John McCrae and the Battles of Flanders

An item from the Legion Magazine.

Spain and Britain settle a trade war

Story by Sharon Adams

Spain and Great Britain once nearly went to war over what is now a part of Canada. The Spanish were the first Europeans to explore and claim the Pacific Northwest. In 1493, Pope Alexander VI granted Spain a claim to any lands they discovered west of the Azores not already held by a Christian prince.

John McCrae and the Battles of Flanders
– On newsstands Nov. 1

John McCrae—doctor, gunner and poet—was shaken by the battlefield death of a friend in May 1915, and wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields” in tribute. The poem took on a life of its own, and remains today a renowned symbol of remembrance. As a surgeon, McCrae also saved the lives of countless Canadian soldiers, wounded in the fierce battles on the muddy, cratered fields of Belgium’s Flanders region.

Raeder’s defence: German admiral
fights for his doomed fleet

Story by Stephen J. Thorne

Nazi Germany’s top naval commander mounted an epic defence of his sailors and their ships before an outraged Führer in January 1943, boldly predicting catastrophe if Hitler followed through on threats to scrap his high-seas fleet.

Documents seized by Allied forces at the end of the Second World War cast a light on the continuing struggle Hitler’s senior military officers had in waging war and reasoning with their wilful boss.