For the fallen, the brave, the innocent Options

[axelrduvirage]

[Galcobar]

To clarify, during WWI Canadians sent about a third of our population to war in one form or another, and were so successful that we became known as the stormtroopers of the British Empire. Essentially, if there was a nut too tough for any other troops to crack, the Canadians went in. Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Ypres (the only troops not to break under the first use of chemical weapons), etc. And guess which country could claim to have shot down the Red Baron?

WWII was the true coming-out party for Canada as a nation and a power. Canada joined the war in 1939, and was the third major Allied power until the U.S. joined in 1942. We were responsible for ensuring the safety of the Atlantic shipping lanes, which basically meant it was the Canadian navy that went up against the German navy and U-boat fleet in the Battle of the Atlantic and Battle of the St. Laurence. By war's end, Canada had the world's third largest navy. Canadians also formed 30% of "British" air strength during the Battle of Britain. We launched the first assault on Nazi-occupied Europe, and in the Normandy invasion we penetrated farther than either the American or British forces (only three countries participated in the Normandy landing). Canadians were effectively assigned the task of freeing Holland -- to this day, Holland sends boatloads of tulips in thanks. We were in Africa, and were the first troops to land in Sicily, and later broke the Hitler Line, considered the most fortified position in Italy. At home, Canada operated the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, which was responsible for training most of the pilots who flew in Commonwealth militaries during the war.

One million Canadians out of eight million served in WWII, and until the last year, it was done entirely with volunteers.