Remembrance Day.

Seth · 11-02-2003, 02:11 AM

Nov. 11th, Remembrance Day is coming up. I thought I'd make a thread about Canada's contribution in WWII.

The following link has stuff about what Canada did.
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/youth/sub.c...tory/secondwar

I've noticed a bit of ignorance on this board regarding Canada's involvement in past wars.

By September 1939, over 58,000 Canadian men and women had volunteered to serve in the Canadian Forces.

Canadian soldiers formed the main assault force for the raid on Dieppe, where over 900 Canadians were killed and almost 2,000 more were taken prisoner.

Approximately 14,000 Canadians landed at Normandy on D-day.

The 1st Canadian Army was instrumental in the liberation of Holland in May 1945.

Over one million Canadians served in the Second World War and approximately 45,000 gave their lives.

Canada's navy was the third largest in the allied forces, and its airforce was the fourth largest.

By the end of the Second World War, Canada's navy with more than 113,000 personnel, included over 7,000 women.

In WWII Canadian forces managed to capture Vimy Ridge. No other allied force could capture the ridge from the Germans even though they had a much larger attacking force. It was also the first victory of the allied forces in WWI.

People with more historical points about WWII are welcome to add them.

Support our veterans.

PureEvil · 11-02-2003, 04:02 AM

CANADA has an ARMY?

I kid, I kid. Yeah though, Canada's cool, Canada's army is cool (Well, it isn't any more, but at one time...), and all that stuff. I don't have a poppy yet though.

Are any of the Canadian people like, doing anything to mark the day? When I was little I used to go to the parade type things they had with my Grandma, buuuuuuut, I don't do that any more. Yes indeedy.

Bond · 11-02-2003, 09:59 AM

I would also like to thank France for letting Hitler take over their own country without even trying to defend themselves.

Most of the praise for the Allied victory in WWII should probably go to Russia (who was equally as evil as Germany) and Great Britain (Churchill was a genius).

Crono · 11-02-2003, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bond

\Most of the praise for the Allied victory in WWII should probably go to Russia (who was equally as evil as Germany)

Stalin and Hitler were evil, not Russia and Germany.

PureEvil · 11-02-2003, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crono

Stalin and Hitler were evil, not Russia and Germany.

No, I think he's more correct in saying Russia and Germany were evil, because Stalin and Hitler sort of got everyone in on it. It wasn't like just those two guys were standing on the streets going "Let's take over the world and kill millions of people!"

There were more people who were "evil" or whatever than just those two individuals. They may have been the ones who got the ball rolling (And even that's something of a stretch), but they had huge amounts of people who were thinking exactly like them, and backing them through the whole thing.

So, even though both statements are technically wrong, referring to the actual countries as evil is certainly closer to the truth.

Crono · 11-02-2003, 12:57 PM

Well, I suppose. But near the end of World War II a lot of German citizens lost faith in Hitler, and even after Stalin died Stalin was denounced by Nikolai Khruschev (leader of USSR after Stalin). Not to mention Stalin kind of forced his way into being leader, he was not elected. Also, millions of Soviet citizens died because they wouldn't listen to Stalin. But anyway, the people in those countries hated their ruler as time passed on. But it doesn't matter anymore I guess.

Stonecutter · 11-02-2003, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bond

I would also like to thank France for letting Hitler take over their own country without even trying to defend themselves.

Most of the praise for the Allied victory in WWII should probably go to Russia (who was equally as evil as Germany) and Great Britain (Churchill was a genius).

Russia gave way more to win WWII than any other allied power. 20 milion dead.

Crono · 11-02-2003, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stonecutter

Russia gave way more to win WWII than any other allied power. 20 milion dead.

Add in the millions that were killed in WWI and the millions killed by Stalin, and you have the highest amount of deaths in any country of the 20th century. China too, suffered major losses. I forget the exact number but I know millions were slaughtered by the Japanese Army.

Professor S · 11-02-2003, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stonecutter

Russia gave way more to win WWII than any other allied power. 20 milion dead.

A large amount of them were shot by their own military. All soldiers retreating were gunned down.

Kruschev wasn't any picnic either. He may not have been as brutal to his own people as Stalin, but he moire of a eye for conquest than Stalin did. Kruschev saw the world becoming under control of communism. There is also the famous speech at the UN where he began beating the podium with his shoe and screaming :"We will crush you!"

Vampyr · 11-02-2003, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strangler

A large amount of them were shot by their own military. All soldiers retreating were gunned down.

Exactly. They had mounted machine guns behind their own troops, and anyone who decided to retreat got blown to smithereens.

Another huge factor of death: Weapons. When you send guys into battle with pitchforks and tell them to fight, your asking for huge casualties.

And when the Russians did use guns, it was one gun for every two soldiers. One carried the bullets, one carried the gun. When one of them got shot, the other took over.

Those kind of tactics are insane and suicidal, unless you have a large enough population to back up the strategy. Russia did.

Crono · 11-02-2003, 06:34 PM

Ah yes, Stalin once said "In the Soviet Army, it takes more courage to retreat than it does to advance."

That tactic was more of a message to the Soviet Army that defeat was not an option, and that they had to win, no matter what. If the Soviet Army was defeated at Stalingrad, Russia ( and possibly the world) would have been finished, because at the same time Moscow and Leningrad were under siege, and if the Soviet's lost at Stalingrad then the Germans would have been able to take those cities, and it probably would have only been a matter of time before the Soviet Union collapsed, if it's capital city was under German control.

I'm not saying what Stalin did to his soldiers was a good idea, in fact, it was horrible. But it was a horrible price to pay for their victory.

Hero2 · 11-02-2003, 06:58 PM

they would have had it too if hitler hadent stoped the tanks and waited for the infantry to "catch up"

TheSlyMoogle · 11-02-2003, 09:22 PM

This has nothing to do with WWII but!

The first Canadian to start selling ice cream was Thomas Webb of Toronto, a confectioner, around 1850. William Neilson produced his first commercial batch of ice cream on Gladstone Ave. in Toronto in 1893, and his company produced ice cream at that location for close to 100 years.

Just thought you might want to know about the first seller of Ice cream in Canada.

Woah!

PureEvil · 11-02-2003, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSlyMoogle

This has nothing to do with WWII but!

The first Canadian to start selling ice cream was Thomas Webb of Toronto, a confectioner, around 1850. William Neilson produced his first commercial batch of ice cream on Gladstone Ave. in Toronto in 1893, and his company produced ice cream at that location for close to 100 years.

Just thought you might want to know about the first seller of Ice cream in Canada.

Woah!

Errmmm, this topic is about war and stuff. Ice cream in no way has anything to do with anything in this topic, although it is very tasty.

DarkMaster · 11-02-2003, 10:07 PM

Just a message to Angrist and anyone else who happens to be from Holland.

Who freed your country's ass in World War II?

Damn straight. And don't you forget it either.