SOUTH AFRICAN (BOER) WAR
1899
– October 11: War begins when the Boer Republics declare war on the British Empire.
– October 30: First Contingent of Canadian soldiers leave for South Africa.
1900
– February 18-27: Battle of Paarrdeberg. First major action by Canadian Infantry; result is a significant victory.
– November 7: Battle of Leliefontein. Canadian military units valiantly & successfully cover a British withdrawal.
1902
– March 31: Battle of Hart’s River –the second bloodiest day of the war for Canada.
– May 31: War ends (Treaty of Vereeniging) with a British victory and annexation of both republics by the British Empire.
1908
– The Boer War Memorial Fountain was erected in Victoria Park, Sarnia.
WORLD WAR I
1910
– May 4: Under the Naval Services Act, the Canadian Navy is established.
1911
– August 29: Canada’s Navy is renamed, with the new designation, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).
1914
– May 7: Sarnia is officially proclaimed as a city.
– June 28: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife in Sarajevo.
– July 28: War officially begins, with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia.
– August 1 and 3: Germany declares war on Russia, then war on France and Belgium.
– August 4, midnight: United Kingdom, including Canada and Newfoundland declare war on Germany.
– August 19: The first volunteers begin to arrive at Valcartier camp, Quebec.
– October 14: 1st Contingent of Canadian Expeditionary Force arrives in a massive convoy in England.
– December 21: The Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry arrives in France, the first Canadian unit committed to battle in the Great War.
1915
– April 22: Canadians see first major action at Ypres; first use of poison gas against Canadian troops.
– April 22-May 25: Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium; Canada’s first series of major battles.
– May 3: Lt-Col. John McCrae of the Canadian Expeditionary Force composes “In Flanders Fields”.
– May 25: Second Canadian Division formed in Canada
– December 25: Third Canadian Division is formed.
1916
– June 2-13: The Battle of Mont Sorrel, Belgium. Over 8,000 Canadians killed or wounded.
– July 1: Beaumont Hamel. The first battle of the Somme, where the 1st Newfoundland Regiment was virtually wiped out, over 700 casualties in less than half an hour.
– July 1-November 18: The Battle of the Somme, France. More than 24,000 Canadians were killed.
– September 15: Battle of Courcelette. The first use of the tank and the rolling barrage.
1917
– April 6: The United States enters the war.
– April 9-12: Battle of Vimy Ridge, France. “Canada becomes a nation”, at a cost of 7,000 wounded and 3,600 lives lost.
– August 15-25: The Attack on Hill 70, France. The victory cost more than 9,000 Canadian lives.
– August 28: PM Robert Borden Military Service Act passes, making conscription mandatory.
– October 26-November 10: The Battle of Passchendaele, Belgium. 12,000 Canadians wounded, more than 4,000 killed.
– December 6: The Halifax Explosion. French munitions vessel Mont Blanc explodes in Halifax Harbour, killing almost 1600 people.
– December 17: For the first time, some Canadian women are given the right to vote in a federal election.
1918
– June 27: Attack and sinking of Canadian Hospital Ship HMHS Llandovery Castle, the most significant Canadian naval disaster of the war.
– August 8: The Battle of Amiens, France which begins the Allied offensive. Canadians advance through German defences.
– August 8-November 11: Canada’s Hundred Days. In final 3 months of war, 39,000 Canadians wounded, and more than 6,800 killed.
– November 2: The Canadian Corps capture the town of Valenciennes in its last major battle of the War.
– November 11, 11:00 a.m.: Armistice of Compiegne signed, ending the Great War.
1919
– January 18: Paris Peace Conference opens, to establish the terms of the peace. Canada took part, having gained international recognition for its great contribution during the War.
– June 28: Signing of The Treaty of Versailles, the Peace treaty ending war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It includes a plan to form a “League of Nations” (precursor of the United Nations), in which Canada gains an independent seat.
– November 11: The first Armistice Day is declared by King George V, taking place throughout the Commonwealth.
1921
– July 5: Canada adopts the poppy as its national flower of Remembrance.
– November 7: The original Sarnia Cenotaph Memorial is officially unveiled in Victoria Park.
1924
– April 1: During WWI, Canadians flew with the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. On this date, a permanent national air force is established in Canada, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
1931
– November 11: Armistice Day renamed to Remembrance Day and is ensured that it will always be November 11th.
WORLD WAR II
1939
– March 15: Germany invades Czechoslovakia.
– mid-May: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth embark on month-long tour across Canada. (May 31: King George officially unveils the National War Memorial, The Response, in Ottawa)
– June 7: Thousands of Sarnia/Lambton citizens travel to London, Ontario to see the King and Queen.
– August 26: All Canadian merchant ships passed from owner control to the control of the Royal Canadian Navy.
– September 1: Germany invades Poland, the official start of the War.
– September 3: Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Germany.
– September 3: Montreal-bound passenger ship SS Athenia sunk by a German submarine; 117 were killed including four Canadians.
– September 3- May 8, 1945: The Battle of the Atlantic. The longest continuous battle of the war.
– September 10: Canada and Newfoundland declare war on Germany, officially entering the Second World War.
– September 16: The first convoy sails from Halifax, escorted by the Canadian destroyer St. Laurent.
– December: First Division of Canadian troops set sail for Europe.
1940
– June 10: Italy declares war on Britain, including Canada, and France.
1941
– November 27: First war vessel, a submarine chaser, the Fairmile HMC Q062 is built and launched in Sarnia.
– December 7: Japan attacks Pearl Harbour, declares war on Britain, Canada, United States and allies.
– December 8-25: The Battle of Hong Kong. Japan attacks and overtakes vastly outnumbered Canadian defenders.
1942
– February: Polymer Corporation is established in Sarnia, in order to manufacture synthetic rubber for the war effort. (13 months later, Sarnia facility began production)
– August 13: The Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper HMCS Sarnia is commissioned for service in Toronto.
– August 19: The Dieppe Raid (Operation Jubilee). One of Canada’s worst military disasters, with more than 900 losing their lives.
– September: Camp Ipperwash opens, a basic training centre for infantry troops.
1943
– July 10-August 6: Battle of Sicily (Operation Husky). Allied invasion of Sicily, launching the Italian Campaign.
– September 3, 1943-February 25, 1945: Italian Campaign continues; Allies invade mainland Italy.
Over 20 months of fighting, more than 26,000 Canadian casualties including nearly 6,000 Canadians killed.
1944
– March: RCAF No. 414 Squadron is officially adopted by the city, becoming the RCAF City of Sarnia Squadron.
– June 6: D-Day (Operation Overlord begins): 14,000 Canadians land in Normandy, France (Juno Beach).
– June 6-August 21: The Battle of Normandy. Allies push into France, with over 5,300 Canadians killed.
– October 1-November 8: The Battle of the Scheldt. Allies push into Belgium and the Netherlands; more than 6,300 Canadian casualties, including over 800 Canadians killed.
1945
– January: 13,000 Canadian conscript soldiers proceed to Britain, but only a few thousand enter combat.
– February 8-March 10: The Battle of the Rhineland; more than 5,300 Canadians killed.
– February 7-May 5: The Liberation of the Netherlands; over 7,600 Canadians killed.
– May 7: Germany surrenders. The next day, May 8, is declared V-E Day (Victory in Europe).
– July 26: The U.S., U.K. and China issue the Potsdam Declaration, calling for the surrender of Japan.
– August 6: First atomic bomb (“Little Boy”) dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, second atomic bomb (“Fat Man”) dropped on Nagasaki.
– August 15: Japan surrenders. Due to the time zone difference, surrender is announced August 14 in North America. Date is declared V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day).
– September 2: Japan signs the official “Instrument of Surrender” aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
– October 24: The United Nations organization is created with the signing of the United Nations Charter.
KOREAN WAR
1950
– June 25: War begins when North Korean forces cross the 38th parallel into South Korea, and Canada enters the war.
1951
– April 24-25: Canadians see action in the Battle of Kapyong.
– July: Intermittent Peace talks begin and would continue intermittently throughout the war. (more Canadians would be wounded or killed after the talks began).
1952
– October 2: Canadian Tribal class destoyer HMCS Iroquois is hit off the Korean coast.
1953
– July 27: Korean War ends* with the signing of the Armistice at Panmunjom. (*technically, the two countries are still at war).
1955
– November 11: The “new” Sarnia Cenotaph Memorial is officially unveiled in Victoria Park, with the inscribed names of Sarnia’s fallen soldiers from World War I, World War II and the Korean War.
VIETNAM WAR & U.N. PEACEKEEPING BEGINS
1940’s
– Mid 1940s: No official declaration of war, but conflict in the Vietnam region begins.
1954
May: Vietnam War essentially begins, nine years after the end of WWII and the beginning of the Cold War. North Vietnam (allies China and Soviet Union) vs. South Vietnam (USA ally).
1956
– November 24: The first Canadian Peacekeepers, as part of the United Nations force, set foot in Egypt.
1965
– Full active United States units introduced into the Vietnam War.
1975
– April: Vietnam War ends.
AFGHANISTAN PEACEKEEPING
1998
– November 11: Sarnia’s Victoria Park is officially renamed Veterans Park.
2000
– May: Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is created at National War Memorial in Ottawa. (contains the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier who died at Vimy Ridge, France in WWI).
2001
– December: Afghanistan mission begins with the arrival of Canadian commandoes from Joint Task Force 2.
2002
– January: First Canadian troops arrive in Afghanistan.
2006
– September: Canada takes larger role, Operation Medusa, largest combat operation since Korean War.
2011
– July: Withdrawal of the bulk of Canadian troops, ending its combat role on the front lines there.
2014
– March 12: Official withdrawal of all Canadian military personnel from Afghanistan.
– May 9: National Day of Honour commemorated across Canada to honour the legacy of the Afghanistan heroes.
Us and Them (portion of)
Us, and them
And after all we’re only ordinary men.
Me, and you.
God only knows it’s not what we would choose to do.
Forward he cried from the rear
and the front rank died.
And the General sat, and the lines on the map
moved from side to side.
Black and blue
And who knows which is which and who is who.
Up and down.
And in the end it’s only round and round.
Haven’t you heard it’s a battle of words
The poster bearer cried.
Listen son, said the man with the gun
There’s room for you inside.
Pink Floyd