The aging guns defending the mouth of the harbor had roared throughout the night, but to no avail. Soon the warplanes were buzzing overhead dropping their payload of explosives, demolishing buildings and sending people running in every direction in the vain pursuit of shelter. Soon, only pockets of resistance were left, scurrying like mice through the ruins of their homes wielding shotguns, rifles and even hunting crossbows to harass and confuse the American invaders. Most of them were civilians, as a surprise attack destroyed the nearby base in the early hours of the conflict. Some were old men, some were children, and they all had lost their quiet lives and their families to smoke and fire.
He was one of those fighters. He was barely out of his teens and had been woken in the early hours of the morning to the sound of guns and bombs. He managed to escape the explosion that wrecked his home by climbing through his bedroom window. The rest of his family wasn’t so lucky.
As a child, he had used his father’s rifle to hunt rabbits in the forest on the outskirts of Halifax. Now he had it pointed at the head of an American officer rolling down an empty street, standing in a jeep. He took his time lining the Yankee up in his sights, as he only had one shot, then softly pulled the trigger.
War had been declared only days earlier, in the spring of 1920, and most people on both sides of the border thought that their leaders must have gone insane. The catalyst of the conflict had occurred on the streets of Toronto a month earlier.
The government and the media had declared that Toronto had finally lost its innocence that night, when four cars stirred up the freshly fallen snow as they careened through the downtown shopping district. Every minute or so, the staccato sound of a Tommy gun would echo through the city as another innocent was gunned down and robbed. Store windows would explode when fired upon and cover the snow with glistening shards of glass. The stores were then looted and vandalized. The police rushed to the scene, but by the time they arrived, the culprits were long gone.
Soon politicians on both sides of the border where pointing fingers and raving until they were foaming at the mouth. The Americans were accused of exporting north their criminal sub-culture, one that idolized bank robbers and gangsters. It had spread during the depression, when countless able- bodied men were left unemployed and in a state of poverty, which made robbing banks suddenly seem like a good idea. There was also the matter of the American origin of the guns used in this and other crimes.
The Americans were quick to point out that the Canadians were smuggling liquor south. There was talk about closing the border to trade and arming their border guards so they could arrest suspected rum- runners and hold them indefinitely without trial.
Talk of war began to rumble in Washington and Ottawa. They both had contingency plans for the unlikely event of a war between the two neighbors, and very soon the seals were broken and those files had been opened.
The Americans were the first to take action, moving swiftly to take Halifax. Next there was an attack on Niagara Falls that left much of Upper Canada without power and in the dark. Soon there was a blockade on both coasts, and the US air force controlled all of Canada’s airspace.
Canada then regrouped and sent its army into the northeast states, with orders to advance until they could lay siege to Washington D.C. The troops in the west were under orders to destroy roads and bridges as they retreated north, and Canadian snipers were doing damage in all the occupied territories.
Now, a Canadian child had an American Lieutenant lined up in the notch of his rifle. He had been taught not rush a shot, to carefully take aim and softly pull the trigger, but he had never killed before, so he unconsciously jerked the gun slightly to the left as he fired. The bullet barely grazed his targets head and the loud retort from his rifle gave away his position. He rose to his feet and tried to scramble away as a grenade was lobbed into the ruined building where he was hiding. He was killed instantly in the blast.
The bombs still rained from the sky, shaking the ground and covering a young boys body with the rubble of his hometown.
He was one of those fighters. He was barely out of his teens and had been woken in the early hours of the morning to the sound of guns and bombs. He managed to escape the explosion that wrecked his home by climbing through his bedroom window. The rest of his family wasn’t so lucky.
As a child, he had used his father’s rifle to hunt rabbits in the forest on the outskirts of Halifax. Now he had it pointed at the head of an American officer rolling down an empty street, standing in a jeep. He took his time lining the Yankee up in his sights, as he only had one shot, then softly pulled the trigger.
War had been declared only days earlier, in the spring of 1920, and most people on both sides of the border thought that their leaders must have gone insane. The catalyst of the conflict had occurred on the streets of Toronto a month earlier.
The government and the media had declared that Toronto had finally lost its innocence that night, when four cars stirred up the freshly fallen snow as they careened through the downtown shopping district. Every minute or so, the staccato sound of a Tommy gun would echo through the city as another innocent was gunned down and robbed. Store windows would explode when fired upon and cover the snow with glistening shards of glass. The stores were then looted and vandalized. The police rushed to the scene, but by the time they arrived, the culprits were long gone.
Soon politicians on both sides of the border where pointing fingers and raving until they were foaming at the mouth. The Americans were accused of exporting north their criminal sub-culture, one that idolized bank robbers and gangsters. It had spread during the depression, when countless able- bodied men were left unemployed and in a state of poverty, which made robbing banks suddenly seem like a good idea. There was also the matter of the American origin of the guns used in this and other crimes.
The Americans were quick to point out that the Canadians were smuggling liquor south. There was talk about closing the border to trade and arming their border guards so they could arrest suspected rum- runners and hold them indefinitely without trial.
Talk of war began to rumble in Washington and Ottawa. They both had contingency plans for the unlikely event of a war between the two neighbors, and very soon the seals were broken and those files had been opened.
The Americans were the first to take action, moving swiftly to take Halifax. Next there was an attack on Niagara Falls that left much of Upper Canada without power and in the dark. Soon there was a blockade on both coasts, and the US air force controlled all of Canada’s airspace.
Canada then regrouped and sent its army into the northeast states, with orders to advance until they could lay siege to Washington D.C. The troops in the west were under orders to destroy roads and bridges as they retreated north, and Canadian snipers were doing damage in all the occupied territories.
Now, a Canadian child had an American Lieutenant lined up in the notch of his rifle. He had been taught not rush a shot, to carefully take aim and softly pull the trigger, but he had never killed before, so he unconsciously jerked the gun slightly to the left as he fired. The bullet barely grazed his targets head and the loud retort from his rifle gave away his position. He rose to his feet and tried to scramble away as a grenade was lobbed into the ruined building where he was hiding. He was killed instantly in the blast.
The bombs still rained from the sky, shaking the ground and covering a young boys body with the rubble of his hometown.
posted by jdwelland at 11:34 AM
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