic battle followed in which Wolfe was killed, Montcalm mortally wounded, and 658 British and 644 French fell dead or wounded. Badly mauled by massed British volleys, the French retreated to the citadel and endured a painful siege and blockade before capitulating on September 18.
However, in the spring of 1760, the last French General, François Gaston de Lévis, marched back to Quebec from Montreal and defeated the British at the Battle of Sainte-Foy
in a battle similar to that of the previous year; now the situation was reversed, with the French laying siege to the Quebec fortifications behind which the British retreated. However, the French finally had to concede the loss of New France when the Royal Navy rather than the French fleet sailed up the St Lawrence after the breakup of the winter ice. France lost almost all of its North American possessions, and retained only the small islands of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon as a base for its fishing fleet, which worked the Grand Banks
. The French formally withdrew from much of North America in 1763 when they signed the Treaty of Paris. France was given the choice of keeping either New France or its sugar-producing Caribbean island colony Guadeloupe
, and chose the latter as it had ten times the GDP of Canada.
largely arose from their resentment of paying taxes to support a large military establishment, when there was no obvious enemy. This was augmented by further suspicions of British motives when the Ohio Valley and other western territories previously claimed by France were not annexed to the existing British colonies, especially Pennsylvania and Virginia, which had long-standing claims to the region. Instead, under the Quebec Act, this territory was set aside for the First Nations. The American Revolutionary War
(1776–83) saw the revolutionaries use force to break free from British rule and claim these western lands. American forces took Montreal and the chain of forts in the Richelieu Valley, but attempts by the revolutionaries to take Quebec City
were repelled. During this time most French Canadians stayed neutral.
(October 1776, March 1777, September 1777, May 1778, September 1780) and a raid on Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
(1781).
American Privateers also raided Canso, Nova Scotia
(1775). In 1779, American privateers returned to Canso and destroyed the fisheries, which were worth £50,000 a year to Britain.
To guard against such attacks, the 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)
was garrisoned at forts around the Atlantic Canada
. Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
in Windsor, Nova Scotia
was the Regiment's headquarters to prevent a possible American land assault on Halifax from the Bay of Fundy. There was an American attack on Nova Scotia by land, the Battle of Fort Cumberland
followed by the Siege of Saint John (1777). There was also rebellion from those within Nova Scotia: the Maugerville Rebellion
(1776) and the Battle at Miramichi (1779)
.
During the war, American Privateers captured 225 vessels either leaving or arriving at Nova Scotia ports. In 1781, for example, as a result of the Franco-American alliance
against Great Britain
, there was also a naval engagement
with a French fleet at Sydney, Nova Scotia
, near Spanish River, Cape Breton. The British also captured numerous American Privateers such as in the naval battle off Halifax
. The Royal Navy also used Halifax as a base from which to launch attacks on New England, such as the Battle of Machias (1777)
.
, moved north, greatly expanding the English-speaking population. The independent republic of the United States
emerged to the south, while a series of loyal British colonies remained in place along its northern border. The remaining British colonies were collectively referred to as British North America
.
. This erupted into a shooting war in 1812, when the Americans declared war on the British. Among the reasons for the war was British harassment of US ships on the high seas (including impressment of American seamen into the Royal Navy), the occurrence of which was a byproduct of British involvement in the ongoing Napoleonic Wars
. The Americans did not possess a navy capable of challenging the Royal Navy
, and so an invasion of Canada was proposed as the only feasible means of attacking the British Empire. Americans on the western frontier also hoped an invasion would bring an end to what they saw as British support of American Indian resistance to the westward expansion of the United States, and finalize their claim to the western territories. The early strategy was to temporarily seize Canada as a means of forcing concessions from the British. However, as the war progressed, outright annexation was more frequently cited as an objective—an early expression of what would later be called "Manifest Destiny
". Many Americans hoped the French Canadians would welcome the chance to overthrow their British rulers.
The Americans launched an invasion across the northern border in July 1812. The war raged back and forth along the border of Upper Canada
, on land as well as on the waters of the Great Lakes
. The British succeeded in capturing Detroit in July, and in October. On July 12, U.S. General William Hull
invaded Canada at Sandwich (later known as Windsor
). The invasion was quickly halted, and Hull withdrew, but this gave Brock the excuse he needed to abandon Prevost's orders. Securing Tecumseh's aid, Brock advanced on Detroit
. At this point, even with his American Indian allies, Brock was outnumbered approximately two to one. However, Brock had gauged Hull as a timid man, and particularly as being afraid of Tecumseh's natives. Brock thus decided to use a series of tricks to intimidate Hull. Needless to say, the defeat of Detroit was utter and complete.
A major American thrust across the Niagara
frontier was defeated at the Battle of Queenston Heights
by a combined force of British regular troops and colonial militia under Sir Isaac Brock
, who lost his life in the battle.
1813 was the year of American victories, when they retook Detroit and enjoyed a string of successes along the western end of Lake Erie
, culminating in the Battle of Lake Erie
(September 10) and the Battle of Moraviantown or Battle of the Thames on October 5. The naval battle secured U.S. dominance of lakes Erie and Huron. At Moraviantown, the British lost one of their key commanders, the Shawnee chief Tecumseh
. Further east, the Americans succeeded in capturing and burning York (later Toronto
) and taking Fort George at Niagara
, which they held until the end of the year. However, in the same year, two American thrusts against Montreal
were defeated—one by a force of British regulars at Crysler's Farm
southwest of the city on the St Lawrence; the other, by a force of mostly French Canadian militia under the command of Charles de Salaberry
, to the south of the city at Allan's Corners
on the Chateauguay River. The Iroquois tribes of the Upper Canada
, the Caughnawagas
from near Montreal, and western tribes under the Shawnee
chief, Tecumseh
, were valued allies of the British throughout the campaign. These First Peoples played an important part in many battles and on many occasions had a psychologically debilitating impact on their enemy.
The British recaptured all of their lost territory and seized Michilimackinac in Michigan, and Fort Niagara in New York state, across from Fort George at the mouth of the Niagara River. The defeat of Napoleon in 1815 gave the British the chance to turn their attention to the North American theatre and launch raids on Washington, Baltimore and New Orleans. After the capture of Washington, DC in September at Bladensburg
, the British troops burned down the White House
and other government buildings, only to be repulsed as they moved north to advance on Baltimore
while the forces attacking New Orleans
were routed after suffering severe casualties.
In March 1815, the two opponents signed a peace treaty that restored the borders that had existed before the war. While thoroughly British, Sir Isaac Brock
became a martyred Canadian hero. The successful defence of Canada relied on Canadian troops, British regular troops, the Royal Navy, and Native Indian allies. Neither side of the war can claim victory.
, Nova Scotia’s contribution to the war effort was communities either purchasing or building various privateer ships to lay siege to American vessels. Three members of the community of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
purchased a privateer schooner and named it Lunenburg on August 8, 1814. The Nova Scotian privateer vessel captured seven American vessels. The Liverpool Packet
from Liverpool, Nova Scotia
was another Nova Scotia privateer vessel that caught over fifty ships in the war - the most of any privateer in Canada.
Perhaps the most dramatic moment in the war for Nova Scotia was HMS Shannon
's leading the captured American frigate USS Chesapeake
into Halifax Harbour
(1813). Many of the prisoners were kept at Deadman's Island, Halifax
.
in Kingston
. The Rideau Canal
was built during these years to allow ships in wartime to travel a more northerly route from Montreal to Kingston. (The customary peacetime route was the St Lawrence River, which constituted the northern edge of the American border, and hence was vulnerable to enemy attack and interference.)
One of the most important actions by the British forces during this period was the putting down of the Rebellions of 1837
. The Upper Canada Rebellion
was quickly and decisively defeated by the British forces. Attacks the next year by Hunters' Lodges, U.S. irregulars who expected to be paid in Canadian land, were crushed in 1838 in battles at Pelee Island and Prescott. The Lower Canada Rebellion
was a greater threat to the British, and the rebels were victorious at the Battle of St. Denis on November 23. Two days later, the rebels were defeated at the Battle of Saint-Charles
, and on December 14, they were finally routed at the Battle of Saint-Eustache
.
By the 1850s, fears of an American invasion had begun to diminish, and the British felt able to start reducing the size of their garrison. The Reciprocity Treaty
, negotiated between Canada and the United States in 1854, further helped to alleviate concerns. However, tensions picked up again during the American Civil War
(1861–65), apparently reaching a peak with the Trent Affair
of late 1861 and early 1862. This was touched off when the captain of a US gunboat stopped the Royal Mail Steamship Trent
and removed two Confederate
officials who were bound for Britain. The British government was outraged and, with war appearing imminent, took steps to reinforce its British North American garrison, which was increased from a strength of 4000 to 18,000. In the end, cooler heads prevailed, war was averted, and the sense of crisis subsided. This incident proved to be the final major episode of Anglo-American military confrontation in North America, as both sides increasingly became persuaded of the benefits of amicable relations. At the same time, many Canadians went south to fight in the Civil War, with most joining the Union army, although some Canadians, were sympathetic towards the Confederacy (see Canada and the American Civil War
).
In the meantime, Britain was becoming concerned with military threats closer to home, and disgruntled at paying to maintain a garrison in colonies that were becoming increasingly self-assertive, and that, after 1867, were united in the self-governing Dominion of Canada. Consequently, in 1871, the troops of the British garrison were withdrawn from Canada completely, save for Halifax and Esquimalt, where British garrisons remained in place purely for reasons of imperial
strategy.
It was during this period of re-examination of the British military presence in Canada and its ultimate withdrawal that the last invasion of Canada occurred. It was not carried out by any official US government force, but by an organization called the Fenians. This was a group of Irish American
s, mostly Union Army
veterans from the Civil War
who believed that by seizing Canada, concessions could be wrung from the British government regarding their policy in Ireland
.
The Fenians had also, to a large degree, incorrectly estimated that Irish Canadians, who were quite numerous in Canada, would support their invasive efforts and rise up, both politically and militarily. Most Irish settlers in Upper Canada at that time were Protestant, and for the most part loyal to the British Crown.
After the events of the Civil War, anti-British sentiment was high in the United States. British-built Confederate warships
had wreaked havoc on US commerce during the war. Irish-Americans were a large and politically important constituency, particularly in parts of the Northeastern States
and large regiments of Irish Americans had participated in the war. Thus, while deeply concerned about the Fenians, the US government, led by Secretary of State William H. Seward
, generally ignored the Fenian organizing efforts. The Fenians were allowed to openly organize and arm themselves, and were even allowed to recruit in Union Army camps. The Americans were not prepared to risk war with Britain, and intervened when the Fenians threatened to endanger American neutrality.
The Fenians were a serious threat to Canada, being veterans of the Union Army
they were well armed. They made three attacks in 1866: one on Campobello Island in New Brunswick in April, and the others in the Niagara and the St Lawrence Valley regions in July. The Campobello and St. Lawrence valley attacks failed. The Fenians won the Battle of Ridgeway when troops, mostly University of Toronto students and young men from Hamilton, were led into a bungled attack and a sloppy retreat, but the Fenians quickly withdrew, fearing a British counter-attack. In New Brunswick, their failure was due to the presence of a strong force of British regulars and the confiscation of Fenian weapons by the American navy. Two later attacks along the Quebec-Vermont frontier in 1870 and Manitoba in 1871 proved similarly fruitless.
Despite these failures, the raids had some impact on Canadian politicians who were then locked in negotiations leading up to the Confederation
agreement of 1867. The raids reinforced a sense of military vulnerability, especially because the British were known to be seriously considering the downsizing of their garrison, if not its outright withdrawal. The Confederation debates were to some degree held in an atmosphere of military crisis, and the greater military security that would be gained through the pooling of colonial resources was one of the factors that weighed heavily in Confederation's favour.
With Confederation in place and the British garrison gone, Canada assumed full responsibility for its own defence; it passed the Militia Act
in 1868 and Britain undertook to send aid in the event of a serious emergency, and the Royal Navy continued to provide maritime defence. Small professional batteries of artillery were established at Quebec City and Kingston. In 1883, a third battery of artillery was added, and small professional schools of cavalry and infantry were created. These were intended to provide professional backbone for the much larger force of militia that was to form the bulk of the Canadian defence effort. In theory, every able-bodied man between the ages of 18 and 60 was liable to be conscripted for service, but in practice, the defence of the country rested on the services of volunteers who made up the so-called Active Militia, which in 1869 numbered 31,170 officers and men. During the remaining decades of the century, this force was consolidated, attending summer camps, parading about in colourful uniforms, and occasionally being mustered to serve in times of strikes and other civil emergencies.
The most important early tests of the militia were the expeditions against the rebel forces of Louis Riel
in the Canadian west. The Wolseley Expedition
, containing a mix of British and militia forces, restored order after the Red River Rebellion
with little violence in 1870. A greater test was the North-West Rebellion
in 1885 that saw the largest military effort undertaken on Canadian soil since the end of the War of 1812. The Rebellion saw a series of battles between the Métis
and their First Nations allies on one side against the Militia and North-West Mounted Police on the other. The government forces ultimately emerged victorious despite having suffered a number of early defeats and reversals at the Battle of Duck Lake
, the Battle of Fish Creek
and the Battle of Cut Knife Hill.
Outnumbered and out of ammunition, the Métis portion of the North-West Rebellion collapsed with the siege and Battle of Batoche
. The Battle of Loon Lake
, which ended this conflict, is notable as the last battle to have been fought on Canadian soil. Government losses during the North-West Rebellion amounted to 58 killed and 93 wounded.
In 1884, Britain for the first time asked Canada for aid in defending the empire. The mother country asked Canada to send experienced boatmen to the Sudan
to help rescue Major-General Charles Gordon
from the Mahdi
uprising. However, Ottawa was reluctant to do this, and eventually Governor General
Lord Lansdowne
recruited a private force of 386 Voyageur
s who were placed under the command of Canadian Militia
officers. This force, known as the Nile Voyageur
s, served ably in the Sudan and became the first Canadian force to serve abroad. 16 voyageurs died during the campaign.
in South Africa
. The British asked for Canadian help in the conflict, and the Conservative Party
was adamantly in favour of raising divisions for service in South Africa. English-Canadian opinion was overwhelmingly in favour of active Canadian participation in the war. French Canadian
s almost universally opposed the war, as did several other groups. This split the governing Liberal Party
deeply, as it relied on both pro-imperial Anglo-Canadians and anti-imperial Franco-Canadians for support. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier initially sent 1,000 soldiers of the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry. Later, other contingents were sent, including the privately raised Strathcona's Horse.
The Canadian forces missed the early period of the war and the great British defeats of Black Week
. The Canadians in South Africa won much acclaim for leading the charge at the Second Battle of Paardeberg
, one of the first decisive victories of the war. At the Battle of Leliefontein
on November 7, 1900, three Canadians, Lieutenant Turner
, Lieutenant Cockburn
, Sergeant Holland
and Arthur Richardson
of the Royal Canadian Dragoons were awarded the Victoria Cross
for protecting the rear of a retreating force. Ultimately, over 8,600 Canadians volunteered to fight in the South African War. Lieutenant Harold Lothrop Borden
, however, became the most famous Canadian casualty of the Second Boer War.
About 7,400 Canadians, including 12 female nurses, served in South Africa. Of these, 224 died, 252 were wounded, and several were decorated with the Victoria Cross. The war remained deeply unpopular in Quebec, where many people viewed it as the crushing of a democratic minority group by an imperial power, which in many ways, was similar to the French-Canadian experience during the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837 to 1838. Canadian forces also participated in the British-led concentration camp programs that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Boer civilians.
Soon after the debate over the Second Boer War, a similar one developed over whether or not Canada should have its own navy. Canada had long had a small fishing protection force attached to the Department of Marine and Fisheries, but relied on Britain for maritime protection. Britain was increasingly engaged in an arms race
with Germany
, and in 1908, asked the colonies for help with the navy. The Conservative Party of Canada argued that Canada should merely contribute money to the purchase and upkeep of some British Royal Navy
vessels. Some French-Canadian nationalists felt that no aid should be sent; others advocated an independent Canadian navy that could aid the British in times of need.
Eventually, Prime Minister Laurier decided to follow this compromise position, and the Canadian Naval Service was created in 1910 and designated as the Royal Canadian Navy
in August 1911. To appease imperialists, the Naval Service Act
included a provision that in case of emergency, the fleet could be turned over to the British. This provision led to the strenuous opposition to the bill by Quebec nationalist Henri Bourassa
. The bill set a goal of building a navy composed of five cruiser
s and six destroyer
s. The first two ships were Niobe and , somewhat aged and outdated vessels purchased from the British. With the election of the Conservatives in 1911, in part because the Liberals had lost support in Quebec, the navy was starved for funds, but during the First World War, it was greatly expanded and played an important role in both the Atlantic and Pacific
.
In 1904, the appointment of Officer Commanding the Forces was replaced with a Canadian Chief of the General Staff
. Additional corps would be created in the years before the First World War, including the world's first separate military dental corps
.
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The First World War was the catalyst for the formation of Canada's air force. At the outbreak of war, there was no independent Canadian air force, although many Canadians flew with the Royal Flying Corps
and the Royal Naval Air Service
.
In 1914 the Canadian government authorized the formation of the Canadian Aviation Corps
. The corps was formed to accompany the Canadian Expeditionary Force
to Europe and consisted of one aircraft, a Burgess-Dunne, that was never used. The Canadian Aviation Corps was disbanded in 1915. A second attempt at forming a truly Canadian air force was made in 1918 when two Canadian squadrons (one bomber and one fighter) were formed by the British Air Ministry
in Europe. The Canadian government took control of the two squadrons in 1918 by forming the Canadian Air Force. This air force, however, never saw service and was disbanded in 1920.
The British government encouraged Canada to institute a peacetime air force by giving Canada several surplus aircraft, and in 1920 a new Canadian Air Force (CAF) directed by the Air Board
was formed as a part-time or militia service providing flying refresher training. After a reorganization the CAF became responsible for all flying operations in Canada, including civil aviation. Air Board and CAF civil flying responsibilities would be handled by the Royal Canadian Air Force
(RCAF) after its creation in April 1924.The Second World War would see the RCAF become a truly military service.
was raised.
The Canadian Corps
was formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force
in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division
in France. The Corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division
in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division
in August 1916. The organization of a 5th Canadian Division
began in February 1917, but it was still not fully formed when it was broken up in February 1918 and its men used to reinforce the other four divisions. Although the Corps was within and under the command of the British Army
, there was considerable pressure among Canadian leaders, especially following the Battle of the Somme, for the Corps to fight as a single unit rather than spreading the divisions through the whole army. Plans for a second Canadian corps and two additional divisions were scrapped, and a divisive national dialogue on conscription for overseas service was begun.
The other major combatants had all introduced conscription to replace the massive casualties they were suffering. Spearheaded by Sir Robert Borden who wished to maintain the continuity of Canada's military contribution and with a burgeoning pressure to introduce and enforce conscription, the Military Service Act
was ratified. Although reaction to conscription
was favourable in English Canada the idea was deeply unpopular in Quebec
. In the end, conscription raised about 120,000 soldiers, of whom about 47,000 actually went overseas. The Conscription Crisis of 1917
did much to highlight the divisions between French and English-speaking Canadians
in Canada. Despite the rancour, the Conscription Crisis did not hinder Prime Minister Robert Borden
's political career. In the In the Canadian Federal Election of 1917 the Union government won 153 seats, nearly all from English Canada. The Liberals won 82 seats. Although the Union government won a large majority of seats, the Union government won only 3 seats in Quebec., Borden's Union government won 153 seats, nearly all from English Canada. However, of Quebec
's 65 seats, Borden's government won only 3.
In the later stages of the war, the Canadian Corps were among the most effective and respected of the military formations on the Western Front
. In 1919, Canada sent an expeditionary force to Siberia
to aid the White Russians
in the Russian Civil War
. The vast majority of these troops were based in Vladivostok
and saw little combat before they withdrew, along with other foreign forces.
For a nation of eight million people, Canada's war effort was widely regarded as remarkable. A total of 619,636 men and women served in the Canadian forces in the First World War, and of these 66,655 were killed and another 172,950 were wounded. Canadian sacrifices are commemorated at eight memorials in France and Belgium. Two of the eight are unique in design: the giant white Vimy Memorial
and the distinctive Brooding Soldier at the Saint Julien Memorial
. The other six follow a standard pattern of granite monuments surrounded by a circular path. They are the Hill 62 Memorial
and Passchendaele Memorial
in Belgium, and the Bourlon Wood Memorial
, Courcelette Memorial
, Dury Memorial
, and Le Quesnel Memorial
in France. There are also separate war memorials to commemorate the actions of the soldiers of Newfoundland in the Great War. The largest are the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial
and the National War Memorial in St. John's
. Newfoundland did not join Confederation until 1949.
Following the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, Canada's Parliament supported the government's decision to declare war on Germany on September 10, one week after the United Kingdom and France. Canadian airmen played a small but significant role in the Battle of Britain
, the Royal Canadian Navy
and the Canadian merchant marine played a crucial role in the Battle of the Atlantic. C Force
, two Canadian infantry battalions were involved in the failed defence of Hong Kong
. Troops of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division
also played a leading role in the disastrous Dieppe Raid
in August 1942. The 1st Canadian Infantry Division
and tanks of the independent 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade
landed on Sicily in July 1943 and after a 38-day campaign there, took part in the successful Allied invasion of Italy
. Canadian forces played an important role in the long advance north through Italy, eventually coming under their own corps headquarters after 5th Canadian Armoured Division joined them on the line in early 1944 after the costly battles on the Moro River and at Ortona
.
On June 6, 1944, the 3rd Canadian Division
(supported by tanks of the independent 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade
) landed on Juno Beach
in the Battle of Normandy. Canadian airborne troops had also landed earlier in the day behind the beaches. Resistance on Juno was fierce, and casualties were high in the assault waves, in particular the first assault waves, which sustained a 50 percent casualty rate. By day's end, however, the Canadians had made the deepest penetrations inland of any of the five seaborne invasion forces. The Canadians went on to play an important role in the subsequent fighting in Normandy, with the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division
coming ashore in July and the 4th Canadian Armoured Division in August. In the meantime, both a corps headquarters (II Canadian Corps
) and eventually an army headquarters—for the first time in Canadian military history—were activated. One of the most important Canadian contributions to the war effort was in the Battle of the Scheldt
, where First Canadian Army
defeated an entrenched German force at great cost to help open Antwerp to Allied shipping.
First Canadian Army fought in two more large campaigns; the Rhineland in February and March 1945, clearing a path to the Rhine River in anticipation of the assault crossing of that obstacle, and the subsequent battles on the far side of the Rhine in the last weeks of the war. The I Canadian Corps
returned to northwest Europe from Italy in early 1945, and as part of a reunited First Canadian Army assisted in the liberation of The Netherlands (including the rescue of many Dutch from near-starvation conditions) and the invasion of Germany
.
The Royal Canadian Air Force had three key responsibilities during the war: the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
(BCATP), Canada's contribution to training military aviators; the Home War Establishment (HWE), which provide 37 squadrons for coastal defence, protection of shipping, air defence and other duties in Canada, and the Overseas War Establishment (OWE), which provided 48 squadrons serving with the Royal Air Force
(RAF) in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Far East.
RCAF airmen served with RAF fighter and bomber squadrons, and played key roles in the Battle of Britain
, antisubmarine warfare during the Battle of the Atlantic, and the bombing
campaigns against Germany. Even though many RCAF personnel served with the RAF, No. 6 Group
RAF Bomber Command
was formed entirely of RCAF squadrons. Canadian air force personnel also provided close support of Allied forces during the Battle of Normandy
and subsequent land campaigns in Europe. To free up male RCAF personnel who were needed on active operational or BCATP training duties, the RCAF Women's Division
was formed in 1941. By the end of the war, the RCAF would be the fourth largest allied air force.
Of a population approximately 11.5 million, 1.1 million Canadians served in the armed forces in the Second World War. Of these, an officially recorded total of 42,042 members of the armed forces gave their lives, and another 55,000 were wounded. Many others shared the suffering and hardship of war. In line with other Commonwealth countries, a women's corps entitled the Canadian Women's Army Corps
, similar to the RCAF Women's Division, was established to release men for front-line duties. The corps existed from 1941 to 1946, was re-raised in 1948 and finally disbanded in 1964.
Soon after the end of the Second World War, the Cold War
began. As a founding member of NATO and a signatory to the NORAD treaty with the US, Canada committed itself to the alliance against the Communist bloc. Canadian troops were stationed in Germany throughout the Cold War, and Canada joined with the Americans to erect defences against Soviet attack, such as the DEW Line. As a middle power
, Canadian policy makers realized that Canada could do little militarily on its own, and thus a policy of multilateralism
was adopted whereby Canada would only join military efforts as part of a large coalition. Canada also chose to stay out of several wars, despite the participation of close allies, most notably the Vietnam War
and the Second Iraq War, although Canada lent indirect support and Canadian citizens served in foreign armies in both conflicts. The postwar period saw a major reorganization when, in 1968, the three forces were merged into the Canadian Armed Forces, later renamed the Canadian Forces.
broke out, Canada needed several months to bring its military forces up to strength, and eventually formed part of British Commonwealth Forces Korea
. Canadian land forces thus missed most of the early back-and-forth campaigns because they did not arrive until 1951, when the attrition phase of the war had largely started. Canadian troops fought as part of the 1st Commonwealth Division
, and distinguished themselves at the Battle of Kapyong
and in other land engagements. HMCS Haida and other ships of the Royal Canadian Navy were in active service in the Korean War
. Although the Royal Canadian Air force did not have a combat role in Korea, twenty-two RCAF fighter pilots flew on exchange duty with the USAF
in Korea. The RCAF was also involved with the transportation of personnel and supplies in support of the Korean War.
Canada sent 26,791 troops to fight in Korea. There were 1,558 Canadian casualties, including 516 dead. Korea has often been described as "The Forgotten War", because for most Canadians it is overshadowed by the Canadian contributions to the two world wars. Canada is a signatory to the original 1953 armistice, but did not keep a garrison in South Korea after 1955.
and diplomatically it was "officially non-belligerent
". The country's troop deployments to Vietnam were limited to a small number of national forces in 1973 to help enforce the Paris Peace Accords
. Nevertheless, the war had considerable effects on Canada, while Canada and Canadians affected the war, in return. In counter-current to the movement American draft-dodgers and deserters to Canada, about 30,000 Canadians volunteered to fight in southeast Asia. Among the volunteers were fifty Mohawks
from the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal. One-hundred ten (110) Canadians died in Vietnam, and seven remain listed as Missing in Action
.
Closely related to Canada's commitment to multilateralism has been its strong support for peacekeeping
efforts. Canadian Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Lester B. Pearson
is considered to be the father of modern United Nations Peacekeeping, and Canada has a long history of participation in these missions. Pearson’s role in the creation of modern peacekeeping is a very convoluted one. Pearson had become a very prominent figure in the United Nations during its infancy, and found himself in a very peculiar position in 1956 during the Suez canal crisisSuez Crisis
. Pearson and Canada found themselves stuck between a conflict of their closest allies, being looked upon to find a solution. Britain and France had broken International laws in the taking of the canal and were being denounced by the United States. During United NationsUnited Nations
meetings Lester B. Pearson proposed to the security council that a United Nations police force be established to prevent further conflict in the region, while the countries involved are able to sort out a resolution. Pearson’s proposal and offer to actually dedicate 1,000 Canadian soldiers, is seen as a brilliant political move that saved the world from another war. Canada participated in every UN peacekeeping effort from their beginning until 1989, and has since then continued to play a significant role. More than 125,000 Canadians have served in some 50 UN peacekeeping missions since 1949, with 116 deaths.
Since 1995, however, Canadian direct participation in UN peacekeeping efforts has greatly declined. In July 2006, for instance, Canada ranked 51st on the list of UN peacekeepers, contributing 130 peacekeepers out of a total UN deployment of over 70,000. That number decreased largely because Canada began to direct its participation to UN-sanctioned military operations through NATO, rather than directly to the UN. The number of Canadian soldiers on UN-sanctioned operations in July 2006 was 2,859.
The first Canadian peacekeeping mission, even before the creation of the formal UN system, was a 1948 mission to Kashmir
. Other important missions include the long stay in Cyprus
, observation missions in the Sinai
and Golan Heights, and the NATO mission in Bosnia
. The 1993 Canadian response to Operation Medak pocket
in Bosnia was the largest battle fought by Canadian forces since the Korean War. One of the darkest moments in recent Canadian military history occurred during the humanitarian mission to Somalia
in 1993, when Canadian soldiers tortured a Somali teenager to death, leading to the Somalia Affair
. Following an inquiry, the elite Canadian Airborne Regiment
was disbanded and the reputation of the Canadian Forces suffered within Canada.
The loss of nine Canadian peacekeepers when their plane
was shot down over Syria
in 1974 remains the largest loss of life in a single event in Canadian peacekeeping history.
from the 1950s (originally the 27th Canadian Infantry Brigade
, later named 4 Combat Group and 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade) to the 1990s as part of Canada's NATO commitments. This brigade was maintained at close to full strength and was equipped with Canada's most advanced vehicles and weapons systems as it was anticipated the brigade might have to move quickly in the event of a Warsaw Pact
invasion of the west. The brigade was augmented by Militia soldiers from Canada and for a time even Royal Canadian Army Cadets
were permitted to serve in the brigade for short periods.
The Royal Canadian Air Force established No. 1 Air Division in the early 1950s to meet Canada's NATO air defence commitments in Europe. It consisted of twelve fighter squadrons located in four wings, two of which were in France, and two in West Germany.
stated on November 4, 1966, that "the amalgamation...will provide the flexibility to enable Canada to meet in the most effective manner the military requirements of the future. It will also establish Canada as an unquestionable leader in the field of military organization." On February 1, 1968, unification was completed.
was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations, led by the US. The result was a decisive victory of the coalition forces. Canada was one of the first nations to agree to condemn Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and promptly agreed to join the US-led coalition.
In August, Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney
sent the destroyers HMCS Terra Nova, HMCS Athabaskan
, and HMCS Huron to enforce the trade blockade against Iraq. The supply ship HMCS Protecteur was sent to aid the gathering coalition forces. While all others returned to Canada in the spring of 1992, HMCS Huron remained on station to enforce sanctions and was the first warship to enter Kuwait Harbour following the war. When the UN authorized full use of force in the operation, Canada sent a CF-18 squadron with support personnel. The nation sent a field hospital to deal with casualties from the ground war.
When the air war began, Canada's planes were integrated into the coalition force and provided air cover and attacked ground and naval targets. This was the first time since the Korean War
that its forces had participated in combat operations. Canada suffered no casualties during the conflict, but since its end, many veterans have complained of suffering from Gulf War Syndrome
.
A Canadian combat engineer regiment was investigated following the release of 1991 photographs which showed members posing with the dismembered bodies in a Kuwaiti minefield.
and in Bosnia and Herzegovina
during the Yugoslav wars
in the 1990s.
The Canadian government claims that Canadian forces within the UN contingent clashed with the Croatian Army in what has been called Operation Medak Pocket
, where 27 Croatian soldiers are reported to have been killed. The battle at the Medak Pocket was called "the greatest battle of the Canadian Army since the Korean War", and in 2002, the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Battle Group were awarded the Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation "for a heroic and professional mission during the Medak Pocket Operation". But according to some sources, this battle never happened. Former UNPROFOR Canadian officer, John John McGuinnes, a witness at the Norac-Ademi trial for war crimes in Medak Pocket, stated that there were one or two shootouts, but there were no injuries. He also said that the decorations were awarded for whole tour in Croatia, not only for participation in Medak pocket activity.
Canada joined a U.S.-led coalition in the 2001 Attack on Afghanistan
. The war was a response to the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, with the goal to defeat the Taliban government and rout Al-Qaeda
. Canada sent special forces
and ground troops to the conflict. In this war, a Canadian sniper
set the world record for longest distance kill. In early 2003, Canadian JTF2 troops were photographed taking Afghan prisoners, sparking a debate of the Geneva Conventions. After the war, Canada formed an important part of the NATO-led stabilization force, ISAF
. In November 2005, Canadian military participation shifted from ISAF in Kabul
to Operation Archer
, a part of Operation Enduring Freedom in and around Khandahar. As of December 18, 2010, 154 Canadian soldiers had been killed in the Afghanistan mission (see also: Canadian Forces casualties in Afghanistan
).
On May 17, 2006, Captain Nichola Goddard
of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
became Canada's first female combat arms casualty. One of the most notable battles that the Canadian Forces have fought in Afghanistan thus far is the Canadian-led Operation Medusa
in which the second battle of Panjwaii was fought. Canada was also the main allied combatant in the first but less intense battle of Panjwaii.
Canadian troops have taken on an extended role in combat operations in southern Afghanistan, meeting Taliban forces in open conflict. The Canadian mission to Afghanistan is scheduled to end in February 2011, but there is divisive debate in Canada as to whether the mission should be extended.
Jean Chrétien
, about a hundred Canadian soldiers, on exchange to American units, participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
. Nevertheless, Canada
chose not to "join with the so-called Coalition of the willing
" during the invasion of Iraq
. Canada refused to do so unless it was approved by the United Nations
. This decision, popular in most of Canada, upset the administration of American president George W. Bush
.
Concurrently, Canada deployed some additional troops to the War on Terrorism
in Afghanistan
. Some claim that it incidentally freed up some American
and British
troops for assignment in Iraq. Canada continues to have warships in the Persian Gulf area as part of Operation Altair
. Their presence is justified by Canada's commitment to Operation Enduring Freedom.
On October 9, 2008, the CBC
published this statement:
In January 2004 (in the first month under Prime Minister
Paul Martin
) Walter J. Natynczyk deployed with III Corps to Baghdad, Iraq, serving first as the Deputy Director of Strategy, Policy and Plans, and subsequently as the Deputy Commanding General of the Multi-National Corps (Iraq) during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Natynczyk led the Corps' 35,000 soldiers, consisting of 10 separate brigades, stationed throughout the Iraq Theatre of Operations. He stayed there one year, until January 2005. On January 24, 2006, (in the last few days under Prime Minister
Paul Martin
), Natynczyk "was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross
[specifically] for his [combat] efforts [in Iraq]." On June 6, 2008, the Government of Canada (under Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
) named Natynczyk as the next Chief of the Defence Staff
(CDS), replacing retiring General Rick Hillier
.
In mid February 2008, (under Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
) Canadian General
Nicolas Matern, a Special Forces officer and former commander of Canada's elite counter-terrorism unit, began to serve as deputy to Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin III, incoming commander of the 170,000-strong Multi National Corps-Iraq. By January 23, 2008, Fort Bragg
had already confirmed that Matern had already been deployed to Iraq. As of February 2010, Brigadier General Matern is attached to the United States military and is the Deputy Commanding General for Humanitarian Assistance to Haiti (in the wake of the catastrophic January 2010 Haiti earthquake
).
during the 2011 Libyan uprising.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the role of the Canadian military
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
in conflicts and peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
worldwide. For thousands of years, the area that would become Canada was the site of sporadic intertribal wars among Aboriginal people
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
. Although not without conflict, European/Canadian (c. late 15th - early 16th centuries) interactions with First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
and Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
populations were relatively peaceful. The Inuit had more limited interaction with European settlers during that early period.
Starting in the 17th and 18th century, Canada was the site of four colonial wars
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of conflicts lasting 74 years in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars...
between New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
which spanned almost seventy years, as each allied with various First Nation groups. In 1763, after the final colonial war - the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
- the British emerged victorious and the Canadien civilians, whom the British hoped to assimilate, were declared "British Subjects". After the passing of the Quebec Act
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act of 1774 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain setting procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec...
in 1774, giving Canadiens their first charter of rights under the new regime, new challenges soon arose when the northern colonies
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
chose not to join the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and remained loyal to the British crown. The victorious Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
looked to extend their republic and launched invasions in 1775 and in 1812. On both occasions, the Americans were rebuffed by British and local forces; however, this threat would remain well into the 19th century and partially facilitated Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
in 1867.
After Confederation, and amid much controversy, a full-fledged Canadian military
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
was created. Canada, however, remained a British colony, and Canadian forces joined their British counterparts in the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, and the First World War. While independence followed the Statute of Westminster
Statute of Westminster 1931
The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Passed on 11 December 1931, the Act established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire with the United Kingdom...
, Canada's links to Britain remained strong, and the British once again enjoyed Canadian support in the Second World War. Since the Second World War, however, Canada has been committed to multilateralism
Multilateralism
Multilateralism is a term in international relations that refers to multiple countries working in concert on a given issue.International organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization are multilateral in nature...
and has gone to war only within large multinational coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
s such as in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, and the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. Canada has also played an important role in UN peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
operations worldwide and has cumulatively committed more troops than any other country.
First Nations
Beothuk
The Beothuk were one of the aboriginal peoples in Canada. They lived on the island of Newfoundland at the time of European contact in the 15th and 16th centuries...
(called skraelings or skraelingars by the Norse) responded so ferociously that the newcomers eventually withdrew and gave up their original intentions to settle. Among later European settlers, the First Nations developed a reputation for violence and savagery. The Natives gave no heed to the idea of surrender
Surrender (military)
Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...
, and tended to torture and kill those who did so.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, some First Nations warfare tended to be formal and ritualistic, and entail relatively few casualties. But there is also evidence of much more violent warfare, even the complete genocide of some groups by others, such as the total displacement of the Dorset culture of Newfoundland by the Beothuk mentioned above, as well as by the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
in other regions. There is no evidence of genetic or cultural continuity, so the Dorset are presumed to have simply been wiped out. Just prior to French settlement in the St. Lawrence River valley, the local Iroquoian peoples were completely eradicated, probably in warfare with their neighbors. Study of whether any of these people, who had several large towns along the St. Lawrence River, survived the 16th century is inconclusive.
After Europeans arrived, fighting tended to be bloodier and more decisive, especially as tribes became caught up in the economic and military rivalries of the European settlers. By the end of the seventeenth century, the East Coast First Nations rapidly adopted the use of firearms, supplanting the traditional bow
Bow (weapon)
The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.-Description:A bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord...
. While a skilled warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
could dodge an incoming arrow, and wooden armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
offered some measure of protection against arrows, nothing could protect them from a bullet
Bullet
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...
. Even wounds to limbs from these large-calibre, low velocity bullets eventually proved fatal. The adoption of firearms significantly increased the number of fatalities. The bloodshed, involved in native conflicts, was also dramatically increased by the uneven distribution of firearms and horses among Native groups.
Native tribes became important allies of the French and English in the struggle for North American hegemony during the 17th and 18th centuries; these alliances escalated the violence. Scalping
Scalping
Scalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
, which is now believed to have existed before the arrival of the Europeans, became more common as the Europeans demanded the presentation of scalps as evidence of their military success.
Early French settlements
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
founded settlements at Annapolis Royal in 1605 and Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
in 1608, quickly joining pre-existing Native alliances that brought them into conflict with other indigenous inhabitants. For example, soon after the founding of Quebec City, Champlain joined a Huron-Algonkian alliance against the Iroquois Confederacy. In the earliest battle, superior French firepower rapidly dispersed a massed groups of Natives. The Iroquois changed tactics by integrating their hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
skills and their intimate knowledge of the terrain with their use of firearms obtained from the Dutch; therefore, they developed a highly effective form of guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
, and were soon a formidable threat to all but the handful of fortified cities. As well, as the French gave few guns to their Native allies, the Iroquois waged devastating warfare against the tribes of the Great Lakes region. For the first century of its existence the chief threat to the inhabitants of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
came from the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
Confederacy, and particularly from its eastern-most people, the Mohawks
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
. While the majority of tribes in the region were allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
of the French, the Iroquois were aligned first with the Dutch, and, after the ceding of New Netherland to England, with the British, and received their weapons and support.
The French and Iroquois Wars continued intermittently until 1703, with great brutality on both sides. In response to the Iroquois threat, the French government dispatched the Carignan-Salières Regiment
Carignan-Salières Regiment
The Carignan-Salières Regiment was a Piedmont French military unit formed by merging the Carignan Regiment and the Salières Regiment in 1659. The regiment began their existence in combat against the Ottoman Empire before being reorganized to consist of twenty-four companies before being sent to...
, the first group of uniformed professional soldiers to set foot on what is today Canadian soil. After peace was attained, this regiment was disbanded in Canada. The soldiers settled in the St. Lawrence valley and, in the late 17th century, formed the core of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine
Compagnies Franches de la Marine
The Compagnies Franches de la Marine was the main organization for the defence of New France from 1683 to 1755. In 1683, the Naval Department of France began using the Compagnies to defend the fur trade and the local civilians. They were superseded by the arrival of large units of the army under...
, the local militia. Later, militias were developed on the larger seigneuries.
Canada was colonised by two major European powers that were historically at odds with each other, and it was inevitable that this age-old tension would spill over into Canada; during the 17th and 18th centuries, there was almost continuous conflict between the colonizing powers in Canada.
Two years after the French founded Annapolis Royal, the English began their first settlement, at Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to the south. From these original footholds, much larger colonies of Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
and other colonies of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
would emerge. The French colony of Canada on the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
was based primarily on the fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
and enjoyed only lukewarm support from the French monarchy. The colonies of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
grew only slowly amidst the tough and unyielding geographical and climatic circumstances. The more favourably located New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
colonies to the south developed more diversified economies and flourished. There were four colonial wars
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of conflicts lasting 74 years in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars...
between New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
before the British were victorious.
By the 1750s, when the economic, political, and military rivalries came to a head in the struggle of the last colonial war - the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
- the total population of the 13 English colonies was 1,500,000, whereas that of their French rivals to the north was only about 70,000. As a result, outside of their strongholds of Quebec City and Louisbourg, the French were forced to employ both guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
tactics, largely borrowed from the Natives. The guerilla form of fighting became known as la petite guerre.
17th Century
During the 17th century, there were several skirmishes between the two great powerGreat power
A great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength and diplomatic and cultural influence which may cause small powers to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions...
s. During the Anglo-French War (1627–1629), under Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, by 1629 the Kirkes
David Kirke
Sir David Kirke was an adventurer, colonizer and governor for the king of England. Kirke was the son of Gervase Kirke, a wealthy London-based Scottish merchant, who had married a Huguenot woman, Elizabeth Goudon, and was raised in Dieppe, in Normandy.In 1627 Kirke's father and several London...
took Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Sir James Stewart of Killeith, Lord Ochiltree
Lord Ochiltree
Lord Ochiltree of Lord Stuart of Ochiltree was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. In 1542 Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Avondale exchanged the lordship of Avondale with Sir James Hamilton for the lordship of Ochiltrie and by Act of Parliament was ordained to be styled Lord Stuart of Ochiltrie...
planted a colony on Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
at Baleine
Baleine, Nova Scotia
Baleine is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island...
, and William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling
William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling
William Alexander, Earl of Stirling was a Scotsman who was an early developer of Scottish colonisation of Port Royal, Nova Scotia and Long Island, New York...
established the first incarnation of “New Scotland”
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
at Port Royal, Nova Scotia
Port Royal, Nova Scotia
Port Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
. This set of British triumphs which left Cape Sable
Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia
Cape Sable Island, locally referred to as Cape Island, is a small Canadian island located at the southernmost point of the Nova Scotia peninsula. Sometimes confused with Sable Island. Historically, the Argyle, Nova Scotia region was known as Cape Sable and encompassed a much larger area than...
as the only major French holding in North America was not destined to last. Charles I’s haste to make peace with France on the terms most beneficial to him meant that the new North American gains would be bargained away in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1632)
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1632)
The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed on March 29, 1632. It returned New France to French control after the English had seized it in 1629. It also provided France with compensation for goods seized during the capture of New France....
.
During this time when Nova Scotia briefly became a Scottish Colony, there were three battles between the Scots and the French: one at St. John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
; another at Cape Sable Island; and the other at Baleine, Nova Scotia
Baleine, Nova Scotia
Baleine is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island...
.
Civil War in Acadia
During this time, AcadiaAcadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
was plunged into what some historians have described as a civil war in Acadia (1640–1645). The war was between Port Royal, where Governor of Acadia Charles de Menou d'Aulnay
Charles de Menou d'Aulnay
Charles de Menou d'Aulnay was a pioneer of European settlement in North America and Governor of Acadia .-Biography:D'Aulnay was a member of the French nobility who was at various times a sea captain, a lieutenant in the French navy to his cousin Isaac de Razilly, and Governor of Acadia...
de Charnisay was stationed, and present-day Saint John, New Brunswick
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, where Governor Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour
Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour
Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour, the French King's appointed Governor of Acadia from 1631–1642 and again from 1653–1657, was born in France in 1593 and died at Cap de Sable in 1666...
was stationed.
In the war, there were four major battles. la Tour attacked d'Aulnay at Port Royal in 1640. In response to the attack, D'Aulnay sailed out of Port Royal to establish a five month blockade of La Tour's fort at Saint John, which La Tour eventually defeated (1643). La Tour attacked d'Aulnay again at Port Royal in 1643. d'Aulnay and Port Royal ultimately won the war against La Tour with the 1645 siege of Saint John. After d'Aulnay died (1650), La Tour re-established himself in Acadia.
King William's War
King William's War
The first of the French and Indian Wars, King William's War was the name used in the English colonies in America to refer to the North American theater of the Nine Years' War...
, the next most serious threat to Quebec in the seventeenth century came in 1690 when, alarmed by the attacks of the petite guerre, the New England colonies sent an armed expedition north, under Sir William Phips
William Phips
Sir William Phips was a shipwright, ship's captain, treasure hunter, military leader, and the first royally-appointed governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay....
, to capture the source of the problems: Quebec itself. This expedition was poorly organized and had little time to achieve its objective, having arrived in mid-October, shortly before the St Lawrence would freeze over. The expedition was responsible for eliciting one of the most famous pronouncements in Canadian military history. When called on by Phips to surrender, the aged Governor Frontenac
Louis de Buade de Frontenac
Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac et de Palluau was a French soldier, courtier, and Governor General of New France from 1672 to 1682 and from 1689 to his death in 1698...
, then serving his second term, replied "I will answer ... only with the mouths of my cannon and the shots of my muskets." After a single abortive landing on the Beauport shore to the east of the city, the English force withdrew down the icy waters of the St Lawrence.
During the war, the military conflicts in Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
included: Battle at Chedabucto (Guysborough); Battle of Port Royal (1690)
Battle of Port Royal (1690)
The Battle of Port Royal occurred at Port Royal, the capital of French Acadia, during King William's War , the first of the four French and Indian Wars. A large force of New England provincial militia arrived before Port Royal, which was surrendered without resistance not long after...
; a naval battle in the Bay of Fundy (Action of 14 July 1696
Action of 14 July 1696
The Action of 14 July 1696 was a naval battle between France and England toward the end of King Williams War in the Bay of Fundy off present-day Saint John, New Brunswick...
); Raid on Chignecto (1696)
Raid on Chignecto (1696)
The Raid on Chignecto occurred during King Williams War when New England forces from Boston attacked the Isthmus of Chignecto, Acadia in present-day Nova Scotia. The raid was in retaliation for the French and Indian Siege of Pemaquid at present day Bristol, Maine. In the English Province of...
and Siege of Fort Nashwaak (1696)
Siege of Fort Nashwaak (1696)
The Siege of Fort Nashwaak occurred during King Williams War when New England forces from Boston attacked the capital of Acadia in present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick. The siege was in retaliation for the French and Indian Siege of Pemaquid at present day Bristol, Maine. In the English...
.
In 1695, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1702 (probable)was a soldier, ship captain, explorer, colonial administrator, knight of...
was called upon to attack the English stations along the Atlantic coast of Newfoundlandin the Avalon Peninsula Campaign
Avalon Peninsula Campaign
The Avalon Peninsula Campaign occurred during King Williams War when forces of New France, led by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, destroyed 23 English settlements along the coast of the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland in the span of three months...
. Iberville sailed with his three vessels to Placentia
Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
Placentia is a town on the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland and Labrador, consisting of the amalgamated communities of Jerseyside, Townside, Freshwater, Dunville and Argentia...
(Plaisance), the French capital of Newfoundland. Both English and French fishermen exploited the Grand Banks
Grand Banks
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...
fishery from their respective settlements on Newfoundland under the sanction of the treaty of 1687, but the purpose of the new French expedition of 1696 was nevertheless to expel the English from Newfoundland. Iberville and his men left Placentia on November 1, 1696, and marched overland to Ferryland
Ferryland, Newfoundland and Labrador
Ferryland is a town in Newfoundland and Labrador on the Avalon Peninsula. According to the 2006 Statistics Canada census, its population is 529. Addresses in Ferryland use the alphanumerically lowest postal codes in Canada, starting with A0A....
, 50 miles (80.5 km) south of St John's
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
. Nine days later, Iberville joined with naval forces and both detachments began the march north to the English capital, which surrendered on November 30, 1696, following a brief siege. After setting fire to St John's
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, Iberville's Canadians almost totally destroyed the English fisheries along the eastern shore of Newfoundland. Small raiding parties terrorized the hamlets hidden away in remote bays and inlets, burning, looting, and taking prisoners. By the end of March 1697, only Bonavista
Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador
Bonavista is a town on the Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Unlike many Newfoundland coastal settlements, Bonavista was built on an open plain, not in a steep cove, and thus had room to expand to its current area of 31.5 square...
and Carbonear
Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador
Carbonear is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of 2006, there are 4,723 people living in Carbonear, down from 4,759 in 2001.-History:...
remained in English hands. In four months of raids, Iberville was responsible for the destruction of 36 settlements.
At the end of the war England returned the territory to France in the Treaty of Ryswick
Treaty of Ryswick
The Treaty of Ryswick or Ryswyck was signed on 20 September 1697 and named after Ryswick in the Dutch Republic. The treaty settled the Nine Years' War, which pitted France against the Grand Alliance of England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the United Provinces.Negotiations started in May...
.
18th century
During the 18th century, the British-French struggle in Canada intensified as the rivalry between the mother countries worsened in Europe. As concerns grew, the French government poured more and more military spending into its North American colonies. Expensive garrisons were maintained at distant fur trading posts, the fortifications of Quebec City were improved and augmented, and a new fortified town was built on the east coast of Île Royale, or Cape Breton IslandCape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
—the fortress of Louisbourg, the so-called "Dunkirk of the North."
The first of four colonial wars
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of conflicts lasting 74 years in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars...
- King William's War
King William's War
The first of the French and Indian Wars, King William's War was the name used in the English colonies in America to refer to the North American theater of the Nine Years' War...
was fought at the end of the 17th century. Three times during the 18th century, New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
were at war with one another. The second and third colonal wars, Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
and King Georges War, were local off-shoots of larger European conflicts—the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
(1702–13), the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
(1744–48). The last, the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
(Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
), started in the Ohio Valley. The petite guerre of the Canadiens left a trail of terror and devastation through the northern towns and villages of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, sometimes reaching as far south as Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. The war also spread to the forts along the Hudson Bay shore.
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's WarQueen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
, the British Conquest of Acadia
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
, took place in 1710 when a British force managed to capture Port Royal
Port Royal, Nova Scotia
Port Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
, the capital of Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
in present-day Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. As a result, France was forced to cede control of mainland Nova Scotia to Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), leaving present-day New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
in disputed territory and Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, and Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
in the hands of the French. British possession of Hudson Bay was guaranteed by the same treaty.
During Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
, military conflicts in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
included: the Raid on Grand Pre
Raid on Grand Pre
The Raid on Grand Pré was the major action of a raiding expedition conducted by New England militia Colonel Benjamin Church against French Acadia in June 1704, during Queen Anne's War...
; the Siege of Port Royal (1707)
Siege of Port Royal (1707)
The Siege of Port Royal in 1707 was two separate attempts by English colonists from New England to conquer Acadia by capturing its capital Port Royal during Queen Anne's War. Both attempts were made by colonial militia, and were led by men inexperienced in siege warfare...
; the Siege of Port Royal (1710)
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
and the Battle of Bloody Creek (1711).
Dummer's War
During the escalation that preceded Dummer's WarDummer's War
Dummer's War , also known as Lovewell's War, Father Rale's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the 4th Indian War or the Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725, was a series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North America of the time and the...
(1722–1725), Mi'kmaq raided the new fort at Canso, Nova Scotia
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
(1720). Under potential siege, in May 1722, Lieutenant Governor John Doucett
John Doucett
John Doucett was probably of French descent although he did not speak the language and was likely born in England. He was a career military man and, from 1702 on, received several promotions....
took 22 Mi'kmaq hostage at Annapolis Royal to prevent the capital from being attacked. In July 1722 the Abenaki and Mi'kmaq created a blockade of Annapolis Royal with the intent of starving the capital. The natives captured 18 fishing vessels and prisoners in the area stretching from present-day Yarmouth
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...
to Canso
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
. They also seized prisoners and vessels from the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
.
As a result of the escalating conflict, Massachusetts Governor Samuel Shute
Samuel Shute
Samuel Shute was a military officer and royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. After serving in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession, he was appointed by King George I as governor of Massachusetts in 1716...
officially declared war on the Abenaki on July 22, 1722. The first battle of Dummer's War happened in the Nova Scotia theatre. In response to the blockade of Annapolis Royal, at the end of July 1722, New England launched a campaign to end the blockade and retrieve over 86 New England prisoners taken by the natives. One of these operations resulted in the Battle at Jeddore
Battle at Winnepang (Jeddore Harbour)
The Battle at Winnepang occurred during Dummer's War when New England forces attacked Mi’kmaq at present day Jeddore Harbour, Nova Scotia. The naval battle was part of a campaign ordered by Governor Phillips to retrieve over 82 New England prisoners taken by the Mi'kmaq in fishing vessels off...
. The next was a raid on Canso in 1723. Then in July 1724 a group of sixty Mikmaq and Maliseets raided Annapolis Royal.
The treaty that ended the war marked a significant shift in European relations with the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet. For the first time a European Empire formally acknowledged that its dominion over Nova Scotia would have to be negotiated with the region's indigenous inhabitants. The treaty was invoked as recently as 1999 in the Donald Marshall case
R. v. Marshall
R. v. Marshall [1999] 3 S.C.R. 456 and R. v. Marshall [1999] 3 S.C.R. 533 are two decisions given by the Supreme Court of Canada on a single case regarding a treaty right to fish.-Decisions:...
.
King George's War
During King George's WarKing George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
(War of the Austrian Succession), a force of New England militia, under William Pepperell
William Pepperrell
Sir William Pepperrell, 1st Baronet was a merchant and soldier in Colonial Massachusetts. He is widely remembered for organizing, financing, and leading the 1745 expedition that captured the French garrison at Fortress Louisbourg during King George's War...
and Commodore Peter Warren
Peter Warren (admiral)
Sir Peter Warren, KB was a British naval officer from Ireland who commanded the naval forces in the attack on the French fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia in 1745...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, succeeded in capturing Louisbourg in 1745. Yet by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession following a congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen—Aix-la-Chapelle in French—in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...
that ended the war in 1748, France got Louisbourg back by trading off other of its conquests in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The New Englanders were outraged, and as a counterweight to the continuing French strength at Louisbourg, the British founded the military settlement of Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
in 1749, with a strong naval base in its spacious harbour.
During King George's War
King George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
, military conflicts in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
included: Raid on Canso
Raid on Canso
The Raid on Canso was an attack by French forces from Louisbourg on the British outpost of Canso, Nova Scotia shortly after war declarations opened King George's War. The French raid was intended to boost morale, secure Louisbourg's supply lines with the surrounding Acadian settlements, and deprive...
; Siege of Annapolis Royal (1744); the Siege of Louisbourg (1745)
Siege of Louisbourg (1745)
The Siege of Louisbourg took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Louisbourg, the capital of the French province of Île-Royale during the War of the Austrian Succession, known as King George's War in the British colonies.Although the Fortress of...
; the Duc d'Anville Expedition
Duc d'Anville Expedition
The Duc d'Anville Expedition was sent from France to recapture peninsular Acadia . The expedition was the largest military force ever to set sail for the New World prior to the American Revolution. The effort to take the Nova Scotian capital, Annapolis Royal was also supported on land by a force...
and the Battle of Grand Pré
Battle of Grand Pré
The Battle of Grand Pré, also known as the Battle of Minas, was a battle in King George's War that took place between British and French forces near present-day Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia in the winter of 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession...
. Fortress Louisbourg was captured
Siege of Louisbourg (1745)
The Siege of Louisbourg took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Louisbourg, the capital of the French province of Île-Royale during the War of the Austrian Succession, known as King George's War in the British colonies.Although the Fortress of...
by American colonial forces in 1745, then returned by the British to France in 1748.
Father Le Loutre’s War
Father Le Loutre’s War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, happened between King George's WarKing George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
and the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
in Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. The war was fought by the British and New Englanders, primarily under the leadership of New England Ranger John Gorham
John Gorham (military officer)
John Gorham was a New England Ranger and was the first significant British military presence on the frontier of Nova Scotia and Acadia to remain in the region for a substantial period of time after the Conquest of Acadia . He established the famous "Gorham's Rangers". Gorham was commissioned a...
and British Officer Charles Lawrence. They fought against the Mi'kmaq and Acadians who were led by French priest Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre was a Catholic priest and missionary for the Paris Foreign Missions Society...
. The overall upheaval of the war was unprecedented. Atlantic Canada witnessed more population movements, more fortification construction, and more troop allocations than ever before in the region.
During Father Le Loutre's War, the British attempted to firmly establish control of the major Acadian settlements in peninsular Nova Scotia and to extend British control to the disputed territory of present-day New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. The British also wanted to establish Protestant communities in Nova Scotia. During the war, the Acadians and Mi'kmaq also left Nova Scotia
Acadian Exodus
The Acadian Exodus happened during Father Le Loutre’s War and involved almost half of the total Acadian population of Nova Scotia deciding to relocate to French controlled territories...
for the French colonies of Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
) and Île Royale (Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
). The French also tried to maintain the disputed territory of present-day New Brunswick. Throughout the war, the Mi’kmaq and Acadians attacked the British fortifications of Nova Scotia and the newly established Protestant settlements. They wanted to retard British settlement and buy time for France to implement its Acadian resettlement scheme.
The war began with the British unilaterally establishing Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, which was a violation of an earlier treaty with the Mi'kmaq (1726), which was signed after Dummer's War
Dummer's War
Dummer's War , also known as Lovewell's War, Father Rale's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the 4th Indian War or the Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725, was a series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North America of the time and the...
. As a result, Acadians and Mi'kmaqs orchestrated attacks at Chignecto
Battle at Chignecto
The Battle at Chignecto happened during Father Le Loutre’s War and was fought by 700 troops made up of British regulars led by Charles Lawrence, New England Rangers led by John Gorham and Captain John Rous led the navy. They fought against a militia made up of Mi’kmaq and Acadians led by...
, Grand-Pré
Siege of Grand Pre
The Siege of Grand Pre happened during Father Le Loutre’s War and was fought between the British and a militia made up of Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, and Acadians. The siege happened at Fort Vieux Logis, Grand Pre...
, Dartmouth
Raid on Dartmouth (1751)
The Raid on Dartmouth occurred during Father Le Loutre’s War on May 13, 1751 when an Acadian and Mi’kmaq militia from Chignecto, under the command of Acadian Joseph Broussard, raided Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, destroying the town and killing twenty British villagers...
, Canso
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
, Halifax and Country Harbour
Attack at Mocodome
The Attack at Mocodome occurred during Father Le Loutre’s War on February 21, 1753 when allegedly, a Mi’kmaq "militia" attacked a British vessel with four crew members, two of whom were killed and two of whom were taken into captivity...
. The French erected forts at present day Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, Chignecto and Port Elgin, New Brunswick
Fort Gaspareaux
Fort Gaspareaux was a French fort at the head of Baie Verte near the mouth of the Gaspareaux River and just southeast of the modern village of Port Elgin, New Brunswick, Canada, on the Isthmus of Chignecto...
. The British responded by attacking the Mi'kmaq and Acadians at Mirligueche (later known as Lunenburg
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...
), Chignecto
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
and St. Croix
Battle at St. Croix
The Battle at St. Croix was fought during Father Le Loutre’s War between New England Rangers and Mi’kmaq at Battle Hill in the community of St. Croix, Nova Scotia. The battle lasted for three days in the spring of 1750.-Historical context:...
. The British also unilaterally established communities in Lunenburg and Lawrencetown
Lawrencetown, Halifax County, Nova Scotia
Lawrencetown is a Canadian rural community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality on Route 207. The settlement was established during Father Le Loutre's War.- History :...
. Finally, the British erected forts in Acadian communities located at Windsor
Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...
, Grand-Pré
Grand Pre, Nova Scotia
Grand-Pré is a Canadian rural community in Kings County, Nova Scotia. Its French name translates to "Great Meadow" and the community lies at the eastern edge of the Annapolis Valley several kilometres east of the town of Wolfville on a peninsula jutting into the Minas Basin, framed by the Gaspereau...
and Chignecto
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
. The war ended after six years with the defeat of the Mi'kmaq, Acadians and French in the Battle of Fort Beauséjour
Battle of Fort Beauséjour
The Battle of Fort Beauséjour was fought on the Isthmus of Chignecto and marked the end of Father Le Loutre’s War andthe opening of a British offensive in the French and Indian War, which would eventually lead to the end the French Empire in North America...
.
Maritime Theatre
The fourth and final colonial war was the French and Indian WarFrench and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. In the maritime theatre of the conflict, military conflicts in Nova Scotia included: Battle of Fort Beauséjour
Battle of Fort Beauséjour
The Battle of Fort Beauséjour was fought on the Isthmus of Chignecto and marked the end of Father Le Loutre’s War andthe opening of a British offensive in the French and Indian War, which would eventually lead to the end the French Empire in North America...
; Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
The Bay of Fundy Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Beausejour . The Campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Port...
; the Battle of Petitcodiac
Battle of Petitcodiac
The Battle of Petitcodiac was fought during the Bay of Fundy Campaign of the French and Indian War. The battle was fought between the British colonial troops and Acadian resistance fighters led by French Officer Charles Deschamps de Boishébert on September 4, 1755 at the Acadian village of...
; the Raid on Lunenburg (1756)
Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (1756)
The Raid on Lunenburg occurred during the French and Indian War when a French-allied Mi'kmaw and Maliseet militia attacked a British settlement at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on May 8, 1756. The native militia raided two islands on the northern outskirts of the fortified Township of Lunenburg, [John]...
; the Louisbourg Expedition (1757)
Louisbourg Expedition (1757)
The Louisbourg Expedition was a failed British attempt to capture the French fortress of Louisbourg on Île Royale during the Seven Years' War ....
; Battle of Bloody Creek (1757); Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
The Siege of Louisbourg was a pivotal battle of the Seven Years' War in 1758 which ended the French colonial era in Atlantic Canada and led directly to the loss of Quebec in 1759 and the remainder of French North America the following year.-Background:The British government realized that with the...
, Petitcodiac River Campaign
Petitcodiac River Campaign
The Petitcodiac River Campaign was a series of British military operations from June to November 1758, during the French and Indian War, to deport the Acadians that either lived along the Petitcodiac River or had taken refuge there from earlier deportation operations, such as the Ile Saint-Jean...
, Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
The Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when British forces raided villages along present-day New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Sir Charles Hardy and Brigadier-General James Wolfe were in command of the naval and...
, St. John River Campaign
St. John River Campaign
The St. John River Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when Colonel Robert Monckton led a force of 1150 British soldiers to destroy the Acadian settlements along the banks of the Saint John River until they reached the largest village of Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas in February 1759...
, and Battle of Restigouche
Battle of Restigouche
The Battle of Restigouche was a naval battle fought during the French and Indian War on the Restigouche River between the British Royal Navy and the small flotilla of French Navy vessels. The French vessels had been sent to relieve New France after the fall of Quebec...
.
The British Conquest of Acadia
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
happened in 1710. Over the next forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians participated in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French Fortress of Louisbourg and Fort Beausejour.
During the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, the British sought to neutralize any military threat Acadians posed and to interrupt the vital supply lines Acadians provided to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia.
The British began the Expulsion of the Acadians with the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
The Bay of Fundy Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Beausejour . The Campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Port...
. Over the next nine years over 12,000 Acadians were removed from Nova Scotia.
St. Lawrence and Mohawk Theatre
In the St. Lawrence and Mohawk theater of the conflict, the French had begun to challenge the claims of Anglo-American tradersFur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
and land speculators
Ohio Company
The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country and to trade with the Indians there...
for supremacy in the Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
to the west of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
—land that was claimed by some of the British colonies in their royal charters. In 1753, the French started the military occupation of the Ohio Country by building a series of forts. In 1755, the British sent two regiments of the line to North America to drive the French from these forts, but these were destroyed
Braddock expedition
The Braddock expedition, also called Braddock's campaign or, more commonly, Braddock's Defeat, was a failed British military expedition which attempted to capture the French Fort Duquesne in the summer of 1755 during the French and Indian War. It was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on...
by French Canadians and American Indians as they approached Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
. War was formally declared in 1756, and in Canada, six French regiments of troupes de terre, or line infantry
Line infantry
Line infantry is a type of infantry which composed the basis of European land armies from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century....
, came under the command of the newly arrived general, the 44-year-old Marquis de Montcalm. Accompanying him were another two battalions of 'troupes de terre', bringing the total number of French professional soldiers in the colony to about 4,000. This was the first significant aggregation of trained professional soldiers on what was to be Canadian soil.
Battle of Fort William Henry
The Siege of Fort William Henry was conducted in August 1757 by French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm against the British-held Fort William Henry...
to the south of Lake Champlain, where, in 1757, over 2,400 men, mostly British regulars, surrendered. In the following year, an even greater victory followed when the British army—numbering about 15,000 under Major General James Abercrombie
James Abercrombie (general)
General James Abercrombie or Abercromby was a British Army general and commander-in-chief of forces in North America during the French and Indian War, best known for the disastrous British losses in the 1758 Battle of Carillon.-Early life:Abercrombie was born in Glassaugh, Banffshire, Scotland to...
—was roundly defeated in its attack on a French fortification at Carillon
Battle of Carillon
The Battle of Carillon, also known as the 1758 Battle of Ticonderoga, was fought on July 8, 1758, during the French and Indian War...
(later renamed Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...
by the British) at the southern tip of Lake Champlain. The French numbered no more than 3,500, but before the British withdrew, the French had inflicted a loss of about 2,000 men, mostly regulars, for a total French loss of about 350. In the meantime, the British war effort had been galvanized by the appointment of William Pitt
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
as British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, who was determined to win battles, and who decided that North America would be the crux of the British war effort. In June 1758, a British force of 13,000 regulars under Major General Jeffrey Amherst, with James Wolfe
James Wolfe
Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
as one of his brigadiers, landed and permanently captured the Fortress of Louisbourg
Fortress of Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg is a national historic site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th century French fortress at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia...
.
A year later Wolfe set his gaze on Quebec City. After several botched landing attempts including particularly bloody defeats at the Battle of Beauport
Battle of Beauport
The Battle of Beauport, also known as the Battle of Montmorency, fought on 31 July 1759, was an important confrontation between the British and French Armed Forces during the Seven Years' War of the French province of Canada...
and the Battle of Montmorency Camp, Wolfe succeeded in slipping his army ashore, forming ranks on the Plains of Abraham
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
September 12. Montcalm, against the better judgment of his officers, sallied out with a numerically inferior force to meet the British. An epic battle followed in which Wolfe was killed, Montcalm mortally wounded, and 658 British and 644 French fell dead or wounded. Badly mauled by massed British volleys, the French retreated to the citadel and endured a painful siege and blockade before capitulating on September 18.
However, in the spring of 1760, the last French General, François Gaston de Lévis, marched back to Quebec from Montreal and defeated the British at the Battle of Sainte-Foy
Battle of Sainte-Foy
The Battle of Sainte-Foy, sometimes called the Battle of Quebec, was fought on April 28, 1760 near the British-held town of Quebec in the French province of Canada during the Seven Years' War . It was a victory for the French under the Chevalier de Lévis over the British army under General Murray...
in a battle similar to that of the previous year; now the situation was reversed, with the French laying siege to the Quebec fortifications behind which the British retreated. However, the French finally had to concede the loss of New France when the Royal Navy rather than the French fleet sailed up the St Lawrence after the breakup of the winter ice. France lost almost all of its North American possessions, and retained only the small islands of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon as a base for its fishing fleet, which worked the Grand Banks
Grand Banks
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...
. The French formally withdrew from much of North America in 1763 when they signed the Treaty of Paris. France was given the choice of keeping either New France or its sugar-producing Caribbean island colony Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, and chose the latter as it had ten times the GDP of Canada.
St. Lawrence Theatre
With the French threat eliminated, Britain's eastern seaboard colonies became increasingly restive. The American RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
largely arose from their resentment of paying taxes to support a large military establishment, when there was no obvious enemy. This was augmented by further suspicions of British motives when the Ohio Valley and other western territories previously claimed by France were not annexed to the existing British colonies, especially Pennsylvania and Virginia, which had long-standing claims to the region. Instead, under the Quebec Act, this territory was set aside for the First Nations. The American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
(1776–83) saw the revolutionaries use force to break free from British rule and claim these western lands. American forces took Montreal and the chain of forts in the Richelieu Valley, but attempts by the revolutionaries to take Quebec City
Battle of Quebec (1775)
The Battle of Quebec was fought on December 31, 1775 between American Continental Army forces and the British defenders of the city of Quebec, early in the American Revolutionary War. The battle was the first major defeat of the war for the Americans, and it came at a high price...
were repelled. During this time most French Canadians stayed neutral.
Maritime Theatre
Throughout the war, American privateers devastated the maritime economy by raiding many of the coastal communities. There were constant attacks by American privateers, such as the Raid on Lunenburg (1782), numerous raids on Liverpool, Nova ScotiaLiverpool, Nova Scotia
Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia...
(October 1776, March 1777, September 1777, May 1778, September 1780) and a raid on Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
(1781).
American Privateers also raided Canso, Nova Scotia
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
(1775). In 1779, American privateers returned to Canso and destroyed the fisheries, which were worth £50,000 a year to Britain.
To guard against such attacks, the 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)
84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)
The 84th Regiment of Foot was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutionaries...
was garrisoned at forts around the Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
. Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward is a National Historic Site in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region...
in Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...
was the Regiment's headquarters to prevent a possible American land assault on Halifax from the Bay of Fundy. There was an American attack on Nova Scotia by land, the Battle of Fort Cumberland
Battle of Fort Cumberland
The Battle of Fort Cumberland was an attempt by a small number of militia commanded by Jonathan Eddy to bring the American Revolutionary War to Nova Scotia in late 1776...
followed by the Siege of Saint John (1777). There was also rebellion from those within Nova Scotia: the Maugerville Rebellion
Maugerville, New Brunswick
Maugerville is a community in Sunbury County in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. In 1759, members of the Perley Colony, land-seekers from present-day Maine, settled in the area...
(1776) and the Battle at Miramichi (1779)
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...
.
During the war, American Privateers captured 225 vessels either leaving or arriving at Nova Scotia ports. In 1781, for example, as a result of the Franco-American alliance
Franco-American alliance
The Franco-American alliance refers to the 1778 alliance between Louis XVI's France and the United States, during the American Revolutionary War. Formalized in the 1778 Treaty of Alliance, it was a military pact in which France provided arms and money, and engaged in full-scale war with Britain. ...
against Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, there was also a naval engagement
Naval battle off Cape Breton
The Battle off Spanish River took place during the American Revolution between two French Navy frigates and a convoy of 18 British ships under protection of the Royal Navy off the harbour of Spanish River, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia...
with a French fleet at Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
, near Spanish River, Cape Breton. The British also captured numerous American Privateers such as in the naval battle off Halifax
Naval battle off Halifax
The Battle off Halifax took place during the American Revolutionary War involving the American privateer Jack and a Royal Naval brig Observer off Halifax, Nova Scotia. The American privateer was commanded by Captain John Ropes and the Observer by John Crymes...
. The Royal Navy also used Halifax as a base from which to launch attacks on New England, such as the Battle of Machias (1777)
Battle of Machias (1777)
The Battle of Machias was an amphibious assault on the Massachusetts town of Machias by British forces during the American Revolutionary War. Local militia aided by Indian allies successfully prevented British troops from landing...
.
Loyalists
The revolutionaries' failure to achieve success in these areas, and the continuing allegiance to Britain of some colonists, resulted in the split of Britain's North American empire. Many Americans who remained loyal to the Crown, known as the United Empire LoyalistsUnited Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
, moved north, greatly expanding the English-speaking population. The independent republic of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
emerged to the south, while a series of loyal British colonies remained in place along its northern border. The remaining British colonies were collectively referred to as British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
.
Great Lakes Theatre
After the cessation of hostilities, animosity and suspicion continued between the United States and the United KingdomUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. This erupted into a shooting war in 1812, when the Americans declared war on the British. Among the reasons for the war was British harassment of US ships on the high seas (including impressment of American seamen into the Royal Navy), the occurrence of which was a byproduct of British involvement in the ongoing Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. The Americans did not possess a navy capable of challenging the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, and so an invasion of Canada was proposed as the only feasible means of attacking the British Empire. Americans on the western frontier also hoped an invasion would bring an end to what they saw as British support of American Indian resistance to the westward expansion of the United States, and finalize their claim to the western territories. The early strategy was to temporarily seize Canada as a means of forcing concessions from the British. However, as the war progressed, outright annexation was more frequently cited as an objective—an early expression of what would later be called "Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent. It was used by Democrat-Republicans in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico; the concept was denounced by Whigs, and fell into disuse after the mid-19th century.Advocates of...
". Many Americans hoped the French Canadians would welcome the chance to overthrow their British rulers.
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, on land as well as on the waters of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. The British succeeded in capturing Detroit in July, and in October. On July 12, U.S. General William Hull
William Hull
William Hull was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolution, was Governor of Michigan Territory, and was a general in the War of 1812, for which he is best remembered for surrendering Fort Detroit to the British.- Early life and Revolutionary War :He was born in...
invaded Canada at Sandwich (later known as Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
). The invasion was quickly halted, and Hull withdrew, but this gave Brock the excuse he needed to abandon Prevost's orders. Securing Tecumseh's aid, Brock advanced on Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. At this point, even with his American Indian allies, Brock was outnumbered approximately two to one. However, Brock had gauged Hull as a timid man, and particularly as being afraid of Tecumseh's natives. Brock thus decided to use a series of tricks to intimidate Hull. Needless to say, the defeat of Detroit was utter and complete.
A major American thrust across the Niagara
Niagara Peninsula
The Niagara Peninsula is the portion of Southern Ontario, Canada lying between the south shore of Lake Ontario and the north shore of Lake Erie. It stretches from the Niagara River in the east to Hamilton, Ontario in the west. The population of the peninsula is roughly 1,000,000 people...
frontier was defeated at the Battle of Queenston Heights
Battle of Queenston Heights
The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812 and resulted in a British victory. It took place on 13 October 1812, near Queenston, in the present-day province of Ontario...
by a combined force of British regular troops and colonial militia under Sir Isaac Brock
Isaac Brock
Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB was a British Army officer and administrator. Brock was assigned to Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he commanded his regiment in Upper Canada successfully for many years...
, who lost his life in the battle.
1813 was the year of American victories, when they retook Detroit and enjoyed a string of successes along the western end of Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
, culminating in the Battle of Lake Erie
Battle of Lake Erie
The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain's Royal Navy...
(September 10) and the Battle of Moraviantown or Battle of the Thames on October 5. The naval battle secured U.S. dominance of lakes Erie and Huron. At Moraviantown, the British lost one of their key commanders, the Shawnee chief Tecumseh
Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
. Further east, the Americans succeeded in capturing and burning York (later Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
) and taking Fort George at Niagara
Fort George, Ontario
Fort George National Historic Site is a historic military structure at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, that was the scene of several battles during the War of 1812...
, which they held until the end of the year. However, in the same year, two American thrusts against Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
were defeated—one by a force of British regulars at Crysler's Farm
Battle of Crysler's Farm
The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, was fought on 11 November 1813, during the Anglo-American War of 1812. A British and Canadian force won a victory over an American force which greatly outnumbered them...
southwest of the city on the St Lawrence; the other, by a force of mostly French Canadian militia under the command of Charles de Salaberry
Charles de Salaberry
Lieutenant Colonel Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry was a French-Canadian of the seigneurial class who served as an officer of the British army in Lower Canada and won distinction for repelling the American advance on Montreal during the War of 1812.-Early years:Born at the manor house of...
, to the south of the city at Allan's Corners
Battle of Chateauguay
The Battle of the Chateauguay was a battle of the War of 1812. On 26 October 1813, a force consisting of about 1,630 French Canadian regulars and militia and Mohawk warriors under Charles de Salaberry repulsed an American force of about 4,000 attempting to invade Canada.The Chateauguay was one of...
on the Chateauguay River. The Iroquois tribes of the Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, the Caughnawagas
Kahnawake 14, Quebec
The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory is a reserve of the traditionally Iroquoian-speaking Mohawk nation on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, across from Montreal. Recorded by French Canadians in 1719 as a Jesuit mission, it has also been known as Seigneury Sault du St...
from near Montreal, and western tribes under the Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
chief, Tecumseh
Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
, were valued allies of the British throughout the campaign. These First Peoples played an important part in many battles and on many occasions had a psychologically debilitating impact on their enemy.
The British recaptured all of their lost territory and seized Michilimackinac in Michigan, and Fort Niagara in New York state, across from Fort George at the mouth of the Niagara River. The defeat of Napoleon in 1815 gave the British the chance to turn their attention to the North American theatre and launch raids on Washington, Baltimore and New Orleans. After the capture of Washington, DC in September at Bladensburg
Battle of Bladensburg
The Battle of Bladensburg took place during the War of 1812. The defeat of the American forces there allowed the British to capture and burn the public buildings of Washington, D.C...
, the British troops burned down the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and other government buildings, only to be repulsed as they moved north to advance on Baltimore
Battle of Baltimore
The Battle of Baltimore was a combined sea/land battle fought between British and American forces in the War of 1812. It was one of the turning points of the war as American forces repulsed sea and land invasions of the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland, and killed the commander of the invading...
while the forces attacking New Orleans
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...
were routed after suffering severe casualties.
In March 1815, the two opponents signed a peace treaty that restored the borders that had existed before the war. While thoroughly British, Sir Isaac Brock
Isaac Brock
Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB was a British Army officer and administrator. Brock was assigned to Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he commanded his regiment in Upper Canada successfully for many years...
became a martyred Canadian hero. The successful defence of Canada relied on Canadian troops, British regular troops, the Royal Navy, and Native Indian allies. Neither side of the war can claim victory.
Maritime Theatre
During the War of 1812War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Nova Scotia’s contribution to the war effort was communities either purchasing or building various privateer ships to lay siege to American vessels. Three members of the community of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...
purchased a privateer schooner and named it Lunenburg on August 8, 1814. The Nova Scotian privateer vessel captured seven American vessels. The Liverpool Packet
Liverpool Packet
Liverpool Packet was a privateer schooner from Liverpool, Nova Scotia, which captured 50 American vessels in the War of 1812. During the war the privateer ship was briefly captured by American privateers, eventually being recaptured by the British...
from Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia...
was another Nova Scotia privateer vessel that caught over fifty ships in the war - the most of any privateer in Canada.
Perhaps the most dramatic moment in the war for Nova Scotia was HMS Shannon
HMS Shannon (1806)
HMS Shannon was a 38-gun Leda-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1806 and served in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812...
's leading the captured American frigate USS Chesapeake
USS Chesapeake (1799)
USS Chesapeake was a 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was one of the original six frigates whose construction was authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young navy's capital ships...
into Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
(1813). Many of the prisoners were kept at Deadman's Island, Halifax
Deadman's Island, Halifax
Deadman's Island is a small peninsula containing a cemetery and park located in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada.It was first known as "Target Island" after use by the British military for target practice....
.
British withdrawal
The fear that the Americans might reactivate their wish to conquer Canada remained a serious concern for at least the next half century, and was the chief reason for the retention of a large British garrison there. From the 1820s to the 1840s, there was extensive construction of fortifications in the colonies, as the British attempted to create strong points around which defending forces might centre in the event of an American invasion; these include the Citadels at Quebec City and Halifax, and Fort HenryFort Henry, Ontario
Fort Henry is located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada on Point Henry, a strategic point located near the mouth of the Cataraqui River where it flows into the St. Lawrence River, at the upper end of the Thousand Islands...
in Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
. The Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
was built during these years to allow ships in wartime to travel a more northerly route from Montreal to Kingston. (The customary peacetime route was the St Lawrence River, which constituted the northern edge of the American border, and hence was vulnerable to enemy attack and interference.)
Rebellions of 1837
The Rebellions of 1837 were a pair of Canadian armed uprisings that occurred in 1837 and 1838 in response to frustrations in political reform. A key shared goal was the allowance of responsible government, which was eventually achieved in the incident's aftermath.-Rebellions:The rebellions started...
. The Upper Canada Rebellion
Upper Canada Rebellion
The Upper Canada Rebellion was, along with the Lower Canada Rebellion in Lower Canada, a rebellion against the British colonial government in 1837 and 1838. Collectively they are also known as the Rebellions of 1837.-Issues:...
was quickly and decisively defeated by the British forces. Attacks the next year by Hunters' Lodges, U.S. irregulars who expected to be paid in Canadian land, were crushed in 1838 in battles at Pelee Island and Prescott. The Lower Canada Rebellion
Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion , commonly referred to as the Patriots' War by Quebeckers, is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada and the British colonial power of that province...
was a greater threat to the British, and the rebels were victorious at the Battle of St. Denis on November 23. Two days later, the rebels were defeated at the Battle of Saint-Charles
Battle of Saint-Charles
The Battle of Saint-Charles was fought on November 25, 1837 between Great Britain and Lower Canada rebels. The British were victorious.On the morning of 25 November 1837, 2 days after Charles Gore's defeat at the Battle of Saint-Denis and the retreat to Sorel the troops of Colonel George Wetherall...
, and on December 14, they were finally routed at the Battle of Saint-Eustache
Battle of Saint-Eustache
The Battle of Saint-Eustache, fought on December 14, 1837, was a decisive battle in the Lower Canada Rebellion in which British forces defeated the principal remaining Patriotes camp at Saint-Eustache.-Prelude:...
.
By the 1850s, fears of an American invasion had begun to diminish, and the British felt able to start reducing the size of their garrison. The Reciprocity Treaty
Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty
The Canadian American Reciprocity Treaty, also known as the Elgin-Marcy Treaty, was a trade treaty between the colonies of British North America and the United States. It covered raw materials and was in effect from 1854 to 1865...
, negotiated between Canada and the United States in 1854, further helped to alleviate concerns. However, tensions picked up again during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
(1861–65), apparently reaching a peak with the Trent Affair
Trent affair
The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War...
of late 1861 and early 1862. This was touched off when the captain of a US gunboat stopped the Royal Mail Steamship Trent
RMS Trent
RMS Trent was a British Royal Mail paddle steamer built in 1841 by William Pitcher of Northfleet for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She measured 1,856 gross tons and could carry 60 passengers....
and removed two Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
officials who were bound for Britain. The British government was outraged and, with war appearing imminent, took steps to reinforce its British North American garrison, which was increased from a strength of 4000 to 18,000. In the end, cooler heads prevailed, war was averted, and the sense of crisis subsided. This incident proved to be the final major episode of Anglo-American military confrontation in North America, as both sides increasingly became persuaded of the benefits of amicable relations. At the same time, many Canadians went south to fight in the Civil War, with most joining the Union army, although some Canadians, were sympathetic towards the Confederacy (see Canada and the American Civil War
Canada and the American Civil War
At the time of the American Civil War, Canada did not yet exist as a federated nation. Instead, the territory consisted of the United Province of Canada and the separate colonies of Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, as well as a crown territory administered by...
).
In the meantime, Britain was becoming concerned with military threats closer to home, and disgruntled at paying to maintain a garrison in colonies that were becoming increasingly self-assertive, and that, after 1867, were united in the self-governing Dominion of Canada. Consequently, in 1871, the troops of the British garrison were withdrawn from Canada completely, save for Halifax and Esquimalt, where British garrisons remained in place purely for reasons of imperial
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
strategy.
Fenian raids
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
s, mostly Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
veterans from the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
who believed that by seizing Canada, concessions could be wrung from the British government regarding their policy in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
The Fenians had also, to a large degree, incorrectly estimated that Irish Canadians, who were quite numerous in Canada, would support their invasive efforts and rise up, both politically and militarily. Most Irish settlers in Upper Canada at that time were Protestant, and for the most part loyal to the British Crown.
After the events of the Civil War, anti-British sentiment was high in the United States. British-built Confederate warships
Alabama Claims
The Alabama Claims were a series of claims for damages by the United States government against the government of Great Britain for the assistance given to the Confederate cause during the American Civil War. After international arbitration endorsed the American position in 1872, Britain settled...
had wreaked havoc on US commerce during the war. Irish-Americans were a large and politically important constituency, particularly in parts of the Northeastern States
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
and large regiments of Irish Americans had participated in the war. Thus, while deeply concerned about the Fenians, the US government, led by Secretary of State William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
, generally ignored the Fenian organizing efforts. The Fenians were allowed to openly organize and arm themselves, and were even allowed to recruit in Union Army camps. The Americans were not prepared to risk war with Britain, and intervened when the Fenians threatened to endanger American neutrality.
The Fenians were a serious threat to Canada, being veterans of the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
they were well armed. They made three attacks in 1866: one on Campobello Island in New Brunswick in April, and the others in the Niagara and the St Lawrence Valley regions in July. The Campobello and St. Lawrence valley attacks failed. The Fenians won the Battle of Ridgeway when troops, mostly University of Toronto students and young men from Hamilton, were led into a bungled attack and a sloppy retreat, but the Fenians quickly withdrew, fearing a British counter-attack. In New Brunswick, their failure was due to the presence of a strong force of British regulars and the confiscation of Fenian weapons by the American navy. Two later attacks along the Quebec-Vermont frontier in 1870 and Manitoba in 1871 proved similarly fruitless.
Despite these failures, the raids had some impact on Canadian politicians who were then locked in negotiations leading up to the Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
agreement of 1867. The raids reinforced a sense of military vulnerability, especially because the British were known to be seriously considering the downsizing of their garrison, if not its outright withdrawal. The Confederation debates were to some degree held in an atmosphere of military crisis, and the greater military security that would be gained through the pooling of colonial resources was one of the factors that weighed heavily in Confederation's favour.
Canadian militia
Militia Act
There have been many statutes known as Militia Act.* The King's Sole Right over the Militia Act 1661 - England* Militia Act of 1757, creating a militia to defend Britain during the Seven Years War...
in 1868 and Britain undertook to send aid in the event of a serious emergency, and the Royal Navy continued to provide maritime defence. Small professional batteries of artillery were established at Quebec City and Kingston. In 1883, a third battery of artillery was added, and small professional schools of cavalry and infantry were created. These were intended to provide professional backbone for the much larger force of militia that was to form the bulk of the Canadian defence effort. In theory, every able-bodied man between the ages of 18 and 60 was liable to be conscripted for service, but in practice, the defence of the country rested on the services of volunteers who made up the so-called Active Militia, which in 1869 numbered 31,170 officers and men. During the remaining decades of the century, this force was consolidated, attending summer camps, parading about in colourful uniforms, and occasionally being mustered to serve in times of strikes and other civil emergencies.
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
in the Canadian west. The Wolseley Expedition
Wolseley Expedition
The Wolseley Expedition was a military force authorized by Sir John A. Macdonald to confront Louis Riel and the Métis in 1870, during the Red River Rebellion, at the Red River Settlement in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba...
, containing a mix of British and militia forces, restored order after the Red River Rebellion
Red River Rebellion
The Red River Rebellion or Red River Resistance was the sequence of events related to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by the Métis leader Louis Riel and his followers at the Red River Settlement, in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba.The Rebellion was the first crisis...
with little violence in 1870. A greater test was the North-West Rebellion
North-West Rebellion
The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...
in 1885 that saw the largest military effort undertaken on Canadian soil since the end of the War of 1812. The Rebellion saw a series of battles between the Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
and their First Nations allies on one side against the Militia and North-West Mounted Police on the other. The government forces ultimately emerged victorious despite having suffered a number of early defeats and reversals at the Battle of Duck Lake
Battle of Duck Lake
The Battle of Duck Lake was a skirmish between Métis soldiers of the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan and Canadian government forces that signalled the beginning of the North-West Rebellion.-Prelude:...
, the Battle of Fish Creek
Battle of Fish Creek
The Battle of Fish Creek , fought April 24, 1885 at Fish Creek, Saskatchewan, was a major Métis victory over the Dominion forces attempting to quell Louis Riel's North-West Rebellion...
and the Battle of Cut Knife Hill.
Battle of Batoche
The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion. Fought from 9 May to 12 May 1885 at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatchewan capital of Batoche, the greater numbers and superior firepower of Middleton's force could not be successfully countered by the Métis ,...
. The Battle of Loon Lake
Battle of Loon Lake
The Battle of Loon Lake concluded the North-West Rebellion on June 3, 1885 and was the last battle fought on Canadian soil. Led by Major Sam Steele, a force of North-West Mounted Police, Alberta Mounted Rifles and Steele's Scouts caught up with and dispersed a band of Plains Cree warriors and...
, which ended this conflict, is notable as the last battle to have been fought on Canadian soil. Government losses during the North-West Rebellion amounted to 58 killed and 93 wounded.
In 1884, Britain for the first time asked Canada for aid in defending the empire. The mother country asked Canada to send experienced boatmen to the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
to help rescue Major-General Charles Gordon
Charles George Gordon
Major-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
from the Mahdi
Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...
uprising. However, Ottawa was reluctant to do this, and eventually Governor General
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
Lord Lansdowne
Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC was a British politician and Irish peer who served successively as the fifth Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs...
recruited a private force of 386 Voyageur
Voyageurs
The Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to "traveler"...
s who were placed under the command of Canadian Militia
Canadian Militia
The Canadian Militia was the traditional title for the land forces of Canada from before Confederation in 1867 to 1940 when it was renamed the Canadian Army.The Militia consisted of:* Permanent Active Militia* Non-Permanent Active Militia...
officers. This force, known as the Nile Voyageur
Nile Expedition
The Nile Expedition, sometimes called the Gordon Relief Expedition , was a British mission to relieve Major-General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan. Gordon had been sent to the Sudan to help Egyptians evacuate from Sudan after Britain decided to abandon the country in the face of a...
s, served ably in the Sudan and became the first Canadian force to serve abroad. 16 voyageurs died during the campaign.
Boer War
The military business of the empire was again an issue when Britain found itself hard pressed in the Second Boer WarSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The British asked for Canadian help in the conflict, and the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
was adamantly in favour of raising divisions for service in South Africa. English-Canadian opinion was overwhelmingly in favour of active Canadian participation in the war. French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
s almost universally opposed the war, as did several other groups. This split the governing Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
deeply, as it relied on both pro-imperial Anglo-Canadians and anti-imperial Franco-Canadians for support. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier initially sent 1,000 soldiers of the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry. Later, other contingents were sent, including the privately raised Strathcona's Horse.
The Canadian forces missed the early period of the war and the great British defeats of Black Week
Black Week
In one disastrous week, dubbed Black Week, from 10-17 December 1899, the British Army suffered three devastating defeats by the Boer Republics at the battles of Stormberg , Magersfontein and Colenso , with 2,776 men killed, wounded and captured...
. The Canadians in South Africa won much acclaim for leading the charge at the Second Battle of Paardeberg
Battle of Paardeberg
The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley....
, one of the first decisive victories of the war. At the Battle of Leliefontein
Battle of Leliefontein
The Battle of Leliefontein was an engagement between Canadian/British and Boer forces during the Second Boer War on 7 November 1900, at the Komati River south of Belfast at the present day Nooitgedacht Dam....
on November 7, 1900, three Canadians, Lieutenant Turner
Richard Ernest William Turner
Lieutenant General Sir Richard Ernest William Turner VC, KCB, KCMG, DSO was a Canadian army officer during the Boer War and World War I, and a recipient of the Victoria Cross...
, Lieutenant Cockburn
Hampden Zane Churchill Cockburn
Major Hampden Zane Churchill Cockburn was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, Sergeant Holland
Edward James Gibson Holland
Major Edward James Gibson Holland VC was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.- Early life :Holland was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and attended Lisgar...
and Arthur Richardson
Arthur Herbert Lindsay Richardson
Arthur Herbert Lindsay Richardson VC was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
of the Royal Canadian Dragoons were awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
for protecting the rear of a retreating force. Ultimately, over 8,600 Canadians volunteered to fight in the South African War. Lieutenant Harold Lothrop Borden
Harold Lothrop Borden
Lieutenant Harold Lothrop Borden, was from Canning, Nova Scotia and the only son of Canada's Minister of Militia and Defence, Frederick William Borden. He became the most famous Canadian casualty of the Second Boer War. Queen Victoria asked F. W...
, however, became the most famous Canadian casualty of the Second Boer War.
About 7,400 Canadians, including 12 female nurses, served in South Africa. Of these, 224 died, 252 were wounded, and several were decorated with the Victoria Cross. The war remained deeply unpopular in Quebec, where many people viewed it as the crushing of a democratic minority group by an imperial power, which in many ways, was similar to the French-Canadian experience during the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837 to 1838. Canadian forces also participated in the British-led concentration camp programs that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Boer civilians.
Creation of a Canadian navy
Arms race
The term arms race, in its original usage, describes a competition between two or more parties for the best armed forces. Each party competes to produce larger numbers of weapons, greater armies, or superior military technology in a technological escalation...
with Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and in 1908, asked the colonies for help with the navy. The Conservative Party of Canada argued that Canada should merely contribute money to the purchase and upkeep of some British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
vessels. Some French-Canadian nationalists felt that no aid should be sent; others advocated an independent Canadian navy that could aid the British in times of need.
Eventually, Prime Minister Laurier decided to follow this compromise position, and the Canadian Naval Service was created in 1910 and designated as the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
in August 1911. To appease imperialists, the Naval Service Act
Naval Service Act of 1910
Naval Service Act of 1910 was the federal act that gave rise to the Royal Canadian Navy to replace the role of Royal Navy in protecting the sovereignty of the Canadian waters....
included a provision that in case of emergency, the fleet could be turned over to the British. This provision led to the strenuous opposition to the bill by Quebec nationalist Henri Bourassa
Henri Bourassa
Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. He is seen by many as an ideological father of Canadian nationalism....
. The bill set a goal of building a navy composed of five cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s and six destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s. The first two ships were Niobe and , somewhat aged and outdated vessels purchased from the British. With the election of the Conservatives in 1911, in part because the Liberals had lost support in Quebec, the navy was starved for funds, but during the First World War, it was greatly expanded and played an important role in both the Atlantic and Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Creation of a Canadian army
As British troops began to leave Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the importance of the Militia (comprising various cavalry, artillery, infantry and engineer units) grew. The last Officer Commanding the Forces (Canada), Lord Dundonald, instituted a series of reforms in which Canada gained its own technical and support branches. These various services, called "corps", included- Canadian Engineer CorpsCanadian Military EngineersThe Canadian Military Engineers is the military engineer branch of the Canadian Forces.-Mission:The mission of the Canadian Military Engineers is to contribute to the survival, mobility, and combat effectiveness of the Canadian Forces...
(created July 1, 1903) - Signalling CorpsRoyal Canadian Corps of SignalsThe Royal Canadian Corps of Signals was a corps of the Canadian Army. Major Wallace Bruce Matthews Carruthers established the corps in 1903, making it the first independent Signal Corps in the British Empire...
(created October 24, 1903) - Canadian Army Service CorpsRoyal Canadian Army Service CorpsFor successor see Logistics BranchThe Royal Canadian Army Service Corps was an administrative and transport corps of the Canadian Army....
December 1, 1903 - Permanent Active Militia Army Medical CorpsRoyal Canadian Army Medical CorpsThe Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. The Militia Medical Service was established in 1899. The Militia Medical Service was redesignated the Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1904. The Canadian Army Medical Corps was redesignated The Royal Canadian...
July 2, 1904 - Ordinance Stores CorpsRoyal Canadian Ordnance CorpsThe Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps RCOC can trace its roots back to the Canadian Stores Department. Formed in 1871, the Canadian Stores Department was a civil department of the Canadian Government...
July 1, 1903 - Corps of Guides 1902
In 1904, the appointment of Officer Commanding the Forces was replaced with a Canadian Chief of the General Staff
Chief of the General Staff (Canada)
The Chief of the General Staff was the most senior member of the Canadian Army from 1904 until 1964 when the appointment became Commander, Mobile Command with the unification of Canada's military forces. The position was renamed Chief of the Land Staff in 1993....
. Additional corps would be created in the years before the First World War, including the world's first separate military dental corps
Royal Canadian Dental Corps
The Royal Canadian Dental Corps was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. The Canadian Dental Corps was authorized on 31 Aug 1939. The Regular and Reserve components of the Canadian Dental Corps were collectively redesignated The Royal Canadian Dental Corps on 15 Jan 1947...
.
Creation of a Canadian air force
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
and the Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
.
In 1914 the Canadian government authorized the formation of the Canadian Aviation Corps
Canadian Aviation Corps
Canadian Aviation Corps was an early attempt to create an air force for Canada at the beginning of the First World War. The unit was created in 1914 and was attached to the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The CAC had a maximum strength of three personnel and one aircraft which was delivered but...
. The corps was formed to accompany the Canadian Expeditionary Force
Canadian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...
to Europe and consisted of one aircraft, a Burgess-Dunne, that was never used. The Canadian Aviation Corps was disbanded in 1915. A second attempt at forming a truly Canadian air force was made in 1918 when two Canadian squadrons (one bomber and one fighter) were formed by the British Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
in Europe. The Canadian government took control of the two squadrons in 1918 by forming the Canadian Air Force. This air force, however, never saw service and was disbanded in 1920.
The British government encouraged Canada to institute a peacetime air force by giving Canada several surplus aircraft, and in 1920 a new Canadian Air Force (CAF) directed by the Air Board
Air Board (Canada)
The Air Board was Canada's first governing body for aviation that existed from 1919 to 1923. The Canadian government established the Air Board by act of Parliament on June 6, 1919 with the purpose of controlling all flying within Canada...
was formed as a part-time or militia service providing flying refresher training. After a reorganization the CAF became responsible for all flying operations in Canada, including civil aviation. Air Board and CAF civil flying responsibilities would be handled by the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
(RCAF) after its creation in April 1924.The Second World War would see the RCAF become a truly military service.
First World War
On August 4, 1914, Britain entered the First World War by declaring war on Germany. The British declaration of war automatically brought Canada into the war, because of Canada's legal status as subservient to Britain. However, the Canadian government had the freedom to determine the country's level of involvement in the war. The Militia was not mobilized and instead an independent Canadian Expeditionary ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...
was raised.
The Canadian Corps
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
was formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force
Canadian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...
in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division
2nd Canadian Division
The 2nd Canadian Division was an infantry formation that saw service in the First World War. A 2nd Canadian Infantry Division was raised for the Second World War.-History:...
in France. The Corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division
3rd Canadian Division
The 3rd Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War.The 3rd Canadian Division was formed in France in December 1915 under the command of Major-General M.S. Mercer. Its members served in both France and Flanders until Armistice Day...
in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division
4th Canadian Division
The Canadian Corps - 4th Canadian Division – World War I:The 4th Canadian Division was formed in the Britain in April 1916 from several existing units and others scheduled to arrive shortly thereafter. Under the command of Major-General David Watson, the Division embarked for France in August of...
in August 1916. The organization of a 5th Canadian Division
5th Canadian Division
The 5th Canadian Division of the Canadian Corps was formed during World War I. The 5th began assembling in Britain in February, 1917, but was broken up in February of 1918 before it was fully formed...
began in February 1917, but it was still not fully formed when it was broken up in February 1918 and its men used to reinforce the other four divisions. Although the Corps was within and under the command of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, there was considerable pressure among Canadian leaders, especially following the Battle of the Somme, for the Corps to fight as a single unit rather than spreading the divisions through the whole army. Plans for a second Canadian corps and two additional divisions were scrapped, and a divisive national dialogue on conscription for overseas service was begun.
The other major combatants had all introduced conscription to replace the massive casualties they were suffering. Spearheaded by Sir Robert Borden who wished to maintain the continuity of Canada's military contribution and with a burgeoning pressure to introduce and enforce conscription, the Military Service Act
Military Service Act (Canada)
In Canadian history, the Military Service Act was a 1917 Act passed by the Canadian government to effort needed more soldiers, so on April 20, 1918, an order-in-council was passed that removed exemptions from the Military Service Act. This left farming operations across Canada short of much-needed...
was ratified. Although reaction to conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
was favourable in English Canada the idea was deeply unpopular in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. In the end, conscription raised about 120,000 soldiers, of whom about 47,000 actually went overseas. The Conscription Crisis of 1917
Conscription Crisis of 1917
The Conscription Crisis of 1917 was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I.-Background:...
did much to highlight the divisions between French and English-speaking Canadians
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in Canada. Despite the rancour, the Conscription Crisis did not hinder Prime Minister Robert Borden
Robert Borden
Sir Robert Laird Borden, PC, GCMG, KC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the eighth Prime Minister of Canada from October 10, 1911 to July 10, 1920, and was the third Nova Scotian to hold this office...
's political career. In the In the Canadian Federal Election of 1917 the Union government won 153 seats, nearly all from English Canada. The Liberals won 82 seats. Although the Union government won a large majority of seats, the Union government won only 3 seats in Quebec., Borden's Union government won 153 seats, nearly all from English Canada. However, of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
's 65 seats, Borden's government won only 3.
In the later stages of the war, the Canadian Corps were among the most effective and respected of the military formations on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. In 1919, Canada sent an expeditionary force to Siberia
Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War
The Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during World War I which continued into the Russian Civil War. Its operations included forces from 14 nations and were conducted over a vast territory...
to aid the White Russians
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. The vast majority of these troops were based in Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
and saw little combat before they withdrew, along with other foreign forces.
For a nation of eight million people, Canada's war effort was widely regarded as remarkable. A total of 619,636 men and women served in the Canadian forces in the First World War, and of these 66,655 were killed and another 172,950 were wounded. Canadian sacrifices are commemorated at eight memorials in France and Belgium. Two of the eight are unique in design: the giant white Vimy Memorial
Vimy Memorial
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War. It also serves as the place of commemoration for First World War Canadian soldiers killed or presumed dead in France who have no known...
and the distinctive Brooding Soldier at the Saint Julien Memorial
Saint Julien Memorial
The St. Julien Memorial is a Canadian war memorial and small commemorative park located in the village of Saint Julien , Belgium. The memorial commemorates the Canadian First Division's participation in the Second Battle of Ypres of World War I which included the defence against the first poison...
. The other six follow a standard pattern of granite monuments surrounded by a circular path. They are the Hill 62 Memorial
Hill 62 Memorial
The Canadian Hill 62 Memorial is a war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in defending the southern stretches of the Ypres Salient between April and August 1916 including actions in battle at the St. Eloi Craters, Hill 62, Mount Sorrel and Sanctuary Wood...
and Passchendaele Memorial
Passchendaele Memorial
The Passchendaele Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in the Second Battle of Passchendaele of World War I...
in Belgium, and the Bourlon Wood Memorial
Bourlon Wood Memorial
The Bourlon Wood Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps during the final months of the First World War; a period also known as Canada's Hundred Days, part of the Hundred Days Offensive...
, Courcelette Memorial
Courcelette Memorial
The Courcelette Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in the final two and a half months of the infamous four and a half month long Somme Offensive of the First World War...
, Dury Memorial
Dury Memorial
The Dury Memorial is a World War I Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in the Second Battle of Arras, particularly the their breakthrough at the Drocourt-Quéant Line switch of the Hindenburg Line just south of the town of Dury. The Drocourt-Quéant Line was a...
, and Le Quesnel Memorial
Le Quesnel Memorial
The Le Quesnel Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps during the 1918 Battle of Amiens during World War I...
in France. There are also separate war memorials to commemorate the actions of the soldiers of Newfoundland in the Great War. The largest are the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial
Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial
The Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial is a memorial site in France dedicated to the commemoration of Dominion of Newfoundland forces members who were killed during World War I. The preserved battlefield park encompasses the grounds over which the Newfoundland Regiment made their unsuccessful...
and the National War Memorial in St. John's
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
. Newfoundland did not join Confederation until 1949.
Second World War
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
, the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
and the Canadian merchant marine played a crucial role in the Battle of the Atlantic. C Force
C Force
"C" Force was the Canadian military contingent involved in the Battle of Hong Kong, in December 1941. Members of the force were the first Canadian soldiers to see action in World War II....
, two Canadian infantry battalions were involved in the failed defence of Hong Kong
Battle of Hong Kong
The Battle of Hong Kong took place during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It began on 8 December 1941 and ended on 25 December 1941 with Hong Kong, then a Crown colony, surrendering to the Empire of Japan.-Background:...
. Troops of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division
2nd Canadian Infantry Division
The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the First Canadian Army, mobilized on 1 September 1939 at the outset of the Second World War. It was initially composed of volunteers within brigades established along regional lines, though a halt in recruitment in the early months of...
also played a leading role in the disastrous Dieppe Raid
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
in August 1942. The 1st Canadian Infantry Division
1st Canadian Infantry Division
The 1st Canadian Infantry Division was a formation mobilized on 1 September 1939 for service in the Second World War. The division was also reactivated twice during the Cold War....
and tanks of the independent 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade
1st Canadian Armoured Brigade
1 Canadian Army Tank Brigade, later known as 1 Canadian Armoured Brigade, was composed of the 11th, 12th and 14th Canadian Armoured Regiments and saw service in the Italian campaign and in north-west Europe during the Second World War.-History:...
landed on Sicily in July 1943 and after a 38-day campaign there, took part in the successful Allied invasion of Italy
Allied invasion of Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...
. Canadian forces played an important role in the long advance north through Italy, eventually coming under their own corps headquarters after 5th Canadian Armoured Division joined them on the line in early 1944 after the costly battles on the Moro River and at Ortona
Battle of Ortona
The Battle of Ortona was a small, yet extremely fierce, battle fought between a battalion of German Fallschirmjäger from the German 1st Parachute Division under Generalleutnant Richard Heidrich, and assaulting Canadian forces from the 1st Canadian Infantry Division under Major General Chris Vokes...
.
3rd Canadian Division
The 3rd Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War.The 3rd Canadian Division was formed in France in December 1915 under the command of Major-General M.S. Mercer. Its members served in both France and Flanders until Armistice Day...
(supported by tanks of the independent 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade
2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade
-History:Soon after 3rd Canadian Tank Brigade assumed the designation in summer 1943 of the original 2nd Canadian Tank Brigade, the new 2nd Tank was redesignated and reorganized as 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade. Although reorganized as an armoured brigade, no motor battalion served under its command...
) landed on Juno Beach
Juno Beach
Juno or Juno Beach was one of five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. The sector spanned from Saint-Aubin, a village just east of the British Gold sector, to Courseulles, just west of the British Sword sector...
in the Battle of Normandy. Canadian airborne troops had also landed earlier in the day behind the beaches. Resistance on Juno was fierce, and casualties were high in the assault waves, in particular the first assault waves, which sustained a 50 percent casualty rate. By day's end, however, the Canadians had made the deepest penetrations inland of any of the five seaborne invasion forces. The Canadians went on to play an important role in the subsequent fighting in Normandy, with the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division
2nd Canadian Infantry Division
The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the First Canadian Army, mobilized on 1 September 1939 at the outset of the Second World War. It was initially composed of volunteers within brigades established along regional lines, though a halt in recruitment in the early months of...
coming ashore in July and the 4th Canadian Armoured Division in August. In the meantime, both a corps headquarters (II Canadian Corps
II Canadian Corps
II Canadian Corps was a corps-level formation that, along with I Corps and I Canadian Corps , comprised the First Canadian Army in Northwest Europe during World War II.Authorization for the formation of the Corps headquarters became effective in England on...
) and eventually an army headquarters—for the first time in Canadian military history—were activated. One of the most important Canadian contributions to the war effort was in the Battle of the Scheldt
Battle of the Scheldt
The Battle of the Scheldt was a series of military operations of the Canadian 1st Army, led by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds. The battle took place in northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands during World War II from 2 October-8 November 1944...
, where First Canadian Army
First Canadian Army
The First Canadian Army was the senior Canadian operational formation in Europe during the Second World War.The Army was formed in early 1942, replacing the existing unnumbered Canadian Corps, as the growing number of Canadian forces in the United Kingdom necessitated an expansion to two corps...
defeated an entrenched German force at great cost to help open Antwerp to Allied shipping.
First Canadian Army fought in two more large campaigns; the Rhineland in February and March 1945, clearing a path to the Rhine River in anticipation of the assault crossing of that obstacle, and the subsequent battles on the far side of the Rhine in the last weeks of the war. The I Canadian Corps
I Canadian Corps
I Canadian Corps was one of the two corps fielded by the Canadian Army during World War II. From December 24, 1940 until the formation of the First Canadian Army in April 1942, there was a single unnumbered Canadian Corps...
returned to northwest Europe from Italy in early 1945, and as part of a reunited First Canadian Army assisted in the liberation of The Netherlands (including the rescue of many Dutch from near-starvation conditions) and the invasion of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The Royal Canadian Air Force had three key responsibilities during the war: the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...
(BCATP), Canada's contribution to training military aviators; the Home War Establishment (HWE), which provide 37 squadrons for coastal defence, protection of shipping, air defence and other duties in Canada, and the Overseas War Establishment (OWE), which provided 48 squadrons serving with the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF) in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Far East.
RCAF airmen served with RAF fighter and bomber squadrons, and played key roles in the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
, antisubmarine warfare during the Battle of the Atlantic, and the bombing
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
campaigns against Germany. Even though many RCAF personnel served with the RAF, No. 6 Group
No. 6 Group RCAF
No. 6 Group RCAF was an organization of Royal Canadian Air Force bomber squadrons which operated from airfields in Yorkshire, England during the Second World War. Although 6 Group was RCAF, it was controlled by the Royal Air Force as part of Bomber Command. No. 6 Group had been previously active...
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
was formed entirely of RCAF squadrons. Canadian air force personnel also provided close support of Allied forces during the Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
and subsequent land campaigns in Europe. To free up male RCAF personnel who were needed on active operational or BCATP training duties, the RCAF Women's Division
Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division
The Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division was an element of the Royal Canadian Air Force which was active during the Second World War....
was formed in 1941. By the end of the war, the RCAF would be the fourth largest allied air force.
Of a population approximately 11.5 million, 1.1 million Canadians served in the armed forces in the Second World War. Of these, an officially recorded total of 42,042 members of the armed forces gave their lives, and another 55,000 were wounded. Many others shared the suffering and hardship of war. In line with other Commonwealth countries, a women's corps entitled the Canadian Women's Army Corps
Canadian Women's Army Corps
The Canadian Women's Army Corps was a non-combatant branch of the Canadian Army for women established during World War II to release men from those non-combatant roles in the Canadian armed forces as part of expanding Canada's war effort. Most women served in Canada but some served overseas, most...
, similar to the RCAF Women's Division, was established to release men for front-line duties. The corps existed from 1941 to 1946, was re-raised in 1948 and finally disbanded in 1964.
Multilateralism, peacekeeping and the Cold War years
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
began. As a founding member of NATO and a signatory to the NORAD treaty with the US, Canada committed itself to the alliance against the Communist bloc. Canadian troops were stationed in Germany throughout the Cold War, and Canada joined with the Americans to erect defences against Soviet attack, such as the DEW Line. As a middle power
Middle power
Middle power is a term used in the field of international relations to describe states that are not superpowers or great powers, but still have large or moderate influence and international recognition. There is no single specific definition of which countries are middle powers.-Definition:There is...
, Canadian policy makers realized that Canada could do little militarily on its own, and thus a policy of multilateralism
Multilateralism
Multilateralism is a term in international relations that refers to multiple countries working in concert on a given issue.International organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization are multilateral in nature...
was adopted whereby Canada would only join military efforts as part of a large coalition. Canada also chose to stay out of several wars, despite the participation of close allies, most notably the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and the Second Iraq War, although Canada lent indirect support and Canadian citizens served in foreign armies in both conflicts. The postwar period saw a major reorganization when, in 1968, the three forces were merged into the Canadian Armed Forces, later renamed the Canadian Forces.
Canada in Korea
After the Second World War, Canada rapidly demobilized. When the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
broke out, Canada needed several months to bring its military forces up to strength, and eventually formed part of British Commonwealth Forces Korea
British Commonwealth Forces Korea
British Commonwealth Forces Korea was the formal name, from 1952, of the Commonwealth army, naval and air units serving with the United Nations in the Korean War. Australian, British, Canadian, Indian and New Zealand units were part of BCFK...
. Canadian land forces thus missed most of the early back-and-forth campaigns because they did not arrive until 1951, when the attrition phase of the war had largely started. Canadian troops fought as part of the 1st Commonwealth Division
1st Commonwealth Division
The 1st Commonwealth Division was the name given, after July 1951, to Commonwealth land forces in the Korean War. The division was a multinational unit that was part of British Commonwealth Forces Korea, and whilst British and Canadian Army units formed the bulk of the division, Australian...
, and distinguished themselves at the Battle of Kapyong
Battle of Kapyong
The Battle of Kapyong , also known as the Battle of Jiaping , was fought during the Korean War between United Nations forces—primarily Australian and Canadian—and the Chinese communist People's Volunteer Army...
and in other land engagements. HMCS Haida and other ships of the Royal Canadian Navy were in active service in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. Although the Royal Canadian Air force did not have a combat role in Korea, twenty-two RCAF fighter pilots flew on exchange duty with the USAF
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
in Korea. The RCAF was also involved with the transportation of personnel and supplies in support of the Korean War.
Canada sent 26,791 troops to fight in Korea. There were 1,558 Canadian casualties, including 516 dead. Korea has often been described as "The Forgotten War", because for most Canadians it is overshadowed by the Canadian contributions to the two world wars. Canada is a signatory to the original 1953 armistice, but did not keep a garrison in South Korea after 1955.
Canada and the Vietnam War
Canada did not fight in the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and diplomatically it was "officially non-belligerent
Non-belligerent
A non-belligerent is a person, a state, or other organization that does not fight in a given conflict. The term is often used to describe a country that does not take part militarily in a war...
". The country's troop deployments to Vietnam were limited to a small number of national forces in 1973 to help enforce the Paris Peace Accords
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 intended to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the Vietnam War, ended direct U.S. military involvement, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam...
. Nevertheless, the war had considerable effects on Canada, while Canada and Canadians affected the war, in return. In counter-current to the movement American draft-dodgers and deserters to Canada, about 30,000 Canadians volunteered to fight in southeast Asia. Among the volunteers were fifty Mohawks
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
from the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal. One-hundred ten (110) Canadians died in Vietnam, and seven remain listed as Missing in Action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
.
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
efforts. Canadian Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
laureate Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
is considered to be the father of modern United Nations Peacekeeping, and Canada has a long history of participation in these missions. Pearson’s role in the creation of modern peacekeeping is a very convoluted one. Pearson had become a very prominent figure in the United Nations during its infancy, and found himself in a very peculiar position in 1956 during the Suez canal crisisSuez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
. Pearson and Canada found themselves stuck between a conflict of their closest allies, being looked upon to find a solution. Britain and France had broken International laws in the taking of the canal and were being denounced by the United States. During United NationsUnited Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
meetings Lester B. Pearson proposed to the security council that a United Nations police force be established to prevent further conflict in the region, while the countries involved are able to sort out a resolution. Pearson’s proposal and offer to actually dedicate 1,000 Canadian soldiers, is seen as a brilliant political move that saved the world from another war. Canada participated in every UN peacekeeping effort from their beginning until 1989, and has since then continued to play a significant role. More than 125,000 Canadians have served in some 50 UN peacekeeping missions since 1949, with 116 deaths.
Since 1995, however, Canadian direct participation in UN peacekeeping efforts has greatly declined. In July 2006, for instance, Canada ranked 51st on the list of UN peacekeepers, contributing 130 peacekeepers out of a total UN deployment of over 70,000. That number decreased largely because Canada began to direct its participation to UN-sanctioned military operations through NATO, rather than directly to the UN. The number of Canadian soldiers on UN-sanctioned operations in July 2006 was 2,859.
The first Canadian peacekeeping mission, even before the creation of the formal UN system, was a 1948 mission to Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. Other important missions include the long stay in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, observation missions in the Sinai
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
and Golan Heights, and the NATO mission in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. The 1993 Canadian response to Operation Medak pocket
Operation Medak Pocket
Operation Medak Pocket: Mid-September 1993 United Nations Protection Force and the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry advanced into the Medak Pocket, named after the village of Medak, in Southern Croatia, with orders to implement a ceasefire between the Croatian Army Troops...
in Bosnia was the largest battle fought by Canadian forces since the Korean War. One of the darkest moments in recent Canadian military history occurred during the humanitarian mission to Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
in 1993, when Canadian soldiers tortured a Somali teenager to death, leading to the Somalia Affair
Somalia Affair
The Somalia Affair was a 1993 military scandal later dubbed "Canada's national shame". It peaked with the brutal beating death of a Somali teenager at the hands of two Canadian soldiers participating in humanitarian efforts in Somalia. The crime, documented by grisly photos, shocked the Canadian...
. Following an inquiry, the elite Canadian Airborne Regiment
The Canadian Airborne Regiment
The Canadian Airborne Regiment was a Canadian Forces formation created on April 8, 1968. It was not an administrative regiment in the commonly accepted British Commonwealth sense, but rather a tactical formation manned from other regiments and branches...
was disbanded and the reputation of the Canadian Forces suffered within Canada.
The loss of nine Canadian peacekeepers when their plane
Buffalo 461
Buffalo 461 was a Canadian military De Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo assigned to the second United Nations Emergency Force force in Syria in support of United Nations Security Council Resolution 340...
was shot down over Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
in 1974 remains the largest loss of life in a single event in Canadian peacekeeping history.
Significance of Canada’s Role in Peacekeeping
Canada’s role in the development and participation in Peacekeeping during the 20th and 21st centuries has played a major role in turning Canada into a prominent nation throughout the world. Prior to Canada’s role in the Suez Canal Crisis, Canada was viewed by many as insignificant in issues of the world’s traditional powers. Canada’s successful role in the conflict gave Canada credibility and established it as a nation fighting for the common good of all the world’s nations and not just their allies. Even to do this day Canada holds a certain prestige throughout the world.Canadian Forces in Europe
Canada maintained a mechanized infantry brigade in West GermanyWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
from the 1950s (originally the 27th Canadian Infantry Brigade
27th Canadian Infantry Brigade
The 27th Canadian Infantry Brigade was an Active Force Infantry Brigade created on May 4, 1951 for service in West Germany sailing to Rotterdam in November and December of that year. The Brigade was posted near Hanover and provided contingents for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth...
, later named 4 Combat Group and 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade) to the 1990s as part of Canada's NATO commitments. This brigade was maintained at close to full strength and was equipped with Canada's most advanced vehicles and weapons systems as it was anticipated the brigade might have to move quickly in the event of a Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
invasion of the west. The brigade was augmented by Militia soldiers from Canada and for a time even Royal Canadian Army Cadets
Royal Canadian Army Cadets
The Royal Canadian Army Cadets is a Canadian national youth program sponsored by the Canadian Forces and the civilian Army Cadet League of Canada. Administered by the Canadian Forces, the program is funded through the Department of National Defence with the civilian partner providing support in...
were permitted to serve in the brigade for short periods.
The Royal Canadian Air Force established No. 1 Air Division in the early 1950s to meet Canada's NATO air defence commitments in Europe. It consisted of twelve fighter squadrons located in four wings, two of which were in France, and two in West Germany.
Unification
In 1964 the Canadian government decided to merge the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Army to form the unified Canadian Armed Forces. The aim of the merger was to reduce costs and increase operating efficiency. The Minister of National Defence, Paul HellyerPaul Hellyer
Paul Theodore Hellyer, PC is a Canadian engineer, politician, writer and commentator who has had a long and varied career. He is the longest serving current member of the Privy Council, just ahead of Prince Philip.-Early life:...
stated on November 4, 1966, that "the amalgamation...will provide the flexibility to enable Canada to meet in the most effective manner the military requirements of the future. It will also establish Canada as an unquestionable leader in the field of military organization." On February 1, 1968, unification was completed.
Gulf War
The 1991 Gulf WarGulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations, led by the US. The result was a decisive victory of the coalition forces. Canada was one of the first nations to agree to condemn Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and promptly agreed to join the US-led coalition.
In August, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
sent the destroyers HMCS Terra Nova, HMCS Athabaskan
HMCS Athabaskan
Several Canadian naval ships have been named HMCS Athabaskan. , a Tribal class destroyer, commissioned in 1943 and torpedoed in the English Channel on 29 April 1944. , later renumbered , was a Tribal Class destroyer commissioned in 1947....
, and HMCS Huron to enforce the trade blockade against Iraq. The supply ship HMCS Protecteur was sent to aid the gathering coalition forces. While all others returned to Canada in the spring of 1992, HMCS Huron remained on station to enforce sanctions and was the first warship to enter Kuwait Harbour following the war. When the UN authorized full use of force in the operation, Canada sent a CF-18 squadron with support personnel. The nation sent a field hospital to deal with casualties from the ground war.
When the air war began, Canada's planes were integrated into the coalition force and provided air cover and attacked ground and naval targets. This was the first time since the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
that its forces had participated in combat operations. Canada suffered no casualties during the conflict, but since its end, many veterans have complained of suffering from Gulf War Syndrome
Gulf War syndrome
Gulf War syndrome or Gulf War illness describes a medical condition that affected veterans and civilians who were near conflicts during or downwind of chemical weapons depot demolition, after the 1991 Gulf War. A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have included fatigue, musculoskeletal...
.
A Canadian combat engineer regiment was investigated following the release of 1991 photographs which showed members posing with the dismembered bodies in a Kuwaiti minefield.
Peacekeeping in Croatia
Canada's forces were part of UNPROFOR, UN peacekeeping force in CroatiaCroatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
during the Yugoslav wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
in the 1990s.
The Canadian government claims that Canadian forces within the UN contingent clashed with the Croatian Army in what has been called Operation Medak Pocket
Operation Medak Pocket
Operation Medak Pocket: Mid-September 1993 United Nations Protection Force and the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry advanced into the Medak Pocket, named after the village of Medak, in Southern Croatia, with orders to implement a ceasefire between the Croatian Army Troops...
, where 27 Croatian soldiers are reported to have been killed. The battle at the Medak Pocket was called "the greatest battle of the Canadian Army since the Korean War", and in 2002, the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry is one of the three regular force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army. The regiment is composed of four battalions including a primary reserve battalion, for a total of 2,000 soldiers...
Battle Group were awarded the Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation "for a heroic and professional mission during the Medak Pocket Operation". But according to some sources, this battle never happened. Former UNPROFOR Canadian officer, John John McGuinnes, a witness at the Norac-Ademi trial for war crimes in Medak Pocket, stated that there were one or two shootouts, but there were no injuries. He also said that the decorations were awarded for whole tour in Croatia, not only for participation in Medak pocket activity.
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. The war was a response to the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, with the goal to defeat the Taliban government and rout Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. Canada sent special forces
Canadian Special Operations Forces Command
Canadian Special Operations Forces Command , is a command of the Canadian Forces...
and ground troops to the conflict. In this war, a Canadian sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
set the world record for longest distance kill. In early 2003, Canadian JTF2 troops were photographed taking Afghan prisoners, sparking a debate of the Geneva Conventions. After the war, Canada formed an important part of the NATO-led stabilization force, ISAF
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
. In November 2005, Canadian military participation shifted from ISAF in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
to Operation Archer
Operation Archer
Operation Archer is the Canadian Forces contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. It began in July 2005 with the deployment of a 220 member "theater activation team" to Kandahar....
, a part of Operation Enduring Freedom in and around Khandahar. As of December 18, 2010, 154 Canadian soldiers had been killed in the Afghanistan mission (see also: Canadian Forces casualties in Afghanistan
Canadian Forces casualties in Afghanistan
The number of Canadian Forces' fatalities resulting from Canadian military activities in Afghanistan is the largest for any single Canadian military mission since the Korean War between 1950 and 1953...
).
On May 17, 2006, Captain Nichola Goddard
Nichola Goddard
Captain Nichola Kathleen Sarah Goddard, MSM was the first female Canadian combat soldier killed in combat, and the 16th Canadian soldier killed in Canadian operations in Afghanistan.-Profile:...
of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
The Royal Canadian Horse Artillery is the name given to the regular field artillery units of the Canadian Army. RCHA units are the senior units of the Canadian land field force, with a history dating back to the birth of Canada as a nation...
became Canada's first female combat arms casualty. One of the most notable battles that the Canadian Forces have fought in Afghanistan thus far is the Canadian-led Operation Medusa
Operation Medusa
Operation Medusa was a Canadian-led offensive by major elements of the International Security Assistance Force, Afghan National Army and an A-Team from the 3rd Special Forces Group, as part of the ongoing war in Afghanistan. It aimed to establish government control over an area of Kandahar...
in which the second battle of Panjwaii was fought. Canada was also the main allied combatant in the first but less intense battle of Panjwaii.
Canadian troops have taken on an extended role in combat operations in southern Afghanistan, meeting Taliban forces in open conflict. The Canadian mission to Afghanistan is scheduled to end in February 2011, but there is divisive debate in Canada as to whether the mission should be extended.
Invasion of Iraq (2003)
In 2003, under Prime MinisterPrime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
, about a hundred Canadian soldiers, on exchange to American units, participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. Nevertheless, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
chose not to "join with the so-called Coalition of the willing
Coalition of the willing
The term coalition of the willing is a post-1990 political phrase used to collectively describe participants in military or military-humanitarian interventions for which the United Nations Security Council cannot agree to mount a full UN peacekeeping operation...
" during the invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. Canada refused to do so unless it was approved by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. This decision, popular in most of Canada, upset the administration of American president George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
Concurrently, Canada deployed some additional troops to the War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Some claim that it incidentally freed up some American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
troops for assignment in Iraq. Canada continues to have warships in the Persian Gulf area as part of Operation Altair
Operation ALTAIR
Operation ALTAIR is the Canadian Forces maritime contribution to the U.S.-led coalition anti-terrorist campaign known as Operation Enduring Freedom . Operation ALTAIR mainly consists of single ship deployments. HMCS Toronto , a Halifax-class patrol frigate with an embarked helicopter detachment,...
. Their presence is justified by Canada's commitment to Operation Enduring Freedom.
On October 9, 2008, the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
published this statement:
"in their book, The Unexpected War, University of TorontoUniversity of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
professor Janice Gross Stein and public policy consultant Eugene LangEugene LangEugene M. "Gene" Lang is an American philanthropist who founded REFAC Technology Development Corporation in 1951. He created the I Have A Dream Foundation in 1981, and Project Pericles in 2001. He has also made large donations to Swarthmore College, The New School's undergraduate liberal arts...
write that the LiberalLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
government would actually boast of that contribution to Washington.
"In an almost schizophrenic way, the government bragged publicly about its decision to stand aside from the war in Iraq because it violated core principles of multilateral-ism and support for the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. At the same time, senior Canadian officials, military officers and politicians were currying favour in Washington, privately telling anyone in the State Department or the PentagonThe PentagonThe Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
who would listen that, by some measures, Canada's indirect contribution to the American war effort in Iraq — three ships and 100 exchange officers — exceeded that of all but three other countries that were formally part of the coalition.""
In January 2004 (in the first month under Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
) Walter J. Natynczyk deployed with III Corps to Baghdad, Iraq, serving first as the Deputy Director of Strategy, Policy and Plans, and subsequently as the Deputy Commanding General of the Multi-National Corps (Iraq) during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Natynczyk led the Corps' 35,000 soldiers, consisting of 10 separate brigades, stationed throughout the Iraq Theatre of Operations. He stayed there one year, until January 2005. On January 24, 2006, (in the last few days under Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
), Natynczyk "was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross
Meritorious Service Cross
The Meritorious Service Cross is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, generally through his or her viceroy-in-Council...
[specifically] for his [combat] efforts [in Iraq]." On June 6, 2008, the Government of Canada (under Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
) named Natynczyk as the next Chief of the Defence Staff
Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the second most senior member of the Canadian Forces, and heads the Armed Forces Council, having primary responsibility for command, control, and administration of the forces, as well as military strategy, plans, and requirements...
(CDS), replacing retiring General Rick Hillier
Rick Hillier
General Rick Hillier, CMM, MSC, CD , is the former Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces. He held this appointment from February 4, 2005 to July 1, 2008. He retired on July 1, 2008, and was replaced by former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff Walter Natynczyk...
.
In mid February 2008, (under Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
) Canadian General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Nicolas Matern, a Special Forces officer and former commander of Canada's elite counter-terrorism unit, began to serve as deputy to Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin III, incoming commander of the 170,000-strong Multi National Corps-Iraq. By January 23, 2008, Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg (North Carolina)
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
had already confirmed that Matern had already been deployed to Iraq. As of February 2010, Brigadier General Matern is attached to the United States military and is the Deputy Commanding General for Humanitarian Assistance to Haiti (in the wake of the catastrophic January 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
).
Libyan uprising (2011)
In 2011, Canada contributed to the international Libyan no-fly zone as part of Operation MOBILEOperation Mobile
Operation Mobile was the name given to Canadian Forces activities in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The United States' counterpart to this was Operation Odyssey Dawn, the French counterpart was Opération Harmattan and the British counterpart was Operation Ellamy...
during the 2011 Libyan uprising.
See also
- Canadian military victoriesCanadian military victories- 17th century :*Iroquois War *Iroquois Wars *Hudson Bay expedition *Battle of Fort Albany*Battle of Quebec *Battle of La Prairie*Capture of York Factory*Action of 14 July 1696*Siege of Pemaquid *Avalon Peninsula Campaign...
- Canadian War MuseumCanadian War MuseumThe Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum covers all facets of Canada’s military past, from the first recorded instances of death by armed violence in Canadian history several thousand years ago to the country’s most recent...
- Foreign relations of CanadaForeign relations of CanadaThe foreign relations of Canada are Canada's relations with other governments and peoples. Canada's most important relationship, being the largest trading relationship in the world, is with the United States...
- List of conflicts in Canada
- List of Canadian military operations
- Victoria Cross (Canada)Victoria Cross (Canada)The Victoria Cross is a military decoration of Canada modelled on the original British Victoria Cross—instituted in 1856—in both intent and appearance, with several small changes...
- Cross of Valour (Canada)Cross of Valour (Canada)The Cross of Valour is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest award , the highest honour available for Canadian civilians, and the highest of the three Canadian Bravery Decorations...
- Order of Military Merit (Canada)Order of Military Merit (Canada)The Order of Military Merit is a military honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada...
External links
- Canadian Military History Gateway - Government of Canada
- Canadian Military History - Library and Archives Canada
- Canadian Military History - Wilfrid Laurier University
- War and the Foundation of Canada - Canadian War Museum
- A Bibliography of Regimental and Military Histories and Relative Material - University of Calgary Library (2003)
- CBC "Canada: A People's History" - CBC
- Conflict and War - CBC Archives