Today in Military History
- Thread starter big bad john
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Just a word to the wise.
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Major Frederick Albert Tilston
The Hochwald, Germany
March 1st, 1945
The Essex Scottish Regiment
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Frederick Albert Tilston was born in Toronto, Ontario, on the 11th of June 1906. He was educated at De La Salle High School, the Ontario College of Pharmacy and the University of Toronto. Prior to his enlistment in 1940 he was sales manager of a drug manufacturing company. He enlisted as a private but because of his age, education and experience, he was quickly promoted to sergeant and then to officer. The wounds received in the action described in the citation necessitated the amputation of both legs, but exactly one year later from the date of his injuries he returned to work for his former company in the capacity of vice-president in charge of sales. He later became president and then chairman of the board for that company. In 1963 he became Honorary Colonel of his old regiment which had been renamed the Essex and Kent Regiment. He resided in Toronto, Ontario until his death on the 23rd of September 1992. His family presented his Victoria Cross to the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto.
Citation
'The 2nd Canadian Division had been given the task of breaking through the strongly fortified Hochwald Forest defence line which covered Zanten, the last German bastion west of the Rhine protecting the vital Wesel Bridge escape route.
The Essex Scottish Regiment was ordered to breach the defence line north-east of Udem and to clear the northern half of the forest, through which the balance of the brigade would pass.
At 0715 hours on 1st March 1945, the attack was launched, but due to the softness of the ground it was found impossible to support the attack by tanks as had been planned.
Across approximately 500 yards of flat open country, in the face of intense enemy fire, Major Tilston personally led his company in the attack, keeping dangerously close to our own bursting shells in order to get the maximum cover from the barrage. Though wounded in the head he continued to lead his men forward, through a belt of wire ten feet in depth to the enemy trenches shouting orders and encouragement and using his Sten gun with great effect. When the platoon on the left came under heavy fire from an enemy machine-gun post, he dashed forward personally and silenced it with a grenade; he was first to reach the enemy position and took the first prisoner.
Determined to maintain the momentum of the attack he ordered the reserve platoon to map up these positions and with outstanding gallantry, pressed on with his main force to the second line of enemy defences which were on the edge of the woods.
As he approached the woods he was severely wounded in the hip and fell to the ground. Shouting to his men to carry on without him and urging them to get into the woods, he struggled to his feet and rejoined them as they reached the trenches of their objective. Here an elaborate system of underground dugouts and trenches was manned in considerable strength and vicious hand-to-hand fighting followed. Despite his wounds, Major Tilston's unyielding will to close with the enemy was a magnificent inspiration to his men as he led them in systematically clearing the trenches of the fiercely resisting enemy. In this fighting, two German company headquarters were overrun and many casualties were inflicted on the fanatical defenders.
Such had been the grimness of the fighting and so savage the enemy resistance that the company was now reduced to only 26 men, one quarter of its original strength. Before consolidation could be completed the enemy counter-attacked repeatedly, supported by a hail of mortar and machine-gun fire from the open flank. Major Tilston moved in the open from platoon to platoon quickly organizing their defence and directing fire against the advancing enemy. The enemy attacks penetrated so close to the positions that grenades were thrown into the trenches held by his troops, but this officer by personal contact, unshakable confidence and unquenchable enthusiasm so inspired his men that they held firm against great odds.
When the supply of ammunition became a serious problem he repeatedly crossed the bullet-swept ground to the company on his right flank to carry grenades, rifle and Bren ammunition to his troops and replaced a damaged wireless set to re-establish communications with battalion headquarters. He made at least six of these hazardous trips, each time crossing a road which was dominated by intense fire from numerous, well-sited enemy machine-gun posts.
On his last trip he was wounded for the third time, this time in the leg. He was found in a shell crater beside the road. Although very seriously wounded and barely conscious, he would not submit to medical attention until he had given complete instructions as to the defence plan, had emphasized the absolute necessity of holding the position, and had ordered his one remaining officer to take over.
By his calm courage, gallant conduct and total disregard for his own safety, he fired his men with grim determination and their firm stand enabled the regiment to accomplish its object of furnishing the brigade with a solid base through which to launch further successful attacks to clear the forest thus enabling the division to accomplish its task.'
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The London Gazette, 22nd May 1945
The Hochwald, Germany
March 1st, 1945
The Essex Scottish Regiment
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Frederick Albert Tilston was born in Toronto, Ontario, on the 11th of June 1906. He was educated at De La Salle High School, the Ontario College of Pharmacy and the University of Toronto. Prior to his enlistment in 1940 he was sales manager of a drug manufacturing company. He enlisted as a private but because of his age, education and experience, he was quickly promoted to sergeant and then to officer. The wounds received in the action described in the citation necessitated the amputation of both legs, but exactly one year later from the date of his injuries he returned to work for his former company in the capacity of vice-president in charge of sales. He later became president and then chairman of the board for that company. In 1963 he became Honorary Colonel of his old regiment which had been renamed the Essex and Kent Regiment. He resided in Toronto, Ontario until his death on the 23rd of September 1992. His family presented his Victoria Cross to the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto.
Citation
'The 2nd Canadian Division had been given the task of breaking through the strongly fortified Hochwald Forest defence line which covered Zanten, the last German bastion west of the Rhine protecting the vital Wesel Bridge escape route.
The Essex Scottish Regiment was ordered to breach the defence line north-east of Udem and to clear the northern half of the forest, through which the balance of the brigade would pass.
At 0715 hours on 1st March 1945, the attack was launched, but due to the softness of the ground it was found impossible to support the attack by tanks as had been planned.
Across approximately 500 yards of flat open country, in the face of intense enemy fire, Major Tilston personally led his company in the attack, keeping dangerously close to our own bursting shells in order to get the maximum cover from the barrage. Though wounded in the head he continued to lead his men forward, through a belt of wire ten feet in depth to the enemy trenches shouting orders and encouragement and using his Sten gun with great effect. When the platoon on the left came under heavy fire from an enemy machine-gun post, he dashed forward personally and silenced it with a grenade; he was first to reach the enemy position and took the first prisoner.
Determined to maintain the momentum of the attack he ordered the reserve platoon to map up these positions and with outstanding gallantry, pressed on with his main force to the second line of enemy defences which were on the edge of the woods.
As he approached the woods he was severely wounded in the hip and fell to the ground. Shouting to his men to carry on without him and urging them to get into the woods, he struggled to his feet and rejoined them as they reached the trenches of their objective. Here an elaborate system of underground dugouts and trenches was manned in considerable strength and vicious hand-to-hand fighting followed. Despite his wounds, Major Tilston's unyielding will to close with the enemy was a magnificent inspiration to his men as he led them in systematically clearing the trenches of the fiercely resisting enemy. In this fighting, two German company headquarters were overrun and many casualties were inflicted on the fanatical defenders.
Such had been the grimness of the fighting and so savage the enemy resistance that the company was now reduced to only 26 men, one quarter of its original strength. Before consolidation could be completed the enemy counter-attacked repeatedly, supported by a hail of mortar and machine-gun fire from the open flank. Major Tilston moved in the open from platoon to platoon quickly organizing their defence and directing fire against the advancing enemy. The enemy attacks penetrated so close to the positions that grenades were thrown into the trenches held by his troops, but this officer by personal contact, unshakable confidence and unquenchable enthusiasm so inspired his men that they held firm against great odds.
When the supply of ammunition became a serious problem he repeatedly crossed the bullet-swept ground to the company on his right flank to carry grenades, rifle and Bren ammunition to his troops and replaced a damaged wireless set to re-establish communications with battalion headquarters. He made at least six of these hazardous trips, each time crossing a road which was dominated by intense fire from numerous, well-sited enemy machine-gun posts.
On his last trip he was wounded for the third time, this time in the leg. He was found in a shell crater beside the road. Although very seriously wounded and barely conscious, he would not submit to medical attention until he had given complete instructions as to the defence plan, had emphasized the absolute necessity of holding the position, and had ordered his one remaining officer to take over.
By his calm courage, gallant conduct and total disregard for his own safety, he fired his men with grim determination and their firm stand enabled the regiment to accomplish its object of furnishing the brigade with a solid base through which to launch further successful attacks to clear the forest thus enabling the division to accomplish its task.'
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The London Gazette, 22nd May 1945
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-Hutch- said:
Interesting? the following quote is from Dileas by Kim Beattie;
" THE 48th Highlanders were on deck at full strength when
France was sighted on a morning so beautiful it rivalled the
brightness of their spirits, which were soaring. Replete with
American coffee and astonishing white bread, on which they had
gorged themselves, they had been jamming the limited deck space of
their LSTs since dawn. It was now nine o'clock on March 13th, and
they were nosing their way through the sunken ships at the narrow
mouth of Marseilles' harbour."
I've heard about the slow boat to China but two weeks to get from Italy to France, It didn't take that long to cross the Atlantic.
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Further to Operation Goldflake:
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/fourth_dimension/2004/mar04/15_fd_e.htm
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/fourth_dimension/2004/mar04/15_fd_e.htm
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By MURRAY CAMPBELL
Monday, February 28, 2005 Updated at 2:04 AM EST
From Monday's Globe and Mail
E-mail Murray CampbellRead BioLatest Columns
The headlines were becoming consistently cheerful, if that's not too tasteless a remark to make about a conflict in which thousands of people were dying every day. It was becoming increasingly obvious that, after more than five years, the Second World War was nearing an end.
The month-old Allied offensive that broke out of the Netherlands into Germany along a 300-kilometre front was picking up steam in the last week of February, 1945. The troops, including the 1st Canadian Army under General H..D..G. Crerar, had crashed into the enemy's industrial heartland along the Rhine and Ruhr Rivers. "Rhine Defences Crumbling," a Globe and Mail story exclaimed on Feb. 28. That was followed in the ensuing days by "Hun Quitting West of Rhine" and "Siegfried Defences in Chaos."
To the war-literate readers of the day (particularly if they knew that "Hun" was then a popular synonym for German), the message was clear: Troops from Canada, Britain and the United States would soon capture the factories that produced the weaponry for the awesome Nazi war machine.
The belief that the war was in its last days was so strong that Allied leaders were talking about â †and planning for â †the time when Hitler was gone and the world was once again at peace. Prime minister Winston Churchill told the British House of Commons on Feb. 27 that the great powers were ready for the collapse of the Third Reich. He pledged that when that happened, drastic steps would be taken "to render offensive action by Germany utterly impossible for generations to come."
Two days later, president Franklin Roosevelt said the United States had to use its power to secure peace and security for the future. "We shall have to take the responsibility for world collaboration or we shall have to bear the responsibility of another world conflict," he said from a wheelchair in the White House. (A Canadian Press dispatch described Roosevelt as "apparently in excellent health and spirits," but he died 12 days later.) There was also a good deal of activity surrounding the scheduled April 25 world security conference in San Francisco that would lead to the founding of the United Nations. In anticipation, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Costa Rica were declaring war on Germany before a March 1 deadline that excluded non-combatants from the meeting. Canada's prime minister, Mackenzie King, was planning to lead a delegation to San Francisco.
Looking ahead as well, a senior King minister, C..D. Howe, was predicting that war production would be cut by 35 per cent when hostilities in Europe ended and that surplus plants would be sold to U.S. interests. The Howe announcement coincided with others that pointed to a future in which not all economic activity would be targeted to the war effort. The Ontario government announced on March 2 that it would build a new highway between Toronto and Barrie to relieve congestion on Yonge Street. And the Toronto Transit Commission announced plans for $51-million subway lines along Yonge and Queen streets.
But as well as things were going, soldiers were still having to fight for every foot of territory. Canadian forces looking to cross the Rhine at the small German town of Xanten had to deal with enemy soldiers "fighting like madmen," according to CP's legendary war correspondent, Ross Munro. The Canadians (and British troops fighting under Gen. Crerar's command) had just fought their way out of the dank Hochwald Forest.
German soldiers, who had pulled back to the eastern bank of the Rhine, shelled the arriving Canadians with 88-mm artillery guns. Munro said the Canadians, glad to have the bitter five-day Hochwald battle behind them, could make out Xanten's cathedral through the smokescreen that drifted like fog over the rolling, wooded countryside. "Our infantry regarded it as the last lap of the struggle before they storm across the Rhine and put new energy into the advance," Munro wrote on March 5.
Meanwhile, tanks from the U.S. 1st Army had entered Cologne, Germany's fourth-largest city, and enemy troops were fleeing at such a rate that field dispatches reckoned there were only a thousand soldiers left to defend it. In retreat, the Germans blew up the massive Hohenzollern rail and road bridge into Cologne along with most other bridges between Bonn and the Netherlands. By doing so, the Germans sealed the fate of more than 50,000 of their troops on the western bank of the Rhine. By this point in the war, an estimated 550,000 German soldiers were trapped far behind Allied lines on both sides of Europe.
Five of them were caught by Lance-Corporal L..D. Cameron of Prince Albert, Sask., near Udem, Germany. Detailed to prepare a prisoner-of-war compound just behind the front lines, he was surprised when five German soldiers (one carrying an automatic weapon) crawled from a wrecked house to surrender and stood meekly while he built the cage around them.
The soldiers clearly were disregarding the advice of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, who urged his countrymen in a Feb. 28 speech to die rather than capitulate to the Allies. Noting that the war had taken a "woeful turn" in recent weeks, he vowed greater areas of Britain would be shelled by V-weapons. "The war is by no means ended yet," Goebbels said.
U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower, commander of the Allied forces, begged to disagree. He was urging German officers to surrender for the sake of the enlisted men in their units. "The end is merely a question of time," he said in a radio broadcast. "It is in Germany's interest to put an end to this useless bloodshed. The decision is up to the German officer."
But the Nazi effort hadn't entirely run out of steam despite the massive setbacks it had suffered. On March 4, German bombers raided England for the first time since the previous June. The planes dropped high-explosive and incendiary bombs on towns and villages in the northern part of the country and also flew low over roads to spray them with machine-gun fire.
The Allies got an indication that the enemy was still prepared to fight when they received news that a new type of U-boat submarine capable of firing the V-series rockets had sunk while on trial in Norway. Resistance fighters in Norway said the Germans had been planning on using the vessel to attack U.S. coastal towns.
Even as the prospect of Allied victory neared, however, Canadians were being warned that the rationing with which they had lived for years wouldn't disappear immediately. In particular, meat supplies were predicted to remain tight because of the need to ship products to newly liberated Belgium and the Netherlands.
But if Canadians were growing weary of the war's toll, they weren't showing it. On March 2, the government launched its eighth Victory Bond drive amid indications that it would surpass its objective of $1.5-billion. Each of the seven earlier drives since the first war bond was issued in January, 1940, raised more than the one before it. By the winter of 1945, Canada had raised an astonishing $8.1-billion or about $810 from each of its 10 million citizens.
Please e-mail the Dominion Institute at staff@dominion.ca if you have any letters or photos from Canadian soldiers who died in the final months of the Second World War.
Monday, February 28, 2005 Updated at 2:04 AM EST
From Monday's Globe and Mail
E-mail Murray CampbellRead BioLatest Columns
The headlines were becoming consistently cheerful, if that's not too tasteless a remark to make about a conflict in which thousands of people were dying every day. It was becoming increasingly obvious that, after more than five years, the Second World War was nearing an end.
The month-old Allied offensive that broke out of the Netherlands into Germany along a 300-kilometre front was picking up steam in the last week of February, 1945. The troops, including the 1st Canadian Army under General H..D..G. Crerar, had crashed into the enemy's industrial heartland along the Rhine and Ruhr Rivers. "Rhine Defences Crumbling," a Globe and Mail story exclaimed on Feb. 28. That was followed in the ensuing days by "Hun Quitting West of Rhine" and "Siegfried Defences in Chaos."
To the war-literate readers of the day (particularly if they knew that "Hun" was then a popular synonym for German), the message was clear: Troops from Canada, Britain and the United States would soon capture the factories that produced the weaponry for the awesome Nazi war machine.
The belief that the war was in its last days was so strong that Allied leaders were talking about â †and planning for â †the time when Hitler was gone and the world was once again at peace. Prime minister Winston Churchill told the British House of Commons on Feb. 27 that the great powers were ready for the collapse of the Third Reich. He pledged that when that happened, drastic steps would be taken "to render offensive action by Germany utterly impossible for generations to come."
Two days later, president Franklin Roosevelt said the United States had to use its power to secure peace and security for the future. "We shall have to take the responsibility for world collaboration or we shall have to bear the responsibility of another world conflict," he said from a wheelchair in the White House. (A Canadian Press dispatch described Roosevelt as "apparently in excellent health and spirits," but he died 12 days later.) There was also a good deal of activity surrounding the scheduled April 25 world security conference in San Francisco that would lead to the founding of the United Nations. In anticipation, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Costa Rica were declaring war on Germany before a March 1 deadline that excluded non-combatants from the meeting. Canada's prime minister, Mackenzie King, was planning to lead a delegation to San Francisco.
Looking ahead as well, a senior King minister, C..D. Howe, was predicting that war production would be cut by 35 per cent when hostilities in Europe ended and that surplus plants would be sold to U.S. interests. The Howe announcement coincided with others that pointed to a future in which not all economic activity would be targeted to the war effort. The Ontario government announced on March 2 that it would build a new highway between Toronto and Barrie to relieve congestion on Yonge Street. And the Toronto Transit Commission announced plans for $51-million subway lines along Yonge and Queen streets.
But as well as things were going, soldiers were still having to fight for every foot of territory. Canadian forces looking to cross the Rhine at the small German town of Xanten had to deal with enemy soldiers "fighting like madmen," according to CP's legendary war correspondent, Ross Munro. The Canadians (and British troops fighting under Gen. Crerar's command) had just fought their way out of the dank Hochwald Forest.
German soldiers, who had pulled back to the eastern bank of the Rhine, shelled the arriving Canadians with 88-mm artillery guns. Munro said the Canadians, glad to have the bitter five-day Hochwald battle behind them, could make out Xanten's cathedral through the smokescreen that drifted like fog over the rolling, wooded countryside. "Our infantry regarded it as the last lap of the struggle before they storm across the Rhine and put new energy into the advance," Munro wrote on March 5.
Meanwhile, tanks from the U.S. 1st Army had entered Cologne, Germany's fourth-largest city, and enemy troops were fleeing at such a rate that field dispatches reckoned there were only a thousand soldiers left to defend it. In retreat, the Germans blew up the massive Hohenzollern rail and road bridge into Cologne along with most other bridges between Bonn and the Netherlands. By doing so, the Germans sealed the fate of more than 50,000 of their troops on the western bank of the Rhine. By this point in the war, an estimated 550,000 German soldiers were trapped far behind Allied lines on both sides of Europe.
Five of them were caught by Lance-Corporal L..D. Cameron of Prince Albert, Sask., near Udem, Germany. Detailed to prepare a prisoner-of-war compound just behind the front lines, he was surprised when five German soldiers (one carrying an automatic weapon) crawled from a wrecked house to surrender and stood meekly while he built the cage around them.
The soldiers clearly were disregarding the advice of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, who urged his countrymen in a Feb. 28 speech to die rather than capitulate to the Allies. Noting that the war had taken a "woeful turn" in recent weeks, he vowed greater areas of Britain would be shelled by V-weapons. "The war is by no means ended yet," Goebbels said.
U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower, commander of the Allied forces, begged to disagree. He was urging German officers to surrender for the sake of the enlisted men in their units. "The end is merely a question of time," he said in a radio broadcast. "It is in Germany's interest to put an end to this useless bloodshed. The decision is up to the German officer."
But the Nazi effort hadn't entirely run out of steam despite the massive setbacks it had suffered. On March 4, German bombers raided England for the first time since the previous June. The planes dropped high-explosive and incendiary bombs on towns and villages in the northern part of the country and also flew low over roads to spray them with machine-gun fire.
The Allies got an indication that the enemy was still prepared to fight when they received news that a new type of U-boat submarine capable of firing the V-series rockets had sunk while on trial in Norway. Resistance fighters in Norway said the Germans had been planning on using the vessel to attack U.S. coastal towns.
Even as the prospect of Allied victory neared, however, Canadians were being warned that the rationing with which they had lived for years wouldn't disappear immediately. In particular, meat supplies were predicted to remain tight because of the need to ship products to newly liberated Belgium and the Netherlands.
But if Canadians were growing weary of the war's toll, they weren't showing it. On March 2, the government launched its eighth Victory Bond drive amid indications that it would surpass its objective of $1.5-billion. Each of the seven earlier drives since the first war bond was issued in January, 1940, raised more than the one before it. By the winter of 1945, Canada had raised an astonishing $8.1-billion or about $810 from each of its 10 million citizens.
Please e-mail the Dominion Institute at staff@dominion.ca if you have any letters or photos from Canadian soldiers who died in the final months of the Second World War.
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1941: Five Royal Navy destroyers and two troop transports landed 500 British Commandos, Royal Engineers and Free Norwegian troops at dawn on the Lofoten Islands, in the first Commando raid, Operation Claymore. In the eight hours they were ashore, the raiders took prisoner 200 Germans, and destroyed the oil factories on the islands. However, perhaps the most significant haul was the capture of coding rotors for the Enigma cryptographic system, found aboard a German armed trawler.
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5 March 1943: Bomber Command began what Sir Arthur Harris called "The Battle of the Ruhr", with a sustained series of attacks on the German industrial heartland. The first attack was on Essen, home of the Krupps armaments complex and much other heavy industry. 442 aircraft were sent against the city, one of the aircraft clocking up Bomber Command's 100,000th sortie of the war. Essen was always one of Bomber Command's most difficult targets, since it was very heavily defended, and usually hidden under a heavy industrial haze. On this occasion, however, the new Oboe precision bombing system, fitted to Pathfinder Mosquitoes, allowed the target to be marked accurately, and 160 acres were destroyed, with heavy damage caused to the Krupps works.
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5 March 1995 The Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded. There is no more to be said.
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Just so we have no cheeeece and keeeep those with blinkers on happy.
Today in History 13/3/1964
Between 13 and 23 March Royal Canadian Air Force Yukon transport aircraft deliver troops and supplies to the newly-created peacekeeping force on the island of Cyprus as part of Operation "SNOWGOOSE"
Today in History 13/3/1940
An agreement is reached for the Canadian army to provide coastal guns to protect Bell Island, Newfoundland.
Today in History 13/3/1964
Between 13 and 23 March Royal Canadian Air Force Yukon transport aircraft deliver troops and supplies to the newly-created peacekeeping force on the island of Cyprus as part of Operation "SNOWGOOSE"
Today in History 13/3/1940
An agreement is reached for the Canadian army to provide coastal guns to protect Bell Island, Newfoundland.
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There's nothing for today from the military calendar. We need to find something... Okay here we go, I'll put them here so they are peer reviewed before they are added to the calendar.
My source of information is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_15
15 March:
44 B.C- Julius Caesar is assassinated on the steps of the Theatrum Pompeium by conspirators including Gaius Trebonius, Decimus Junius Brutus, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Gaius Cassius Longinus.
1781- American Revolutionary War: Battle of Guilford Courthouse - Near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, 1,900 British troops under General Charles Cornwallis defeat an American force numbering 4,400.
1916- President Woodrow Wilson sends 12,000 United States troops over the Mexican border to pursue Pancho Villa.
1919- The American Legion is formed
1939- Nazi troops occupy the remaining part of Bohemia and Moravia; Czechoslovakia ceases to exist.
1944- Battle of Monte Cassino - Allied aircraft bomb the Nazi-held monastery and stage an assault.
1989- The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is established.
1991- Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.
1991- Iraq hangs British journalist Farzad Bazoft for spying.
A more Canadian slant from http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/tih/tih_e.html
15 March 1900
Canadian troops in South Africa enter Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State.
15 March 1918
Troops from the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles carry out a "successful" raid against the German defences near Mericourt. For the loss of 32 men, Canadians kill 35 of the enemy and take 19 prisoners.
15 March 1979
In the Cabot Strait the British tanker Kurdistan breaks in two in heavy seas and ice. A Canadian Coast Guard vessel rescues 40 seamen from the sinking ship.
And here http://www.forces.gc.ca/hr/dhh/history_archives/engraph/significant_dates_e.asp?cat=1
15/3/1945
The First Canadian Corps takes over the sector along the Waal River in Holland upon its arrival from the Italian theatre of war. As a result, both Canadian corps now form part of the First Canadian Army.
Some more from http://www.strategypage.com/militaryhistory.asp
1916 Fifth Battle of the Isonzo ends (from Mar 5)
1930 USS Nautilus is launched
1942 Japanese begin an intensive bombardment of forts guarding Manila Bay.
1942 Hawaii: NY's 27th Inf Div arrives, first division to arrive overseas in WW II.
1943 U.S. Navy forces in the Central Pacific are designated the Fifth Fleet.
1944 U.S. Army troops invade Manus island in the Admiralties.
1945 British secure Mandalay.
1957 Britain becomes the third nation to detonate a nuclear bomb.
I think I over killed, ah well. While looking for these things I came across some that some could say could be military history. I would like to know the scope of the Today in History, what it does and doesn't include. Give some good examples of each. I don't want a "military history, duh" answer.
My source of information is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_15
15 March:
44 B.C- Julius Caesar is assassinated on the steps of the Theatrum Pompeium by conspirators including Gaius Trebonius, Decimus Junius Brutus, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Gaius Cassius Longinus.
1781- American Revolutionary War: Battle of Guilford Courthouse - Near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, 1,900 British troops under General Charles Cornwallis defeat an American force numbering 4,400.
1916- President Woodrow Wilson sends 12,000 United States troops over the Mexican border to pursue Pancho Villa.
1919- The American Legion is formed
1939- Nazi troops occupy the remaining part of Bohemia and Moravia; Czechoslovakia ceases to exist.
1944- Battle of Monte Cassino - Allied aircraft bomb the Nazi-held monastery and stage an assault.
1989- The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is established.
1991- Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.
1991- Iraq hangs British journalist Farzad Bazoft for spying.
A more Canadian slant from http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/tih/tih_e.html
15 March 1900
Canadian troops in South Africa enter Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State.
15 March 1918
Troops from the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles carry out a "successful" raid against the German defences near Mericourt. For the loss of 32 men, Canadians kill 35 of the enemy and take 19 prisoners.
15 March 1979
In the Cabot Strait the British tanker Kurdistan breaks in two in heavy seas and ice. A Canadian Coast Guard vessel rescues 40 seamen from the sinking ship.
And here http://www.forces.gc.ca/hr/dhh/history_archives/engraph/significant_dates_e.asp?cat=1
15/3/1945
The First Canadian Corps takes over the sector along the Waal River in Holland upon its arrival from the Italian theatre of war. As a result, both Canadian corps now form part of the First Canadian Army.
Some more from http://www.strategypage.com/militaryhistory.asp
1916 Fifth Battle of the Isonzo ends (from Mar 5)
1930 USS Nautilus is launched
1942 Japanese begin an intensive bombardment of forts guarding Manila Bay.
1942 Hawaii: NY's 27th Inf Div arrives, first division to arrive overseas in WW II.
1943 U.S. Navy forces in the Central Pacific are designated the Fifth Fleet.
1944 U.S. Army troops invade Manus island in the Admiralties.
1945 British secure Mandalay.
1957 Britain becomes the third nation to detonate a nuclear bomb.
I think I over killed, ah well. While looking for these things I came across some that some could say could be military history. I would like to know the scope of the Today in History, what it does and doesn't include. Give some good examples of each. I don't want a "military history, duh" answer.
- Reaction score
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Julius Caesar was added by someone, are any of the other entries good to go up?
(Looking in the Direction of Big Bad John, Mr. Dorosh or any of the Army.ca history buffs)
(Looking in the Direction of Big Bad John, Mr. Dorosh or any of the Army.ca history buffs)
- Reaction score
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March 17th,461 According to tradition, St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, died in Saul.
Happy Saint Paddy's Day all.
March 17th 1776 British forces evacuated Boston during the Revolutionary War.
March 17th 2003 Edging to the brink of war, President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave his country. Iraq rejected the ultimatum.
Happy Saint Paddy's Day all.
March 17th 1776 British forces evacuated Boston during the Revolutionary War.
March 17th 2003 Edging to the brink of war, President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave his country. Iraq rejected the ultimatum.
- Reaction score
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- Points
- 410
1917 London England - Robert Laird Borden 1854-1937 attends Imperial War Conference; to April 27.
1916 France/Belgium - : German army starts offensive on the Somme before American troops can arrive to join the War; Second Battle of the Somme ends in November, with one million casualties.
1885 Fort Carlton Saskatchewan - Louis Riel 1844-1885 demands surrender of Crozier's NWMP detachment at Fort Carlton; 32 km from Batoche.
1916 France/Belgium - : German army starts offensive on the Somme before American troops can arrive to join the War; Second Battle of the Somme ends in November, with one million casualties.
1885 Fort Carlton Saskatchewan - Louis Riel 1844-1885 demands surrender of Crozier's NWMP detachment at Fort Carlton; 32 km from Batoche.
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 410
1949 Also On This Day...
St. John's Newfoundland - Newfoundland joins Confederation as Canada's 10th province; oldest Dominion in the British Commonwealth joins 82 years after Confederatio.
1943 Ottawa Ontario - Finance Minister J. L. Ilsley announces that wartime meat rationing by coupon will begin in early May.
1914 Ottawa Ontario - Canada now has 3,000 officers and men in the Permanent Force; 5,615 officers and 68,991 men in the militia.
St. John's Newfoundland - Newfoundland joins Confederation as Canada's 10th province; oldest Dominion in the British Commonwealth joins 82 years after Confederatio.
1943 Ottawa Ontario - Finance Minister J. L. Ilsley announces that wartime meat rationing by coupon will begin in early May.
1914 Ottawa Ontario - Canada now has 3,000 officers and men in the Permanent Force; 5,615 officers and 68,991 men in the militia.
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 410
9/4/1869
Le Régiment de la Chaudiere is organized as 'The Provisional Battalion of Dorchester'
9/4/1917
Vimy Ridge is captured by the Canadian Corps
9/4/1917
For their actions at Vimy Ridge, Ellis Sifton of the 18th Battalion, Captain Thain MacDowell of the 38th Battalion, and Private William Milne of the 16th Battalion, C.E.F. earn the Victoria Cross.
9/4/1940
The Department of Munitions and Supply is established.
Le Régiment de la Chaudiere is organized as 'The Provisional Battalion of Dorchester'
9/4/1917
Vimy Ridge is captured by the Canadian Corps
9/4/1917
For their actions at Vimy Ridge, Ellis Sifton of the 18th Battalion, Captain Thain MacDowell of the 38th Battalion, and Private William Milne of the 16th Battalion, C.E.F. earn the Victoria Cross.
9/4/1940
The Department of Munitions and Supply is established.
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 410
10/4/1917
Actions by Private John Pattison of the 50th Battalion, C.E.F. at Vimy Ridge earn him the Victoria Cross.
10/4/1937
The Foreign Enlistment Act is passed by Parliament and is designed to prevent Canadians from volunteering in the Spanish Civil War.
(Still Enacted to Day)
10/4/1953
No. 1 Air Division, Royal Canadian Air Force, completes its move from Paris to Metz, France
Actions by Private John Pattison of the 50th Battalion, C.E.F. at Vimy Ridge earn him the Victoria Cross.
10/4/1937
The Foreign Enlistment Act is passed by Parliament and is designed to prevent Canadians from volunteering in the Spanish Civil War.
(Still Enacted to Day)
10/4/1953
No. 1 Air Division, Royal Canadian Air Force, completes its move from Paris to Metz, France
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
Spr.Earl said:
It's also worth pointing out these numbers are Army only - the RCAF didn't exist, and the RCN was still in its' infancy - plus, Canada's population was only 7,879,000 as compared to today's 31,946,316 (from [urlStatistics Canada]http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/98-187-XIE/pop.htm[/url]).
Thus, we'd have to quadruple the 1914 parade strength in order to "translate" it:
12,000 Permanent Force, and a Militia of 22,460 offrs and 275,964 NCM ... totalling 290,224.
Finally, in researching to ensure I got my facts straight, I stumbled across this gem:
... Immediately prior to the onset of the First World War, the premier of British Columbia, in a fit of public spirit, purchased two submarines (CC1 and CC2) from a shipyard in Washington that had been built for the Chilean navy, but the purchase had fallen through. On August 7, 1914, the federal government purchased them from the B.C. provincial government and they were in turn commissioned into the RCN. ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Navy#Formation_Years
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 360
1813: Colonel Bruyeres of the Royal Engineers writes to Sir George Prevost, commanding British forces in Canada, about the need to build a small flotilla of gunboats for Lake Huron.
1899: During the Yukon Gold Rush, the detachment of Canadian troops from the Yukon Field Force at Ft. Selkirk has settled into the routine of winter garrison life.
1945: 45 Commando Royal Marines distinguished itself in fighting around the Montforterbeek stream near the Maas in Holland. During the action, three Royal Marines from one troop fell wounded in open ground. Lance Corporal Harden, a Royal Army Medical Corps orderly attached to the Commando, braved enemy fire to reach them. Having dressed their wounds, he then hoisted the first casualty onto his back and carried him back to safety, but suffered a wound himself in the process. Despite this, he immediately returned with two stretcher bearers to collect the second Marine. Unfortunately, the Marine was hit as they carried him back and killed. Undeterred, Harden led the rescue party back for the third man, and this time was himself hit again and killed. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.
1953: F/L E. A. Glover R.C.A.F. is awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in Korea
1995: Defence Minister David Collenette disbands the Canadian Airborne Regiment
1899: During the Yukon Gold Rush, the detachment of Canadian troops from the Yukon Field Force at Ft. Selkirk has settled into the routine of winter garrison life.
1945: 45 Commando Royal Marines distinguished itself in fighting around the Montforterbeek stream near the Maas in Holland. During the action, three Royal Marines from one troop fell wounded in open ground. Lance Corporal Harden, a Royal Army Medical Corps orderly attached to the Commando, braved enemy fire to reach them. Having dressed their wounds, he then hoisted the first casualty onto his back and carried him back to safety, but suffered a wound himself in the process. Despite this, he immediately returned with two stretcher bearers to collect the second Marine. Unfortunately, the Marine was hit as they carried him back and killed. Undeterred, Harden led the rescue party back for the third man, and this time was himself hit again and killed. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.
1953: F/L E. A. Glover R.C.A.F. is awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in Korea
1995: Defence Minister David Collenette disbands the Canadian Airborne Regiment
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
bossi said:
Gong- already covered in depth in a question of the hour session. A search of the BC archives will revel several photographs of the submarines and more primary source information9 search word- submarine or McBride. I have also posted the title and authors of a fantastic book on the subject in that thread. Gee it is nice to get a legitimate jab in against directing staff every now and again.
Cheers
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