On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canadians are asked to pause in memory of the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives in military service.

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CBC will carry special programming and live coverage of Remembrance Day events on Nov. 11. See all the details here.

At public gatherings in Ottawa and around the country, Canadians pay tribute with two minutes of silence to the country's fallen soldiers from the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Afghanistan conflict and peacekeeping missions.

Also known as Veterans Day in the U.S., Remembrance Day was first held throughout the Commonwealth in 1919. It marks the armistice to end the First World War, which came into effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, a year earlier.

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Canada and Afghanistan

Soldiers leave Afghanistan. (Reuters)

Canada formally ended its combat mission in Afghanistan on July 7, 2011, and withdrew 2,850 Canadian combat troops after years of being on the front lines of the fight against Taliban insurgents in the south. Canada was the sixth largest troop-contributing nation, behind the U.S. and European countries.

Afghanistan's toll

Canada's fallen.Canada officially transferred its mission to the United States at Kandahar Air Field during a ceremony held in a hall decorated with Canadian maple leaf flags. After remarks, handshakes and the exchange of military paperwork, troops held a moment of silence for their fallen comrades. Between 2002 and the end of the mission in 2011, 157 Canadian troops were killed in Afghanistan.

The Great Wars

World War I:

World War IThe First World War began when Great Britain declared war on Germany on Aug. 4, 1914. As a member of the British Empire, Canada automatically joined the conflict. A total of 595,000 Canadians heeded the call to enlist, and 418,000 served overseas by the war's end on Nov. 11, 1918. WWI's toll on Canadians was 60,383 dead and 155,799 wounded.

World War II:

World War IIThe fighting began with the German attack on Poland early on Sept. 1, 1939. Britain and France declared war on Germany shortly after, and Canada followed a week later. The first Canadian troops departed for Europe at the end of 1939. More than 45,000 Canadian died in the fighting. Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, followed by Japan in August the same year.