rickc rickc:
The question stated by Kimo999 is a valid one. Was the training of Allied airmen at Canadian airfields, and the production of war material in Canadian factories of greater service to the Allied war effort than Canadian fighting men abroad?
167,000 people went through the BCATP, from many countries. Half were Canadian.
You can find graves of Canadian airmen from Sardinia to Yokohama and everywhere in between.
$1:
Most of the news about the Canadian war effort would deal with the Battle of the Atlantic. I could find the most articles about the RCN performing escort duty in the Battle of the Atlantic.
PA9 is right, the Battle of the Atlantic is the one theatre where Canada's contribution was
very important, in fact, Canada had command of the theatre from 1943.
$1:
The second most articles would be about Canadian troops during D-Day. Third would be the liberation of the Netherlands.
We got the farthest penetration on D-Day, something to be proud about.
And the Dutch have
never forgotten our contribution to them, and I think
most Canadians are happy about that. A small matter, perhaps, in the Great Scheme
of Things, but a focal point for us to Remember, because the Battle of the Atlantic
remains mostly forgotten.
$1:
I do not think that many people in my country would be comfortable answering this question. We like to think that American ass kickers went all over the globe kicking Axis ass,and thats how we won the war. Now do not get me wrong. I am very proud of the job that American fighting men did during the war.However I firmly believe that American industrial output had a lot to do with the Allied war effort. Were our Shermen tanks better than the Germans or Russians? No. But we were able to turn out many more tanks than the enemy,and win a battle of attrition. Same with our bombers,and our Higgins boats. American factories had a LOT to do with the Allied victory. All of the allies depended on American factories to help win the war. If the U.S. was still a farming country in 1939, the Allies would probaly have lost the war.
I am sure that Canadians would like to see thier exploits in the Atlantic,Normandy,Italy, The Battle of Britain,the Netherlands, etc. as the turning points of the war.
Actually, I am sure most knowledgeable Canadians recognize our contributions
weren't really strong turning points, with the footnote of the Atlantic being
damn important. Without it, men, weapons, materiel and food would not have arrived
in Britain.
20 million dead Russians, US industrial output and 2 nuclear bombs were turning points.
$1:
I am not taking anything away from these brave fighting men. They performed admirabily.
I usually approach this debate with this idea:
The UK had limited conscription in 1939, full conscription by 1942.
The US started the draft even in 1940, before they entered.
Canada was able to avoid this until 1944, had an election about it,
didnt fully implement it, and even then conscripts were used for Home Defense,
freeing up volunteers for active duty.
The number of conscripted soldiers dying in the European Theatre of Operations
was about ..................... 75.
During the war, Canada had a population of 11 million.
We put 1.1 million people into uniform, about 10% of our population;
per capita these are similar percentages as other countries (for example
the US contribution was about 12%).
We gave as good as anyone else.
$1:
I am asking how much did the allied flight training programs contribute to the war? How much did the ship building programs contribute to the war effort? How much did the factories in Windsor contribute to the war effort? I do not want to do someone's homework for them, but I am curious as to how much the Canadian industrial and training efforts helped win the war. It is a very underreported story outside of canada. Your thoughts?
BCATP was not only in Canada, but we were the largest program.
Canada had the world's 3rd largest navy at the end of the war, mostly Canadian made.
But don't get me started on Canadian shipyards, I get real unhappy real quick.
We kicked in 800,000 trucks as well.
40% of all the aluminum the war used.
95% of all the nickel.
p.s. I think it's pretty underreported inside Canada as well.
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