I can't believe no one brought this up yet.
CANADA BURNED DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE
Yes its true on Wednesday, August 24, 1814 biritsh occupational troops set fire to the white house (although it had been evacuated earlier) the glow was said to be so strong that it was visible from up to fifty miles away.
Quote:
The burning of Washington, which completely gutted the President’s House, would not have taken place but for the ongoing war between Britain and France, who tried to weaken each other by targeting trade with neutral American ships. The French felt free to seize British cargo aboard American ships and bar U.S. vessels from European ports if they had first docked in British harbors. The British blocked American vessels from entering French-controlled ports unless they first anchored in British harbors.
Even though Washington had no strategic significance for the British military, the commander in chief of the North American station, Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, had it in mind to give the Americans "a complete drubbing." It would avenge the excesses of Americans who had plundered and burned public and private buildings the year before in York (modern Toronto), the capital of Upper Canada. Above all, seizing the capital would humiliate and demoralize Americans and, as a bonus, might even lead to the disintegration of the United States.
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Info from:
http://www.whitehousehistory.org/08/subs/08_b04.html
Although this was acredited to the british military it was burned down by the occupational troops who were residents of Canada. Although Canada was not its own country back then (Canada was officlay formed in 1871) Canadians were and still are the only nations to burn down The White House
TAKE THAT!
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I also haven not seen anyone mention Canada's victory at Vimy Ridge although it may be well know I've found that most people didnt know taht both the americans and the british tried to take the ridge and failed misserably.
Quote:
The goal of the battle of Vimy Ridge was to achieve the ever elusive breakthrough in the German lines. It was at Vimy Ridge that the German’s heavily fortified Hindenburg Line made a junction with many other trenches along the front. Behind the ridge there also lay many of German factories which were vital for the construction of munitions and other war materials. In the battle, it was the Canadians’ task to take a portion of the ridge and two important hills where the Germans had built strong defences.
Vimy Ridge was a formidable barrier for the Allies to breach. A natural hill and barren slope provided little cover for attacking troops and gave a good vantage point for fortified machine guns and artillery to fire on invaders. The Germans had built their own fortifications consisting of three layers of trenches, barbed wire, deep tunnels into the hill, and a light railroad to carry supplies to the front.
The Allied strategy was well thought out and extensive preparations were made. Lessons learned earlier in the war were used to develop an effective battle plan. Engineers built elaborate tunnels deep under enemy lines, a light railroad was constructed and defended, and heavy artillery was brought aid in the battle. The troops trained on sites behind the front on terrain very similar to that on which they would be fighting.
On April 2, 1917, artillery bombardment was stepped up to wear down enemy soldiers. Before the battle began, more than one million shells had been fired into German trenches. Early in the morning of April 9, 20,000 soldiers attacked in the first wave of fighting in the battle of Vimy Ridge. The Canadians were extremely successful and took the ridge by afternoon. In the next days they achieved all of their objectives.
Vimy Ridge proved to be a turning point in World War I. Canadians were an important part of this epic battle. They fought exceptionally and were awarded four Victoria Crosses for that single battle. The Victoria Cross is Canada's highest award fopr bravery. The entire Canadian contingent was commended as being an elite fighting Corps.
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Info from:
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/turner/ar_vimy.html