Canadian Army

Badge of the Canadian Army

The Canadian Forces Land Force Command (LFC), often called the Canadian Army, is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces. The Canadian Army as such only existed under that name from November 1940 to February 1968. However, the term has been traditionally applied to the ground forces of Canada's military from Confederation in 1867 to the present. In August 2011, the government restored the name "Canadian Army" for Land Force Command.

Canadian Army in Southern Victory

Federation and Formation

The Canadian Army evolved from the various British garrison forces on the North American continent in the 19th century, upon Canadian Confederation in 1867. A more permanent, and professional force was formed in the years following the War of Secession as relations between the Empire and the United States soured. Many in the US saw the Canadian Army as nothing but a puppet army of the British.

The Second Mexican War

In 1881, as war clouds loomed, the Canadian Army was mobilised, along with volunteers. Britain also sent the Canadians reinforcements from England. As the Second Mexican War began, the British took command of the Canadian Army, but were hesitant to help the Confederacy. Although the British Empire had declared war on the United States, and the Royal Navy had formed and enforced a naval and economic blockade of the US, the combined armies in Canada only patrolled the border, as the British did not fully trust the Confederates to manumit their slaves.

During the Siege of Louisville, the CS Army captured and returned US reporter, Frederick Douglass unharmed, thus proving to the British Empire that they were sincere on manumitting their slaves. After this political victory for the Confederates, the forces stationed in Canada finally moved against the US, launching two major offensives in Maine and Montana.

South of the border, US commanders were ill-prepared. This allowed the Canadians and their British Allies to defeat the US Army in Maine and drove them south, capturing the upper St. John and Aroostook River valleys. This resulted in Canada annexing these territories into their country. However, in Montana Territory, an entire Canadian division under the leadership of British General Charles Gordon was routed by US troops after they charged Yankee defensive positions head on and were decimated by the fire power of eight Gatling guns. Canadian history would portray General Gordon in a positive light, claiming that the battle was a 'Lucky Ambush.'

The Great War

In the years following the Second Mexican War, the Canadian Army introduced conscription after the US Army did the same. When the US allied with Germany, the Canadian Army adopted a defensive strategy should war ever come again with their US counterpart. Their grand plan involved delaying the US Army until England, France and Russia could beat Germany, and then turn their full might on the US. Fortifications were constructed along strategic points on their frontier, particularly in Ontario.

When the Great War began in 1914, the Canadian Army was mobilized, and reinforced by the British, but they were still vastly out-numbered by the US Army invading their country.  Despite of all the fortifications they had constructed, they were forced back into Canada.  Nonetheless, the Canadian fortifications inflicted substantial casualties on the American forces during the Anglo-Canadian retreat.  This slowed the USA's advance and in some fronts, stopped it all together, allowing the combined armies to hold the line at various strategic points along the frontier.

Offensive Operations

Although on the defensive, the Canadian Army was able to maintain an offensive defence by using raiders who stayed behind enemy lines to raid supply dumps and sabotage rail lines. The first Canadian offensive operation was launched outside Winnipeg in 1915, and although it pushed the Americans back from the town, it was quickly stopped by a US counter attack. The second offensive in 1916 in Southwestern Ontario was far more successful. Aided with British Mark I Tanks, they and the British managed to push the Americans back five miles before finally running out of steam. Unfortunately, both offensives used up manpower that couldn't be replaced, and it was the last time the Canadians advanced. From then onwards, they would be on the defensive.

Defeat and Surrender

By 1917, the combined numerical advantage of US troops and newer, improved tactics finally took their toll on the Canadian Army. As the year began, Quebec City fell, allowing it to be established as the capital of the Republic of Quebec. Shortly after that, the vital town of Winnipeg was finally captured, cutting the East of from food supplies in the West. The US Army finally broke out of it's box between the St. Lawrence, Ottawa and Ridea rivers where it had been penned up since the start of the war. Lastly, emulating the success of the Barrel Roll Offensive in Tennessee, the US army in Ontario massed their barrels against the Canadians and British at the last line of defense outside Toronto, breaking through and pushing them all the way into the city, making it all the way to High Park. This disaster, along with the collapse of the Confederacy, forced Canada to seek an armistice. After the peace treaty was signed, the US occupied Canada and disbanded the Canadian Army.

Despite the fact that they had the smallest army, many in both the USA and CSA respected the Canadians doggedness. They often compared them to the Belgians who fought like mad for what little remained of their country, and that they weren't the pushover everyone believed that they would be. Although defeated, they had outlasted all of their larger allied counterparts, making them the last army to lay down their arms.

Canadian Army in "The Eighth-Grade History Class Visits the Hebrew Home for the Aging"

Anne Berkowitz (née Frank) saw the Canadian Army take back the Netherlands from the Germans in World War II in 1945. Berkowitz, her family, and several others, had hidden in an office building's Secret Annexe and evaded the concentration camps.

In fact, Berkowitz also lost her virginity to a Canadian soldier, viewing the victorious liberators as more attractive than the defeated Dutchmen. She didn't tell this to the Junipero Middle School history class that interviewed her in her twilight years in 2013.

Canadian Army in The War That Came Early

The Canadian Army was mobilised in 1938 when World War II began, and immediately began shipping troops across the Atlantic to Europe to aid the United Kingdom and France against Germany. 

Canadian troop transports were a high priority for U-boats prowling the Atlantic, which resulted in the unfortunate sinking of the SS Athenia in January 1939.

Canadian Army in Worldwar

Although the Canadian Army was defending the United Kingdom during World War II, approximately half of their army and three-quarters of its air-force personnel were still on home soil when the Race arrived in mid 1942. The Canadian Army entered the war against the Race when they invaded Southwestern Ontario. Although not as large as their US neighbour, the Canadian Army was able to prevent the Race from further expansion into their homeland.

Despite this, they were unable to remove the Race from their lands, resulting in a stalemate on the Canadian front, until the Peace of Cairo in 1944, when Canada's independence was recognised and the Race withdrew. Aside from the Swiss, the Canadian Army was the only other minor army to engage the Race in combat on their own soil, and emerge victorious. This could be due to the fact that the Race didn't view the cold territory of Canada as prime colonisation ground and didn't put much effort in the invasion.