Cold War Hot: Alternate Decisions of the Cold War
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Trudeau’s flight to Ottawa was brief. On arrival, he was immediately escorted to the East Wing to a special Cabinet sub-committee meeting. Pearson was interminable when it came to procedure, Trudeau reflected. It was too chaotic, not enough reason. This was no way to confront the FLQ. The PM was still basking in his Nobel Peace Prize and believed that anything could be settled through rational discussion. Yet Pearson indicated he would stay on for another term. The rumours were all wrong. Pearson was re-evaluating his image and had even employed the media theorist Marshall MacLuhan to assist. “Pearsonmania” was in the offing once he dispensed with that stupid bow tie and the affected academic lisp. He was not interested in hearing about a bunch of bomb-throwing anarchists in Quebec. There was little Trudeau could do convince the PM that a crisis was building.3
Quebec City
The MV Champion docked in Quebec City. Under the Citadel, a Vauban monstrosity overlooking the Old City, Pierre LeBlanc evaded the incompetent police observation and rendezvoused with a man with a dramatically turned up collar, his face hidden in the shadow of the building, a man who carefully cupped his cigarette when he lit it. In a modulated continental French, he asked LeBlanc: “Are we ready? How many?” LeBlanc’s reply in colloquial Quebecois was affirmative: “The strike is set. The weapons are dispersed. We await one last cadre from Algiers. Then we can move.”
“What about the Cuban element?”
“We have had no word as of yet.”4
At that point, the Canadian destroyer HMCS St Laurent was in the process of intercepting a trawler off the coast of Nova Scotia. There was concern that the Soviets were using their fishing fleet covertly to support their forward-deployed submarines off the North American coast, a suspicion that was proven when the Navy deliberately tracked, harassed, photographed, and played chicken with the trawlers during Operation Grand Banks. This time, it was different. The target ship had no flag and was proceeding at dusk for the coast. It was also unresponsive to orders from the St Laurent’s captain, who then ordered two 3.5-inch shots across the bow.5
“1800010367
To: CANCOMARLANT
From: HMCS ST LAURENT
Subject: Intercept of Trawler JOSE MARTI
a) Subject vessel boarded after two (2) hour pursuit.
b) Three (3) Cuban nationals apprehended: MARTINEZ, SANCHEZ, and RAUL. All claim diplomatic immunity.
c) Subject MARTINEZ does not fit physical profile of Spanish-speaking Caribbean native. Believe MARTINEZ is a citizen of east bloc nation.
Montreal, Quebec
The Montreal-based FLQ cells quietly swung into action in the late spring and early summer of 1968. Like any revolutionary terrorist organization, all cells operated independently of each other, except in extraordinary situations when Le Committee deemed it necessary. A propaganda cell at McGill University was short of funds, therefore a team was assembled to rob banks. Part of the money went to a third group which established two safe houses in a downtown row housing complex. Yet another drew on monies supplied from an offshore account in Liechtenstein to fund a select group of union leaders. Within days, Montreal was shut down. The students were on the streets, the transport trucks, busses, and taxicabs would not perform their duties, and the police were on strike. Premier Bourassa was forced to ask the Chief of Defence Staff for Aid to the Civil Power.
For those at Mobile Command HQ in St Hubert, this request was disconcerting. The Canadian land forces were structured primarily to deter a Soviet attack on NATO’s Central Region in West Germany. One brigade group with its nuclear weapons was positioned there, with two earmarked mechanized brigades based in Canada prepared to deploy when war was declared. The other brigade group was an airportable formation for use in the defence of North America against Soviet airborne or amphibious incursions. As Canada had no de-colonization problem like the French, Belgians, Dutch, or British, there was no need to maintain a specialized counter-insurgency force.6 The Americans were having enough problems adapting to Vietnam. Pearson would not permit funds for altering the role of the armed forces to participate alongside the United States in that adventure. Instead, excess funds were used in an elaborate scheme to improve the economic potential of Quebec. Pearson and others believed that the Quebecois could be bought off like any other Liberal Party crony. Didn’t Lyndon Johnson think he could negotiate with Ho Chi Minh like he was just another senator or union leader?
Canada Press, Paris, October 16, 1968: “President de Gaulle assassinated. France in turmoil.”
Associated Press, Paris, October 18, 1968: “Left-leaning ‘Government of National Reconciliation’ formed in France: Promises end to Cold War and increased co-operation with USSR.”
Reuters, Washington, DC, October 18, 1968: “High-level diplomatic sources reveal French leadership infiltrated in 1940s by communist movement.”
Associated Press, New York, October 19, 1968: “Defecting French military and intelligence leaders land at La Guardia. Claim Moscow is behind coup.”
“Top Secret (Zed Plus)
To: Minister of National Defence
From: Chief of the Defence Staff
19 Oct 68
Ref: special information
Dear Colleague,
My liaison officer in Washington has passed on information about the situation in Paris. As you can gather from your diplomatic counterparts, the situation is not as fluid as the journalistic community portrays it and the Soviets have by now gained significant leverage in French affairs. The Americans suspected for some time that the existence of the Sapphire espionage ring was not deception, though they did not trust their source one hundred percent due to his overly emotional involvement. Our sources tell us that members of Sapphire already constituted what amounted to a covert skeleton leadership group and were immediately deployed to take control. It is equally clear that all members of Sapphire are committed communists, some even having membership in the party dating back to before the Second World War. How they slipped through the screening process established in cooperation with The Org (Ghelen’s organization) in West Germany is anybody’s guess. CIA analysis passed to me suggests that France now constitutes a national security threat to Canada and any francophone nation not yet under communist control. We can expect that the range of subversive tactics that we have seen employed in Algeria will now be directed at us. The further weakening of NATO as a result of these recent events is cause for concern and may embolden individuals or groups to commit further acts which further Soviet aims.
Sincerely,”7
One of the NATO-tasked battalions was on standby in Quebec to assist with civil emergencies. The French-speaking 2nd Battalion, The Royal 22nd Regiment, or “Van Doos”, was brought in to Montreal to take over from the police.
Corporal Michel Drapeau was standing on a street corner with his 10-man infantry section. Looting had broken out the night before and the quick reaction force company was deployed to contain the rioting, which was in the process of being mopped up with CS gas and riot batons. A ¾-ton army truck drove by loaded with troops carrying FNC1 assault rifles.
“Who’re those guys?” asked Private Guy Lamontagne.
“Don’t know. Are they from C Company?”
The truck stopped and the men jumped out to form a line facing a group of about 100 demonstrators. Before anybody could do anything, the five men raised their rifles and fired into the crowd. Blood flowed into the gutters and people scattered. Drapeau and Lamontagne fell to a burst of sub-machine-gun fire from behind.
Canada Press, Montreal, June 15, 1968: “Canadian troops kill 14 demonstrators, wound 30. Mass rioting broke out yesterday night as automatic weapons were fired into a crowd of peaceful demonstrators outside McGill University. Two soldiers were subsequently beaten to death by the rampaging mob.”
Ottawa, Canadian Forces HQ
“What the hell happened?” demanded the Justice Minister. Enfield lit a cigarette before replying.
“They wer
e members of an FLQ cell which infiltrated a Militia unit. So they had the training on the weapons, knew military protocol, uniforms, the works. It gets worse. The armoury was emptied and we have no means of tracking the weapons. There are rumours of guerrilla training camps in the Laurentians and we have deployed CF-5 recce aircraft to find them, but without the imaging pods they can do very little.”
“Pods?”
“Yes, sir,” Group Captain Mallory piped up. “We asked for them in the last defence budget, but with the cuts and the drawdown in preparation to redeploying from Europe, acquisition was not authorized by your government.”
“What is the situation in Montreal?”
“In effect, the provincial government has lost control of the downtown core. Bourassa will not authorize the deployment of more forces to break up this hedgehog. The police are not trained or equipped to handle it. He can’t make up his mind.”
“Prospects?”
“If we don’t intervene now, they will get stronger, they will gain more sympathy, and we will be unable to dislodge them from this built-up urban area.”
“But we have a large army, tanks, air support.”
“Sir,” Enfield said patiently, “We don’t have the capability to conduct this sort of warfare. Tanks and air strikes are blunt instruments. We need a scalpel. The Prime Minister indicated in his last budget that we were to convert to a lightly-armed peacekeeping force and dispense with mechanized warfare. Neither capability can be used in this environment. The Americans have Special Forces to deal with this sort of thing, as did the French in Algeria and the British in Malaya. With the sparse budget and the selection of one type of mission for our forces, we are unable to operate across the spectrum of conflict. We have little flexibility which in turn limits the Government’s options.”
“Why can’t you just take one of your infantry groups and re-train them?”
Enfield’s infinite patience was almost at an end. “Sir, it takes months, maybe years to develop such a capability. We haven’t the time. If we commit troops to this role, they might pull it off with improvization, but the chances are we’d plant a lot of Canadian boys in the ground.”
Canada Press, Montreal, June 25, 1968: “‘Commander Une’ from the ‘Montreal Liberated Zone’ calls on federal government to recognize Quebec sovereignty.”
Globe and Mail, June 27, 1968 (Montreal): “Bulgaria, Cuba, and Guinea call upon Canada to ‘free Quebec’ in UN session.”
Toronto Telegram, June 28, 1968 (Hull): “Black Guard group kills family of four in Gatineau, claims revenge for ‘Frog criminal actions’ against English-speaking community.”
Calgary Albertan, June 30, 1968 (Quebec City): “English-speaking residents of suburb driven away as homes burn: 50 die in flames.”
“1 July 1968
Top Secret (Canadian Eyes Only)
To: Minister of National Defence
From: Secretary of State for External Affairs
Ref: special information
Dear Colleague,
Thank you for your kind letter of June 30. The interception and analysis of French diplomatic traffic indicates that the French will be supporting a motion in the UN General Assembly to recognize an independent Quebec. They also plan to introduce a motion in the Security Council for a UN peacekeeping force to be deployed along the Ottawa River to ‘separate’ the English-speaking ‘terrorist forces’ from the French-speaking population. Their plan envisions a force more along the lines of the 1960–64 UN operation in the Congo rather than a ‘thin blue line’ mission like UNEF in the Sinai. Keep in mind that the ONUC force acted more as a counter-insurgency force than a peacekeeping force: the Indian Canberra bombers and Irish light armoured units were used against anybody interfering with the central government. In this case, it is clear that any UN-led force operating in Canada will be used to further the agendas of those leading and participating in the force. Other SIGINT intercepts indicate that a number of states have been suborned by Paris into committing to the so called ‘ONUCAN’ force: Senegal, Mauritania, Gabon, Cameroon, Chad, Cuba, Yemen, Romania, and Indonesia. We believe that the Senegalese will act as the Paris puppet on this one by ‘offering’ to ‘lead’ ONUCAN.
Yours,”8
Ottawa Citizen, July 7, 1968: “Where is the PM?”
Calgary Albertan, July 8, 1968: “Strong action demanded now, says Alberta Premier.”
New York Times, July 8, 1968: “Why Canada matters: A report from our special correspondent.”
“July 10, 1968
Top Secret (Canadian Eyes Only)
To: Secretary of State for External Affairs
From: Minister of National Defence
Ref: more special information
Dear Colleague,
With the absence of any clear direction from Cabinet or the Prime Minister, it is critical we meet as soon as possible. A Supplementary Radio System intercept collected by our SIGINT station near Baden-Söllingen, West Germany (you will recall we moved our nuclear strike aircraft there after de Gaulle insisted we withdraw from our bases in France by 1966) indicates that rehabilitated OAS (that’s ‘Organisation Armée Secrète’) terrorist personnel were infiltrated into Quebec last spring. It was, apparently, march or die for them. The intercept came from a station located at our now closed RCAF base at Grostenquin, France. It was logistical in nature, but it is the first clear evidence of direct French complicity. Please handle the information source discreetly as we do not want to compromise it. On another matter, I understand the Justice Minister is taking a firmer hand in things. Watch him carefully, my friend.
Yours,”9
CFS Lamacaza, Quebec
The air force security team was shivering in the dank gloomy night. Canadian Forces Station Lamacaza had to be one of the most isolated stations south of the 51st Parallel and its personnel equally as bored as any of those serving on the Distant Early Warning Line in the Arctic. Lamacaza, however, had a different purpose. Airman John Forbes removed the magazine from his Sterling SMG and checked the action for the thousandth time. His two German shepherd companions whined and growled at each other softly. A twig snapped in the tree line on the other side of the double fencing festooned with razor wire. A swishing sound followed by a loud bang echoed over the compound as a paraflare illuminated the proceedings. Momentarily blinded by the light, Forbes dropped to one knee and pulled the SMG’s stock to his shoulder. The dogs barked furiously. Four subdued “bloops” were heard in rapid succession.
The first mortar round missed but the second landed on the 150ft long rectangular roof of the shelter which in turn exposed its contents to a third and then fourth round. The cocooned Bomarc anti-bomber missile’s solid fuel detonated, hurling the body containing the W-40 nuclear warhead through the side of an adjacent shelter into another Bomarc and the control surfaces into the air. One sliced through a missile technician, brutally ending his short 20-year life.
Forbes let the dogs loose and joined the other nine men sweeping the woods. FNCl fire rained down on the team as they were caught in an ambush. Forbes and another man, Downs, opened up with short bursts, keeping the barrels on target. Men were screaming and commands shouted in French dominated the frenzied discourse. The dogs were upon some felquists as Downs and Forbes caught up with three wounded adversaries. As one of the fallen raised a 9mm Browning pistol, Downs emptied the remainder of the SMG’s magazine into his chest.
“From: Northern NORAD Region, North Bay
To: CinCNORAD, Cheyenne Mountain Complex BENT SPEAR
a) 447 SAM Sqn attacked by unknown elements.
b) Missile status: eight (8) CIM-66 missiles destroyed, six (6) damaged, fourteen (14) functioning.
c) Special Ammunition Storage Site NOT, NOT, compromised.
d) Functioning missiles not operational due to contamination by nuclear materials scattered around the site.
e) Fifteen (15) personnel KIA, forty-six (46) WIA. Opposition forces: five (5) KIA, null (0) WIA. Heavy weapons capture
d.
f) Station commander has declared CFS Lamacaza non-operational for NORAD duty.
Canadian Cabinet Security Committee: July 13, 1968
Justice Minister: “Where is the PM?”
SSEA:11 “The US State Department has issued us a formal request through the Permanent Joint Board on Defence. The McGovern transition team wants to deploy American forces to Canada under the auspices of the Ogdensburg Agreement of 1940.”
Finance Minister: “We have no choice. We can’t handle this on our own now.”
Justice Minister: “Oh, bullshit.”
Defence Minister: “CinC NORAD is going berserk. There are only ten Bomarc sites, two of which we control, and the destruction at Lamacaza leaves a huge gap in the air defence system. We don’t have the resources to cover the gap, since we drew down the number of manned interceptor squadrons last year. This compromises NORAD’s ability to deter and defeat a manned bomber attack against critical industrial areas and SAC bases. This in turn compromises Strategic Air Command’s ability to carry out its mission, which is fundamental to the deterrent strategy of NATO.”
Chief of the Defence Staff: “We are in a stalemate. We deployed two of our available three brigade groups to Quebec and they control access to Montreal, but not the core of the city itself, nor the airbase at Lachine. CF-101 Voodoo interceptors control the airspace; they already shot down an unmarked transport that tried to get into Lachine with Eastern-bloc weapons on board. We lack the manpower we require for fighting in built-up areas. As you will recall, the Militia is seriously undermanned and five years ago training shifted to National Survival rescue missions, not combat missions. The airportable brigade group is our strategic reserve. It was in the process of converting to an airmobile formation with helicopters, but those machines have not yet arrived, nor have the pilots been trained. A paradrop into the city would be suicidal, like Arnhem in the last war. We estimate that it will take several weeks to mount an operation to retake the city.”