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11/11/11 Remembrance Day
Topic Started: Nov 11 2011, 09:27 PM (140 Views)
Brewster
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I originally posted this several years ago in ATC, and in one forum or another ever since, so some of you may have seen it before. I apologize for that, but I think it's important that Canadians remember...

I just returned from a Remembrance Day Service here in my little town of High River - It was a very moving experience.

We Canadians don't wear our patriotism on our sleeves as much as Americans do, and I think it's often to our detriment.

I would like to share some of our moments for which we can be most proud... ( This is more for other Canadians to remember, but Americans are most welcome to listen in...)

World War I:

The battle of Vimy Ridge; (1917)
Vimy Ridge had been fought over by the British and the French since 1914, with no gains at all. In 1917, the Canadians (fighting for the first time ever as a single, strictly Canadian unit) broke through and captured the ridge, the first major, permanent break in the interminable trench warfare. Canadian Casualties totaled over 10,000, German Casualties double that.

The Battle of Amiens; (August 8, 1918)
The Canadians totally destroyed the Germans at Amiens, a battle which German General Ludendorff said was "The Blackest day in the history of the German Army."

This was the beginning of the end of WWI, as in the next 100 days, under General Currie (Quite possibly the best General in WWI), the Canadians led an Allied assault which captured 500 sq miles (in a war when ten yards was celebrated) 228 cities, towns and villages, 31,000 prisoners, 570 heavy field guns, 1000's of machine guns and mortars, and destroyed 50 German divisions (1/4 of Germany's entire Western Front).

Overall, Canada had 233,000 casualties, tremendous for a country that only had 8,000,000 people at the time.

World War II:

The Battle of the Atlantic; (All through the war)
Beginning in 1939, Canadian Destroyers and Corvettes continuously patrolled the North Atlantic. Particularly before the Americans joined, and while the Brits had a little party of their own called the Battle of Britain, Canadians were a very large part of the Convoy Shield, to the extent that at the end of WWII, Canada had the third largest Navy in the world.

D Day - Juno Beach; (June 6, 1944)
Given the central landing area right in the middle of the two British invasion points, the Canadians had some of the toughest beach conditions to face. (Although the Americans faced some tough stuff once they came ashore!) The Canadians came under heavy fire initially, but they managed to break through, and One Troop of the 1st Canadian Hussars was the only unit in the entire Invasion to reach its Final Planned Objective on D Day.

Netherlands; (1944-45)
While Montgomery and Patton fought the Germans and each other for glory across France, (I assume you've all seen the movie) the Canadians were given the job of heading north, clearing most of the beaches of V2 rocket bases, etc. In the process, they liberated large parts of Belgium and Holland. 76,000 Canadians gave their lives in this "secondary" phase of the war. By the way, this battle cleared the port of Antwerp, without which getting supplies to the troops moving into Germany would have been virtually impossible.

(One of the most touching parts of the ceremony that day in High River was a small Dutch contingent leaving a wreath in "Thank You" to the Canadians who liberated them...)

Korean War:
To our shame, Canada has mostly forgotten our part in the Korean War, but we have much to Remember:

The Battle of Kapyong; (April 22-27, and on till May, 1951)

In Mid April, it became evident the North Koreans and Chinese were massing for a major "end it all" offensive. The Americans’ 1st and 9th Army were stretched too thin, and had to pull back and regroup. This left the South Koreans alone to take on the massed offensive. They simply could not do it, and were soon being overrun. It was far more serious than was generally recognized at the time - The entire South Korean Army was on the verge of annihilation, and at that time, the entire war would probably have been lost.

The S. Koreans had only one route to safety, which was guarded by Australian and Canadian troops.

As the S Koreans retreated, the entire Chinese army descended on the Aussies, who fought a sterling rearguard action while many of the S Koreans passed, but finally the mass of Chinese and North Koreans was too great, and the Aussies had to fall back.

At this point, the mass of retreating soldiers, hobbling wounded, and hard charging Chinese all fell back on the hill the Canadian 2nd Princess Patricias (2PPCLI) were defending. From April 22 to 27, the PPCLI fought the Chinese to a standstill, then held till the Americans regrouped and pushed the Chinese back to the "Kansas Line", well north of the Canadian position.

For this action, Truman awarded the Aussies and the PPCLI the United States Presidential Citation, the only non-American UN forces to receive this honour in the Korean War.

Last Year’s Addition: (updated)

Afghanistan

Canadian Infantry and Tank battalions have just finished their tour of duty, and finally we're leaving.

During the last year or so, Canadian forces carried out a major offensive called Operation Medusa, in which they broke the back of the Taliban military. For some time, the Taliban was totally incapable of major military offensives. With a loss of lives in the teens, the Canadians killed over 600 Taliban front line soldiers, and drove off about 1000 more. Unfortunately, the Taliban is still all too capable of the same suicide bombings, hit-and-run attacks, etc, that the world sees in Iraq. etc.

As we withdraw, the Taliban has become emboldened once again, although head-to-head fighting is still largely impossible for the Taliban, and they are now fighting hit-and-run as well as Iraqi-style suicide missions and land mines.

The worst part is the casualties we still take as we slowly pull back.

Canada's record in Afghanistan has been outstanding, as we held the centre of one of the most dangerous areas, and kept the lid on things. How long it will stay calm with our troops gone is difficult to say - but all Canadians want OUT.


Sorry for the long post, but Canadians need to be reminded sometimes...
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Jim Miller
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God bless them all!
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RTD
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Thanks for everything, never forget.

RIP CPL Anthony Boneca, a relative of my wife's family, and now a relative of mine. They dedicated the park where he went to school in his name, and now my children go there.

Cpl. Anthony Boneca
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Mike
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A fitting tribute to Veterans Brew.

Today is Veterans Day here in the states and I want to thank all the men and women out there who served so that I could live in freedom. A hats off to my dad, uncles, and brothers. I know what you endured and continue to endure, and may God and the angles be with you to eternity..
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