The Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site near Prescott, Ont., where some 250 Americans attempted to invade and “liberate” Canada from the British. [Dennis G. Jarvis/Wikimedia]

The Hunters become the hunted,
Part 1: The 1838 U.S. invasion of Canada

STORY BY RUSSELL HILLIER

It’s not that I doubted whether visiting the battlefield at Windmill Point was a good idea, but more a case of if it was a good idea on this day. An iron-grey sky had produced a drizzling rain that the forecast assured would get worse. So, I packed hastily, hoping to outrun a darkening sky.

The Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site is located only an hour’s drive from Ottawa. It’s where, in 1838, some 250 armed American invaders rode the momentum force of manifest destiny northward, only to meet a violent end at the hands of British regulars and Canadian militia. The battle itself gets overshadowed figuratively by the War of 1812 and geographically by nearby Fort Wellington. Yet, I’ve always been intrigued by it and the question: Why would hundreds of people pick up their rifles, cross an international border and invade a country that they were not at war with?

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A crew of 10 Squadron, Royal Air Force, that undertook five mine-laying, or gardening, operations in early 1944. [Courtesy Jane Gulliford Lowes]

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STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

Forget-me-nots and nectarines; broccoli and sweet pea; daffodil and quince. These aren’t words typically associated with the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command, including its Canadian formations, during the Second World War.

The Ruhr, perhaps; Berlin and Hamburg, certainly—and Dresden. Such names, controversial though some might be, resonate.

Nevertheless, argues British historian Jane Gulliford Lowes, there’s an untold air war story in the likes of geraniums and jasmines.

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9 must-watch movies featuring Canada at war

STORY BY LEGION MAGAZINE

Have you ever watched a war movie and thought, “when are they going to mention Canada?” It’s rare that the great white north gets anything more than a nod in cinematic depictions of warfare, but these nine movies break the mould and let Canada take centre stage.

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On June 24, 1940, HMS Emerald set sail for Canada with British gold and securities worth millions of pounds. [Imperial War Museums]

Ted Barris on WW II’s Operation Fish

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

“It’s a stunning story that has sort of been lost to time,” said Canadian author and journalist Ted Barris on WW II’s stranger-than-fiction Operation Fish.

That tale, recounted in the bestselling author’s 2023 book Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory, involved a bold yet desperate gamble to safeguard Britain’s gold in the event of a Nazi invasion—by shipping the country’s entire reserves to Canada.

Despite remaining little-known today, Barris believes that the mission’s importance, with all its immense perils, can’t be overstated. “We often think of the Second World War as being a six-year-long siege,” he said. “Well, there were pivot points along the way where had they gone differently, the war would have been much longer and might not have ended up the way it did. One of those pivot points was Operation Fish.”

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