The Canadian Forces were involved in the 19501953 Korean War and its aftermath. 26,000 Canadians participated on the side of the United Nations, and Canada sent eight destroyers. Canadian aircraft provided transport, supply and logistics. 516 Canadians died, 312 of which were from combat. After the war, Canadian troops remained for three years as military observers.
The Canadian Army (French: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2022 the Canadian Army has 23,000 regular soldiers, 19,000 reserve soldiers (including 5,300 members of the Canadian Rangers), for a total of 42,000 soldiers. The Army is also supported by 3,000 civilian employees from the civil service. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also responsible for the Army Reserve, the largest component of the Primary Reserve. The commander of the Canadian Army and chief of the Army Staff is General Wayne Eyre.The name "Canadian Army" came into official use beginning only in 1940; from before Confederation until the Second World War the official designation was "Canadian Militia". On 1 April 1966, as a precursor to the unification of Canada's armed services, all land forces, plus RCAF tactical units, were placed under a new command called Force Mobile Command (French: Commandement des forces mobiles). The "Canadian Army" persisted as a legal entity for two more years, before it amalgamated with the Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Canadian Air Force to form a single service called the Canadian Armed Forces. Force Mobile Command was renamed Mobile Command in 1991–92 (with the French designation remaining the same), and Land Force Command (French: Commandement des Forces terrestres) in 1993. In August 2011, Land Force Command reverted to the pre-1968 title of the Canadian Army.
1951Feb, 6
The Canadian Army enters combat in the Korean War.
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Events on 1951
- 11Apr
President Truman's relief of General Douglas MacArthur
Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea. - 22Apr
Battle of Kapyong
Korean War: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army begin assaulting positions defended by the Royal Australian Regiment and the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at the Battle of Kapyong. - 25Apr
Battle of Kapyong
Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong. - 3May
Harry Truman
The United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations begin their closed door hearings into the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry Truman. - 15Oct
Combined oral contraceptive pill
Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes conducts the very last step of the first synthesis of norethisterone, the progestin that would later be used in one of the first three oral contraceptives.