I live close to a Canadian war cemetery in Holten, The Netherlands. The first time I got there it was extremely overwhelming. Most of therse men where 19. Thanks to them and thousends of others my country can be the way it is. Free and happy. I'll make sure my children and theirs will not forget. Thank you Canada.
As a canuck, I am proud to hear that my countrymen before me defended your soil as gallantly as the Dutch resistance did under occupation; it takes two to beat one: and the Canucks and the Dutch did exactly that!
I've personally been over in your area and purely by accident two of us were wearing a small Canadian flag on our clothing because Roots Canada (clothing company) loves incorporating the flag into sweaters and the locals saw them and were overwhelmingly kind! It was a life changing moment. We were able to share stories of our great grand fathers and family who never came home but made a difference. In fact my last name is Best and near one of the historical sites they named a street "Best St." Very humbling. 🇨🇦 Thank you for the continued kindness.
Thanks Mr. Oosterlaar for your appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifices that so many Canadian young men made during the liberation of Europe. And I appologize for the tactless, self-absorbed Canadians who chose to comment here with pissy gripes about their current political dissatisfaction: It is so completely inappropriate and shameful for them to latch their petty politics onto your message of gratitude, and to soil the memory of those soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice with their self-serving drivel. I am ashamed for them, and for their ignorance.
So true though. I have a theory that the reason we are nice is because all of the nasty Canadians become hockey players and take out their anger on the ice.
Us Canadians were so enraged by the failure of others we took Vimy ridge in a rage raid and took it in 4 days. Where we got the rage is unknown but it’s speculated that we browed some of the rage from the geese.
Much of this was also down to General Arthur Currie, a Canadian General thought to be probably the most competent of the allies. He used tactics such as small groups of attacking men, well armed, encouraged to be indipendant and using cover instead of attacking in waves. The Germans later referred to them as 'shock troops' and used this same tactic the following year in their spring offensive.
The peak of rudeness is finally forcing someone to respond in an equally rude manner. Nobody likes bullies. But if you push a typical polite Canadian to the point of rudeness then be prepared for a savage, vicious, ruthless, relentless confrontation.
@@ou4859 Only the quebecors boomers wanna make quebec a country. As a young citizen from montreal quebec, i'm proud to be a canadian and serve my country.
Me: *Bumps into another Canadian* Them: Sorry Me: it's okay, just don't let it happen again. I honestly hate that people apologise when I run into them
I am alive today because Canadian soldiers liberated my Nana and her family when they were in hiding in Holland. Shortly after they immigrated to Canada themselves and now I get to live in one of the greatest and most beautiful countries on Earth 🇨🇦
@@AlexJohns-kw2um ummmm, that was the British. They gave blankets infected with smallpox to Shawnee and Lenape (Delaware) communities-an action sanctioned by the British officers Sir Jeffery Amherst and his replacement, General Thomas Gage.
@das wright Why we are at peace with no threats. Let him be, if anything actually comes up that requires action, he will get serious. Until then he might as well play nice.
We're normally friendly but once we get driving we're alot worse than americans lol. Example: i was in the car with my grandmaw and great grandmaw and a school bus full of kids were making faces at people in the back tge bus so my great grandmaw rolled her window down and flipped them off. It was so funny man
There's a time for friendliness, and a time for fighting. Commit to what you're doing and be willing to switch to whichever mode of behaviour fits the situation appropriately.
You have to understand that Canadians are very similar to many other cultures when it comes to the Urban / Rural divide. The Canadian stereotype starts to dissolve the further you go north. In the north thick skin is useful for more than cold weather and mosquitoes. Visitors to Canada typically stick to the larger southern cities and don't experience the "other" Canadian culture, they would be quite shocked if they were dropped into a typically forestry town. During WW1 and WW2 Canada was mostly rural, so a lot of our soldiers were taken from that stock. Also, our soldiers are heirs to the British military tradition, but we aren't burdened by the British class system. As a result our officers and NCO's typically get to their positions based on merit rather than class and wealth. That might be a reason why Canadian troops are known for flexibility and creativity.
Tourists basically go to Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and ski resorts. They've never been up North nor gone through the Prairies or those little poverty stricken fishing towns in the Maritimes. A lot of those places are not the hyper-liberal big cities nor the mellow types. Those areas are often either rough and blue-collar or rural with a lot of experience with hunting and a fierce independence streak.
Add in a slowly growing but powerful sense of cultural and national identity at the time as well, in WWI we were still a British colony but we were starting to view ourselves as Canadians first and British colonists second. It's why we joined WWII late, just to try and prove a point about us being our own people. The points on Canada's military flexibility are valid, but Canada also has a relatively small army, so the flexibility is to help compensate for a possible deficit in manpower.
Great comment! Not to mention a lot of the rural native folk were already awesome hunters and stalkers... great at covering distance, and living in the cold. They transferred over perfectly to soldiers, scouts and snipers.
My Grandmother grew up in the Netherlands during WW2 and shared stories of her parents forced to eat flowers as they had absolutely nothing until the Canadian army came to their Aide. Her older 8 year old brother shot down playing in a field by Nazi aircraft. Shortly after they came to Canada. I am so proud to be Canadian.
Im very glad they were able to find a new home in Canada and that it’s still home to their family. The liberation of the Netherlands is easily one of the best things the Canadian military has done as we are reminded every year by the awe-inspiring acts of remembrance that occur in NL. My neighbour growing up was one of the water rats that helped force out the nazis. I regret terribly that i only learned that at the mans funeral.
@@anothernamlesscommenter352 kind, emotionally strong and stoic, and ultimately a dedicated and loving husband, father and grandfather. A man who carried with him awful experiences from the war that most certainly affected him, and lead to some challenges at home including with the drink, understandably so particularly for the time. He proudly became sober the rest of his long productive life. He was a carpenter and built much of the town he and his family lived in. He took pride in doing everything he did well, to the point of maintaining the edging of his lawn with a pair of garden shears. I wonder how he felt knowing that his granddaughters best friend in school was dutch? Pardon me for being a bit sappy
My father was a soldier in the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment during WW2. He told me about this time during the Liberation when his company crossed a farm. The farmer, his wife, and their young children came out to greet them, offering them apples and coffee. The Canadians didn't want to take it because it was all they had to eat. "Take it," the farmer said, "If the Germans knew we had it, they'd shoot us." I can't imagine what it's like giving away the few apples you have left when your family is starving.
My trip to Netherlands...had budget for entertainment and beer....was traveling with best friend..is Dutch Canadian..he showed me around..but made sure everywhere he introduced me as My Canadian friend....I had all the food and beer and great company I wanted..I came home..with my entertainment budget intact.Netherlands...wonderful country
Princess Margriet was also born in Ottawa Canada during the war, the maternity ward she was born in was temporarily declared international territory, so she would be solely Dutch.
No joke when my stepdad was in the military his unit went over to Germany for training. After they get to Germany him and some guys decide to go to one of the local bars where walking in the door, a guy bumps into one of the locals as says sorry. The local hearing their North American accent assumes they're American and goes off saying "you Americans think you can do anything you want" while he and his buddies prepare for a fight. As soon as my stepdad and his buddies hear American they go " No, No. we're not American we're Canadian". As soon as the German hears that he and his buddies do a complete 180 and instead of trying to punch their lights out buys my stepdad and his buddies all around on the house telling them sorry.
@@marikroyals7111 Which has less to do with "oh, them's crazy warlike super-duper-soldier canadians, let's tiptoe around him going hulk on me" and more with a dislike for the (percieved and stereotypical!) badly behaved, loudmouthed and rude 'MURRICAH!n person that some germans post-war have had contact with. We associate canada with gentlemen-like behaviour and general niceness.
You're seven years old son, it's time to grow up. Sometimes you can't feel your fingers, just toughen up. No cocoa until you shovel out the old folks next door.
Dad was on the plow truck so he had to be able to get out of his driveway on a moment's notice.. Good thing he had eight kids, the three hundred foot driveway was spotless no matter what time of night. Still had school in the morning. 🙄
As a Ex British soldier who has lived in Canada for 30yrs now i just have to say, that i have had the honor of meeting many WW2 veterans. As you said Canadians are the nicest peaple you can meet, but dont test them,.They have a national pride like no others and will bring there wrath down on any who chose to test them. Europe owes a lot to the fighting men and women of Canada. I would go to war with at the drop of a hat. Saul Higginbotham
Ya got that right bud. And we'll always keep the mother countries safe. And at this point it's Literally everywhere now xD Might also help we got ALOT of old Norman blood here in Canada. As an brit I'm sure you'll appreciate that little bit of history. But lol. Descendant of Rollo pleased to make your acquaintance, last of the line of Le roux here in Canada companions to William the bastard. And descendant of felim and other Irish kings. All the hard asses that didn't fit in back home anymore just came here back in the day. And we had to thrive in the wild. There's a reason north america kinda got the war thing on lock.
What I find sad is that my country is mostly overlooked in both WW1 and WW2. Sure, we didn't send the biggest and best units to the front, but we did our best with who/what we had. I am truly thankful that in this video you cover our feats of heroism and triumph. Cheers from Canada!
Richard Short while note “underrepresented” the Ghurkas certainly need more love, they were badasses and were an invaluable resource in the war against japan
Canadians developed a new strategy: charge while your own side is shelling the enemy, accept the friendly fire losses, and attack while the enemy isn't expecting you.
We are polite until that last thread of sanity snaps then don't even try to run as then well theres no way out its the supressed anger we keep in as we remain polite
I heard that when Leo Major got his eye wounded, he was told he just earned himself a ticket home. He responded he wanted to keep fighting. His medical officer told him: but you lost an eye! To which Leo responded: so? I only need one, I'm a sniper. He died in 2008 but I only learned about him a few years ago. I could have met this guy, he lived not far from where I live!
My grandfather fought and was wounded in Ortona. He refused to go home and returned to his unit, he died 12 years after the war when gangrene set in his wound. He was buried in Esquimalt B.C. with full honors.
Leo Major was a video game hero but in real life. The city he single handedly liberated was planned to be bombed the next day but he and his friend feared about the civilian lives inside the city, thats why when they volunteered to scout the town they planned to capture it alone, when Leo's friend died he basically went rambo mode. Germans were talking about the crazy "One-Eyed Canadian" the entire night before pulling out. The city, Zwolle, now has a street named after him so that his heroic deed will always be remembered there.
When I travelled to France and visited Juno Beach, I learned that to this day, children there are taught the Canadian National anthem in school. As a Canadian that was really cool
I suppose we make it easy for them by having a French version. Or…they made it easy for themselves? Also, if you went to the cemetery, did you notice they there was a statue of a cross with a sword imbedded in it as a nod to the French lyrics?
Or understand the GSP from the ufc wasn't a like cruiser type he was the nice boy type. Wait till ya see our actual badasses who are just born that way. Lol. Or the shenanigans crowd. Trailer park boys should give ya some ideas. But think weaponized
And specialy the french -canadian .... german officer wrote in is personnal book " when we heard french speaking and it was not french France, we knew it was french-Canadian, the fear in the troops get at is top and the the moral at the bottom...we knew death was in front" ..... look at the story of Léo Major!! You will understand why!
We still send them 50.000 tulips each year and each generation is taught how these hero's liberated us. I am thankfull for every canadian and i do hope to visit one day
Up here in Canada we have a saying.... "There are three things all wise men fear, the sea in storm, a moonless night and the anger of a gentlemen...." -Canada
Jacob joie haha sorry,. It was kinda a joke, as the writer above mentioned it's a Patrick Rothfuss quote I just felt it applied. I am from Canada and I'll fully admit it's not a saying in general use up here lol. Our solders are very well trained and preformed exceptionally during both world wars.
@@coleannala3587 ...and out of the hockey rink. I remember, I think it was 2010 that the team lost the Stanley Cup finals (also in 1994). There was a riot. Streets looked like a battlefield. Part of the city was burnt down... over a hockey game.
Also worth noting that out of the 5 longest confirmed sniper kills in history, 3 were by Canadian snipers, including the longest, which is over 700 m longer than the second.
Lime The longest is actually 3,540 meters, achieved by a JTF2 sniper in Iraq During 2017... amazing how he managed to make a kill shot over 3.5 kilometres away.
As a USer, I am proud to call Canadians my northern brothers and sisters. We aren't protecting Canada from the rest of the world. We are protecting the rest of the world from Canada.
@Mwaniki Mwaniki Its great but also really difficult to make, so I give respect to maple syrup makers. It's like 50 buckets of sap for 1 bucket of syrup or something crazy. Tastes like heaven though. Cheers
The amount of times a Canadian soldier held a trench outnumbered and still didn't flee is incredible. Elis Sifton going in alone and bayoneting a whole MG crew and fighting off a wave of German until death. Or Joseph Keable who made 50germans retreat alone while being wounded by artillery shrapnel. They both died fending of a big force alone and fighting till death.
@@TheFront btw Canada has NEVER had Conscription ... EVERY soldier that has ever fought has been a volunteer ... no majority ... ALL OF THEM ... every single one .signed up
My great grandfather survived Juno at the age of 16. Although I never got to meet him I still think about the strength and courage that must have taken. Truly a hero.
D DAY WW2 JUNO BEACH OUT OF ALL OF THE LANDINGS THAT DAY CANADA HAD ONE OF THE HARDEST BUT CANADA WAS THE ONLY ALLY TO FINISH 100% OF THEIR OBJECTIVES IT WAS CRAZY GOD BLESS EVERYONE ON BOTH SIDES MAY YOU ALL HAVE THE PEACE IN HEAVEN YOU DIDNT HERE! *GBYAA!!!!!!!!!!*
On behalf of the Netherlands, one day after celebrating our 75th liberation day, thank you to all Canadians. We love you guys and we owe you our freedom and a great deal of gratitude. Much love from Amsterdam
And i on behalf of canada thank you for sending thousands of tulips every year proving that was a sacrifice that will never be forgotten Much love from Toronto
My step-dad’s dad fought in Italy. He never really talked about it. Toward the end of his life, 50 years later, he had to have hip replacement surgery. He asked the surgeon “listen doc, I have a piece of mortar stuck in my leg since the war, it hurts when I sit down. While you’re down there, could you remove it? It would be appreciated”
my grandfather was in Italy too. he also never spoke of it unless it was a funny story. he also never took his shirt off because he didn't want people seeing his bullet scars. he was shot 3 times during the war
This includes the *War of 1812.* This was the one and only war in history between the United States and Canada, which the United States started. Canada won the war and proceeded to push towards the capital, D.C, where they then proceeded to burn down the White House and eat the meal the president and his family were in the middle of having.
Old Canada was populated by tribes who saw being kidnapped and skinned alive slowly as a righteous way to die and the attacker gained his passage to manhood. The natural environment can kill people walking a block to the store for milk. So it doesnt surprise me that in the 30/40s we were still rather feral.
My grandfather is 98 years old today and he fought in WWII as a Canadian. He's the most humble man I've ever met. He was there at Juno Beach and at the liberation of France, Belgium and Holland. I truly respect everything this courageous man has done for the world and for the people. He explained to me many times that the hardest part of the war for him was to see the starving children that had lost their parents during the war. He also said most of the times they could not feed the children because they didn't have enough food to feed all of them. The kids would fight each other out of desperation when the soldiers gave them food. My grandfather was known by his fellow soldiers as the small soldier that ran really fast. making him a difficult target to hit. I'm extremely thankful for every soldiers that helped end the war once and for all, bringing peace to Earth and giving us the future we have today. His name is Edgar Doiron, a proud french canadian from New Brunswick. He's my hero.
The national anthem is a very beautiful anthem for the Soldiers I cry every time I listen to it. I thank you for your grandfathers service. He has done a great thing. God bless him ❤️
I had a great uncle that fought and survived both wars. He lied about his age to get into WW1 and lied again to get into WW2. He was heart broken 'cause the Forces wouldn't let him fight in Korea. He came out with so many medals that a normal person would tip over from the weight.
BRO MY GREAT GRANDFATHER TOO HE SECRETLY CELIBRATED HIS 17TH BDAY IN THE TRENCHES OF FRANCE AN WAS ALREADY THERE FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS!, THERES A REASON THEM AN THEIR KIDS ARE CALLED "THE GREATEST GENERATION! GOD BLESS YOUR UNCLE AN ALL W LOST ON ALL SIDES *GBYAA!!!!!!!!!!!!*
Its about how we train. Keep in mind, around WW1/WW2, most of the country (west of ontario) was farmland. Most canadians owned and used bolt action rifles frequently (and still do.) We have a small population, which means comparatively, we have a small army. We have to train well and train hard to be relevant.
@724warlord actually, many do own guns. Not as many people own guns as for example; our Southern neighbors, but according to surveys, gun owners in Canada typically own more than one gun. See Canadian gun content creators on YT for example... they seem to have personal armories.
I was suprised to learn this my self but in Finland we have the most guns compared to population than any other European country. Not sure this is 100% true but we at least on the top 3
Here's the thing. The nicer people are, the scarier they are when they snap. An interesting addition to the topic would be the involvement of the indigenous people in the war efforts. I heard a vet from our closest reserve give a speech on remembrance day, and the volunteer enlistment rate from all eligible men was over 94%. It was a really interesting speech, and their treatment both while overseas and when they returned home was heartbreaking.
Just barely beginning to understand Canadian history. This is awesome! Gained a whole new level of respect for this country. The fact that Canada is really friendly and non-aggressive, but will do anything to fight for peace is the definition of Pacifism to me. And that's very admirable.
Fun historical note: Canada originated the concept of the UN Peacekeeping force. However there was a major distinction in the original concept that the US, UK and the USSR in particular didn't like and removed from the proposal. The original proposal is that the UN peacekeepers would be creating and enforcing peace.
Come and visit us one day if you can! We've got tons of neat old forts to visit if you're into that and lots of beautiful land all across us (I mean, SK and MB might be a bit boring on landscaping and ON and QC are big on cities, but lots of sites to see regardless) If I may be so bold definitely try fresh from the tree syrup if you get the chance~
If you want another proof of our pacifism. Look up the whisky war. Officially, Canada has been at war with Denmark over some island at the border with Greenland since 1978. it ended in 2022. No casualties.
Canadians: just relaxing and enjoying life Germany: starts world war 2 Canadians: “How many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man?” Thanks for all the likes
Technically, Germany and the USSR started a local war with Poland, and it was mostly Britain and France who's actions pushed it into being a global conflict
I still believe Vimy ridge in ww1 is Canada's best moment. Heck, they literally created a 1.1 scale training course of the ridge and trained within a few km's of the German held ridge for months, before attacking and taking in under 3 days what British and French attacks had failed to take for years.
Not quite as simple as that though was it, regards Canadians taking the ridge at Vimy. It was not that Canadian troops were somehow superior, it was that Currie was able to plan and train and prepare his men for this attack for weeks. Canadian divisions were 50% bigger than British ones and were better armed (1 machine gun to every 13 men compared to 1 in every 61 men in British divisions - as well as getting paid 5 times more than Brits, not that that is highly relevant). Most importantly, the 'week of suffering' (what the Germans called it) that preceded it included an artillery bombardment that was 3 times larger than any seen by any British division and involved one million shells - critically this bombardment knocked out 183 of 217 defensive German guns. Not taking credit away from the Canadians and Currie especially, but lets not pretend Vimy was the same defensive ridge that the Brits, ANZACS and especially the French had tried to take on. But the Canadians were genuinely considered amongst the best of the British divisions, along with 2nd, 7th, 29th, Guards Brigade, all of whom performed superbly repeatedly.
@@zachjollimore4339 absolutely. We just didn’t have enough to be fair. Currie could plan ops and wasn’t under Haigs command. The Canadians were effective but for obvious reasons, and Currie was responsible for those reasons
It’s what he did to get a Bar for the DCM during Korea that defines his heroism and “don’t give a fuck” attitude Leading 11 other men and with mortar support he held off 2 Chinese division for 2 or 3 days
@@Quack1945 he won the distinguished conduct medal in two seperate wars and refused his "first" medal because the person giving it was considered incompetent by him
As a Canadian I feel proud of those generations accomplishments. It runs through my maple syrup veins with pride. All Allied nations were heroic, tough, vicious when need be, and prevailed as a collective. Lets make sure we always remember those efforts and sacrifices made by all each time we enjoy our moments of peace and freedom. And don’t ever piss off the nice guys. 😬
@Travis Sherstianko my great grandfather was a German soldier fighting the Canadians and Brits in Holland, he said the both the Canadians and Brits fought very conservative and where careful about using resources but when he later fought the Americans in Belgium it was a different way of fighting. He said the Americans where very difficult to fight, because they would just bombard German positions with ungodly amounts of artillery shells and they would call in fighters even if there was just a few Germans and the pilots would literally spends hours randomly strafing the forest and buildings. Thankfully he survived the war, and is now 94.
Many of those statements still hold true to this day. The fact is that Canada has a rather small military. As a direct result, a very large portion of military personnel are trained to be able to handle a far wider range of roles than your average American soldier. That versatility is part of what makes the Canadian military is.
Yeah we're kinda forced to very intensely and thoroughly train our soldiers to make the most of the small amounts we have. Of course I'm certain there'd still be a surge of volunteers the moment Canada declares war, ngl. I still get the feeling that everyone would fight the moment Canada needs to.
Fun fact: Leo Major kept at it during the Korean War too. He led 18 men at Hill 355 where they successfully defended and held their position against 14,000 attacking Chinese. 737 to 1, not bad odds at all! 💪🏻🇨🇦
See, that's the thing though. It's very easy for us to be polite. We just have a little switch somewhere deep in our minds that have the options of : Conquer lands and slaughter all, & Just nice enough so that they don't catch on.
@@6th_Army Some of us are humans and try our best to be good to others but will still bring up arms to defend our loved ones. Some even regretting doing so.
Epigenetics. We were fortunate enough to have such a high percentage of amazing dna. These warriors still exist across Canada, and given the right circumstances, to the surprise of even themselves, they will rise to the call.
@@Blastaballzy montgommery that have more wins than any general of the allies, montgommery who defeat rommel and was the commander o d-day on the land.
That about British officers? I know of one story of a Canadian who was quite large & bayoneted German after German through a building throwing the bodies off his bayonet out the windows.
My Grandfather's older brother died in Holten Netherlands in May 1945. He helped liberate Belgium and the Netherlands. I wish I could've met him. The way my grandfather talks about him, he seemed fearless and driven to help those in need. He's buried in the Canadian Military Cemetary in Holten, Netherlands. This video made me so proud of my heritage.
_"A warring nation Canada is not, though a nation of warriors she has sometimes been forced to become."_ -Pierre Berton, *The Invasion of Canada 1812-1813*
Pierre Burton wrote a wonderful book called “Vimy” which I bought decades ago. I’d written an essay on Vimy Ridge in grade 9 and it got me an A+. When I heard of the book, bought it immediately. Great book, great author and another great Canadian!
CANADA WITH BE LITTLE MORE THAN A MARCH OVER TO THEM LOL DIDNT WORK OUT DID IT , WE BURNT THE WHITEHOUSE DOWN, BUT HEY JUST A MARCH RIGHT 1812, AMERICAN ARMY TALKING ABOUT CANADA GBYAA!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@tukaikayaba3674 Napoleon was busy in Europe with the British and their allies. The book is about the _American_ invasion of Canada (Upper and Lower Canada)-the [North American] _War of 1812._
@@billiebobsr6876 Iran should reconsider pissing off Canada. A Ukrainian plane carrying Canadians, most of them Iranians with Canadian citizenship and status, crashed 3.5 hours after Iran launched missiles at Iraq. Politics in Canada were somewhat divided due to all these influences and spectrums happening... But this one Iran related incident with the death of 63 Canadians changes all that. This is not like the plane being shot down in Ukraine by rebels after Annexation, where the passengers were 'lesser known' nationalities and were mostly mixed. This is a plane that is FLYING HOME to Canada, via Ukraine.
I don't get the maple syrup lust. Is it an eastern Canadian thing? Out west here no one really ever uses it except maybe the odd time on pancakes or waffles. I just don't understand how we all have this maple syrup stereotype is all.
Canada is the only country to have never lost a war, and yes, we have fought off the Americans when they invaded... Not just once but twice. BTW I have never felt so patriotic
@@fatewinter6000 taking no prisoners is not a war crime, killing prisoners is a war crime. also im not sure but i dont know if the canadians had the logistics to required to deal with large amounts of prisoners during most of ww 1.
Same here and being from the same reservation that Francis Pegahmagabow came from knowing he was one of the best snipers they had over seas at that time..
"He liberated the entire city, by himself." -Damn, that's badass. It's like something out of a video game where you have to try over and over to get the perfect run...but he did it in real life on the first try. Wow.
From my personal experience as a Canadian veteran myself, Canadian soldiers are good because we have a very small army for a very vast country were life isn’t easy because of our climate. A large number of combat soldier comes from little rural towns all over Canada with a mentality of getting the job done. Lots of them are hunters and good marksmen before joining the forces. The Canadian army wants their soldiers to be able to do diverse jobs in diverse situation because of our small numbers. Soldiers will volunteer for any course’s they can get on to have all kind of skills and qualifications, it’s less boring than to just be on garrison duty. Very often you will have a simple private qualified on diverse weapons system and vehicles and other special courses. We often joke that we wear multiple hats in the Canadian army and it makes us a multi-role, self-reliant well-rounded soldier. As for being nice, yes, we are but if you push your luck, then, the woodsman mentality comes out quick.
Canadians are some of the most elite soldiers in the world, If they want to train in hot weather, they go to BC, Cold weather, Nunavut, Mountains, BC again, Flatlands, Alberta,
I found that when I saw Service manners from other countries at Esquimalt base. Their skill sets were not as diversified as our service members. Just my opinion based on observations.
It's the brutal climate as out of everything that makes it especially in the west. In other countries, they never had to worry about surviving the next day. If it's warm outside, you can go without food one day. For us, we recognize every single day that the planet will kill you without question. You will freeze to death if you don't haul ass. You have to prepare for winter. This even applies today but it was especially true in the world wars when most people still lived in rural areas.
I'm ex navy and had an opportunity to get my paratrooper wings on annual leave combined with two weeks special leave. So went to Rivers and did just that. Got a lot of comments wearing wings on a navy uniform, but it was worth it just for the experience.
Ruined and rescued by the Canadian Navy all in one night. Years ago in Lisbon, I found a bunch of Canadians drinking in an Irish bar. They turned out to be sailors from the HMCS Athabasca. I told them I was Canadian too but the hosers in uniform refused to believe me. They started asking me questions that only a Canadian could answer, and once they were satisfied I wasn't a poser or a spy, they invited me to drink with them all night long, which I did. Then, as I stumbled home, I realized I had left my backpack with all my stuff in the pub. So I returned to the pub but the canucks had left and gone back to the ship with my backpack. I tracked down the Athabasca in the harbour and they let me on, gave me back my backpack, gave me a tour of the ship and even offered me a lot more beer. They told me that as long as I was on the Athabasca, I was on Canadian soil. I never felt more at home. Cheers to the Canadian Armed Forces and to the HMCS Athabasca. She was a fine fine ship.
I feel that its important to note here that during both wars much of Canada was still very much a frontier. Many of our soldiers and officers came from farms on these frontiers and had previous experience with firearms, fighting and extreme weather (in places like Manitoba it regularly gets to -40 degrees.) So many of the challenges most soldiers who come from large urban spralls face weren't there for our boys. We were already adjusted to harsh conditions.
@@sophieroberge168 "Born on January 23, 1921, New Bedford, Massachusetts, to French-Canadian parents, Léo Major moved with his family to Montreal before his first birthday." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Léo_Major
@@sophieroberge168 Under USA law anyone born in the USA is automatically an American. Canadian law is similar as I understand it. He was less than a year old, so unless he liked cheese burgers, lite beer and watching Loren Greene, William Shatner and Mike Meyers pretending to be Americans, being an American didn't stick.
tinybalineys as a fellow Canadian, every war mentioned in class made the class fall silent and listen. Most of those classmates were loud folk who couldn’t go for 5 minutes without making noise.
We had a really rambunctious lot in grade 11 social studies. One guy ordered KFC to class just to piss the teacher off. Then one day we covered the war in the pacific. Needless to say, no amount of mere fried chicken would sate the students sudden fascination with canadian corvettes hunting for kriegsmarine subs
My homeroom teacher for most of middle school had majored in history (and minored in geography), so he knew what he was talking about when it came to Canadian involvement in WWII. I could have hour long conversation with him about Canadian WWII history in the later years of middle school. Honestly my favourite teacher ever, and the reason I love Canadian history so much
@@north-zone What a horrendous memory for him...unimaginable. No wonder he tried to obliterate those memories with drink. My mother's 1st cousin. a Lieutenant, was on the HMS Fidelity (the only Canadian on board) that was hit by the German subs on his 39th birthday, Dec 30 1942. There were 369 men in that water that died. The horrors of war....unimaginable.
@NORTH -ZONE My grandfather was never the same after Nam. then he got hit by a drunk driver in the US killing all three of his best friends and damaging his legs terribly. he drank himself to death, I wish I got to meet him, he would have had a lot to say and I'd have loved to hear it. He was also British landing. I'm sorry about your Father.
All I'm gonna say is, our Northern Brothers and sisters can fucking fight. A bunch of tough as nails, utterly devious, maple-fed sumbitches that I am very proud to call our neighbors. With much love, and respect for their willingness to get stuck in, from your Southern neighbor 🇺🇸❤🇨🇦
All these decades later, the Netherlands still send Canada tulips, as a thank you for liberating them, and giving them food. The people of the Netherlands were literally starving to death in WW2. BTW, If anyone wonders why the first WW was called “ the Great War”, it’s not because anyone ( except the military industrial complex) thought the war was wonderful; the word “great” meant “big” then.
@@Caperhere Actually it not because we free them, it because the royal family came here and when the princess gave birth and we declared that room Netherlands soil so she would be born in her country.-
I am a Canadian Veteran, and I’m not gonna pretend I’m some kind of tough guy killer, but I have the pleasure of knowing some absolutely fearless warriors that ran roughshod over the Kandahar province for years.
Guys let's not forget when Canadians literally PISSED in their towels and put them on their faces TO CANCEL OUT THE POISON SET BY THE GERMANS, AND THEY WON, TOO!
German officer: the gas is ready for use German general: good there's no way they'll survive this German Officer: well there is this one thing... but they'd never The Canadians: do that thing
