marcusm Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 While browsing through a mag called WW2 magazine or something at a local newsstand I read an article about Americans fighting in Canadian units. Apparently it was some that wanted to contribute to the struggle before the US entered the war. Some stayed after the declaration as well. Well since lengthy reading in stores isn't encouraged I thought I'd ask here. Were there many? Did they have their own units? And last, what battles did they take part in? Thanks marcus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMAN Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 what do you mean if the U.S. army was helping the Canadians beforew the U.S. entered the war.? That means it would be an act of war against Germany and Japan. [This message has been edited by EMAN (edited 07-11-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OsinO Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 I dont believe that at all. Few days ago I was watching one of those learning shows on TV. It was talking about how Canada was doing really good in the war. Soon United States entered the war, and it was talking about this one squads account: A Canadian squad was in the trenches hiding because the enemy was not very far ahead. Then the Americans arrived. They thought it was a big joke. They laughed and shouted saying "Oh comon this is no war!" or "Comon bring it on". The Canadians told them to shut up or else they'd get mortar's falling on them, and to put out their ciggarettes or else they'd get killed by the snipers. The Americans just ignored them and continued to have a fun time. The Canadians left right away fearing there safety. The next day while in camp they saw the stretchers coming in...... Just about the whole american squad (or platoon?) was killed. I know this dosnt represent the entire U.S or anything, just thought I would share that with you. Its the one war that Canada did really well in and made a big difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Shaw Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 Guys, pay attention ... <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I read an article about Americans fighting in Canadian units ...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> He's referring to American citizens who enlisted in the Canadian Army. I don't know about the Canadians for sure but I do know that many Americans enlisted in the British forces, the most famous being the Eagle Squadron. And, IIRC, some of those pilots did enlist in Canada and then went on to the RAF from there. It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that a lot of Americans did fight in Canadian units, either from boredom, or a belief that Hitler must be stopped. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GI Tom Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 I have a subscription to that magazine. An excellent magazine for any WWII intersted person. That article appeared in last month's issue. It was telling about people from the U.S. who had went to Canada to get into the war early. This particular article was following a young soldier who took part of the Gold/Juno/Sword landings with the Canadian army. It was not terribly infrequent for people to do this in the early 40's. There were alot of individuals who felt that they needed to contribute in defeating the Axis powers. More specifically, the Nazi Regime and didn't want to wait. It was a pretty good article over all. GI Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusm Posted July 11, 2000 Author Share Posted July 11, 2000 Joe Shaw and Gi are right, sorry for being unclear. Gi Joe: Did the article specify any battles they took part in? I was close to buying it but due to it's high price here I resisted. Might do that if it has good material for scenarios though. Marcus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GI Tom Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 marcusm, WWII magazine would be an excellent source of information for creating some scenerios from. It is typically very detailed in it's informaton and lists specific units, locations, and other pertinent information. However, that is not in EVERY article. For example, it merely listed some unit information (Divisional level items) in the article you are speaking about. However, keep an eye out at that newsstand, if they carry that one, hopefully they will continue to carry the others. I would recommend the purchase of it for merely it's value to WWII information as a whole. Hope that helps. GI Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smack Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 Many Americans who disliked thier country's policy of nuetrality came over to Canada to fight. The Americans mainly joined the R.C.A.F, and since Canada was one of the countries which was seriously involved in the BCATP we could train them in large numbers. Many Americans continued to serve with distinction inside the RCAF after the Americans were forced into the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusm Posted July 11, 2000 Author Share Posted July 11, 2000 Gi Joe Thanks for the info. The shop had ten times more civil war mags than ww2. I was looking for S&T but no luck there. Marcus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patboivin Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 I heard the reverse too on CBC a while ago, some Canadians volunteered and were accepted by the Americans for either the Vietnam war or the Korean war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GI Tom Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 No problem marcusm. One thing though, it's GI Tom, not GI Joe. GI Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 More Canadians fought in Vietnam than Americans dodged the draft... Yes, you read that right. Cheers, Walter R. Strapps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Babra Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 To answer the original question, there were not "many", but there were perhaps a few thousand in total. Most were given the option of a discharge when the US entered the war. That famous poem written by a "Canadian" pilot during the Battle of Britain was in fact written by an American in the RCAF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Germanboy Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Walter: More Canadians fought in Vietnam than Americans dodged the draft... Yes, you read that right. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> And AFAIK, more southern than northern Irish in the British army in WW2. ------------------ Andreas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusm Posted July 12, 2000 Author Share Posted July 12, 2000 G.I Tom, sorry (the GI Joe term has kind off melted in my subconciousness) I also saw a documentary about Norwegians in the CAAF during WW2. In any case if someone know specifics it would be cool to do a scenario with this. Hopefully they didn't all fight in Italy or something. Marcus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Babra Posted July 12, 2000 Share Posted July 12, 2000 They did not form their own units. They did not bring any unique equipment with them. I'm not sure what scenario possibilities you're seeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durruti Posted July 13, 2000 Share Posted July 13, 2000 Talking of Americans (and Canadians and British) who wanted to get into the fight against fascism early, just have a look at the Spanish Civil War. The Lincoln Battalion formed part of the International Brigades alongside the Canadian 'Mac-Paps' (Mackenzie-Papeneau Battalion) and the British Battalion. Harry Fisher was a Lincoln volunteer who wrote an excellent book called 'Comrades' about his experiences. In chronological order he was a department store worker, labor union activist, infantry volunteer in the SCW and B26 gunner in WW2. Fascinating account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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