EvanL
06-02-2004, 06:19 PM
Canadians had figured prominently in the defeat of Hitlerism. In Normandy they had been in the vanguard of the Allied victory. The Nazi losses there were horrific -- 300,000 men. Moreover, most of the enemy's equipment had been destroyed, including more than 2,000 tanks. The backbone of the German army in the west was broken in Normandy, and the Canadians had played a monumental role.
Allied casualties during the battle had also been heavy, including 18,444 Canadians, of whom 5,021 would never see their homes again. Of all the divisions which formed part of Montgomery's 21 Army Group, none suffered more casualties than the 3rd and 2nd Canadian.
Like their British and American allies, the Canadians made mistakes in command and in training and their inexperience often came back to haunt them. But their high casualty rate also reflected the specific tasks of the Canadian army during the campaign and the fact that it continually faced the best troops the enemy had to offer. It was a bloody process, but once they learned the harsh lessons of battle, Canada's amateur soldiers proved to be a match for the professional forces they faced. Often in the forefront of the Allied advance against determined opposition, the Canadians took on tasks out of all proportion to their real power. And they accomplished them sometimes amidst hesitation and confusion, -- and always courageously.
The accomplishments of the Canadians who landed in Normandy and of the Canadians who fought through Buron and Authie, Verrières Ridge and the Falaise Gap deserve to be remembered by their country. In the words of two historians writing on the fortieth anniversary of D-Day "they were not all saints, they were not all heroes. But there were saints and heroes among them, as they fought in the dust and heat of Normandy in that summer of 1944. Remember them and remember their achievements."
Allied casualties during the battle had also been heavy, including 18,444 Canadians, of whom 5,021 would never see their homes again. Of all the divisions which formed part of Montgomery's 21 Army Group, none suffered more casualties than the 3rd and 2nd Canadian.
Like their British and American allies, the Canadians made mistakes in command and in training and their inexperience often came back to haunt them. But their high casualty rate also reflected the specific tasks of the Canadian army during the campaign and the fact that it continually faced the best troops the enemy had to offer. It was a bloody process, but once they learned the harsh lessons of battle, Canada's amateur soldiers proved to be a match for the professional forces they faced. Often in the forefront of the Allied advance against determined opposition, the Canadians took on tasks out of all proportion to their real power. And they accomplished them sometimes amidst hesitation and confusion, -- and always courageously.
The accomplishments of the Canadians who landed in Normandy and of the Canadians who fought through Buron and Authie, Verrières Ridge and the Falaise Gap deserve to be remembered by their country. In the words of two historians writing on the fortieth anniversary of D-Day "they were not all saints, they were not all heroes. But there were saints and heroes among them, as they fought in the dust and heat of Normandy in that summer of 1944. Remember them and remember their achievements."