Quote:
Originally Posted by Coys1882
Considering Canada had a population of about 12,000,000 people in 1940 - that's a pretty god damn good contribution in my eyes.
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Relatively speaking, we had a higher percentage of our population committed to war related "work" than did any of the other "western" nations. On a per capita basis, for actual "combatants" we also lead the list...and this was on a volunteer basis. Canada had an unprecidented percentage (for modern times) of it's population under arms by the end of WWII.
The Soviet Union had us beat (but they're not "western"); no one else did.
With respect to the Scheldt campaign (mentioned by another pos(t)er)?
To those boys who set out across the flooded polder with a BREN over thier shoulder (or the baseplate for a mortar, or with 500 rounds of LMG ammo), even though they'd seen their best high school buddy get his head blown off the day before doing the same thing, yet persisted...wading thigh deep through 500 meters of mud and water, just because someone had to stop this evil...think about it folks. Would YOU have those balls?
That's how we took the Scheldt...there was no cowering behind the hill waiting for an airstrike or artillery support.
"Get out there... and take that objective boys..."
For corraboration, see Desmond Morton/Jack Granatstein's work on this subject.