Thread: 10 Things Every American Should Know About WWII

Originally Posted by Wolfman

#11. Without Canada, we would have lost

Of course not. It took everybody. But if they had listen to the canadians, and the skipped market garden operation, many lives would have been spared.

#12, the Holcaust never happened. Do not be fooled by American/Allied lies. ~This message brought to you from Iranian and Egyptian leadership.

Originally Posted by Wolfman

Lots of things could have played out differently...I am not trying to be an ugly American over this....you just seems like you have misplaced chip on your shoulder regarding Canada's role in WWII; there is no plot to deny Canada its glory or place in history regarding its involvement WWII...even the Mat's article states early on that the US did not win WWII by itself...I am sorry it doesn't mention Canada by name...

Canada, individually, had a subjectively important, yet an objectively and relatively minor role in WWII...


Kinda, sorta, maybe...however, I think that statement implies an equality that simple didn't exist...the US, USSR, Great Britain and China bore the greatest burden and were most responsible for the victory...without any one of those countries things might have turned out very differently...without Canada's participation, not so much....sorry if that opinion makes you mad...

No chip, just like to see them get what they deserved, and by saying minor role, you don't know what really happened. Market garden was failure and all it was ,was a pissing match between patton and monty. They stretched the supply line way to long and it could not keep up. The canadians wanted to open up antwerp first to get a new supply line going. But the opening of the scheldt had to come 1st, which the delay by market garden gave the germans alot of time to get ready. Battle of the Scheldt | Ask.com Encyclopedia The delay cost alot of lives. When they had a big celebration of the opening of antwerp the canadians were not even invited. That one bridge that ruined the market garen operation, the canadians were called in a month later to take the bridge. Now I am not being smart or rude or unrespectful, just like to see the canadians get the respect they deserve.

Originally Posted by Wolfman

I agree it was a failure (of course), but to chalk this up nothing but a pissing match between two egocentric generals is a bit simplistic...no offence...not saying that childish rivalry and animosity between the those two didn't exist....

However, Eisenhower's decision to allow Market Garden had far more to do with his desire to keep pressure on the main retreating German forces and to bring back into play the newly re-formed 1st Allied Airborne after its Normandy operations...however overly optimistic the plan proved to be, MG on paper, at least, gave Eisenhower what he wanted on those two accounts...



What "Canadians" specially? That statement sounds very revisionist (the negative contagion) to me....I agree the Canadian 1st (along with attached British and Polish units) was eventually tasked with clearing the Germans out of the Scheldt estuary, thereby opening up the port...AND the decision not take the estuary months earlier has been soundly criticized in many post-war analysis...however, that doesn't mean anyone, Canadian or otherwise, spoke up at the time....maybe some did, maybe lots did...I just doubt it was only the "Canadians" who saw Eisenhower's error at the time...

Market Garden was a bold gamble...a gamble the Allies took and lost..had it been successful, the Battle of the Scheldt likely would never have been needed...

Once again, I am not trying to take anything away from the Canadians participation in WWII...by all accounts, they served with honor and distinction...you just sound like a bit of "homer"...not that there's anything wrong with that....

Of course I am a homer. lol It was a canadian general( not sure which one) that brought up the idea of opening up antwerp, instead of the market garden plan. The canadians were already on the move up the french coast clearing out the ports and figured it would be easier to go now, before the germans could blow the dikes or dams and flood everything. I knew a gentlemen that fought there and they refered to themselves as river rats, because they ate, slept, fought in 3 feet of water. And another good read is the battle of Ortona in italy, where the canadians went house to house and devised a plan called the mouse hole that is still taught today.Battle of Ortona - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. I knew so many lads that fought over there and they to felt robbed . They received most of all the dirty jobs and fought well, being a small army and not having all the toys others had. Canadian grit, that is why we are so good in hockey. lol :)