It's not so much our national/linguistic backgrounds as it is our rugged yet peaceful environment. Don't break our peaceful lives, because a blizzard in the mountains is a walk in the park for many of us, and we will make you peaceful again if we have to.
It's not just the ethnicities! It's the actions of the typical Canadian back then. Back then, most of the Canadians that enlisted were farmers, hard-labourers, hunters, outdoorsmen, construction workers, miners, lumberjacks, etc. We, as a whole, might not be like our past, but I (hunter) and others like me can still hold our own if we are ever called to fight!
For some context in WWI, the Canadians were seen as cannon fodder. The British High Command under Haig sent Canadians in with the express expectation that they wouldn’t survive many of the theatres of operations into which they were sent. By the time Vimy rolled around, Arthur Currie had had enough and trained the soldiers in Vimy to attack as one well-oiled machine. Each group had its own objectives, each group had its own timelines and knew their own positions. They made use of full scale maps and did many training sessions to ensure that each section of the force understood their goals. They were so efficient that at one point on Vimy (I believe it was an area called The Pimple, but I could be wrong about that), the Germans were so take by surprise that the Canadians had managed to get all the way to their mess tents where the Germans were being served food by waiters in white gloves. They had no idea the attack had even started, and here they were at the end…I’m not an expert (far from it), but I do know that the Canadians were used for impossible tasks. Maybe that’s why they rose to the occasion?? For anyone interested in Canada’s role in WWI and WWII, Norm Christie is a Canadian historian who goes back to the original battlefields in two series: For King and Empire (WWI) and For King and Country (WWII). They are good, rigorous video sources; I’ve used both of them in my Canadian history classes many times and the kids always enjoy them. I high recommend.
The first battle between Canadians & Germans in WWI, the Germans launched the first major poison gas attack. That set the standard of civility for the war.
The British Command put the Canadian military forces at the front, knowing full well what the casualties would be. Multiple veterans still had deep anger at this.
@@ninemoonplanet The Canadians had French African territorial troops on one flank, and The Germans considered colonial troops as easy targets, that's why they attacked at that point. The French troops were badly decimated and panicked, so it almost worked, but the Canadians regrouped and rushed in reinforcements to halt the breakthrough.
In WW1, the Canadians were still under British rule as a Dominion under the British Empire & not a sovereign country. It shows how the British used them as expendables. As such, they likely had to fight harder and with any means available as they watched their fellow countrymen fall around them.
@@bienerbina4555 The Canadian Army set its' reputation to some degree in the 2nd Boer War, by securing the surrender of the Boers at the bloody Battle of Paardeberg. The Royal Canadian Regiment is the only one in the Commonwealth awarded the right to keep the Royal Cypher of Empress Victoria as their cap badges in perpetuity due to that. At the end of WWI, despite London still deciding on Foreign Affairs & Defence, Canada became a signatory to the Treaty of Versailles, and became a member of the League of Nations.
Canadians were the reason that many of the Geneva Conventions Articles of War, particularly regarding the treatment of combatants and prisoners of war, currently exist.
@@bknight199 "Learn the rules like a professional, so you can break them like an artist." - Pablo Picasso. Meaning; learn the rules so you can use creativity to get around them or find loopholes.
U should look up a video about Cpl Leo Major from Montreal. Early in the war a jeep he was riding in was blown up. Leo broke his back and lost an eye. He refused to be shipped home and with an eye patch he thought was cool because it made him look like a Pirate. He later was put forth forth a Distinguished Cross. He refused it because he thought the British officer was an idiot and waste of space. Later he won his 1st/[2nd] DSC when scouting a village with his partner they were ambushed and his partner killed. Leo went on with the mission.He started lobbing grenades' and firing his rifle to sow confusion. He would take German parishioners back to his camp in groups of 10. . Later he captured a German soldier and made him take him to the senior officer in the town. H convinced the German officer that the Canadians had the town surrounded and all the buildings targeted by artillery. This time he lead back 100 prisoners and liberated a whole town by himself. After the war he went back to Montreal and his jub as a plumber. He told no-one about his service in WW11. Later on the Korean war started. The Canadian Government called Leo up and reactivated him for combat. While taking a hill top and holding it for days before could come against a superior force. For this he was awarded his 3nd/[3rd] Distinguished Cross. making him the inly Commonwealth Solder to win the DSC in to different wars.. Again he told his family nothing. Then a CBC News team showed up to interview him. This was the 1rst time his family found out what a great warrior and Canadian he was.
Canadians also worked very well with the British MI5 & MI6. Canadians with the British & Americans spies, for the European theatre, were trained at "Camp X" in Ontario, Canada. Their training was just as tough as the Devil's Brigade.
This is my theory as a Canadian from the mining industry. We were lumberjacks, farmers, miners, and fishermen by and large. These industries have high casualty rates to this day comparable to that of active war zones (lumber and farming workers in Ontario didn't have the right to refuse dangerous work until this century). In mining at the time the average life span of a worker in the timmins gold camp was 4 years. These men were already used to death and brutal violent death at that. They went over already suffering of PTSD. Australians and New Zealanders had similar reputations; for what I guess are similar reasons.
My grandfather and cousins fought in WW1 in the Canadian military. They were used as cannon fodder in both world wars by the British who saw us as subhuman. Our losses were far greater because of it. That’s why we fought like hell! It was that or be killed. If not by the enemy that by our Allie’s.
most Canadians were off of farm homesteads: lean, fit, and good shots providng food for their families. ALL my homestead relatives served in WW2 and were reallyi good....at DUCKING. all came back. Most were infantryi. One was a radio Officer on loan to the Norwegina tankers: they had all the ships.
WW1 "was" supposed to be fought like "civilised" military forces. One side fired, the other side ducked, then returned fire. The Canadian military forces watched and figured out how to , uhh how shall I put it, circumvent the way the other forces fought. As is often repeated, the Geneva Convention was designed to keep some of the brutality (good luck with that) out of wars.
"We used these barbarian tactics because we wanted to end the war faster. We all just wanted to go home." - A Canadian Vet (wish I remember his rank and name.)
Actually, a big part of our reputation for being tough fighters comes from the fact that Canadian soldiers have always kept up their morale and ability to fight in the worst kind of weather. The weather our fighters experienced in the two world wars in Europe was nothing compared to what they had already experienced at home. You haven't lived until you've gone ice fishing for fun, LOL!
In terms of revenge, the soldiers would have heard of the unspeakable atrocities committed by WW1 German soldiers against Belgian civilians, including little kids and babies. This was the reason some of them joined up in the first place.
@Mert Can All that happened before the Geneva Convention. The Canadian Forces today are a much more compassionate lot, but still very fearsome when they need to be.... Afghanistan...
I come from a family with military involvement in different world conflicts. Focused and intent on the job. No excess hype. Results spoke for themselves. You do your duty and get on with it. My grandfather was at Vimy Ridge and lived to tell about it. Brutal business.
We as Canadians were part of the British Commonwealth. along with other Nations. We just stuck out more and were used by the British. Only in 1967 did we free ourselves completely from British Control. Remember the BNA Act of Briton. (British North America Act).
Both my grandfathers served in WWI, one also served in the reserves between WWI and WWII and also served in WWII along with my dad and uncles. One of those uncles also served in Korea and on into the 60's. Different generation different attitudes and beliefs.
Not true! By 1917, English Canada started conscripting French Canadians. They were not provided French speaking officers, were not given proper weapons or equipment and again used as cannon fodder by the British.
@@cathymccarthy5982 1917 the war was almost over. buit I can see why in WW2 the Quebecois were pretty choked up about fighting for the Brits under Brit regs. Still are.
No it wasn't, that was the second world War, they were forced to go to war in the Great War. Canada got to choose if not to go to war right away from the Westmintser Accords in 1931, and didn't join WWII until the early spring of 1940.
Moral of this!...... "BE WARNED " Allies who no longer behave as allies and threaten Canadian SOVEREIGNTY!!!😮 (Canadian eyes slowly peering southwards)🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦❤
Im a 4th generation Canadian . My dads side were Scottish/Welsh and my Moms side were English/Russian. Each side of my family made a name for themselves in the brigades for boxing ( The Golden Gloves). Seven of my uncles and including my grandfather stormed Vimy RIige. All my uncles and grandfather came back home. They were part of the Cape Breton Highlanders ( Nova Scotian). All of my family members also did multiple tours before and after the war. They were 6'3-6'5 tall too . Some of the kindest , no nonsence men you would have ever met in your life. These Canadian men were some of the toughest Mfers alive.
what would you expect from a Country whose two national sports (summer - lacrosse and winter - hockey), it is permissible to fight (as long as you drop your gloves). There is an old adage about how we went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out.
Led by Leo Major, the one eyed Canadian who was the original Rambo (who only died in 2008). How there isn't a major motion picture about this man, I'll never know.
I used to work with a guy who served with a vet of the korian war. He said the guy often talked about cutting down swarms of solderes like they were nothing. They were more likely to run out of ammo then kill all the soldures rushing them.
I thought it was 655. Either way, they called down artillery strikes on their hill to stop the Chinese. Turned the tide of the war. Gave the Americans the time needed to organize and start the most devastating offensive push of the war.
Please do a reaction to Francis Pegahmagabow the deadliest sniper of either side in WW1, he had more confirmed kills than anyone in history at the time of 338, he was also very good at infiltrating behind enemy lines taking prisoners and intel by himself. He did a great service for Canada and all indigenous Nations in Canada and with his fame he started the AFN after the war which is the Assembly of First Nations which has Chiefs from every Nation represented and they work with Federal and Provincial government to help our people. Stay blessed 👊🏼🪶
10% of the Canadian population participated in WWII. Although we did have conscription for service in Canada, no conscripted soldiers went to Europe, all were volunteers.
Trench raids. Everyone was doing raids early in the war but there were too many causalities and the troops generally didn't like doing them so they became less and less common except when the intelligence people really wanted some info. This was apparently not the case for the Canadians though. They kept doing raids long after everyone else had dialed back. By 1918 the Germans had formed specialized units, storm troops, to essentially do trench raids especially at the start of major assaults to disrupt the defences. Between the trench raids and the frequency of the Canadian Corps being the spearhead of British assaults the Germans hated finding themselves facing the Canadians.
in the end almost all of my neighbours in the mountians are German, Swiss, or Austrian. Canada won again: virtually all are job creators, entrepreneurs, and farmers who ask for nothing from anyone but themselves.
I'm a Canadian. A lot of this video is questionable & is filtered through the sensitivities of the early 21st Century. The Cdn army in WW1 included many immigrants - and pre-war they & many native born Canadians had lived very hard working lives in industries that had high mortalities. The Cdns became battle hardened & were very good at trench raids. They killed most prisoners but took some back for intelligence. In WW2 the Cdns largely sat (trained) in Britain from 1940 to mid -1944 (except for those who took part in the Italian campaign). When they landed in Normandy they took prisoners - but if the Germans waited until they were over run to surrender they were treated accordingly. The Cdn fought against the Hitler Youth troops. My father (who was there) called them "devils". As the front extended, more Germans surrendered prior to serious engagement & were treated well. BTW, the putative shooting of the Xmas Germans is new to me. Also never heard of the crucifiction of the Cdn officer. Might have happened, but might not...
In graduate school I studied a concept known as "conflict chains." Different cultures have different approaches to conflict escalation and behaviors once a conflict reaches the stage of "kinetic" or open warfare. It turns out that cultures related to and descended from English culture have a conflict chain that goes something like this: (1) identify your interests and seek to find out the opponent's interests, (2) open a dialogue with the opponent to articulate your interests and seek an accommodation, (3) keep negotiating and communicating, (4) seek to freeze a conflict in place to avoid war, (5) clearly warn the opponent about the consequences of war, (6) wait to be attacked, (7) when attacked, open up a can of unholy, extreme violence upon the opponents until they are annihilated with extreme prejudice. Any opponent that jumps to the end of this chain and attacks without warning will automatically get number 7. This will explain the U.S. reaction to Pearl Harbor and 9/11, the British reaction to the Falklands invasion and, ironically, my brother's reaction to somebody trying to pick a fight with him in the middle school cafeteria. When dealing with English-speaking people, take the offer of negotiations. In this case, seven is nobody's lucky number.
Canadians are brave, fierce and willing to fight *just wars* (War of 1812, WWI, WWII and Korean War) Canadians are brave, intelligent and unwilling to fight *unjust wars* (Vietnam and Iraq Wars) Canadians are brave, ready and proud to defend *peacekeeping missions* (Worldwide)
_“A warring nation Canada is not, though a nation of warriors she has sometimes been forced to become.”_ -Pierre Berton (1920-2004), Canadian author, broadcaster, historian and journalist.
I have no doubt the Americans would be overwhelmed by Canadian fighting ferocity if they were stupid enough to send an invasion force across the border.
It's not that widely known apparently, but we kindly Canadians are largely why there are rules in modern war. Small correction, we were fighting for Europe's freedom, not ours. We were being used as meat for the grinder, so we got real innovative and put an end to all that by winning stuff the great powers couldn't. We did, however, commits some (now) war crimes to get there.
This was the war with mustard gas. Ant the war where, men were returned to.battle again and again. It was a brutal war, like there had never been.before
Remember the movie Black hawk down. Look into what the airborne division did from Wainwright after that incident. Some say it was kind of disrespectful and cruel. it was brilliant.
WW1 was to the learn the rules, WW2 was to change the rules, dont start WW3.... During WW1 Canada was largely still frontier living. Every one knew how to hunt, dress their kills, survive harsh winters.
Canadians back then was heavily populated with Scotts and those who were Scottish descendants Historically, the Scotts are some of the toughest people. Even the Romans built a wall to keep them out of Briton. .
The biggest problem with the Geneva Conventions are that even those countries signing them, in time of war they just do what they want. Russia attacking Ukraine is a great example.
In the 🎬INGLORIOUS BASTERDS by Quentin Tarantino; a strategically placed green Maple Leaf 🍁 is placed on the soldier that Brad Pitt’s character ALDO RAINE asks to translate to the German soldier .This scene takes place in the forest where the BASTERDS have captured some German soldiers before they kill them. It’s a great movie you have to watch if you haven’t already. It’s actually kind of funny in some parts. We noticed the Maple Leaf right away; that just supposedly has fallen off one of the trees in the forest (& landed on his arm) I think. 🤔😉💖🇨🇦
@@sman8491 It's interesting to note that the composition of the country had a large element of many still immigrating from the UK at that time. There may be people less well-informed that you who aren't aware of the extent to which those immigrants provided manning for the armed forces. What was the point of your comment?
@johnburns8660 point is you make it sound like it was British military & not Canadian. Everyone who is not native is an immigrant & many natives served in the Canadian military.
@@sman8491 I'm not making it sound like anything. What I said was a simple fact. What you have said isn't relevant to that as a simple but could initiate a longer discussion.
In both the first and second world war Churchill used Canadian troops as canon fodder. Whenever he felt the attack or battle was only being used as a diversion or test for future actions, he thought nothing of using Canadian soldiers instead of risking the lives of UK soldiers. He thought Canadians were dispensable. In turn, Canadians had little choice but to do everything they could to survive. As for them being brutal, being attacked with mustard gas would tend to piss anyone off, as it did them, leading to them affecting revenge. Chimo
keep in mind this is WWI Prisoners were often abused, (censored), starved or worse at this point and could impact army progression carrying hostages, and limiting their own rations, cause in this time it was better to killed then taken prisoner in this era just from the history of what we now call "war crimes"
*The Last 100 Days (Canada's Remarkable War Efforts in WWI)* The American Army's results compared to those of the Canadians during the last hundred days of WWI are instructive: • the 650'000 Americans engaged in conducted operations for 47 days; the 105'000 Canadians, for 100 days. • the Americans advance 34 miles; the Canadians, 86 miles. • the Americans met 46 German divisions; the Canadians, 47 German divisions. • American casualties suffered per division faced were 2'170; the Canadians suffered 975. • the Americans captured ~16'000 prisoners; the Canadians captured 31'537 German POWs. • the Americans captured 468 [artillery] guns; the Canadians captured 623. • American casualties numbered ~100'000; Canadian casualties numbered 45'830. The Canadian retort to the claim that the American entry into the war had brought victory to the allies was that their famous _“rainbow division”_ was aptly named, having arrived *_after_*_ the storm._ _“The Canadian Corps was the only force in France that went through the last hundred days of the war with unimpaired striking power. Replacing commanders and officers, absorbing reinforcements which kept it nearly at full strength,_ [enabling] _its 4 divisions to meet and rout 47 German divisions between August and November.”_ -LCol Wilfrid O. Bovey, 1st Canadian Corps. _“A warring nation Canada is not, though a nation of warriors she has sometimes been forced to become.”_ -Pierre Berton (1920-2004), Canadian author, broadcaster, historian and journalist.
Weren't we the reason The Geneva Convention came into being? I've always wondered they had the Canadians speak with Scottish accents, on the Devils Brigade. Why not Russian or Italian accents?
There was a large emigration of Scottish people to Canada in the 18th and 19th Century - there's a neat summary of the reasons why on the Wikipedia Article "Scottish Canadians"... so in those older times the predominant accent would have been developed from Scottish accents passed through generations. Other traditions including kilts as part of certain military uniform and bagpipes in military ceremony have stayed a part of our country ever since. The Russians and Italians did not settle early Canada en masse and ingrain their accent and culture into our historical identity. Tl;dr... The Canadian accent was (and in some regions, still is-!) pretty darn Scottish.
@@jeniferdouglas I went through the StatsCan website for the 1940's in Canada. Approximately 11.5M Canadians in 1941. 10% of the entire country was made up of Scottish folk. Irish 9.6%. English 23%. Yet, 100% of the Devils Brigade was Canadian of Scottish descent? For my own personal reference, I was born in '63. A lot of my family was from the Middlesborough area of Northern England. Not far at all from Scotland. Not ONE parent, grandparent, or great grandparent had any UK accent. The point is, it was historically inaccurate to the degree it was portrayed. Just my opinion.
I personally think that it's largely because we're a Cultural Mosaic and not a Cultural Melting Pot. We want your own ideas/traditions (IF THEY HELP US!)
In the Canadian Special Forces, the expectation is maximum aggression. You are issued a bullet proof, maroon sweatshirt, with those white jumper wings. We believe it. We live it. The Unit and the mission are everything. And we are heavily insured, for theatres of combat and afterwards for suicide too. You won't find that in any Walmart or Costco contract. We call it "unlimited liability". Means we can be ordered on a mission that we should not expect to survive. Canadians are generally uber polite, and hard to make angry. It is best to keep it that way. Otherwise, things tend to get messy... From a veteran of the Canadian Airborne Regiment. OSONS
when trying to explain the Geneva Checklist to an American friend, and why invading Canada is a very bad idea "Germany is responsible for what you can't do to civilians, Canada is responsible for what you can't do to enemy combatants"
WW 1 was before the Geneva Convention. I would like to see some footnotes on this; where did he get this “info” ? The US were butchers in Viet Nam, killing women and children-entire villages. A wee bit different than soldier to soldier combat.
The Geneva convention was written mostly because of the style of the Canadian fought during the Great War. It has been changed a few times again thanks to the Canadians
When German Pow camps had uprisings the Canadian guards layed down their weapons outside the compound and went in and beat the crap out of the prisoners and when leaving after the donnybrook the Canadian sergeant winked to the German c/o and said " good fight eh....."
Dieppe was the last instance of the British using Canadians as cannon fodder. After that, Mackenzie King insisted Canadians fight in their own units under Canadian leadership. Mountbatten was the bastard that sacrificed the Canadians at Dieppe just to get a feel for the German defenses. We weren’t that sorry when the URA blew him up.
As a Canadian who was in the Army.... its because we don't LIKE to go to war, we like to be relaxed and friendly... But if you FORCE us into war, you best be sure we are bringing an utter ass kicking along with us. There's a saying, in peacetime we are sorry, in wartime we will make YOU sorry.
Francis Pegamagabo, the deadliest sniper of WW1, also an indigenous Canadian warrior. Went on to be band chief and helped his people throughout his life. Ever here about him in school? The Canadian Military May be hard on the enemy, but our reputation of treatment of the civilians in the war must be acknowledged as well. Basically we are gentle with the innocent, and brutal to the aggressor. We have never started a war, but we haven’t lost one either.
We as Canadians were part of the British Commonwealth. along wit other Nations. We just stuck out more and were used by the British. Only in 1967 did we free ourselves completely from British Control. Remember the BNA Act of Briton. (British North America Act.
After the Christmas peace, the leaders got after their troops. It was also only in one place. I do wonder where they got their information. I would like to check it out.
Bull. You are allowed to do what is needed to defend yourself, or another. You just aren't allowed to go beyond that. Are you seriously playing the victim because you can't legally kill someone?
Fear is a powerful weapon theres an event in ww2 a german ss group killed surrender canadian pow they fought that german unit over next few weeks it was destroyed very few ss survived (i believe it was france front )
I think the most plausible explanation is that many soldiers were immigrants, or first and second generation citizens under the British Empire during WWI. My maternal French grandfather was an immigrant from France. He stayed home to look after his mother. My great uncle Pierre was gassed at Ypres, dying in 1936. Another great Uncle was a priest in Rome during WWII and was head of a French resistance underground unit in Caen. He survived. Ypres and Vimy were ingrained into us, growing up in the 60s and 70s. We always attended Remembrance Day, my grandparents and mum stayed home and would watch it on CBC crying, also the Same with the Scottish side of my dad. First generation immigrants, my great Uncle was killed in Italy in 1944. They were fighting for their former homelands as well as the Empire. I’m in western Canada, which was settled much later. Alberta is only 120 years old as a Province. Just some historical perspective 🇨🇦 🍻
the other countries were more civilized, the Canadian soldiers just wanted to kill for revenge. To this day, Canadian soldiers are smart and effective killers although we now follow the rules of engagement as determined by the Geneva Convention which was created in large part due to our ruthlessness in battle!
Never mistake our niceness for weakness.
F N A eh
Canadian troops back then were primarily of Irish, Scottish, Welsh , French (Quebecois)and aboriginal descent which made for tough customers
It's not so much our national/linguistic backgrounds as it is our rugged yet peaceful environment. Don't break our peaceful lives, because a blizzard in the mountains is a walk in the park for many of us, and we will make you peaceful again if we have to.
It's not just the ethnicities! It's the actions of the typical Canadian back then. Back then, most of the Canadians that enlisted were farmers, hard-labourers, hunters, outdoorsmen, construction workers, miners, lumberjacks, etc.
We, as a whole, might not be like our past, but I (hunter) and others like me can still hold our own if we are ever called to fight!
For some context in WWI, the Canadians were seen as cannon fodder. The British High Command under Haig sent Canadians in with the express expectation that they wouldn’t survive many of the theatres of operations into which they were sent. By the time Vimy rolled around, Arthur Currie had had enough and trained the soldiers in Vimy to attack as one well-oiled machine. Each group had its own objectives, each group had its own timelines and knew their own positions. They made use of full scale maps and did many training sessions to ensure that each section of the force understood their goals. They were so efficient that at one point on Vimy (I believe it was an area called The Pimple, but I could be wrong about that), the Germans were so take by surprise that the Canadians had managed to get all the way to their mess tents where the Germans were being served food by waiters in white gloves. They had no idea the attack had even started, and here they were at the end…I’m not an expert (far from it), but I do know that the Canadians were used for impossible tasks. Maybe that’s why they rose to the occasion??
For anyone interested in Canada’s role in WWI and WWII, Norm Christie is a Canadian historian who goes back to the original battlefields in two series: For King and Empire (WWI) and For King and Country (WWII). They are good, rigorous video sources; I’ve used both of them in my Canadian history classes many times and the kids always enjoy them. I high recommend.
There is a street in Montreal named after Haig. To name a street after that butcher is a gross mistake. Change it now!!
i have heard this as well
The first battle between Canadians & Germans in WWI, the Germans launched the first major poison gas attack. That set the standard of civility for the war.
The British Command put the Canadian military forces at the front, knowing full well what the casualties would be.
Multiple veterans still had deep anger at this.
@@ninemoonplanet The Canadians had French African territorial troops on one flank, and The Germans considered colonial troops as easy targets, that's why they attacked at that point. The French troops were badly decimated and panicked, so it almost worked, but the Canadians regrouped and rushed in reinforcements to halt the breakthrough.
In WW1, the Canadians were still under British rule as a Dominion under the British Empire & not a sovereign country.
It shows how the British used them as expendables. As such, they likely had to fight harder and with any means available as they watched their fellow countrymen fall around them.
@@bienerbina4555 The Canadian Army set its' reputation to some degree in the 2nd Boer War, by securing the surrender of the Boers at the bloody Battle of Paardeberg. The Royal Canadian Regiment is the only one in the Commonwealth awarded the right to keep the Royal Cypher of Empress Victoria as their cap badges in perpetuity due to that.
At the end of WWI, despite London still deciding on Foreign Affairs & Defence, Canada became a signatory to the Treaty of Versailles, and became a member of the League of Nations.
Canadians were the reason that many of the Geneva Conventions Articles of War, particularly regarding the treatment of combatants and prisoners of war, currently exist.
We call it the Geneva checklist - its not a war crime the first time
Set the rules, we'll win by them.
Geneva suggestions
@@bknight199 "Learn the rules like a professional, so you can break them like an artist." - Pablo Picasso. Meaning; learn the rules so you can use creativity to get around them or find loopholes.
There's no rules in war....
U should look up a video about Cpl Leo Major from Montreal. Early in the war a jeep he was riding in was blown up. Leo broke his back and lost an eye. He refused to be shipped home and with an eye patch he thought was cool because it made him look like a Pirate. He later was put forth forth a Distinguished Cross. He refused it because he thought the British officer was an idiot and waste of space. Later he won his 1st/[2nd] DSC when scouting a village with his partner they were ambushed and his partner killed. Leo went on with the mission.He started lobbing grenades' and firing his rifle to sow confusion. He would take German parishioners back to his camp in groups of 10. . Later he captured a German soldier and made him take him to the senior officer in the town. H convinced the German officer that the Canadians had the town surrounded and all the buildings targeted by artillery. This time he lead back 100 prisoners and liberated a whole town by himself. After the war he went back to Montreal and his jub as a plumber. He told no-one about his service in WW11. Later on the Korean war started. The Canadian Government called Leo up and reactivated him for combat. While taking a hill top and holding it for days before could come against a superior force. For this he was awarded his 3nd/[3rd] Distinguished Cross. making him the inly Commonwealth Solder to win the DSC in to different wars.. Again he told his family nothing. Then a CBC News team showed up to interview him. This was the 1rst time his family found out what a great warrior and Canadian he was.
highly recommend this video
un grand guerrier quebecois !!!
@@danielcloutier9464 He was a great quebecois and Canadian hero. Just like there are many 1st Nation/Canadian heros! .
Canadians also worked very well with the British MI5 & MI6. Canadians with the British & Americans spies, for the European theatre, were trained at "Camp X" in Ontario, Canada. Their training was just as tough as the Devil's Brigade.
Canadians have little tolerance for BS then or now.
Yep, we have legal street fighting laws. Run your mouth in an aggressive manner, and someone will just walk up and punch you in the mouth😊
Tolerated several shit governments for almost a decade each time.
This is my theory as a Canadian from the mining industry. We were lumberjacks, farmers, miners, and fishermen by and large. These industries have high casualty rates to this day comparable to that of active war zones (lumber and farming workers in Ontario didn't have the right to refuse dangerous work until this century). In mining at the time the average life span of a worker in the timmins gold camp was 4 years. These men were already used to death and brutal violent death at that. They went over already suffering of PTSD. Australians and New Zealanders had similar reputations; for what I guess are similar reasons.
The most decorated member of the Devil's Brigade was an indigenous Canadian named Tommy Prince.
He would be good to do a reaction on.
He was from the town of Scanterbury on the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation reserve, 10 miles south of me.
@@55MYAGE buried at brookside cemetery where there is a memorial statue honouring him as well
@@cpaton1284 Don't think the Devil's Brigade he's referencing existed in any previous war. (I may be wrong, unofficially..)
Yeah read it while watching , and it appeared to be about ww1@@Heatx79
My grandfather and cousins fought in WW1 in the Canadian military. They were used as cannon fodder in both world wars by the British who saw us as subhuman. Our losses were far greater because of it. That’s why we fought like hell! It was that or be killed. If not by the enemy that by our Allie’s.
most Canadians were off of farm homesteads: lean, fit, and good shots providng food for their families. ALL my homestead relatives served in WW2 and were reallyi good....at DUCKING. all came back. Most were infantryi. One was a radio Officer on loan to the Norwegina tankers: they had all the ships.
My father managed to come back from Diepe...
"...turned him into mist by putting a grenade into his great coat."
Canadian me: giggling uncontrollably. 🤣🤣🤣
WW1 "was" supposed to be fought like "civilised" military forces. One side fired, the other side ducked, then returned fire.
The Canadian military forces watched and figured out how to , uhh how shall I put it, circumvent the way the other forces fought.
As is often repeated, the Geneva Convention was designed to keep some of the brutality (good luck with that) out of wars.
It’s why we are typically so polite. We want to exhaust ALL options before we unleash the beast.
"We used these barbarian tactics because we wanted to end the war faster. We all just wanted to go home." - A Canadian Vet (wish I remember his rank and name.)
The Canadians were aware that the Germans liked to sleep at night instead of during the daytime.
Actually, a big part of our reputation for being tough fighters comes from the fact that Canadian soldiers have always kept up their morale and ability to fight in the worst kind of weather. The weather our fighters experienced in the two world wars in Europe was nothing compared to what they had already experienced at home.
You haven't lived until you've gone ice fishing for fun, LOL!
Canadians: War=Hockey . Other team has the puck we can't have that.
In terms of revenge, the soldiers would have heard of the unspeakable atrocities committed by WW1 German soldiers against Belgian civilians, including little kids and babies. This was the reason some of them joined up in the first place.
It is the Scottish and Irish heritage mostly.
Those folks had had enough of oppression.
There's been a lost of crossbreeding with all sorts of peoples and a few animals.
@Mert Can All that happened before the Geneva Convention. The Canadian Forces today are a much more compassionate lot, but still very fearsome when they need to be.... Afghanistan...
I come from a family with military involvement in different world conflicts. Focused and intent on the job. No excess hype. Results spoke for themselves. You do your duty and get on with it. My grandfather was at Vimy Ridge and lived to tell about it. Brutal business.
We as Canadians were part of the British Commonwealth. along with other Nations. We just stuck out more and were used by the British. Only in 1967 did we free ourselves completely from British Control. Remember the BNA Act of Briton. (British North America Act).
My grandfather too. He wrote a book about Vimy.
My grandfather was gassed at Ypres but once back on his feet was sent back to the front.
Both my grandfathers served in WWI, one also served in the reserves between WWI and WWII and also served in WWII along with my dad and uncles. One of those uncles also served in Korea and on into the 60's. Different generation different attitudes and beliefs.
Canada had an all volunteer Army in the First World War.
Not true! By 1917, English Canada started conscripting French Canadians. They were not provided French speaking officers, were not given proper weapons or equipment and again used as cannon fodder by the British.
@@cathymccarthy5982 1917 the war was almost over. buit I can see why in WW2 the Quebecois were pretty choked up about fighting for the Brits under Brit regs. Still are.
@@cathymccarthy5982 Well... you are 100% wrong and full of bollocks. Go back to history class, Kate... you're way, way out of your lane.
No it wasn't, that was the second world War, they were forced to go to war in the Great War. Canada got to choose if not to go to war right away from the Westmintser Accords in 1931, and didn't join WWII until the early spring of 1940.
My Bad. It's never to late to learn something. Thanks Danny and Cathy and Dwight.
Moral of this!...... "BE WARNED " Allies who no longer behave as allies and threaten Canadian SOVEREIGNTY!!!😮 (Canadian eyes slowly peering southwards)🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦❤
Absolutely!!!
Im a 4th generation Canadian . My dads side were Scottish/Welsh and my Moms side were English/Russian. Each side of my family made a name for themselves in the brigades for boxing ( The Golden Gloves). Seven of my uncles and including my grandfather stormed Vimy RIige. All my uncles and grandfather came back home. They were part of the Cape Breton Highlanders ( Nova Scotian). All of my family members also did multiple tours before and after the war. They were 6'3-6'5 tall too . Some of the kindest , no nonsence men you would have ever met in your life.
These Canadian men were some of the toughest Mfers alive.
what would you expect from a Country whose two national sports (summer - lacrosse and winter - hockey), it is permissible to fight (as long as you drop your gloves). There is an old adage about how we went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out.
Canadians were conscripted but only volunteers went to the front.
in the Korean war a small group of Canadians held on to hill 355 with wave after wave of Chinese attacking while others retreated
Led by Leo Major, the one eyed Canadian who was the original Rambo (who only died in 2008). How there isn't a major motion picture about this man, I'll never know.
@@K1ddkanuckBecause he’s not American 🤷♂️
I used to work with a guy who served with a vet of the korian war.
He said the guy often talked about cutting down swarms of solderes like they were nothing. They were more likely to run out of ammo then kill all the soldures rushing them.
@@nonagon9192seems to be the Asian method of combat....
I thought it was 655. Either way, they called down artillery strikes on their hill to stop the Chinese. Turned the tide of the war. Gave the Americans the time needed to organize and start the most devastating offensive push of the war.
We Canadians are polite and nice until we're not.
We're nice until " it's time to not be so nice" then it's " Clobberin' Time!!"
So true
Aye Laddie, and the best of the best were Highland and Black Watch Regiments😊 Scots to the bone
Please do a reaction to Francis Pegahmagabow the deadliest sniper of either side in WW1, he had more confirmed kills than anyone in history at the time of 338, he was also very good at infiltrating behind enemy lines taking prisoners and intel by himself. He did a great service for Canada and all indigenous Nations in Canada and with his fame he started the AFN after the war which is the Assembly of First Nations which has Chiefs from every Nation represented and they work with Federal and Provincial government to help our people. Stay blessed 👊🏼🪶
War is war. Period.
10% of the Canadian population participated in WWII. Although we did have conscription for service in Canada, no conscripted soldiers went to Europe, all were volunteers.
most Canadians in ww1 were volunteers i believe
Trench raids. Everyone was doing raids early in the war but there were too many causalities and the troops generally didn't like doing them so they became less and less common except when the intelligence people really wanted some info. This was apparently not the case for the Canadians though. They kept doing raids long after everyone else had dialed back. By 1918 the Germans had formed specialized units, storm troops, to essentially do trench raids especially at the start of major assaults to disrupt the defences. Between the trench raids and the frequency of the Canadian Corps being the spearhead of British assaults the Germans hated finding themselves facing the Canadians.
in the end almost all of my neighbours in the mountians are German, Swiss, or Austrian. Canada won again: virtually all are job creators, entrepreneurs, and farmers who ask for nothing from anyone but themselves.
I'm a Canadian. A lot of this video is questionable & is filtered through the sensitivities of the early 21st Century. The Cdn army in WW1 included many immigrants - and pre-war they & many native born Canadians had lived very hard working lives in industries that had high mortalities. The Cdns became battle hardened & were very good at trench raids. They killed most prisoners but took some back for intelligence. In WW2 the Cdns largely sat (trained) in Britain from 1940 to mid -1944 (except for those who took part in the Italian campaign). When they landed in Normandy they took prisoners - but if the Germans waited until they were over run to surrender they were treated accordingly. The Cdn fought against the Hitler Youth troops. My father (who was there) called them "devils". As the front extended, more Germans surrendered prior to serious engagement & were treated well. BTW, the putative shooting of the Xmas Germans is new to me. Also never heard of the crucifiction of the Cdn officer. Might have happened, but might not...
In graduate school I studied a concept known as "conflict chains." Different cultures have different approaches to conflict escalation and behaviors once a conflict reaches the stage of "kinetic" or open warfare. It turns out that cultures related to and descended from English culture have a conflict chain that goes something like this: (1) identify your interests and seek to find out the opponent's interests, (2) open a dialogue with the opponent to articulate your interests and seek an accommodation, (3) keep negotiating and communicating, (4) seek to freeze a conflict in place to avoid war, (5) clearly warn the opponent about the consequences of war, (6) wait to be attacked, (7) when attacked, open up a can of unholy, extreme violence upon the opponents until they are annihilated with extreme prejudice. Any opponent that jumps to the end of this chain and attacks without warning will automatically get number 7. This will explain the U.S. reaction to Pearl Harbor and 9/11, the British reaction to the Falklands invasion and, ironically, my brother's reaction to somebody trying to pick a fight with him in the middle school cafeteria. When dealing with English-speaking people, take the offer of negotiations. In this case, seven is nobody's lucky number.
Canadians are brave, fierce and willing to fight *just wars* (War of 1812, WWI, WWII and Korean War)
Canadians are brave, intelligent and unwilling to fight *unjust wars* (Vietnam and Iraq Wars)
Canadians are brave, ready and proud to defend *peacekeeping missions* (Worldwide)
After 20 or so Canadian winters anyone would go "berserk", but politely...
_“A warring nation Canada is not, though a nation of warriors she has sometimes been forced to become.”_ -Pierre Berton (1920-2004), Canadian author, broadcaster, historian and journalist.
Someone should show this to Trump (in three-to-five minute increments so he doesn't get too distracted).
I have no doubt the Americans would be overwhelmed by Canadian fighting ferocity if they were stupid enough to send an invasion force across the border.
Umm, What! Holy LIB TARD alert BatCunt! Back to your AlphabetPedo Cult...
The Geneva Conventions were still being worked on at this point, it wasn't done til the end of the Second World War.
Canadians at War - You're sorry. Canadians in Peace Time - We're Sorry.
It's because we're very proud of our heritage and our fighting skills. We're calm by nature but once we are put over top , look out .
Thanks Mert! This was entertaining and informative.
It's not that widely known apparently, but we kindly Canadians are largely why there are rules in modern war. Small correction, we were fighting for Europe's freedom, not ours. We were being used as meat for the grinder, so we got real innovative and put an end to all that by winning stuff the great powers couldn't. We did, however, commits some (now) war crimes to get there.
It's not a war crime the first time
@ someone knows our exuberant military beginnings 😉
@@PnCBio People in TNEB are wondering where you've been. Your presence was missed.
@@Playingwith3D a lot of sleeping in ;) Now that there's news again I'll br there with coffee an croissants as regularly scheduled :)
This was the war with mustard gas. Ant the war where, men were returned to.battle again and again. It was a brutal war, like there had never been.before
Remember the movie Black hawk down. Look into what the airborne division did from Wainwright after that incident. Some say it was kind of disrespectful and cruel. it was brilliant.
WW1 was to the learn the rules, WW2 was to change the rules, dont start WW3....
During WW1 Canada was largely still frontier living. Every one knew how to hunt, dress their kills, survive harsh winters.
We treat war like we do a hockey game.
Canadians back then was heavily populated with Scotts and those who were Scottish descendants Historically, the Scotts are some of the toughest people. Even the Romans built a wall to keep them out of Briton. .
A lot of the laws in the Geneva Convention was inspired by Canada. After Canadians did something, a law was made making it a war crime.
The biggest problem with the Geneva Conventions are that even those countries signing them, in time of war they just do what they want. Russia attacking Ukraine is a great example.
It's not a war crime; the first time.
@37sarcastic "Woah, eh woah.... Is there a rule that says we can't _____?" - Canada before a law was made
@@HIP-HOPOPOTAMUS Study the rules like a pro and avoid them like an artist. (get creative)
"War crime" is a stupid notion. Do what you must to win.
Canadians in WWI and WWII are responsible for many of the Articles in the Geneva Conventions...
We consider them the Geneva Suggestions.... Its not against the rules if its the first time its ever done
In the 🎬INGLORIOUS BASTERDS by Quentin Tarantino; a strategically placed green Maple Leaf 🍁 is placed on the soldier that Brad Pitt’s character ALDO RAINE asks to translate to the German soldier .This scene takes place in the forest where the BASTERDS have captured some German soldiers before they kill them. It’s a great movie you have to watch if you haven’t already. It’s actually kind of funny in some parts. We noticed the Maple Leaf right away; that just supposedly has fallen off one of the trees in the forest (& landed on his arm) I think. 🤔😉💖🇨🇦
Americans found out three times
It looks like Trump wants a taste
More than half of the men who served in the Canadian forces in the First World War had come to Canada from the United Kingdom.
No d'uh! Canada started as a British colony!
@@sman8491 It's interesting to note that the composition of the country had a large element of many still immigrating from the UK at that time. There may be people less well-informed that you who aren't aware of the extent to which those immigrants provided manning for the armed forces. What was the point of your comment?
@johnburns8660 point is you make it sound like it was British military & not Canadian. Everyone who is not native is an immigrant & many natives served in the Canadian military.
@@sman8491 I'm not making it sound like anything. What I said was a simple fact. What you have said isn't relevant to that as a simple but could initiate a longer discussion.
In both the first and second world war Churchill used Canadian troops as canon fodder. Whenever he felt the attack or battle was only being used as a diversion or test for future actions, he thought nothing of using Canadian soldiers instead of risking the lives of UK soldiers. He thought Canadians were dispensable. In turn, Canadians had little choice but to do everything they could to survive. As for them being brutal, being attacked with mustard gas would tend to piss anyone off, as it did them, leading to them affecting revenge. Chimo
keep in mind this is WWI Prisoners were often abused, (censored), starved or worse at this point and could impact army progression carrying hostages, and limiting their own rations, cause in this time it was better to killed then taken prisoner in this era just from the history of what we now call "war crimes"
It's because we're so repressed in our daily lives! I know. I'm Canadian.
*The Last 100 Days (Canada's Remarkable War Efforts in WWI)*
The American Army's results compared to those of the Canadians during the last hundred days of WWI are instructive:
• the 650'000 Americans engaged in conducted operations for 47 days; the 105'000 Canadians, for 100 days.
• the Americans advance 34 miles; the Canadians, 86 miles.
• the Americans met 46 German divisions; the Canadians, 47 German divisions.
• American casualties suffered per division faced were 2'170; the Canadians suffered 975.
• the Americans captured ~16'000 prisoners; the Canadians captured 31'537 German POWs.
• the Americans captured 468 [artillery] guns; the Canadians captured 623.
• American casualties numbered ~100'000; Canadian casualties numbered 45'830.
The Canadian retort to the claim that the American entry into the war had brought victory to the allies was that their famous _“rainbow division”_ was aptly named, having arrived *_after_*_ the storm._
_“The Canadian Corps was the only force in France that went through the last hundred days of the war with unimpaired striking power. Replacing commanders and officers, absorbing reinforcements which kept it nearly at full strength,_ [enabling] _its 4 divisions to meet and rout 47 German divisions between August and November.”_ -LCol Wilfrid O. Bovey, 1st Canadian Corps.
_“A warring nation Canada is not, though a nation of warriors she has sometimes been forced to become.”_ -Pierre Berton (1920-2004), Canadian author, broadcaster, historian and journalist.
Sorry to say our military is not much to talk about at present because of Trudeau , but things will be changing.
Weren't we the reason The Geneva Convention came into being?
I've always wondered they had the Canadians speak with Scottish accents, on the Devils Brigade. Why not Russian or Italian accents?
There was a large emigration of Scottish people to Canada in the 18th and 19th Century - there's a neat summary of the reasons why on the Wikipedia Article "Scottish Canadians"... so in those older times the predominant accent would have been developed from Scottish accents passed through generations. Other traditions including kilts as part of certain military uniform and bagpipes in military ceremony have stayed a part of our country ever since. The Russians and Italians did not settle early Canada en masse and ingrain their accent and culture into our historical identity.
Tl;dr... The Canadian accent was (and in some regions, still is-!) pretty darn Scottish.
@@akumacv2075 So many forget that we have a province named New Scotland (Nova Scotia)
Scotts made up a significant portion of the population of Canada at one point.
@@jeniferdouglas I went through the StatsCan website for the 1940's in Canada. Approximately 11.5M Canadians in 1941. 10% of the entire country was made up of Scottish folk. Irish 9.6%. English 23%.
Yet, 100% of the Devils Brigade was Canadian of Scottish descent? For my own personal reference, I was born in '63. A lot of my family was from the Middlesborough area of Northern England. Not far at all from Scotland. Not ONE parent, grandparent, or great grandparent had any UK accent.
The point is, it was historically inaccurate to the degree it was portrayed.
Just my opinion.
the one time and circumstance when being passive/aggresive really pays off. ??
I personally think that it's largely because we're a Cultural Mosaic and not a Cultural Melting Pot. We want your own ideas/traditions (IF THEY HELP US!)
In the Canadian Special Forces, the expectation is maximum aggression. You are issued a bullet proof, maroon sweatshirt, with those white jumper wings. We believe it. We live it. The Unit and the mission are everything. And we are heavily insured, for theatres of combat and afterwards for suicide too. You won't find that in any Walmart or Costco contract. We call it "unlimited liability". Means we can be ordered on a mission that we should not expect to survive.
Canadians are generally uber polite, and hard to make angry. It is best to keep it that way.
Otherwise, things tend to get messy...
From a veteran of the Canadian Airborne Regiment.
OSONS
Glorious!
It was the gas. My Grandfather was there.
when trying to explain the Geneva Checklist to an American friend, and why invading Canada is a very bad idea
"Germany is responsible for what you can't do to civilians, Canada is responsible for what you can't do to enemy combatants"
WW 1 was before the Geneva Convention. I would like to see some footnotes on this; where did he get this “info” ? The US were butchers in Viet Nam, killing women and children-entire villages. A wee bit different than soldier to soldier combat.
The Geneva convention was written mostly because of the style of the Canadian fought during the Great War. It has been changed a few times again thanks to the Canadians
The First Geneva Convention dates from 1864 !!!!!
@@MrKawaltd750 True but it was amended and expanded from time to time, especially after WWI.
@@NightMystique13 as were the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong
The Geneva convention was created because of the actions of the Canadians in WW1.
Because We Can..👍✌🇨🇦
When German Pow camps had uprisings the Canadian guards layed down their weapons outside the compound and went in and beat the crap out of the prisoners and when leaving after the donnybrook the Canadian sergeant winked to the German c/o and said " good fight eh....."
The Dieppe Raid occurred before D-Day Juno Beach. was really bad raid
Battle of Ortona "little stalingrad"
Dieppe was the last instance of the British using Canadians as cannon fodder. After that, Mackenzie King insisted Canadians fight in their own units under Canadian leadership. Mountbatten was the bastard that sacrificed the Canadians at Dieppe just to get a feel for the German defenses. We weren’t that sorry when the URA blew him up.
As a Canadian who was in the Army.... its because we don't LIKE to go to war, we like to be relaxed and friendly... But if you FORCE us into war, you best be sure we are bringing an utter ass kicking along with us. There's a saying, in peacetime we are sorry, in wartime we will make YOU sorry.
All volunteers.... 😈
seen in hockey too
the nice and quiet ones are generally the deadliest to be fair
No International Law at the time but International law will enacted after WWI.
Francis Pegamagabo, the deadliest sniper of WW1, also an indigenous Canadian warrior. Went on to be band chief and helped his people throughout his life. Ever here about him in school? The Canadian Military May be hard on the enemy, but our reputation of treatment of the civilians in the war must be acknowledged as well. Basically we are gentle with the innocent, and brutal to the aggressor. We have never started a war, but we haven’t lost one either.
Canadians wrote the Geneva convention...
Please react to 2024 in Canada - In 12 Minutes. Perfect wrapped featuring a bunch of major events from the previous year.
Show no mercy, expect no mercy.
Its not a war crime if its the first time
I heard some of them stories, i m sorry we did it.
The ghost in tranches first nation canadien sniper and in war canada is scary SOB And DOB when at war
I think we were fighting for Britain's freedom...
Belgium's. German violation of Belgian neutrality is what got Britain and the Empire into the war.
We as Canadians were part of the British Commonwealth. along wit other Nations. We just stuck out more and were used by the British. Only in 1967 did we free ourselves completely from British Control. Remember the BNA Act of Briton. (British North America Act.
@@herbertjohnson4343 What do you think happened in 1967 to change our relationship to the UK?
After the Christmas peace, the leaders got after their troops. It was also only in one place. I do wonder where they got their information. I would like to check it out.
Canadians - The Peace Keepers
I don’t think this was covered by the Geneva convention during WWI
Its nothing to what Leo Major done the only Candian Who receive 2 medal in 2 different war
Was there any laws?
Well it's never against the law the first time ;)
I heard they call it the Geneva Checklist now.
Self-defense of illegal in Canada, our anger is so suppressed that when we have permission to use it we really use it
Bull. You are allowed to do what is needed to defend yourself, or another. You just aren't allowed to go beyond that.
Are you seriously playing the victim because you can't legally kill someone?
Fear is a powerful weapon theres an event in ww2 a german ss group killed surrender canadian pow they fought that german unit over next few weeks it was destroyed very few ss survived (i believe it was france front )
I think the most plausible explanation is that many soldiers were immigrants, or first and second generation citizens under the British Empire during WWI. My maternal French grandfather was an immigrant from France. He stayed home to look after his mother. My great uncle Pierre was gassed at Ypres, dying in 1936. Another great Uncle was a priest in Rome during WWII and was head of a French resistance underground unit in Caen. He survived. Ypres and Vimy were ingrained into us, growing up in the 60s and 70s. We always attended Remembrance Day, my grandparents and mum stayed home and would watch it on CBC crying, also the Same with the Scottish side of my dad. First generation immigrants, my great Uncle was killed in Italy in 1944. They were fighting for their former homelands as well as the Empire. I’m in western Canada, which was settled much later. Alberta is only 120 years old as a Province. Just some historical perspective 🇨🇦 🍻
Cheers from the East Coast.🥃
WW1 we were forced to go as a colonial power. But by WW2 we chose to go, with a professional army that cleaned up its act.
Most were not forced, there were a majority of volunteers
Geneva convention was written with Canadians to make laws of war, so yes brutal soldiers in Canada but they did help with the Geneva convention
the other countries were more civilized, the Canadian soldiers just wanted to kill for revenge. To this day, Canadian soldiers are smart and effective killers although we now follow the rules of engagement as determined by the Geneva Convention which was created in large part due to our ruthlessness in battle!
We are the reason for the Geneva convention. We may be quiet and polite but mess with us or our friends, you'll regret it.
its all fun and games until we Canadians stop saying sorry