First into the Fight: Canadian Paratroopers on D Day

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  • Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
  • The next video in the Canada in Normandy series, looks at the D Day sites of the The Canadian 1st Parachute Battalion on D Day. These include Varaville, Le Mesnil crossroads, and the Ranville War Cemetery.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 53

  • @PurpleCat9794
    @PurpleCat9794 4 місяці тому +2

    Thank you all the Canadian soldiers who laid down their lives for us! Thank you Brad for helping us remember them through your D-Day journey.

  • @oscarmadison8530
    @oscarmadison8530 4 місяці тому +5

    A very insightful walk around,Brad.
    It reminds us to be thankful for all of their sacrifices for so many. Memorial Day is coming up in the United States to honour those who have fallen, and I will remember those from all nations.
    RIP and thanks fellas.🇬🇧 🇨🇦 🇦🇺

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому +1

      Thank you Oscar! I'm glad to hear that you remember others as well on Memorial Day.

  • @jimwalsh1958space
    @jimwalsh1958space 4 місяці тому +2

    dearest brad. what the heck would we do without you ? it's so easy to set up monthly payment on paetron. i don't want to lose you or this channel. i support this channel 100% of what i can. come on folks join me and show appreciation for what this channel does for us ? don't let this channel die please.

  • @marccoutu3010
    @marccoutu3010 4 місяці тому +2

    As a Canadian who loves history, I honestly never knew about this which makes these videos super important and informative. Thanks for doing these.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому +1

      You’re very welcome. Thank you for watching. More Normandy videos are coming.

  • @averagejoesmiling456
    @averagejoesmiling456 4 місяці тому +2

    Thank You!

  • @belleisleloyalist5054
    @belleisleloyalist5054 4 місяці тому +1

    Visited this area a couple of years ago and returning in September. When you look at the spread of their drop and yet how well they rallied to complete their objectives, it is nothing short of impressive.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому +1

      Incredibly impressive. It’s impressive that any of the airborne divisions reached their objectives given how scattered the drops were.

  • @andreasfiege8388
    @andreasfiege8388 4 місяці тому +3

    Thank you Brad, didn't know about Canadian paratroopers,in Normandy.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому

      You're welcome ! They were a small part of the whole story but played an important role on D Day.

  • @KevinJones-yh2jb
    @KevinJones-yh2jb 4 місяці тому +1

    Thanks Brad brilliant presentation, glad you directed me here, grateful for the information and I have such appreciation of the Canadian paratroopers and the Canadian forces involvement in WW2. I am learning so much.Thank you

  • @WARdROBEPlaysWWII
    @WARdROBEPlaysWWII 4 місяці тому +2

    Cool to see the land as it is now.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому

      It's always fascinating to see how the ground has changed. As you can imagine I spend a lot of time looking at photos from the war so my expectations are often wrong lol

  • @jgonzalez101
    @jgonzalez101 2 місяці тому +1

    So glad you could go there to make this video! Helps put this part of the war in perspective.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  2 місяці тому

      I wish I could have covered more there but I was on a tight schedule in Normandy.

  • @bigwoody4704
    @bigwoody4704 2 місяці тому +1

    The History Guy did a good segment on this a while back. The Canadian Paras trained with both the American and British Paras . And they combined the best ideas of both units as they would fit into their operations. They evidently were training for home invasion U-Boats had made it up the St Lawrence. And the threat from the Pacific but by '43 that subsided quite a bit.The Canadians also did joint Canuck/GI commado operations that trained in the Pacific NW
    Haven't watched this yet but is up next when i get back. Evidently some Lancasters in all the confusion misdropped their ordinence on some of the 6th AB. Some drowned from flooding and dropped all over the place. Sounds much like the other AB units that nite

  • @carlburks887
    @carlburks887 4 місяці тому +2

    Great video, and very timely. I am staying in Houlgate for a week from Friday and will be making a point of going to those locations.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому

      That’s great! I’m glad to hear you’ll be visiting these locations.

  • @scottgrimwood8868
    @scottgrimwood8868 4 місяці тому +8

    Great to see the Canadian airborne troops getting recognition. They are unfortunately overshadowed by British & US airborne forces.

    • @andreasfiege8388
      @andreasfiege8388 4 місяці тому +2

      True Scott, always hear and read about US and British airborne, never about the Canadiens in Normandy.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому

      They were just one battalion amongst many but they were more as they were the Canadian representation in the airborne.

    • @ianmiles7916
      @ianmiles7916 4 місяці тому

      the irony is that Sword, Juno and Gold are much more interesting battles than Omahaha.

  • @davedowling8469
    @davedowling8469 4 місяці тому +2

    I will be there in a couple of weeks. As a former Canadian Airborne soldier I will commemorate the sacrifice of my Airborne brothers while completing a 400km bike ride for Wounded Warriors Canada.

  • @geneclayton2467
    @geneclayton2467 4 місяці тому +1

    Great job Brad, Keep up the good videos! Want to learn more about Canadians in Normandy.

  • @reiniergroeneveld7801
    @reiniergroeneveld7801 4 місяці тому +1

    Very interesting! Looking forward to the video you plan to make about the brothers.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому

      Thank you! Quite busy at the moment so the video will have to wait a bit.

  • @WARdROBEPlaysWWII
    @WARdROBEPlaysWWII 4 місяці тому +1

    I’m playing the commonwealth beaches in Day of Days by MMP. And just finished the Zuehlke book on Juno Beach. And really like the book Stopping the Panzers.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому

      I'm glad to hear that the video is lined up with your interests. There are other videos from Normandy already released with more on the way.

  • @robmisener2786
    @robmisener2786 4 місяці тому +2

    Well done Brad and thanks for highlighting Canada's role. Hope you enjoyed the trip. Did you happen to meet with Paul Woodage?

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому +1

      Thank you for watching. I very much enjoyed my trip. Normandy is one of my all time favourite places to visit.
      I did meet with Woody. He’ll be in some videos of mine coming up.

    • @robmisener2786
      @robmisener2786 4 місяці тому +1

      I was in Normandy back in 2006, went on Woody's tour called Battlebus. Been meaning to get back and see what I missed the first time.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому +1

      @@robmisener2786 So much to see in Normandy. I was there a week and barely covered the Canadian campaign.

  • @banzi403
    @banzi403 4 місяці тому +4

    Private J.R. Alcorn was one of the guys to blow up that bridge👍 aka my dad.
    Great video, thanks.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому +2

      That's amazing! Thank you for sharing about your dad.

    • @banzi403
      @banzi403 4 місяці тому +1

      @@OTDMilitaryHistory If you've seen the victory hair cut picture of the 1st can para. My dad has the 3 dots.
      He jumped in the first wave on the 6th and was wounded on the 10th, shot in the left shoulder. 2nd floor window of chatau whatitsname.
      At some point he and another guy were sent to investigate reports of a german tank. They found it, snuck up and shot it with the piat. According to my dad they could hear the engine start before the smoke cleared. So they ran like hell.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому +1

      I know the picture very well! It's a great one. Thank you for sharing this story with us.
      Seems you father would have been wounded in the area near Le Mesnil crossroads as the Canadians were there until June 17th.

    • @banzi403
      @banzi403 4 місяці тому +1

      @@OTDMilitaryHistory there's a story behind that picture. A few days before the "big show" as my dad called it aka d day. They got a day pass. They got 3 of the galvanized wash tubs and went to a local town. Where they got draft beer to fill the tubs and went back to the base. After a couple tubs of beer one of them decided he needed a hair cut to look good for the french girls and that led to the photo.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому +1

      @@banzi403 That is absolutely amazing! I can see how a tub of beer would lead to such a photo.

  • @dankorolyk5917
    @dankorolyk5917 4 місяці тому +1

    Great presentation

  • @NOTBOBROBERTS
    @NOTBOBROBERTS 4 місяці тому +1

    Were you able to get to the Robehome Bridge which was also a Canadian objective? In 2013 I was with a group of Americans touring Normandy and they were unaware of the Canadian paratroopers. I arranged for us to see the bridge at Varaville as well as Le Mesnil Crossroads and explained the important role of the Canadians. In 2019 I took a tour group to Normandy and we had lunch at the Ranville Airborne Cemetery and we drank a toast to the Canadians with some excellent French wine.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому

      Unfortunately no. I had limited time for the airborne sites so I stuck to the memorials.
      I'm glad to hear about that toast!

  • @WARdROBEPlaysWWII
    @WARdROBEPlaysWWII 4 місяці тому +1

    Thanks!

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому

      Thank you so much for the support! It means a lot to me.

  • @kevinlambie7141
    @kevinlambie7141 4 місяці тому +1

    Well done. Small suggestion that you 'christen the ground' a bit more fully so viewers can orient themselves better. ie This is E. the direction of the Germans, this is the road between villages A and B etc.

    • @OTDMilitaryHistory
      @OTDMilitaryHistory  4 місяці тому

      Thanks for the suggestion Kevin! That's a great idea. I'll be sure to do that for the next video.