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Introduction
Prior to Confederation in 1867, residents of the colonies in what is now Canada served as regular members of French and British forces and in local militia groups. The latter aided in the defence of their respective territories against attacks by other European powers, Aboriginal peoples, and later American forces during the American Revolution and War of 1812, as well as in the Fenian raids and North-West Rebellion. Consequently, the lineages of some Canadian army units stretch back to the early 19th century, when militia units were formed to assist in the defence of British North America against invasion by the United States.
The current iteration of the Canadian Forces dates from 1 February 1968, when the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged into a unified structure. Its roots, however, lie in colonial militia groups that served alongside garrisons of the French and British armies and navies; a structure that remained in place until the early 20th century. Thereafter, a distinctly Canadian army and navy was established, followed by an air force, that, because of the constitutional arrangements at the time, remained effectively under the control of the British government until Canada gained legislative independence from the United Kingdom in 1931, partly due to the performance and sacrifice of the Canadian Corps in the First World War.
The Canadian forces were then heavily involved in the Second World War (which, as with the previous world war, involved conscription) and Korean War, and, from the 1950s on, actively worked with her NATO Allies to counter the threats of the Cold War. Land Forces during this period also deployed in support of peacekeeping operations within United Nations sanctioned conflicts. The nature of the Canadian Forces has continued to evolve. They are currently engaged in Afghanistan, under the NATO-led United Nations International Security Assistance Force, at the request of the Government of Afghanistan.
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The Victoria Cross is awarded for "the most conspicuous bravery, a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty, in the presence of the enemy" at any point after 1 January 1993, may be presented posthumously, and, unlike its British counterpart, may be revoked. The main distinction between the Victoria Cross and the Cross of Valour is the specific reference to "the enemy", which the Canadian government has defined as a force hostile towards the Canadian Crown, including armed mutineers, rebels, rioters, and pirates, meaning that the Queen-in-Council does not officially have to declare war to give acknowledgement of the existence of a hostile force that fits the official description. Thus, a Canadian serving as part of a peacekeeping operation is eligible to be awarded the Victoria Cross if the service member fulfils the above criteria.
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These forces joined before Quebec City in December, where they assaulted the city in a snowstorm on the last day of the year. The battle was a disastrous defeat for the Americans; Montgomery was killed and Arnold wounded, and the city's defenders suffered few casualties. Arnold then conducted an ineffectual siege on the city, during which Loyalist sentiments were boosted by successful propaganda campaigns, and General David Wooster's blunt administration of Montreal served to annoy both supporters and detractors of the Americans.
Did you know? -
- ..that the Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard ferry, Sankaty, set fire to the famous whaler Charles W. Morgan before being commissioned as a minelayer by the Royal Canadian Navy?
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Military of Canada category
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Military of Canada featured articles
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Canadian military history task force- Featured articles
- Battle of Arras (1917)
- Battle of The Cedars
- Battle of Verrières Ridge
- Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec
- Black Friday (1945)
- Isaac Brock
- Canadian National Vimy Memorial
- Canoe River train crash
- Operation Charnwood
- Falaise Pocket
- Ray Farquharson
- Operation Goodwood (naval)
- Halifax Explosion
- If Day
- Angus Lewis Macdonald
- John A. Macdonald
- Manhattan Project
- Melville Island (Nova Scotia)
- Pontiac's War
- Battle of Quebec (1775)
- Mark Satin
- Laura Secord
- Surrender of Japan
- Operation Tractable
- Operation Varsity
- Victoria Cross (Canada)
- Battle of Vimy Ridge
- Featured lists
- A-Class articles
- Good articles
2nd Canadian Regiment- 410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron
- Edwin Alderson
- Battle of Amiens (1918)
- Liberation of Arnhem
- Avro Canada CF-103
- Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow
- Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar
- John Babcock
- Battle of Hill 70
- Battle of Bloody Creek (1711)
- Battle of Fort Cumberland
- Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial
- John Braham (RAF officer)
- British cavalry during the First World War
- Hubert Brooks
- C and D-class destroyer
- Moro River Campaign
- Canadian Afghan detainee issue
- HMS Comet (H00)
- Convoy Faith
- HMS Crescent (1931)
- HMS Crusader (H60)
- HMS Cygnet (H83)
- HMS Decoy (H75)
- HMS Diana (H49)
- HMS Duncan (D99)
- E and F-class destroyer
- John Emilius Fauquier
- SS Fort Stikine
- HMS Fortune (H70)
- HMS Foxhound (H69)
- Franklin's lost expedition
- HMCS Fredericton (K245)
- G and H-class destroyer
- Imperial Gift
- In Flanders Fields
- Invasion of Quebec (1775)
- Juno Beach
- Battle of Kapyong
- HMS Kempenfelt (I18)
- George Kenney
- Lachine massacre
- Frank McGee (ice hockey)
- Masumi Mitsui
- Battle of Mont Sorrel
- Montreal Laboratory
- Leonard W. Murray
- NATO
- Normandy landings
- Operation Backstop
- Operation Overlord
- First Battle of Passchendaele
- Francis Pegahmagabow
- Battle of the Plains of Abraham
- HMCS Protecteur (AOR 509)
- Battle of Quebec (1690)
- Quebec Expedition
- Queen Anne's War
- Royal Canadian Air Cadets
- HMT Royal Edward
- Second Battle of Passchendaele
- Siege of Fort St. Jean
- Conn Smythe
- Operation Totalize
- Battle of Trois-Rivières
- Operation Windsor
- World War II
- Walter Zinn
Military of Canada articles
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