Reaction To D-Day from the Canadian Perspective 

Sir Winston Churchill said " If I had Canadian soldiers, American technology and British officers, I would rule the world"

Unlike other beaches, Juno was spared the amount of pre-invasion bombing and naval salvos delivered elsewhere, because there were too many French citizens there, meaning the towns which were heavily defended by German garrisons were relatively untouched when the Canadians landed. I have watched many accounts of the day, and in every telling - including English and American, the Canadians were ordered to stop their advance on D-Day. They were advancing so quickly that they risked leaving US and UK flanks unprotected - the Germans could have snuck in behind the Canadian advance and attacked US and UK troops. As the maps show in this video, Canadians had covered more miles coming from Juno than the UK had, coming from Swordfish - and despite having to deal with urban warfare on the way. Given the fact that Canadians were told to halt, because other forces couldn’t keep up, it feels a little unfair to suggest that the Canadians 'failed to meet their objective' especially when the Germans had fled. They could have just strolled in and taken it, if not ordered to stay where they were

When I was about 10 years old, my uncles on my mother’s side of the family were at our house for supper. They were having a conversation with my father in the living room. I asked if my dad remembered where he was during D-Day since we had just learned about it in school that week. My dad said he was in the English Channel issuing orders to fire 2000 lb. shells on German beach positions. My uncle who was in the Canadian Army at the time asked, “There were Greeks at Normandy on D-Day?” “Sure” said my dad, who was a Lt. Cmdr in the Greek Royal Navy. “We were trying to help the army get ashore by shelling the German positions.” “WHAT BEACH!?” asked my uncle. “The Canadian beach, I don’t recall the name they gave it.” “JUNO BEACH!” said my uncle. “That’s right.” said my father. My uncle added “I was on that beach, struggling to get ashore, it was Hell.” They talked some more. My uncle called his sister (my mother) into the room. Looking at my dad he said "Why didn't you tell me he was at Juno?" My mother looked at my father and said "What! You were at Juno beach?" My uncle explained. Then she said to my uncle, "He never talks about the war unless you ask him specific question." After, my mother (a CWAC during the war) called us to the kitchen for supper and my uncle got up, walked over to my father and hugged him. “Let’s go eat brother.” My dad was shooting at German positions not knowing that his future brother-in-law, who he would meet 15 years later, was trying to get on shore.

My Grand Father...a proud Scotsman and Sargent Major in the Kings army during WWII....was so impressed with Canadian soldiers that when the war ended he left Britain and moved to Canada where he continued his service in the military and spent the next 10 years training Canadian soldiers at the end of his military career he joined Canada post believing that he needed to serve his new country as a show of gratitude and pride as a new Canadian. .......people don't seem to think that way anymore but I always saw it as a major sign of respect that after his experience fighting shoulder to shoulder with Canadian soldiers all those years ago he was inspired to leave his home and serve the country he had so much respect for

Everyone forgets about Canada, when it comes to what Canadian really did. I am proud to be Canadian 🇨🇦

My dad immigrated to Canada in 1953 when he was 4. They chose Canada because of the heroic acts of the Canadians during the liberation of the Netherlands

My grandfather, Trooper Gerald Francis Hamm, landed in Normandy in July 1944. He was 31 years old. Although he left Canada in 1942 as a member of the Halifax Rifles, while in England, he was transferred into the legendary South Alberta Regiment, equipped with the latest Sherman Firefly Tank. He fought through Caen and into the Falaise Gap, where his Company Commander, Maj Currie won the Victoria Cross at Saint Lambert sur Dives. They chased the Germans across France and into Belgium. Sadly, on 12 Sep 1944, just after the Battle of Moerbrugge, his Squadron was advancing towards Lekkerhoek, when SS units took out his tank with a Panzerfaust. He is buried in the Agedem Canadian War Cemetery in Eeklo, Belgium. His son (my father) joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1957 as a Clearance Diver. Sadly, he too was killed in tragic accident at the age of 34 while serving aboard HMCS Granby. I joined the Canadian Forces at 20 years old, served 30 years with them, and retired at 50 years old, a third generation Canadian soldier, and the only one to reach my pension. In 2019, my son and I flew to France for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day Celebrations at Juno Beach. From there, we spent the next 10 days following my grandfathers battle route, all the way through every town, to his gravesite in Eeklo, where I introduced the fourth generation Hamm boy to his great grandfather. I am extremely proud of what my father and grandfather sacrificed for this nation. Lest we Forget.

I was a member of the Canadian Scottish when it was a Militia unit in the 60's. They were named the 16th Bn in WW1. Their home base is Victoria, BC. Motto was: Deas gu cath "Ready for the Fray."

Here you go Mert Can, a lot of things you should know about Canada's role on D Day and the days that followed. It is interesting to note that as General Bernard Montgomery drew up his plans for the Normandy campaign, the Canadians found themselves assigned to the toughest section of the Normandy front. Why was it the toughest? Because it was so wide open in so many places that it was regarded as by far the most favourable territory for tank warfare. So the very terrain of the Juno Beach regions was far and away recognized as the worst for infantry. Hedgerows were fewer or farther between, but the wide open access for the excellent German armoured divisions made it a terrible place to fight for the generally inferior Allied armour. In response to this, D-Day plans called for double the number of artillery pieces to be landed on Juno than on any other Allied beach and immediately put into action, coordinated with the forward-most Canadian infantry units-the Regina Rifles and the Royal Winnipeg Rifles-both of whom had previously stormed the beach early on June 6. It was in precisely this sector of the Canadian front that the Germans planned to mass their armoured divisions and try to push the Canadians back into the sea, and then spread left and right to attack Gold and Sword beaches. This is what Montgomery realized when he drew up the plans for the Normandy campaign. The terrain literally dictated the Nazi’s strategy. During the lynch-pin Battle for Bretteville (June 7-10, 1944) this artillery support was vital and broke up numerous German infantry and 12 SS Panzer attacks. That and the sheer guts and unbelievable determination of the two aforementioned infantry regiments saved the day. These were some tough Canadian kids from the Prairies who took on the German SS Panzer divisions and beat them. The commander of the 12 SS Panzer division, Kurt Meyer, had smugly concluded that his men would sweep the Canadians back into the English Channel like so many “little fishes.” Needless to say, Meyer and his 12 SS Panzers were the ones licking their wounds and howling in misery when they finally fled from Bretteville-minus 43 dead, 99 wounded, 10 missing and 29 panzers destroyed including a good number of Panther Mark Vs. And other than the 29 lost panzers, that was just on the first night! The Royal Winnipeg Rifles claimed 6 more panzers in nearby Putot. It was here and at nearby Abbey d’Ardenne that Kurt Meyer’s 12 SS and the Canadians began executing each other’s prisoners tit for tat, with no quarter given. The two sides really hated each other and this made for likely the bitterest fighting in Normandy. Here is a limited account of the terrible fighting at Bretteville: www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/battlehonours/northwesteurope/brettevillelorgueilleuse.htm And here is an excellent and much more detailed scholarly account of the Battle of Bretteville in .pdf format: scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol16/iss4/2/ [Be prepared to meet Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott of the original Star Trek series fame, as he was actually right in the area, being a Canadian artillery officer who landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. I bet you didn’t know that! 😏] In fact, the Canadians made the greatest penetration of the German lines on D-Day, beating them back almost seven whole miles in the first 24 hours. Neither the Americans nor the British came anywhere close. Indeed, three Sherman tanks of the Canadian 1 Hussars actually reached their assigned D-Day objective-the Caen-Bayeux highway next to Carpiquet airfield-before having to pull back when they could not make radio contact with army HQ and request reinforcements. And it was hard fighting with the Canadians losing 359 men killed landing on the first day alone-second only to Omaha for men KIA, but suffering the highest casualties of all the Allied beaches when calculated as a percentage of troops landed! Perhaps the great progress was because the Canadian army was the only Allied army in Normandy that was entirely volunteer. And yes, the two British and one Canadian beaches faced the bulk of the German armour-something like 80% of all German armoured divisions in Normandy faced us around Caen. Indeed, German armour was lined up virtually cheek by jowl. Historians have carefully investigated the numbers involved and the Germans, Canadians and British had more tanks per square mile all around Caen than the Russians and Germans had at Kursk. Between Caen, Carpiquet and Bayeux alone, the Germans had eight panzer divisions supplemented by an additional battalion of more than 100 Mark V Panthers. They were Panzer Lehr, 2 Panzer, 9 Panzer, 116 Panzer, 1 SS Panzer, 9 SS Panzer, 12 SS Panzer and 21 Panzer. Though few people understand this, these were the heaviest, most concentrated tank battles of WW2. In his analysis of the fighting against the Canadians of the Regina Rifles Regiment at Bretteville (which contained a number of Sherman and Firefly tanks, as did virtually every Canadian and British regiment), Hubert Meyer, the commanding general of the 12 SS Panzer division (after Kurt Meyer had been captured in September 1944) wrote later in “The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division, Volume 1” that: “The tactic of surprise, using mobile, fast infantry and Panzers even in small, numerically inferior Kampfgruppen, had often been practiced and proven in Russia. This tactic, however, had not resulted in the expected success here against a courageous and determined enemy, who was ready for defense and well equipped. Through good battle field observation, the enemy had recognized the outlines of the preparations for the attack and drawn his own conclusions. The deployment of D Company [of the Regina Rifles] to Cardonville had prevented a breakthrough by 2./26 [of the 12 SS] from the farm south of the rail line to Bretteville, only 1,000 meters away. The anti-tank defenses all around the village were strong enough to thwart all attempts by the Panzers to by-pass the town to the south and north. The surprising use of parachute flares with glaring magnesium light blinded the Panthers and clearly outlined them to the enemy Pak [anti-tank guns like 6 and 17 pounders]. This enemy was especially strong in the defense and could not be taken by surprise. He fought with determination and courage.” [pages 186-87] One is unlikely to find higher praise from the SS than 12 SS Panzer General Hubert Meyer had for the Regina Rifles Regiment of the Canadian Army. And finally, let's look at the private sentiments of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In a rarely noted statement from him, cited by esteemed British historian Andrew Roberts in his “History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900” 2007, on page 343, Eisenhower declared that “man-for-man the Canadians were the best soldiers in his army.” In hindsight, it is something of a feather in Montgomery’s hat that he beat his own estimate of 90 days for capturing Caen and destroying the German armies-by two full weeks minus one day-but who is counting when numbers are so great and the opposition so terrible? Lastly, Montgomery (and all the Allied generals) had insights into overall German strategy and counterattack plans through the Ultra intercepts at Bletchley Park, England. On many occasions he chose to withdraw his forces a short distance in order to preserve them, when informed that much superior German armoured divisions were being moved up to recapture territory lost. This was only sensible. You do not throw away large masses of men and armour to be ground up by superior numbers of enemy armour simply to display your bravado. No, you withdraw and rebuild your own forces until you can overcome what you positively 100% know is a much stronger force facing you only a short distance away. Many have questioned Montgomery’s leadership, perhaps with some reason. But how many know that he had to preserve his forces (as much as he could anyway) when Ultra intelligence revealed that not doing so would only be a futile gesture and the deliberate squandering of many men’s lives? Moreover, London had already told him that infantry reserves were virtually nil (though armour was abundant) and he had better save as many of his men as possible. So let’s try to be a little bit fairer in our criticisms of him. My hat comes off to the many, many brave and excellent fighting men from the US and Britain. They fought as hard as anyone else but it was a team effort between the three great English speaking nations of the world that defeated Nazi Germany in Normandy, as well as the many brave French, Polish and other freedom loving European soldiers who fought alongside us. Bravo to all involved! PS I am not trying to glorify war here, just so anyone who might think this to be so can understand that I do not approve of war-for all the good this will do. Sources for German armoured strength in Normandy. - Bernages, Georges “Panzers and the Battle for Normandy” 2001. - Zetterling, Niklas “Normandy 1944: German Military Organization, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness” 2000.

For some reason we🇨🇦 are overlooked in so many battles that changed everything. One that is rarely talked about is the Battle of the Scheldt Estuary. We were to slog through a “swamp” and huge field of very deep mud to help take the Port at Antwerp. It was an unbelievably tough battle. Stuck in the mud, we were a “shooting gallery”. But take it we did. As a nurse who has an extensive knowledge of the Canadian contributions to WWII it always made a big difference to my patients that I could talk to them about it. I have so many amazing stories I will hold in my heart forever.

Hey Mert: The Canadian military has a lot of Scottish related regiments, particularly back in WW2. As a Scot yourself, you can also be proud as many of those Canadians were probably related to your ancestors. They have been in Canada since the fur trade days. Their bravery is reflected in that John Cleese story about threat levels... "there is a reason the Scots have been on the front line of the British Army for the last 300 years"

I'm currently teaching about Canada 's participation in (and many contributions to) the Second World War. Ironically, today's lesson was about Juno Beach and the road to Germany through the Netherlands. I'm the son of Italian immigrants but am a very proud Canadian, largely due to the courage and sacrifices of the men and women who fought to preserve our way of life!

We in America remember the sacrifice of our brothers to the north and indeed, many of us joined the Canadian armed forces in order to get into the fight before America was committed. As much as we snipe back and forth good-naturedly, for our part, we love and respect the 51st State. 😂 There is a made for TV video about Juno Beach landings that's pretty good. Here's the link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yoXruon8weA.html

My dad was a member of the 1st. Canadian Parachute Battalion. He arrived in France around 02:00 on the morning of the 6th. My parents were married on the first anniversary of that day in London.

Canada has a province basically named New Scotland (Nova Scotia), so you can definitely find very strong ties to Scotland.

My grandfather's regiment The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa landed that day.

My grandfather's battleship went down off the coast of Morocco. He spent 5 months in a hospital in UK. Didn't speak a lick of English but once war ended, he reached out for an english tutor who ended up being my Irish grandmother. I have all his gear. I am not religious but..... God bless

My grandfather was part of one of the first Special Ops teams that the Canadian Navy employed, and he was part of a covert mission to scout out a landing point the night before D-Day buy sea canoe

My great grandfather and his 4 brothers all served Canada during World War II. He served in the navy and his destroyer was sunk in the St Lawrence River by a German U boat, but he survived thankfully. However one of his brothers was killed in the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy. Grateful and thankful for their service.

There are a number of Highland regiments in Canada, the most famous being the Black Watch of Canada.

I worked for the Health Authority in Saskatchewan, providing homecare services for seniors. I served many veterans of WW2... sadly most have passed now, but I was privileged to meet and assist these elders. Truly, The Greatest Generation, as they are referred to in Canada

We are very proud of the men and women who keep our great country free 😊 past and present god bless 😊

My dad joined the Canadian Air Force and one uncle joined the Navy and served in the North Atlantic. They returned home. My mother's little brother joined the army but sadly died at Dieppe at age 20. Jimmy Findlay's photo has pride of place in my living room. Never forgotten.

The Royal Regina Rifles are on their way to Normandy to unveil a new statue for the 80th anniversary. The RRR were also called names like "Farmer Johns". These guys all volunteers, did their own training on a guy's farm, with their own trucks and gas, and reloaded all their ammo.

My cousin, Garnett Trimble from Guelph, Ont. died at the Battle of Buron in July trying to take the airfield. He is buried at Beny sur Mer. Two of my father's cousins were also in the battle at Buron but survived. Lost 3 other cousins as well (air force, convoy and Dunkirk) and my dad was in the RCAF (410 Mosquito Sqn.).

i know this from grade school or elemetry. but love watching other people discover it

My old man was an engineer, he spent his time on a boat, going down the Rhine River, probably the driver. Best job for him as he was a lifetime boater in Ontario. He did say it was the best time in his life, never shot a rifle in anger but they did get shot at and he lost some of his hearing. Unfortunately for the rest of his life, he was obsessed with the war, we stopped listening to the stories because young girls don't want to listen to war stories ewww. His unit did stay in touch until their deaths, he was the last.

The Germans were embedded in the civilian areas at Juno, limiting the amount of allied artillery and aircraft bombardment that was possible.

My Grandfather and Great Uncle were in the Canadian army. I'm only aware of my Grandfather being stationed in Italy at some point and my great uncle was part of the Canadian army that liberated Holland. I wish I was able to ask them more questions before they passed away

My Great Uncle was there,North Nova Scotia Highlanders.He was a giant of a man,funnier than all get out,strong and lovely but only spoke of the war on rare occasions. He could make us giggle with some stories but he just could not say more. He was adored by us all and man are we proud of him

Thanks for doing this video. It means a lot.

My Uncle, Gregory H. McCann, was in the North Shore Regiment. He talked to me about it and it sounded like hell on earth the moment the call to disembark from the landing craft until he was wounded in the battle for the Gap, as he called it. He had a great deal of "survivors guilt", and made me promise to never forget his brethren that were "forever young". I never will, since he left this world for Heaven in 2004, I have never missed a Remembrance Day, I think about him often. I can just see the crazy S.O.B. tearing towards the enemy, in the name of Canada and Freedom, and only caring about his friends beside him, the family he left behind and the way freedom must be for all. I'm his favorite Nephew by far and I'm half German. But I am so proud of him and every other man, woman and child that fought for what they thought was right, on both sides of my family. God bless us all

the Canadian Scottish Regiment (C Scot R ) are still very active. I served with them before I went to the P.P.C.L.I.

I'd like to say that he have become ill equipped pacifists since the war. Our military is definitely underfunded. We have proud women and men defending our country. A ww3 wouldn't be like the past. It would be cyber, drones, missiles, and little boots on the ground. I don't know how my home, Canada, would fair out. Generations later, our kids aren't wolverines. Mine can make their own furniture, rather than shop at IKEA, but it's a big problem if the the internet goes down. Apparently I've become a grumpy old dad.

Many of my family fought in WW2 but my great grandfather served in WW1 and 2. When he returned from WW2 he and many others in my town got a free house from the government. I grew up in that house..... NS Highlanders kicked some ass.

My father in law and his 2 brothers were with the Sherbrooke fusiliers. One brother died and is buried in France. My son visited his grave last summer. What is also important to know is that many Canadians joined voluntarily, unlike other countries. My husband is in possession of his father’s war medals and his coming and going during the war. He was a tank driver. There’s a book in Ottawa that honours the men who fought. Every day, a page is turned to honour them.

My uncle Jack (married one of my dad's older sisters) who was more like a grandfather to me. He landed on Juno beach on D-Day. He didn't talk about his time in ww2 much, and I never heard him talk about D-Day. The small town I grew up in sent a lot of boys and men over for both wars, and a lot of them never came home. Every family with roots in that town (neither of my parents grew up there) lost someone. In the 80s some of their mothers, most of their wives, siblings and friends and their kids, nieces and nephews were still living in the town and the local remembrance day ceremony was deeply emotional for them. And it hammered home the sacrifice that was made for the freedoms we enjoyed. Because most of the kids I knew had parents and grandparents that lost loved ones, no one ever dared to act up during remembrance assemblies at school on the 10th. Not only would you get in trouble at school and at home, but you'd probably get beat up too. Canadians are taught just bout everything canada has done in war. I say just about because they always left out the dark stuff.

I’m from Winnipeg, and we have a street called “Valour road” that was named after 3 young men who were all born on the street and were all awarded the Victoria cross for acts of bravery during WW1, Canada doesn’t get much recognition during both world wars because we were still considered apart of the commonwealth so most of our victories are considered joint victories for the British and other commonwealth nations

My grandfather (Queen's Own Rifles) trained many infantry out of Penhold, Alberta. I also had three great uncles that fought overseas. Two returned. Most of their experiences were in Operation Market Garden. They never talked about it. I served for twenty years myself as it felt like a family legacy.

A little late your video, but I actually went to a High school named Juno Beach Academy and our graduations we flew to Juno Beach France to pay our respects and learn our Canadian history first hand. It was a semi-military and public school. An alternative program to reduce bullying with fair discipline and treatment of students while focusing heavily on Canadian history. My Principle was from the Calgary Highlanders regiment along with some of the staff being x-military from other branches. I ended up working for a couple years after graduation in the Military Museums in my city where I helped guide people around the exhibits or help in the collections department when they were re-organizing many artifacts. But the best part was working with some of the veteran volunteers we had and hearing their stories, which some were always more open discussing it to staff then random civilians and the stories they told vs the people they were then was mind boggling. I'm always happy to share what I've learned or see any part of Canadian history talked about, some of it I'm proud of and others I'm ashamed of, but that just reminds me anyone who isn't ashamed of some of their history doesn't actually know their own history. Canada had a reputation for getting the hardest tasks done in war, at any cost. Juno Beach was just one of many moments Canada proved itself. Though the one battle that defined Canada on the world stage as a force to fear was the Battle of Vimy Ridge in the First World War, worth learning about if anyone is interested in Canadian History, and the monument their today is eerie and somber.

My other grandfather, although wasn't in WWII, was in the Black Watch, which is the Scottish Canadian regiment, he assisted with post war clean up in Germany etc, amazing brotherhood, they still have reunions as far as I know

John Macgregor - born in Cawdor, Scotland in 1888 - is one of Canada’s most decorated war heroes, even earning the Victoria Cross. His is a really amazing story (incredible, like the story of Leo Major). See "Canadian Scottish War Heroes: John Macgregor, a hero in Canada and Scotland." I really think you'd enjoy this one and I, as a Canadian, was glad to learn about him.

My grandfather was in the Royal Rifles of Canada at the battle of Hong Kong. It was a brutal battle, lasting from Dec 8-25th, 1941. He was a prisoner of war from then until the end of the war. As was later told to me, the man who left for war was not the same as the one who returned.

Proud Canadian...We are native and my grandfather was in the Military Police. 2 of my Great Uncles were also enlisted.

my great grandpa was a tank driver, his tank was hit and he crawled out, realized his friend didn't, so he went back in and pulled his friend out too.

My father was a MP( military police) during WWII and got blown off his motorcycle and lay in a ditch inside a large tree trunk for 2 days before he was found. Came home in a body cast with a fractured shoulder and broken hip and some broken ribs.

I did not know him well, but my family-in-law had an uncle who had been a part of the landings. He did not speak of his experience. The few times I met him he was quite lovely, quiet, and kind. I knew that he drank too much and his adult children told me that his frequent screaming nightmares were never discussed. May he rest in peace.

I have a long list of relatives who were in the war. Two great great uncles and my Grandfather died. Nearly a dozen came back. Some suffering horribly with PTSD. Not only did Canada make one of the largest per capita commitments of all the Allies, but also suffered some of the greatest losses as a percentage of persons deployed. No one did more with less and paid more dearly than the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division on Juno Beach. We are ignored of course by the American history books that dominate bookshelves.

my grandfather was with the Nova Scotia Highlanders during ww2 and was deployed in Italy

The Canadian assault was designed to counter any German armoured efforts. They had the largest concentration of Sherman Firefly tanks. Equipped with the 17 pounder anti tank guns. They were to spearhead the advance on Carpiquet airfield. Unfortunately, the support from the British and, to some extent, the Americans. Was held up. This then fell behined schedule. The bombing of Cean was largely counterproductive. Just like at Monte Cassino in Italy. And Stalingrad in Russia.Giving the German defenders cover in the rubble that also held up the allied armour. The Canadians did achieve their initial objectives and advanced further than any other nation on D Day. That Cornelius Ryan and the movie, The Longest Day. Failed to mention the Canadian contribution was a major disgrace.

I visited the War Museum in Ottawa and it was a very humbling experience. I never knew about alliances between our Europeen friends,!

My grandfather, Ernest McNamara [RSM] went ashore on Juno Beach and ended up in Tilburg Holland. He was sent over to Scotland with the first bunch of Canucks in 1939 and did not return home until late 1945.

My dad was with the British 8th Army they were in North Africa and dealt with Italy. He was with American troops often and then when waiting to ship home to Scotland he was in Holland with Canadian troops. When my parents decided to emigrate dad refused to consider America. They chose Canada and apparently the Canadian winters were responsible for me lol. I’m pretty sure it was in large part because of the soldiers he met that they chose Canada!❤🇨🇦

Had 7 family members. Great grandfather his 3 brothers he and 2nd oldest fought in Italy all the way till Holland. 2 great aunts in the medical core. British great uncle on my dads side shot down in the north Atlantic. Will never forget.

History, depending who is telling the story is as the late Queen said - recollections will vary. Canada has been thrown under the bus in many American versions of WW11 battles. Britain also has sent battalions of Canadians knowing full well they would be annihilated. Latter day antics show the movie ARGO slanted so all accolades went to the Americans. Canadian historians do a great job of telling the stories more accurately.

In school we learned about the Canadians of course, but we also learned about D-Day in it's entirety (all the Allied forces). I really appreciate you highlighting our (not mine but Canadians) efforts. Well done.

My Dad was n the 3rd. He actually was with a small advance party, I think 6 of them, came with the Brits. We have a plaque for him at the Juno Beach Memorial. ❤️🇨🇦

Hey, I'm from canada. My great uncle turned 17 on the frontlines in Italy. He was infantry in WW2 and survived. When the Korean War began, he went to Korea and was moved up to special forces. He was a sniper from what I'm told by my grandfather. I think he started sniping while in Italy. Im proud of him regardless.

The Canada of the 1940’s is a WHOLE LOT MORE RESPECTABLE than the Canada of today….well…except for the Truckers! Too many sit back and allow so much nonsense.

I just went to Normandy to discover first-hand the evidence left behind. My recommendation is to do the same. Every battlefield site in Europe is quite sad (an obvious statement). Strongly recommend the Vimy Memorial because it is not about just loss but also hope. Other National Memorials (all erected post WW1 in a zone of Northern France and Southern Belgium) just seemed grim to me....only my opinion. I would go back to Ypres in a minute (perhaps when I retire)...the people are quite dour but there are some expat Brits who run BnB's and you can rent bicycles! (That part of Belgium is very flat). Ypres is a beautiful, walled medieval trading town that was absolutely destroyed during ww1 and the Belgians rebuilt brick by brick/stone by stone (using the same materials from quarry and clay-yard) between 1919 and the mid-1960s. It's easy to understand a bit of dourness when you witness the scope of what happened there over more than one generation. Most people seem to speak at least three languages.

The Canadian Scottish Regiment were a Vancouver Island and more specifically Victoria, BC regiment. If you have read any Raymond Chandler detective stories with Philip Marlowe, the famous Chandler was a member of the Canadian Scottish during WW1, and had come to Canada from the US to fight in WW1 because the death benefits were better, LOL! The Canadian Scottish helped the Royal Winnipeg Rifles retain Putot after the 12 SS Panzer and Panzer Lehr counterattacked them on the night of June 7, 1944. This was very bitter fighting with both sides even executing POWs tit for tat, with hundreds of men and a number of tanks destroyed. Right next door at Bretteville similar bitter, bitter fighting was taking place with more tanks by far being lost by the Germans but they never managed to budge the Regina Rifles from the town and surrounding outposts. It came within minutes of disaster at close by Cardonville Farm but at almost the last second a huge artillery strike arrived and largely obliterated the 12 SS infantry attack against their outpost. I have seen interviews with members of this regiment, and they sort of get that "thousand yard stare" in their eyes and state they just don't know how they survived. I am certainly glad I was born 13 years after WW2 ended, LOL!

No, we do not teach enough of our own history. A video game made me look up Radley Walters, among others.

Little fact, James Doohan from Vancouver B.C. aka Montgomery Scott on Star Trek TOS was a Lieutenant in the Canadian Infantry and was on Juno Beach on D-Day, if you watch his hand (don't remember which one) you will notice one of his finger has a strange shape, that was the result of one German bullet

The armchair Historian has a lot of great content, but, man, when mispronounces 'earnest' it really ticks me off. It's earnest, not ernst. Love your videos Mert! Also, the Canadian effort was NOT a mistake! They performed better than any other ally that day.

My great grandfather was a soldier in the 1st special service force (commonly known as the Devil’s Brigade) and fought in Italy to what I know. He later had his hand blown off by a hand grenade.

I believe one if not both of my grandfathers were with the Cape Breton Highlanders at Juno... Would have to confirm though

I think Canada is greatly undervalued...and often ignored..

I’ve had the opportunity to visit the Juno Beach centre back on the 60th anniversary of D day. It really was amazing to see it in person. Walking up the beach where the German guns were located really made you realize how brave these men were to run towards these huge German bunkers. I’m will always view what my country’s efforts in WW2 with much pride and respect after seeing Juno beach for myself.

I am so proud to say I had my father and 7 uncles serve and fight during WW2.One was shot down over Holland ,one survived Dieppe and the invasion of Sicily to Italy, one was a POW from Hong Kong. All but one came home. They are all remembered.

My father was in the RCAF from 1941 to 1946 and served in Lancaster and Wellington bombers. He had a marine background and was eventually seconded to RAF air/sea rescue dealing with downed flyers in the English Channel and North Sea. Was slightly wounded ina n encounter with a German E-boat. My uncle was in the Canadian Army and served in Holland in late 1944 and 1945. Also had a great-uncle who served as a sapper in the CEF during WW 1. Also 3 great uncles on my mums side who served in the British Army during WW 1. Lots of stories and hair raising tales….I feel fortunate to have been born in a time that didn’t require me to have to serve and deal with the negative consequences of combat.

There is no 'Quebecois' Regiment. Two French-Canadianr regiments took part; La Chaudière and Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke. The Chaudière regiment comes from the Chaudière region of Quebec (south of Quebec City).

If you're going to basically watch someone's entire video, you could have at least sat through the ad.

There are 3 perspectives of Canadian D days. Dieppe; the Italian campaign of 1943 and Juno. They all strategically coincided in the ground offence against Nazis in Europe as far as to the Netherlands. After the war, Brit's and Canadians got into a lot bar fights before going back home. But it was fun.

My Uncle was on one of the RCN support ships in the channel. I asked him about it, but he didn't want to talk about it, and I never learned his D-Day story. An ex-boyfriend's Uncle was a member of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, he hit the beach on D-Day, he said he watched a lot of his friends die, some of them in the water, and he somehow made it to the end of the war with nary a scratch. He was in the CBC 50th anniversary documentary. He told stories to the filmmakers that he'd never shared with any of his family, up to that point 😢 I don't even know if they teach any of this in schools now. I graduated hugh school in 1985, and some of my teachers were WWII vets, so we learned it then. Plus my Grandfather and my Uncle served during WWII. My Grandfather was an MP, 2 Provost. But I don't know if my nephews know anything about either of the world wars. 😕

The Canadian Scottish Regiment is based in Victoria, BC.

I remember being taught from the British view with a little of the USA. 🇨🇦

My grandpa fought in WW2 and he met my British grandma who was also in the military while stationed in England. He had service medals from 3 or 4 other countries.

Canadians learn about Canada's roles in WW2; the Brits think they won it all by themselves with some help from the BRITISH Commonwealth (the Brits think; well that's still us); and the Americans believe they saved the world single-handedly. Consequently, neither the British nor the Americans no anything about the contribution of other Commonwealth countries (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, etc.) or other countries like Poland.

Thanks for your reaction to Canada Juno beach D-Day! I would recommend from the channel 'The History Underground' their video 'Juno Beach: The Fighting Canadians on D-Day' which gives a better view of how the beach was. Also, Canadians were the ones getting furthest than others beachs on D-Day. I don't have any particular videos to recommend about Canada and WW1, but please look into it! Our contribution was even more impactful during WW1 than WW2!!

Our role in the wars are usually reduced to Britain and her allies...

Sir. Read book DECISION IN NORMANDY........ALSO. BOOK...** BEst little army in world by Lee WINDSOR .......another book......Steel Calvary.....thr 8th Hussaurs in italty😊

Im not entirely sure about the contribution fact there but what i can tell you is that indeed 10% of the country's population took arms and fought and the industry war in overdrive so much so that they had to start taking every bit of scraps they could find to make more tanks, vehicles, ships and planes, the country was producing as much fuel as it could and its food industry was fully dedicated to supporting the war effort first and foremost to a point where people were rationed to make sure food would not run out Long story short when Canada entered the war against Germany it declared total war, a concept that only Germany itself, Japan and the USSR would adapt for ideological reasons Also a fun fact about warfare here: 10% of population is the uttermost a country can reasonably afford to dedicate directly to a war before the economic and political structure starts crumbling under its pressure, im not sure this actually has a name per say but i like to call it the "10% rule of warfare"

Just curious. A lot of other content creators react back to their followers comments. I don't know if I've ever noticed you answer anyone back and I'm just wondering why you ask us to make all these comments when we don't have any acknowledgement you read them. Unless the ones you read are just in your patreon account.

Canadian history is something for Canadians to be proud of. Sadly, that pride is on the wane, especially over the last 8 plus years.

And all we said said was was asghhjjjjjj?

Man, you ought to look in to WW1

I just got back from a week long trip to Juno Beach and the Canadian battlefields in Normandy. I’ll be releasing videos about all summer long.

My great uncle landed with the queens own rifles of Canada

Not only were 1. 11:24 1 million Canadians in uniform, but 1 million of them were volunteers. My father and uncle were already fighting in Italy. They had just driven the Germans out of the Liri Valley, forcing them to evaluate Rome. There is a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of the British and Canadians in the battle for Caen. Their purpose was to draw in any German armour coming from the Calais area and prevent it from reaching the American beaches directly. The Americans didn't face armoured counter-attacks of Divisional and Corp strength on D-Day because the Germans couldn't get through Caen or us the airfield. The taking of Caen or the airfield wasn't the actual goal. Pinning down the armoured counter-attack was the goal.

Grandfather was a Sherman tank Driver with the Canadians in Italy. He was taken out of the war when his Sherman was hit by shells in 43. I served with a Highland unit (SD&G Highlanders for a few years at the beginning of my career) that was involved in the DDay landings

As a Canadian history grad and buff, the main fault lies with Canadian historians and filmmakers. As documented in Tim Cook's "The Fight for History", post-war Canadians largely shunned covering the nation's impressive contributions to WW II. It is convenient to blame Hollywood for ignoring Juno in the Longest Day, but the CBC's main WW II documentary series "The Valour and the Horror" expressly focused on defeats and failures. The Yanks, Brits and Aussies delved into WW II, Canadians ignored it. More the pity.

Canadian Charley Fox ( RCAF ) changes the direction of the WW 2. Charley fired upon Rommel`s car July 17/ 1944, one month after D - day with his Spitfire airplane in northern France. Fox did not know who it was, but the shots fatally wounded the driver, and Rommel suffered severe injury from the crash that ended his war. Canadian`s make a difference during war. Story from Marc Montgomery, CBC Radio, July 15/ 2016.

Canadian 🇨🇦🍁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 Scottish Regiments?!!: (Just some on immediate recall: Nova Scotia Highlanders (Truro, NS); Cape Breton Highlanders (Sydney, NS); Black Watch of Canada (Montreal); Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa; The Perth Regiment, Stratford, Ont., - disbanded); The Queen’s Own Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise’s - Hamilton, Ont.); Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, - Winnipeg, Man.); The 48th Highlanders (Gordon) of Canada (Toronto); The Lorne Scots of Canada (Brampton, Oakville & Georgetown, Ont.): The Essex & Kent Scottish (Windsor, Ont.); The Royal Highland Fusilliers of Canada (Cambridge/Kitchener, Ont.); The Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders (Cornwall, Ont.); The Lake Superior Scottish Regiment, (Thunder Bay, Ont.); The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother’s Own); The Calgary Highlanders, The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada (Vancouver); The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Victoria, B.C.), to mention only but some infantry units with affiliations & connections to Mother Regiments of Scots heritage & traditions in the British Army, past & present! PS. The Garrison Town(s) or main depot base(s) are also included here in brackets after the name/title of each regimental unit!

THE Canadians pushed further inland than Any Other Forces on D-day !! ~~ Sad to say, PER POPULATION, LOST MORE MEN.. But am happy, that you have an interest in us Canucks, as Most of Our Canadian Forces, in Those Days , who landed on Juno Beach, were of Canadian. Scottish. Irish & yes English Heritage !!! Salutes to All !! & hopefully a few Salutes to many of Us, that have followed in their Footpaths... Thank-you Mert :)))

5:39 as a Canadian with family that served in this, there isn't a mention of the craziest Canadians, the "Highlanders" the ones that "wrote" the GC 😅

Canada had/has the 3rd and 5th highest scoring aces of WW1. we even have the honor of having the 3rd highest scoring ace next to the Red Baron and Rene Fonck with Billy Bishop with 72 confirmed kills and 5th place with Raymond Collishaw at 60. even more so we have Leo Major who liberated a town SINGLE HANDEDLY, we took Vimy Ridge when nobody else could and thus earned our nickname "storm trooper" due to our ferocity etc. i could go on all day about how badass we were in the war. NOBODY liked to fight us.

7:42 The C-Scotts(sometimes people call them the SEA-Scotts because they're based on the coast) are a well known and infamous unit within the Canadian military, I'm not sure how well they're known outside of Canada, but they're definitely an interesting unit to look into. They're based where I live(Vancouver Island), a few of my old cadet buddies went on to serve with the C-Scotts when they went into the infantry, nowadays they're mostly just a regular infantry unit with weird caps and (sometimes) kilts, but back in the 1940s these were some of the _last_ guys you wanted to run into as a German soldier. The closest thing to shock infantry we had - them and the Princess Pats, who coincidentally also come from Western Canada and have a lot of Scottish heritage. The Princess Pats were still in Italy in 1944, meaning the C-Scotts were among the most senior troops landing in France on that day. Them and the 1st Airborne... Who were up to some Band of Brothers-worthy hijinks just down the road from the beach. Definitely look into them if you're curious. One of Canada's weirder regiments for sure.

As a Canadian born in the 80's we are taught about our involvements in 1812 and in WWi Specifically Vimy Ridge and the answer to Britain's call to arms from Canada: "Ready, Aye Ready" WWii Juno beach and some items but mostly we watch American films. My Oma moved to Canada from The Netherlands after WWii because the Canadians liberated her town and fed the starving people. Overall it is somewhat humble compared to USA media. PLEASE do a video on Leo Major

If it weren't for Canada, you'd be speaking German and living in New Germany....just saying.....no offense to Germans, they've come a long way in the last 80 years, way more amicable than today's Russians....

21 Panzer 125 Panzer Grenadier Regiment commanded by Col. Hans Von Luck (then Major). His memoirs are in a book called "Panzer Commander". Where he discusses the events around D Day. It is a very good account of WW2. As far as my families part in the war 4 Great Uncles 3 survived including a veteran of Italy and D Day. The 4th flew 55 missions completed 54.