Were the Germans really that good?

[D-Day_Dodger]

If you want to go man for man then I would say that the Canadian troops were the best in the world in both World Wars, and there is a ton of evidence to back that up. :P

We Canucks do tend to feel overlooked when it comes to their history. I tend to blame the fact that Canada's military accomplishments are not that well known compared to those of Britain or the US on the lack of a Canadian film industry during or after WWII. I can reel off a list as long as your arm of excellent British and American war films produced in the last 60 years but would have difficulty naming one big budget Canadian war movie.

Only three movies about the Canadian Forces were made during the war; Captains of the Clouds starring James Cagney, Corvette K-225 starring Randolf Scott and Commandos Attack at Dawn. After the war, Canadians were pretty much ignored by the motion picture industry. Even The Longest Day, that epic film from the 60's, with its huge cast does not have a single Canadian character despite the large Canadian contribution to D-Day. Indeed, when a Canadian character is represented in a war film its usually done as an excuse to put an American actor into a British Uniform (eg. Cliff Robertson in 633 Squadron, Henry Fonda in The Immortal Sargeant).

But all this says is that if you don't blow your own horn, then no one will blow it for you. This is not to say that the subject was totally ignored in Canada. After the war the Canadian government created the National Film Board of Canada which was meant to promote independent film producers. One of the best releases of the NFB was the Canada at War series which consisted of 13 half hour episodes and was originally broadcast on CBC in the 50's. With authentic film footage, stirring soundtrack and excellent narration this series is worth picking up. Its available on DVD on eBay.

Things have improved though. With the advent of cable there have been many excellent documentaries about Canadian history on channels like History Television and Discovery Channel. And as I write, a flim about the Canadian victory at the WWI battle of Passchendale is currently being filmed in Alberta.