Why Americans Are Such Easy Allies to Fight With: Their Perspective on Major WW2 Allies

[@Knights_Oath]

The Aussies and Americans solving their differences with a 2 day drunken brawl is the most Aussie and American thing I have ever heard of.

[@Stallins_ALT]

so true

[@ssfbob456]

Especially when afterwards they were just magically friends again. They just beat the hell out of each other and were like, "Okay, now I feel better. Who wants a beer?"

[@Pseudowolf]

I was about to say the same thing!

[@Knights_Oath]

@@ssfbob456 That part goes without saying, its the Irish influence on both countries. We drink, we fight, and at the end of the day we are all still friends.

[@10milfud]

I'll drink a beer to that!

[@etac774]

I can’t even begin the believe how hard it must’ve been for us Americans to learn how to fight upside down in Australia.

[@aaronmontgomery2055]

Easier when you are drunk

[@pinheadlarry2506]

Lmao

[@squares4u]

You train yourself like a bat by hanging upside down for hours on end. That’s actually a requirement during boot camp. They also train you against drop bear attacks, as everyone knows.

[@bruhdabones]

Just like Enders game

[@kevingray8616]

@@bruhdabones Underrated comment.

[@GenJeFT]

What unites soldiers across the globe? Hatred of MPs.

[@barrybolton1396]

lol...yes. Every Army

[@nobodiesbusiness2731]

Former Army MP, totally understandable.

[@dukecraig2402]

Don't forget, you can't spell wimp without MP.

[@Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

When my dad was serving in the Korean War, an MP driving the Jeep he was in drove off of a bridge early one morning. Nearly killed him.

[@enigma5195]

@@nobodiesbusiness2731 I am currently in the MP core and.. Yeah I have met a lot of fellow MP's that aren't the greatest people. A lot of us are unreasonably rude and power tripping but not all of us. I have also met a ton of us that a genuinely good human beings

[@jamesdavis625]

The way the Aussies came to the defense of the drunk American Soldier against the American MP was very heartwarming.... American or Aussie, bros protect their bros

[@lawv804]

And American or Aussie, everyone hates MPs.

[@zeropoint546]

Any proper Aussie is, at best, highly suspicious of police. Mostly we hate them.

[@thelimon4338]

The universal respect for brothers

[@mcfarofinha134]

@@thelimon4338 and universal hatred of mp. Them fuckers gave me a ticket for going 1mph over the speed limit

[@ashfield4313]

​@@mcfarofinha134should've driven under the limit, criminal

[@TomFynn]

"One of the serious problems in planning against American doctrine is that the Americans do not read their manuals nor do they feel any obligation to follow their doctrine." - Apocryphal

[@unwanted_zombie]

The enemy can't possibly predict what we're going to do next if we have no idea what we're doing either.

[@senderoverland]

@@jeffblackyyou mean irregular*

[@tienhoang.4516]

Real men don't read manuals

[@treyrandz8515]

6 years 3 jobs in I can tell you right now that ain't a lie

[@Outlier999]

Improvisation is often necessary. No plan survives contact with the enemy. Wars are not won by manuals and doctrine.

[@piobmhor8529]

As a former Canadian soldier, I had worked with the American military on many occasions. I found them to be a comfort that they were on our side. I couldn’t help but get the feeling that they certainly had your back.

[@algorithmgeneratedanimegir1286]

That's the point. American war doctrine is "hearts and minds."

[@lamesurfer1015]

Well, technically you're on our back and we're on Mexico's. We rely on you to tell us which way to go. Mexico's blind down there...

[@adamwells9352]

There are alliances and then there are friends, and I certainly hope it never gets to the point where Canada is only an ally.

[@NoPrefect]

​@@lamesurfer1015the Canadians do the seeing up top, the Mexicans do all the hard work of getting us where we are going on the bottom, and we Americans devour everything from the middle because we ended up with the stomach.

[@AnthonyBlamthony]

@@Golemrock598 because the American military still chooses to believe modern gas masks work the same as World War II era ones lol

[@Doctor_snw]

I grew up in Australia. And all my life i heard from family and friends that americans were insufferable people. I began to believe it until i joined the royal Australian navy and met some americans from the american navy. They were some of the nicest and most fun people ive ever met.

[@alganhar1]

I think most people are like that really, Brit, Australian, New Zealander, Canadian, German, pick the nation, and most normal people are generally friendly. Sure there are always cultural and personal idiosyncrasies but in general most humans are to a greater or lesser extent essentially wired to get along. Even introverts do not dislike other people, we just like exposure to others on our own terms as much as possible!!! The issues arise when you come across the minority who truly are obnoxious, and no matter where you come from, we all have people like that. Personally my mottos is I treat people like a mirror, treat me with decency and respect and you will get it in return, treat me with contempt and you will receive the same.

[@richardcostello360]

I don't know what ship you served with but the USN are insufferable and kinda useless at basic things

[@crossgear3042]

I think its funny because i had the opposite reaction. Growing up i was always told by some of my family that Australians were loud obnoxious rowdy people who were always rude. Met tons of Aussie soldiers in my time in the army and they were fantastic people to hang around with. I worked with a lot of them after the army too when i worked with forest service as a wildland fire fighter working with Aussie firefighters. Absolutely fantastic people the Australians are. Always happy and proud to work with my brothers and sisters from down under.

[@TheKyrix82]

@@crossgear3042I'm curious HOW that was said, like, tonally. Because I would describe every Australian I ever met as loud, obnoxious, and rowdy. But I also see people like that as being more fun to be around. So I wonder if that was said fondly, or in an annoyed tone.

[@crossgear3042]

@@TheKyrix82 idk, maybe some members of my family had a bad experience but every Aussie i have ever met has been an absolutely wonderful person. A good majority im still friends with to this day. It was definitely a more rude tone because they described them as being really rude and not fun to hang around but i beg to differ. Not to mention one i worked with (a dozer operator in their version for wildland firefighting) saved me and the crew i worked with from an out of control fire line with his dozer. That mountain side was so steep they wouldnt allow our dozer operators on it and this dude took his and chugged right up the side and constructed a safety ring around us and stuck with us as the flames passed us by without overtaking us.

[@jamesrizza2640]

As a U.S. Marine, I can tell you that we like to make friends with anyone and anywhere we visit. I can't tell you why this is so, but it is. During my tour, I met and befriended Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese military and civilians, I even got to see some Russian civilians on a ship. All were great to be around. For myself, I believe it's because when you think about it, the USA has peoples from all over the world already, so it's nice to see where we originated from.

[@patrickpromen3605]

I honestly believe that because the US is so big, other countries seem "exotic" and interesting to us.

[@tonyluong6732]

​@patrickpromen3605 i think it's more that the states are so close and funny enough united that we are used to seeing people from a wide variety of people, that's why our problems are more racial instead of national... Americans in the army usually love America no matter which part it is... except california... they rightfully fucking hate cali

[@booradley6832]

In WWI over 80,000 Americans joined the Canadian armed forces in 1914-1916 to fight for what they felt was right. This is not as publicized as it should be.

[@jacobnebel7282]

Which makes absolutely no sense. WW1 was the detonation of a powder keg of tangled alliances that was guaranteed to be set off by something. Otto Von Bismarck even correctly predicted more than 20 years prior that "some damned foolish thing in the Balkans" would set off the conflict.

[@thehistoadian]

And over 30,000 Canadians served in the American Civil war

[@spacebar1008]

@@thehistoadianbrother nations, what can we say? We got a serious love/hate relationship going on

[@MA_KA_PA_TIE]

Probably because kids today are taught to hate their country not love it.

[@pixellordm8780]

@@spacebar1008we shit on eachother but when the Germans are around we shit on them instead usually

[@TheWarmachine375]

The USA also have ice cream ships to share with the Allies and that boosted morale a lot.

[@dreadedTanker3173]

Erwin Rommel commented about an American POW having received a cake from someone at home, all the way in Africa. Proceeded to start thinking winning was impossible against the Americans because they struggled to get ammo, yet, here's an American soldier.. With cake all the way from home. (Edit: this was not rommel, this story took place in the battle of the bulge)

[@treystephens6166]

I can’t believe how stupid Germany 🇩🇪 & Japan 🇯🇵 were. Making so many Enemies.

[@TomFynn]

"What did you do to the enemy?" "We licked them."

[@JosephDiveley]

@@treystephens6166 They almost won. If Germany had not attacked the USSR they would have easily conquered all of Europe. IF Japan had not attacked Pearl Harbor then there would have not been a Battle of Normandy. Much of China and Korea would be speaking Japanese by now. If Japan had not attacked Hawaii the USA would not have entered the war until many years later and it might have been too late to do anything by then.

[@insectslayer1374]

@@treystephens6166 thank goodness Adolf was dumb

[@noahway13]

As an American, I'd say most people have a special place in their heart for Aussies.

[@raymondparnell439]

Fenx mate .

[@nedkelly9688]

Treat us with respect and we do the same back and we will do anything for you. Treat us bad and you have one of most violent people on to you. But after we fight you we will share a beer and be mates again.

[@originalsusser]

As an Australian, I'd say most people here have a special place in their hearts for you Yanks. But more so we've backed it with boots on the ground every time you've needed it & hopefully will continue to into the future

[@stacyscott2720]

Agreed, Aussies are like Texans with cool accents.

[@stevedavenport1202]

Agree 1000% Americans really like Aussies, not just in the abstract but based on interactions with them.

[@ApexBovine]

I was a server in an outback Australian pub quite a few years ago, and in walks a group of American soldiers fresh off doing joint drills with the base nearby - the first of many groups that day. Regulars (mostly diggers) look up and go; “yanks.” Americans nod. “Aussies.” And then I don’t remember who shouted first round but fk me could they drink. Pub Made 12k on on a Tuesday - almost double. And that’s how easy it was for them to be carrying on like old friends 20 minutes later. Good on ya boys.

[@frankibianchi6188]

And then the CLP and LNP leased Darwin Port to the Chinese for 99 years for a paltry sum spent in one unsuccessful election cycle and everyone lived happily ever after.

[@ThorOdinson-s8m]

That’s funny cause us Americans call the Brit’s yanks.

[@Munthegun]

@@ThorOdinson-s8mno the heck we don’t? 😂 Us Americans are the yanks. Not once ever have I ever heard an American call a Brit a yank, it doesn’t make sense.

[@Munthegun]

Amazing story man, I love it 😂

[@BxIowaIrelandSwAg]

@@ThorOdinson-s8mWhy are you lying about being American? lol

[@tae-whankim9821]

As a Korean, there are only two countries we call brothers one is Turkey (due to long history of working together) and the other is US. Korea participates in most military actions that is spearheaded by the US (sometimes combat troops, like Vietnam and sometimes non-combat troops, like Iraq). Either way we are trying out best to pay our dues for their sacrifices. We go together.

[@mikek0135]

Koreans are great people, and we're very glad you're our ally. The way I see it, you've made the ROK a great country, so you've payed your dues.

[@HanginInSF]

We love you Koreans in the US too

[@Kruppt808]

From Hawaii, love Korea and its people, i know many Koreans. They are hard working, funny very interesting bunch.

[@dek123]

You should read your own history, and count all the nations who came to the aid of Korea during the 50s. 1100 British troops died and many more suffered life changing injuries. And many other nations soldiers died to defend you.

[@jmsgridiron5628]

Somebody has to keep the north in line and I don't think we'd want any other nation doing that but yours. You guys are based as fuck. I've met only one person from South Korea and he was an absolute gem to be around. Always laughing and a big ass smile. He seemed to love it in the states but he certainly missed his home. Hope you're doing well Jun. Keep kicking ass.

[@robertsansone1680]

My father said that the Canadians would rather be with the Americans than the British, simply because the Americans drank coffee. Other than that, they didn't care either way. As for the British, he said, "Their old ladies are tougher than me & you put together". Another excellent documentary. Thank You

[@davidkgreen]

Canadians during the war drank tea or coffee.Brewing tea was almost a ritual.

[@robertsansone1680]

@@davidkgreen Well, I was waiting for this. Leaving a comment on KZbin is a lot like being married. You just can't do anything right. Yes I know, I've been to Canada. Apparently, the Canucks my father was around liked coffee & the Brits did not. I also am aware that they like hockey in Canada.

[@AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg]

@@robertsansone1680 The one think that I've noticed is that the Canucks like Gal's with Big Cans. Then again?

[@robertsansone1680]

@@AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg After drinking their smooth whiskey, I would too.

[@AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg]

@@robertsansone1680 Mmm, I still prefer "Bushmills Black Bush".

[@snidecommenter7117]

A friend of mine, we're Canadian, travelled to California years ago for a vacation. While at a campground he made the acquaintance of a WW2 vet. On learning my friend was Canadian he said, "I fought alongside some of your people while in Europe. I'm glad they were on our side."

[@sklaWlivE]

I heard something similiar once about the Canadian Forces from an American military historian. "I'm glad they were on our side..." I asked "Why?" "...because if we were on the other side, we'd have gotten fXXXXd up!" He then proceeded to give a loooong list of the war crimes we visited upon our enemies back in WWI and WWII, especially against the Germans...apparently inside every Canadian there is a switch that flicks between "over-apologizing polite pacifist" and "ruthless unmerciful battlefield nightmare monster" and whenever Canada enters a state of war, that switch gets flicked on to the darkside, en masse. ...makes me wonder if Canada's contributions to the post-war development of the UN Peacekeepers wasn't just because we were trying to make sure no one else would pull off the heinous bullshit we pulled, historically.

[@BrokensoulRider]

@@sklaWlivE According to my boyfriend who is Canadian, they are only nice because if we got to ever see the true them, there'd be more war crimes to be had. And another doucmentary I saw said that they actually were the reason the Geneva Convention had to be made with what they did once they got their hands on the Germans. Suffice to say.... If Canada decided to become buddies with Nazi Germany, I think we would have a very different history timeline right now. They're scary. I make sure I sweet talk him.

[@dirtdevil70]

​@sklaWlivE i keep hearing stories like this and I'm sure theres a lot of truth behind them but I dont think Canadian s are any different or worse than our allies. Im sure, Brit,Aussies,Americans didnt some serious f'd up stuff as well so I'm not sure why we Canadians seem to enjoy bringing up our capability for brutality.

[@snidecommenter7117]

@@dirtdevil70 I saw one youtube where they interviewed German soldiers and they said they didn't like facing Canadians in close quarters combat because they were so vicious and liked using their bayonets.

[@dirtdevil70]

@snidecommenter7117 oh ive seen those interviews as well, ive also seen interviews where they said they feared the Americans, or the Brita, or the Aussies the most...i think it stems more from where the fought and who the fought most often more than who was the most brutal..

[@bradhill1099]

I am an American . I've always held my Canadian neighbors in high regard. I would fight for them if any force attacked them as it was my own Illinois soil. Great people and valiant in wartime.

[@projektkobra2247]

And Id get down to the US to help in any way I could if TSHTF there...Spanish Civil War-style!

[@peytonburnsed2196]

Nobody messes with us! :D

[@frankibianchi6188]

"Spanish Civil War style". Righto. Wonder who'd be the fascists in 2.0?

[@Toileetpapr]

@@frankibianchi6188 the people you don’t like.

[@Welsh7133]

Id fight for the Canadians

[@Shootskas]

I served on Submarines as a Sonar Tech. Several Aussies worked as Intel guys and were onboard to study certain things. The Aussies are the coolest, most laid back blokes I've ever met.

[@Archadies]

Love working with Aussies. But I swear safety is a third tier concern at best.

[@crocowithaglocko5876]

And that’s why their awesome

[@vokkera6995]

I used to fix planes for the USAF. I was so jealous that the aussies got to go work in shorts in that sweltering middle eastern furnace while the rest of use simply got to remove our overshirts. Lol

[@logank444]

They used to talk about how awful we had it on our carrier CVN73. Literal prisoner food(our burgers said "for inmates only), no beer. They were fun to talk too

[@AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg]

"Bloke's"......good to see that we rubbed off on you👍 I left Ireland at 19, visited family in NJ, NY and "Massive Chew Sets". Took a look at Canada, came to Australia at 21, applied to stay permanently, got my paperwork completed at 24. I love the heat.

[@NuNugirl]

My Dad was coming back from a mission in a pontoon aircraft, when a message from another aircraft came in stating that they sighted three downed British Airmen in a dingy. The Pilot asked my Dad and the other guy if they were game to turn around and go back out. Yes 👍. They not only spotted them, but landed successfully in heavy seas. My Dad was they best swimmer, being from Brooklyn and living by the beach. He spent every summer swimming far beyond the breakers. He swam out with a rope and swam back each man, who were near death. After the British Airmen were recovered and well, they asked him what they could do for him. My Dad answered “ If you’re ever in NY tell my Mother I’m OK”. One day my Grandmother heard the bell ring to find a British Airman standing at the front door. After delivering the message, he asked my Aunt Mitzi out on a Date. My Grandparents were very, very grateful, because they said yes!

[@rhshear]

Great story.

[@bradley4031]

Damn cheeky bugger. Could have ended badly 😂

[@TravelingMooseMedia]

When he got saved, the real question he asked is if your dad had any hot sisters.

[@Daculaboy]

My man repaid him by banging his sister 😂 I'd have left his ass at sea.

[@Serithe]

​@@TravelingMooseMedia😂😂😂

[@thejonathan130]

I worked with an American from Texas during an exercise in northern Newfoundland during the winter. He kept taking pictures of the landscape and was genuinely having a good time. My favourite thing he told me was "This snow is incredible! I mean you see it in books and in movies, but it's nothing like this!" His enthusiasm for something as mundane as snow made me confused at the time before I really thought about where he's from.

[@PALACIO254]

Vary rarely does snow fall in Texas it's mostly ice and sleet

[@LycanFerret]

Don't worry. The southerners do that here in their own country as well. Lmao. Our southern border gets hardly any snow(or rain, it's a desert). So when they travel up north it's like entering a different universe. Especially seeing someone from New Mexico in a Minnesota blizzard. That shit's funny.

[@bf5175]

@@PALACIO254 Well, the panhandle gets snow regularly, but yeah in most of Texas it is rare and in south Texas they have only heard tales about this mythical snow stuff.

[@dwaynetherock-hardjohnson5676]

@@bf5175we don’t claim the panhandle, that’s basically Oklahoma LOL

[@burnttoast26]

Texas is hot and like half of it is a desert, they never get snow down there

[@jenniferhanses]

I was just reading up on US troop interactions with other countries, and the point was made that Americans are unusual in that usually, if you took out the officers for the other military troops, they'd either retreat, or at best take a defensive posture. If you take out the officer on the US side, the US troops get more aggressive, often creatively aggressive in ways the officer might have discouraged. You can see the contrast in the Battle of Belleau Woods in WWI. So with other troops, taking out the officer isn't a bad idea. With Americans, you might have just made your situation much worse. Leave the officer, and they have competent leadership. Get rid of the officer, and you have whatever "cool" things a group of highly trained and skilled 20 year-olds can dream up. And our allies will get swept up in our "Can do," attitude if they aren't actively resisting it.

[@vampuricknight1]

Very true, My grandfather in ww2 took charge of his platoon after the commanding officer went down... they ended up taking the body of of their "dead" commanding officer and using it along with a few of the dead bodies of the soldiers surrounding him as machine gun/mortar cover as they charged an entrenched position eventually wiping out the Japanese that held the hill... they then beat a hasty retreat back to their base with the bodies they were using for cover. Turns out... he and his troops had just "valiantly and bravely" rescued their still living commanding officer after he was severely injured and he and his platoon received medals for their brave and daring rescue... and didn't at all use him as a human shield to escape a suppressed position.

[@HANKSANDY69420]

​@@vampuricknight1 *Holy shit xD*

[@idleminded1]

Officers are basically the babysitters of their unit. Take out the only thing putting restrictions..and you unlock new ways to get deleted 😂 you're even more FUBAR if you go after the doc.

[@Victoriant1]

I've read US soldiers say over and over again (in comments) don't hit the Medic, Dog or Officer because they will loose their minds and take no prisoners.

[@jenniferhanses]

@@Victoriant1 Well if you've ever been in an RPG, the medic is the healer. Always take out the healer first because then everyone else is easier to take down because the healer isn't constantly patching them up and keeping them on their feet. US troops understand this philosophy. They know they'll be much easier to kill if you take out the medic. They would prefer not to die. They would therefore like the medic to survive at all costs. He's the team VIP. Therefore, anyone who threatens him becomes the top target. The Dog, aside from his practical fighting purposes, is the team psychologist. He's not labeled as emotional support, but he is. It's a rare soldier who can resist an animal attached to the team.

[@hagamapama]

The Aussies figured out that the Yanks were good guys to have around back in WWI, in the battle of Le Hamel. Sir John Monash asked for and got American troops for the battle, despite Pershing's misgiving about is men's lack of training. Monash countered this by taking advantage of two things -- their enthusiasm, and their love of shotguns. He'd have the Ozzies do the infiltration work like cutting wire and clearing mines to open a path for the Americans, who flooded into the trench lines depositing lead on anything that happened to be moving at the time. Shotguns in the trenches were devastating and did not require a lot of training to use. The Australian's job was to get the Americans to the trench, the Yanks did the rest, and they captured thousands of prisoners and hundreds of heavy guns that day as a result. It was a huge morale boost for both groups.

[@gerardmichaelburnsjr.]

Thank you, I am something of a history buff, but had never heard that story.

[@hagamapama]

@@gerardmichaelburnsjr. August 8, 1918. Lots of cool little stories of Aussie and Yank units working together on that day. The Aussies brought years of experience and expertise, the Americans brought enormous energy and drive and souls not yet crushed by war.

[@clark9992]

Yes, and the Germans famously made a big row about it, claiming it was an inhumane weapon ( as if the other weapons were in anyway humane ) and said they would execute any prisoners found with such weapon. The Americans, and I'm paraphrasing, said Fuck around and find out. No more complaints were heard, and there's no evidence they ever executed anyone found with a shotgun. What they didn't like is how effective they were at close quarters. They were loaded with buckshot, and could fire as quickly as you could pump it. 6 rounds. Accurate aim was nice, but not required.

[@smugsuphia7846]

Talk about playing to your strengths

[@gerardmichaelburnsjr.]

​@@smugsuphia7846playing to your strengths is always one of the best ways to go about waging War.

[@mailman35419]

I'm an American army artillery Captain. I love working with other armies. I just love meeting people from other cultures. I've worked with Korean, Australian, British, German, French, Lebanon, Greek, Thailand, Cyprus, Hungary, Poland, Latvia.

[@Raycheetah]

NATO's KZbin channel has a lot of cross-cultural military interaction videos. =^[.]^=

[@thinbluelinefr8884]

Thanks for you service !! Greetings from France Captain

[@AdamantLightLP]

I've had the opportunity to work with ESA and Airbus folks and it is really great to meet people from other nations! Usually very friendly! (Even if they way they do things can be frustrating lol!)

[@mailman35419]

@@thinbluelinefr8884 heeeyy hell yeah!!! Good luck to you friend!

[@mailman35419]

@@AdamantLightLP that's awesome. I get super talkative meeting people from around the world.

[@Huntress_Hannah]

Im American and I can’t imagine a world without our Canadian friends 🇨🇦♥️

[@ruthnovena40]

When 9/ll happened and we had to land 100's of planes and get them out of the sky.some landed in a small town in Canada. 38 planes with 7,000 people doubled the pop, of Gander Newfoundand in one day. they were there for days. the people on the plane had no real supplies. the people in town and the surrounding area cooked for all those people, the stores gave away their supplies for free.people came with clothes. The people that needed medicine got their medicine. bus drivers had been on strike in the town at the time came back to work so they could drive these people around.when it was time to leave as a thank you the passengers set up a Thank you fund. It began with 15.000 $ I think it;s now reached 1 mill $.

[@corystarkiller]

We're your hat, where else would we go?

[@chaost4544]

US and Canada are really like family members. We may dislike each other at random times but will always have each others backs when it matters.

[@JesusFriedChrist]

Cheers bud

[@boatingexplainedwithcapndr8359]

I’ll second that. I actually have always felt like we’re kind of the same country. When Canadians come here to New York, it’s often hard to even realize that they’re Canadians unless they tell you.

[@Oregun44]

As an American I feel like the Aussies have a lot in common with us. We are both born from the British, and viewed "not as English" by the British.

[@johnlucas9477]

Yes. My American mates say Australians are British Texans. 😂

[@pevebe]

You'll always hear Americans say this but you only need to get a yank, Brit, Kiwi and an Australian in the same room to see who the odd one out is. It ain't the Brit

[@Oregun44]

@@pevebe You could throw a Brit, Aussie, Kiwi, American, and a Canadian in a room and I think we all know who the odd one is lol

[@pevebe]

@@Oregun44 Well, who do you think the odd one out is?

[@Oregun44]

@@pevebe Canadians are a strange people

[@rooster2268]

For Americans, going to war alongside the Australians the Canadians and the British was a bit like going to a family reunion i suspect, seeing your favorite cousins

[@knowEyeDeer]

It's the same for the rest of us as well. I'm an Aussie, we enjoy learning about the differences between each of us. Joining up with fighting forces comprised of the results of all the historical imperialism is quite the treat. We're all different, but in the best of ways.

[@lucasmilligan5615]

That’s literally how we invaded Italy💀

[@cattysplat]

Offer Americans some tea and it might stir up some history.

[@buddermonger2000]

​@@lucasmilligan5615 I forgot about that bit

[@FezMooseLive]

​@@cattysplat Nah, we love ice cold sweet tea. 😫

[@Redbikemaster]

There's one thing that the US has mastered that no one else has. It's not tech, it's not firepower. It's cross-ocean logistics. And that, combined with our massive industrial output, is huge.

[@BryanJohnson4891]

To be fair most of the cross ocean logistics in the ETO was first enabled, and then carried out by the Royal Navy. 80% of the 7,000 vessels on DDAY for example. Although the USN in the pacific certainly challenges that. But the Royal Navy gets zero credit for its logistical efforts in WWII, which were supplying troops in North Africa, Burma, Russia, and then Italy, France, Netherlands, Egypt, Burma, Singapore, as well as Okinawa + Iwo Jima to a small extent, all whilst fighting the largest battle of WWII in terms of spent resources (Battle of Atlantic).

[@MitchellTF]

It didn't help that we were basically the only 'first world' country that was not screwed over in WW2. Gave us a bit of a jump ahead.

[@kevingray8616]

I remember reading something on Quora one time. It had to do with the amount of ordinance an American could bring on the enemy in order to save American lives as Americans had a much higher value of life than the enemy as they could afford to given the massive industrial output and logistics. Essentially, they knew they were fucked when they saw what ordinance Americans could and would bring to the battlefield.

[@scottworth6705]

Where is that massive industrial might now?

[@88michaelandersen]

@@scottworth6705 We unionized, so the factories moved to China.

[@ceoofwarcrimes4600]

According to my great grandfather's younger brother who was a marine during ww2 "The best way to make friends with an aussie is to get drunk with and then fight them. After you've done that you've made a drinking buddy for life."

[@Outlier999]

My family has fought beside Aussies in four wars. They are the only ally who has never betrayed us.

[@jamesmaddison4546]

​@@Outlier999since becoming allies when has england ever betrayed the us?

[@DiviAugusti]

@@jamesmaddison4546They haven’t. The guy is getting carried away with the compliment.

[@jamesmaddison4546]

@@DiviAugusti absolutely is

[@bigbcor]

@@jamesmaddison4546the OP never said anything about the British. He quoted something about Aussies. So maybe get off the soap box and chill?

[@dimains6011]

It's honestly nice to hear from a non-American on the internet who doesn't have a distaste for the U.S. and Americans in general

[@georgecooksey8216]

Indeed, bashing America and Americans seems to be fashionable on the internet. Most of it is just ignorant stereotyping.

[@dougthealligator]

@@georgecooksey8216it’s hard to blame folks though, isn’t it? The actions of our government make it hard for people to have much admiration for us.

[@georgecooksey8216]

@@dougthealligator What actions are those?

[@IkeanCrusader1013]

​@georgecooksey8216 Destabilizing south america by creating cartels, giving north Korea to China but then going on to support a french dictatorship in vietnam and then trying to install our own dictatorship, petro-dollar warfare, creating ISIS/Taliban in the form of the Mujahideen, almost making the coldwar go hot a number of times, blockading Cuba to make their citizens suffer, friendly fire in general, supporting horrible corporations and their actions across the globe, and a bunch of other shit, mainly just the CIA doing CIa things lmao

[@glutenfree7057]

@@georgecooksey8216 True. Most of the things said about Americans can be called Xenophobic if applied to any other country, but because it’s applied to Americans, it’s somehow ok. For instance, if I called all Chinese people “dumb”, I would be called xenophobic or sinophobic, but somehow it’s ok to call ALL Americans that and generalize ALL Americans, especially by Aussies and Europeans, which is even worse. And for instance, people say Americans have no culture (which is not true at all, and I’m saying this as a Chinese), but if I said Canadians or Australians have zero culture, which is more true because I don’t actually know any culture that truly belongs to Canadians or Australians that aren’t indigenous, people would call me out for it.

[@davoocass]

love how the battle of Brisbane started with a few Aussies sticking up for a drunk American against an American MP, of all the tensions between them at the time, the straw that broke the camels back was the most Australian one imaginable 😂

[@taun856]

After having spent 30+ years in the US Army, I'd have to say that NOBODY likes the MP's of any nation (unless you need them of course).

[@nedkelly9688]

Haha yea my Grandfather was in that riot. He hated the Americans as much as the Japanese. never said why but was something bad during the war. Used to run around his property singing. they were over paid, oversexed and over here haha.

[@nedkelly9688]

Funny part was next day or so Aussies would run up slap a yank on the back and say. wasn't the other night some fun and have a beer with them. So Aussie

[@Dude_bro21]

As a US vet who has served with Aussies and this is entirety unsurprising.

[@agibitable]

It's such an Australian AND American thing to have a brawl to let off some steam then share a beer afterwards.

[@BhutJolokias]

As an American in my 41st year in the military (21 active duty, 20 as a civilian) I have a special fondness for our Canadian brothers and sisters. Most of my career has been in AWACs. We've always had a contingent of Canadian troops in AWACS. I was friends with Sgt. David L. Pitcher who died in the crash of YUKLA 27 in Alaska after a bird strike brought down the aircraft. As a civilian I've worked with MDA in Canada who built the Canadarm for the ISS. It's been an honor to work with them all these years.

[@tomfoolery5680]

Thank You for your service!

[@Jelperman]

My grandfather was in the Marines in WW2. After Guadalcanal, he stayed in Australia. Two examples of why he loved Australians: 1) A hotel owner let Marines who were wounded or suffering from malaria stay at his hotel for free. 2) An Australian sergeant, seeing my grandfather wearing a tattered Marine uniform, gave him a spare jacket. Soon a large number of Marines were wearing Australian hand-me-downs. They were very grateful.

[@ravenclaw8975]

I'm not sure that the Soviets and Americans would have been close allies, because of their respective leadership, but there are many stories of Americans and Soviets developing friendships that lasted after the war. Just imagine both sides fighting together---absolutely unstoppable! Most Red Army soldiers were not card-carrying communists, just as many Germans were not Nazis. As soldiers, we fight alongside our brothers in arms no matter what country or political system we each come from. It's stories like this that warm my heart.

[@helix5441]

Most notably soviet marshall Georgy Zhukov had a personal friendship with general and later president Dwight D Eisenhower, going so far as Eisenhower contracting coke to create a vodka covered coke for Zhukov, as well as gifting him a fishing rod which Zhukov used many times

[@ravenclaw8975]

@@helix5441 Yes, indeed. Thanks for your comments.

[@charliebasar9068]

A lot of the Red Scare era hatred dissipated temporarily during the war. I read a book a while back about Shostakovich's 7th symphony, and apparently it got a very good reception in America (excepting critics, but their job is critique.) Some of the government to government hatred was fair, but during the war it became very clear that a lot of the person to person hatred was poorly founded.

[@ravenclaw8975]

@@charliebasar9068 I think that's the symphony he deicated to Leningraders during the war. In 1945, the Leningrad symphony orchestra played it, but there were only a few members of the orchestra still alive. It was filmed with many empty chairs accompanied by their repective instruments, it was so sad to see. An American producer filmed a documentary series on it called "The Unknown War" narrated by Burt Lancaster. A very sad and depressing series of documentary films. Thanks for bringing Shostakovich into the discussion. Best wishes!

[@schmeatgaming853]

Had the Americans and the Soviets interacted more with each other during the War, I wouldn't be surprised If Red Army troops started to riot should Stalin order them to become more hostile to US Troopers.

[@nomcognom2332]

In the site tankarchives there is a translation of an order given to Soviet officers on how to behave when in contact with Allied troops by the end of the war. It was basically stated that they, the Soviets, shall never invite Allied troops first but they were permitted to accept Allied offers to fraternize.

[@AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg]

ALL about Intel. I had a Great Uncle who was RN and did 6 convoy patrols to Murmansk and Archangelsk, He said that the average Russians were "Warm and Wonderful" but they had political officer's who were anything but. My cousin's told Me that they had recieved an invitation to the Russian Embassy in London and Uncle Peter had been awarded a Medal of Saint George for his service. This was somewhat recent, Peter passed away in 1983. It was Putin and if I remember correctly it was sometime around 2010. I believe that 7 was the record number of patrols by any RN ship/sailor's during WW2.

[@JosephDawson1986]

My grand dad served in the Army in WWII and occasionally met Russians and as he said it if the Russians iniate contact or act friendly first then they are likely spies if you have to initate contact they are well trained spies haha

[@alanle1471]

As an American, it is with great happiness that my country helped to defend Australia.

[@hackman669]

An Aussie base in Florida would be interesting. 😄

[@aflyingcowboy31]

@@hackman669 Eh, our military really isn't big enough for that.

[@iKentEven]

@@hackman669Aussie taming/ fighting a croc would be a sight

[@killerhellhound]

@@iKentEven Considering the size difference it would be considered a nice warm up

[@iKentEven]

@@timoneer392 oh my gosh that video was great!

[@jaylowry]

According to some of the officers from Oflag 64, a number of their fellow POWs tried to join up with the Red Army. When the NKVD found them, they were escorted eastward towards Odesa. One great story is Capt. Ernest M. Gruenberg, who was a doctor attached to the 101st and a POW at Oflag 64. When he was liberated he raided a German aid station and set up a hospital along with two other American doctors to treat Soviet wounded. He was shortly joined by a Soviet hospital unit and they worked side by side. The female major in charge of the unit wrote a note saying that he had treated Soviet wounded which was a golden ticket on his trek to Moscow. He avoided the NKVD and with the help of friendly soldiers, truck drivers, and Polish civilians he made it all the way to Moscow and knocked on the front door of the US embassy with two other officers (Lt. Frank H. Colley and Lt. John N. Demling) much to the delight of the entire embassy.

[@cksoup]

what’s NKVD mean?

[@thecrimsoncommando3875]

@@cksoup Soviet secret police, acting much like the Gestapo.

[@jaylowry]

@@cksoup Narodný komissariat vnutrennih del. The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, in other words the secret police.

[@cksoup]

@@thecrimsoncommando3875 @jaylowry thanks guys:)

[@johndoe-lp9my]

@cksoup the NKVD were as bad as the Gestapo, if that helps to clear things up.

[@minimalgrammar1276]

Having a city-wide brawl to settle tensions is the most Australian thing I've ever heard.

[@UakinTrust]

They had a brawl in NZ too, called the Zoot Suit riot. Started by a couple of racist Americans trying to throw some Maoris out of a cinema in Auckland. The Maori Battalion were all volunteers and allowed to wear civvies off duty. The NZ Government suppressed the news.

[@charliebasar9068]

@@UakinTrust Mostly true, although the riots in NZ are not the same thing as the zoot suit riots. The Zoot Suit riots were also started by a group of racist American servicemen, but in Los Angeles.

[@jacobpfeil5870]

The Aussies description seems pretty accurate to me. Had an Aussie exchange student in high school that for some unknown reason we got on each others' nerves (probably because the girls loved his accent). Eventual we had a fight at a party that turned into an all out brawl between us. After the fight and things settled down I've handed him a beer and told him I thought that I didn't think they knew how to fight down under but I was wrong. He patted me on the back with a bloody grin told me that I was the scrappiest little fellow he ever meet. I'm 6-3 and worked out and he's 5-10. Became best friends after and we still occasional talk a decade later. Good men there.

[@procrastinator6902]

Yep, you as well as every other guy that mentions height in a KZbin comment...

[@weirdlemonthing3714]

I stubbed my toe (6' 3" btw)

[@jacobpfeil5870]

@@procrastinator6902 Oh sounds like a sensitive issue for you?

[@procrastinator6902]

@jacobpfeil5870 Just the opposite, in fact. I am 5'10 and have no problem stating such. Despite what is known about average heights tho, every other male commenter on KZbin is somehow 6'+ and claims to be in great physical shape. I'd say those that feel the need to lie under a blanket of anonymity in an attempt to make themselves sound impressive to complete strangers online are the ones who likely have a size sensitive issue.

[@snoozy4564]

@@procrastinator6902manlet syndrome

[@pahtar7189]

Several US bomber crews were forced by battle damage to land in the Soviet Far East. The planes were confiscated, and the crews were interred until the end of the war, not the actions of an ally who wants to be friends. The Soviets took apart and reverse engineered one B-29 and started making a virtual copy, the Tu-4 bomber that dropped their first atomic bomb.

[@petergray2712]

The USSR was neutral in the Pacific until August 1945 and had to behave accordingly. The US government understood their position. If anything, the Soviets diligently followed the Hague Convention and treated US internees well. This was in marked difference to the Azis powers.

[@SuperDrake85]

@@petergray2712 It was quite awkward for the Soviets, as they technically had to hold the US airmen prisoner according to international law, but, at the same time, they didn't actually want to. The Soviets arranged for the US prisoners to be transferred to a facility in Soviet occupied Iran. Shortly after the transfer the US airmen "escaped" from captivity into British occupied Iran where they were picked up by the Brits and returned to their units. In reality the Soviets just drove the Americans over to the Brits and handed them over, but it was written up as an escape so they could technically say they were complying with their obligations as a neutral nation in the Pacific war. Not exactly the stuff of Hollywood action movies, but, technically an escape.

[@TheDubVee]

​@@SuperDrake85never read about this. Very interesting. Wild that they were neutral even though the Japanese had attacked Imperial Russia. Different government than the USSR, sure, but you'd think there would be a grudge.

[@SuperDrake85]

@@TheDubVee Even wilder still is that the Japanese, though in a viscous, savage war with the US, in which the US Navy mercilessly targeted Japanese shipping, allowed US convoys to pass through Japanese waters in order to bring in lend-lease aid to the Soviets through Vladivostok. Hitler was particularly furious that the Japanese basically just sat back - literally spitting distance from Vladivostok and let the US navy just deliver shit loads of war material to the Soviets. But hey, neutrality is neutrality and neither country could afford to open a new front against the other.

[@Nesstor01]

During the Lend Lease Program for Soviet Union, the US was shipping millions of tons of supplies to Russia but Russians wouldn't let any of the Americans off the boat when in Russia docks out of fear of US spies. A lot America sailors grew resentful towards Soviet Union because the American sailors were spending 3 to 4 months round-trip voyages without stepping foot on dry land.

[@MrZonehawk]

I just want to thank our British, Canadian, Australia brothers and sisters for their friendship. I know we can be annoying at times. We even annoy each other. Great love to you all!

[@jamesslick4790]

👍👍

[@eileentaylor1691]

@@jamesslick4790 everyone did their bit which is all that matters, i think all nations respect each other and even germany has tried and still is trying to teach resulting generations to see each other as friends and not enemys

[@marcuseriksson5181]

I had an Uncle who served as a UN peacekeeper in many hot spots. He said that the worst brawls were usually between soldiers from the British isles. Scots against English, welsh against scots, Irish against any of them, and so on. He said Yanks were usually not involved because they mostly got along with everyone. And the French were never fucked with because the French were from the Legion and no one dared to fuck with them, bc if you fucked with one legionnaire you’d get the rest of em on you regardless who was right or wrong to begin with.

[@pevebe]

Talking out his arse

[@RDBean]

@marcuseriksson, same USN, USMC, USARMY, USAF

[@bigalfakaalfyausten8543]

proper british behaviour

[@benjaminleonard123]

Our relationship with the UK is much deeper that just sharing a battlefield. It's possible more interaction with the soviets would have forget a closer relationship, but no way could it ever approach the relationship we have with the UK.

[@zecorezecron]

Given that the Soviets' did everything in their power to commit more crimes against humanity than the german socialists, it's doubtful that more interaction would have done anything but sour things between the two countries even more.

[@benjaminleonard123]

@@zecorezecron all I said was that it's possible... I was making the point that, even if it were the case, the relationship wouldn't be similar to our relationship with the UK.

[@renaissanceredneck73]

The US, UK, Australia, Canada, and NZ, and to a lesser degree South Africa are all branches off of the same tree. We share a common history and culture. I think it would behoove all nations involved to form a loose alliance for economic and military assistance.

[@ennuiii]

It's actually a really interesting dynamic considering most Americans aren't British, we actually hold a lot more Germanic and Irish ancestry then British, both of which are not historically big fans of the Brits

[@BryanJohnson4891]

@@zecorezecron”German Socialists” that’s where I put everything you have said in the bin. Banning unions isn’t socialism. Socialism is the workers owning the means of production. National socialism is the state owning the workers and means of production. Both have similarly awful outcomes - however if you’re trying to act like the Nazis were either economically left wing or socially left wing - you’re an idiot. The Nazi economy was run off plundered gold. There was nothing “socialist” about the Nazis.

[@Cybermat47]

Funny, reading about my country of Australia’s co-operation with the USA in WWII gives the impression that the Americans were resented by the Australian military thanks to Douglas MacArthur, who insulted our troops and didn’t acknowledge their victories in the media for the sake of his own ego. The Battle of Brisbane, the Brownout Strangler, and friendly fire incidents probably didn’t help things either. Still, though, those reflect only on the responsible individuals. And friendly fire is incredibly common and usually understandable - an Australian bomber nearly sank an American submarine thanks to misidentification. And one of our own generals, Thomas Blamey, joined MacArthur in insulting our troops with his rabbit comment. At the end of the day, I’m grateful to the Americans who helped us to defeat the Nazis and the Japanese Empire. We shouldn’t judge them by the actions of a few assholes who wore the same uniform. American troops sacrificed and died alongside ours to stop Japanese imperialism and Nazi genocides, and I feel that they deserve our respect and gratitude. In fact, MacArthur‘s treatment of American troops was even worse - when he violently suppressed the Bonus Army protests (even after he was ordered to stop), he injured 55 American WWI veterans, caused one’s wife to miscarry, and his use of tear gas contributed to the death of another’s 12-week-old son.

[@barrybolton1396]

Mac (Doug out Doug) was the epitome of a pontificating tool bag. However, Eisenhower was at the protests too.

[@shadowpoet4398]

Eisenhower was the people's general. It's why HE, and not MacArthur, got that Holy 5th Star. Patton got 3, but he didn't want more. He just wanted to kill Axis. Jovially.

[@larrymckinney8266]

My uncle was an American soldier in the pacific theater. He and his fellow soldiers had an absolute disdain for McArthur.

[@paaat001]

I did a R&R in Sydney during the Vietnam war. I couldn't have felt more welcomed and I always wanted to take my family back there some day to show them the friendliness that I encountered.

[@anthonycaruso8443]

So do you have anything nice to say.

[@lanceyoung9955]

I've read a few books on New Zealand forces in the Pacific and they always mention the Americans were always very generous in giving out equipment or supplies if it was needed, because they had so much to spare. A more recent example read a book on the SAS in the first Gulf war and the SAS guy said they visited the US camp and asked if they had any spare gear, and the Americans were like just tell us what you need and got for them.

[@SilvanaDil]

Good point. Everybody is eager to have Americans alongside them; it means that the assets/equipment and logistics won't be lacking.

[@kilroy2517]

The Arsenal of Democracy.

[@ok-qz7cx]

​@@kilroy2517The arsenal of a monetary blackhole lol

[@sklaWlivE]

Didn't know the E4 Mafia did charity drives! XD

[@rebelgaming1.5.14]

​@@ok-qz7cxbe upset if you want, but if we or our allies are ever attacked I the $803 Billion dollar budget will make them think twice. Why do you think Russia and NK threaten us with war and nukes and then don't do anything?

[@someaussieguy140]

I've worked alongside the US Army a few times before. They've attached to us and were able to integrate seamlessly and quickly iron out small differences in SOPs. Very easy to work with, especially in comparison to other foreign forces.

[@Thermalburn]

When I was a Marine, we ran a lot of operations with the British Royal Marines in afghanistan back in 2009-10. Those guys were both professional and overall great to work with. They were absolutely hilarious too. There are still a few of them that I became good friends with and keep in contact with to this day. A few years ago I took my family to England, and we all met up for a few days; same when one them came to the US and we spent a couple days hanging out. It was definetly funny to see them older, calmer, more mature and settled down with a family of their own; very unlike when we first met lol. Point in all this is that it goes both ways. We enjoyed working with our allies as well.

[@mkz2017]

I was a Marine and worked with some of those guys in Iraq in ‘09. They were fuckin good to go. Salute to the boys across the pond.

[@lamesurfer1015]

Was there in Helmand around the same time as you. The amount of times I heard "Fockin' 'El" any time CAS was called or a JDAM landed endeared them to me. "Good lads" - all of them. The right amount of professional and laid back.

[@John_on_the_mountain]

Same man i was a Marine and fought in Sangin in 2010 and working with the brits was awesome. Also was a bit jealous they got to wear shorts 🤣

[@kennethbolton951]

My Dad flew in B-25 bombers in North Africa as a waist gunner and flight engineer and after 23 missions his plane was shot down over Tunisia in the desert, he was the last to bail out after shoving out the navigator and was so low his parachute swung twice before hitting the ground. He had two chocolate bars, half a canteen of water and his 45. He wandered for three days before being picked up by a long range British Rat patrol. I have great fondness for the Brits as I would probably not be here but for them. I was born the same year as King Charles, can't be a coincidence. God bless the Queen, and her son the King.

[@shadowpoet4398]

My late uncle Bill was a belly gunner over Germany in a B-17. They say that was the deadliest position on the plane. Thank God he survived to tell the tale.

[@PogeyMane]

Sounds like a fake story to me

[@dingusbingus7463]

God bless the royal family? You've gotta be kidding me

[@RemsHusband]

Lizzies in a box

[@richardofredemption]

Amen

[@eldritchsheep6801]

I like how the Australia story boiled down to them getting frustrated, what was basically a city-sized bar fight happened, and then relations were better than they could have been from that point onward

[@absolutefoot4594]

The Joseph Beyrle story is absolutely incredible! Imagine if the USSR and the USA had more interactions like that.

[@knoll9812]

Unfortunately almost all American soldiers in Russia never came back. The pilots who dropped supplies to the Warsaw ghetto never came home after landing behind Russian lines. I think that is the point that allies should have stopped supplying Russia.

[@airborngrmp1]

I served with Brits, Canucks, Aussies (as well as a bunch of NATO troops: Italians, Germans, Poles) during my time. The Canadians were most like us, the Brits the most different (but also the same), and the Aussies were my favorites. There's something to be said about the Anglophone world serving in uniform side-by-side - I don't have a great way to describe it, or any tangible reason to offer as to why - and the general comradery we feel while serving together in multinational groups despite gulfs of cultural, political, and military organizational and historical differences is unique and impossible not to admire. I trust another soldier wearing my uniform for obvious reasons, the funny thing is that I trust these guys wearing different uniforms just the same - even though I know little about them I haven't read about their fathers and grandfathers in history books. I suppose that's what the 'Special Relationship' means, and I count myself damn lucky to know it first hand.

[@b.santos8804]

Anglophone countries are all basically former colonies of England, and have a shared history and culture, so it is no wonder they'll tend to get along. Also, there have historically never been real tensions between Anglophone nations since before the Victorian era. Our various national interests do not interfere with one another. The last time two Anglophone countries fought a full-blown war against each other might have been the American Civil War.

[@nedkelly9688]

@@b.santos8804 Australia and America got close in WW2. Battle of Brisbane WW2 where after a little mix up and high tensions of Aussies feeling like Americans overstepped in their country rioted against Americans on streets of Brisbane. 5000 people fought with 1 Aussie shot dead. General MacArthur's HQ was attacked and smashed as Aussies wanted to kill him. Few Aussies confiscated a truck full of machine guns and grenades. A Australian MP settled them down and stopped that. 4000 people rioted in Melbourne and once word got out fights all over Australia broke out. Blanket ban on media to USA was made as word couldn't get out as USA was here to help Australia.

[@ThisisFred-dt4mq]

Ireland has entered the chat

[@Parker_Douglas]

Who defends Ireland..? The Uk 🇬🇧. In recent times Uk scrambled jets when it intersected Russian jets.

[@Faygo2215]

@@ThisisFred-dt4mq "lad I got you a present, its in that car over there"

[@eyreyereye]

despite some unsavoury stereotypes about dealing with foriegners, i've always observed that it seems americans are often very exited to meet new people from different countries and are always overly approachable and helpful there's a lot to criticize about america but the people are generally very kind and friendly

[@dennisweidner288]

@eyreyereye There is a lot to criticize about any country, but I suggest you go to the southern border. You will not find a lot of two-way traffic.

[@Gnomgnash]

@@dennisweidner288 Seems that hit a little close to home lol

[@dennisweidner288]

@@Gnomgnash Absolutely. Opening the border and allowing 10 million illegal aliens into the country is a big deal with huge consequences.

[@Laura-kl7vi]

@@Gnomgnash I'd guess because on YT Americans and their country are the main ones people put down lately. Hard not to get defensive.

[@rb239rtr]

Britain had no troops to spare to send to Australia. \in europe, they were also underequipped having lost most of their gear in France. They suffered a huge defeat in Malaya and needed forces to protect india. THey were fully engage in north africa. So Britain had little opportunity to help Australia at the start of the Japanese attacks.

[@kurgisempyrion6125]

Spot on

[@Outlier999]

Don’t forget their defeat in Burma. They had no problem getting the Australians to fight for them in North Africa and later Europe.

[@yellowjackboots2624]

​@@Outlier999I think only the New Zealanders fought in Europe. The Aussies were sent home once the Japanese started closing in on Australia.

[@rb239rtr]

@patrickmiano7901 3 divisions were in Africa before the Japanese attack. Two were returned to Australia, the third after the battle of El alemein. After January 1943 only air and some naval units remained in Europe. So after the Japanese attack, Australia were mainly near their home territory.

[@bigenglishmonkey]

the bit about France is incorrect, or at least not applicable to the situation. for example Britain only left around 400 tanks in France and Britain produced 28,000 tanks through the war, in fact comparing the size comparison between the US and UK, the UK produced half to the same amount of everything the US produced. other than tanks, but that was down to heavier tanks and constantly trying out new designs. and by the time Australia was attacked it was half way through the war, so it had plenty of equipment. and to add to it, the largest fleet assembled in the entire war by Britain was sent to defend northern Australia, something most forget about despite even prince Philip being with the fleet, and had reinforcements including armored divisions ready to divert if the fleet decided Australia was under a real threat of invasion. its become quite the myth that Britain wasn't as capable as it actually was and or abandoned Australia, but when looking through it properly none of its true.

[@_Devil]

There's a saying I saw in a comment section once, I think it was about WW1, and it went something like this: If you're in a trench in a war and you do potshots at movement in the distance, and you get potshots back, then the people you see are British. If you potshot them and they respond with a well-placed sniper shot, the people you see are German. If you potshot them and they yell "STOP!", the people you see are Italian. If you potshot them and they respond with a barrage of artillery and mortars that lasts for 5 minute straight, and you somehow live, then the people you see are American.

[@cattysplat]

I thought it was British: rapid fire rifles. German: Hail of machine guns. American: Explosives, lots.

[@tabe3263]

If they toss food into your trench, and then eventually grenades, and commit an unbelievable amount of war crimes on your mates, then their Canadian.

[@TrueFlameslinger]

​@@cattysplat I think that's the WW2 version

[@trickydicky2908]

I met a Canadian sailor in Norfolk while I was stationed there, back in the 80s. He asked what was there to do in Norfolk. I told him RUSH was in town for the weekend. I thought he was going to burst into tears of joy!lol

[@treystephens6166]

RUSH is cool but I couldn’t get into them.

[@trulyinfamous]

​@@treystephens6166the music itself is good but the I absolutely cannot stand the singer.

[@JimmyMon666]

As someone who was stationed in Norfolk for almost 5 years, there's nothing to do in Norfolk. I kid, but honestly you usually had to drive a fair bit to find something to do. A lot of concerts happened elsewhere, though I did see the Offspring in the Boathouse concert venue.

[@ajourney50]

My grandmother had two brothers. Her dad and middle brother fought for their home country of Canada, for some reason her younger brother couldn't join the Canadian forces, so he crossed the border, and joined the US navy.

[@willpugh8865]

As for the Australians, I gotta say there is never been a better friend to America since WW2 it seems like the Australians have gone out of their way to repay their debt. They’ve been alongside America in every single major conflict, since then, almost without question So in terms of this new Australian and American defense pact there is no country more deserving of American defensive power , tech sharing and military support. As a Canadian im jealous my big bother is better friends with my cousin than me 😂

[@MrJinglejanglejingle]

Older brother, not big brother. Y'all are bigger than us. That, and everybody's aware of how frightening a Canadian is when pushed. Besides, if anyone fucks with Canada, they have to remember the crazed maniacs to the south of you that consider you family~

[@LavitosExodius]

Might be better friends on paper but unlike your big brother the cousin lives next door and woah be anyone messing around in his neighborhood.

[@willpugh8865]

@@LavitosExodius what

[@dejakiara8749]

As an American, I will always look out for our Canadian brethren first. But our cousin is in need of some help!

[@billybobwombat2231]

Yeh, but they've gone a bit batshit crazy in the last eight or so years, one wonders if they embrace the weirdo religious fascism to the full extent if we'll want to be good mates with them, that kind of ideology is pretty toxic to your average Aussie

[@ejhutek]

I remember reading in history class back in the day about when Americans and Russians met for the first time during ww2. It was 2 soldiers that met each other on patrols, one asked “American?” the other asked “Russian?” And they both smiled and shook hands

[@Just_sum_guy_ig]

I seen the photo to that

[@cassidy109]

My stepfather served in the USAF from the 1950s-70s and had a chance to meet servicemen from various countries during that time while stationed in places like Germany, Vietnam etc. He always spoke very highly of the Canadians. In his opinion they were very professional, disciplined soldiers and he didn’t have a cross thing to say about them. He also spoke very highly of the Aussies & New Zealanders. Great soldiers in his opinion but even better drinkers and a blast to hangout with.

[@benpurcell4935]

The ANZACs are completely slept on in history when they are one hell of a fighting force. The same goes for the Canadians and the Indians who have some fine soldiers as well.

[@JosephDawson1986]

​@@benpurcell4935you do realise that in WWII ANZAC is the Aussies right? ANZAC standing for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. But yes most of the US being in Brisbane meant they didn't much interact with the New Zealanders and not much is really said about the New Zealand troops.

[@benpurcell4935]

@@JosephDawson1986 I was referencing their parts in both world wars and onwards.

[@nedkelly9688]

@@JosephDawson1986 Because NZ didn't play a big part in WW2 in Pacific and only a few helped USA in Solomon's. none were in PNG . Reason was Britan held them in Africa and Europe they even tried keeping all our African Rats of Tobruk many arguments between Curtin and Churchill over this can be found. Mainly NZ airforce and Navy did a lot in Pacific.

[@JosephDawson1986]

@@nedkelly9688 it had less to do with Churchill holding them back and more to do with the fact on the whole NZ troops were either Air Service based off NZ bases, part of the 2 NZEF(i.p) the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Forces (in the pacific) or in the Royal New Zeland Navy, as it was renamed 1941 and on. Also NZ troops more readily allowed themselves to integrate into other units rather than be super exclusive unlike the Scots, Aussies or Irish.

[@numberpirate]

The Aussies flipping out due to being disrespected is a very American thing to do. Glad we are all on the same page nowadays.

[@Paladin1873]

When I entered active duty in the US Air Force in 1978, we had a first sergeant who was a former Canadian RCAF Lancaster gunner from WWII. I estimated by now he had over three decades of combined service in the RCAF and USAF. He was a rather heavyset fellow who somehow managed to get a weight exemption and was able to avoid the annual physical training test. Instead, he was assigned to timing our mile and a half run. I suspect he derived some fiendish delight in watching so many officers sweat and grunt as some of us struggled to make our best time in the warm Texas sun. Oh well, I figured he'd earned his stripes the hard way, so I held no grudge.

[@davewebster5120]

The camaraderie between the American and Australian forces is still strong. I used to meet the exchange officers who would take classes at one of our RTI's and they always seemed to love visiting. We always told them to hit Las Vegas before they headed home. I had friends that worked with them and had nothing but good things to say, very skilled and motivated fighters. Same with British soldiers. We love those guys.

[@philly83]

For the Trekkies out here, one Canadian soldier wounded during D-Day was James Doohan (Scotty)

[@Raycheetah]

Friendly fire incident, to boot. ='[.]'=

[@aussie6910]

He was hit 6? times & the only one that would of killed him hit his cigarette case. He said "Smoking saved my life".

[@RRaquello]

For old time movie buffs, a popular American actor of the 1930's, not a big star, but in some big movies, named Phillips Holmes, was killed as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force. He joined the RCAF before Pearl Harbor but was killed shortly afterwards.

[@dagwood00049]

He lost a finger that day.

[@brarx0166]

For those who may have wondered what happened to the airstrip on Guadalcanal, named Henderson Field by the Americans. It now goes by the name Honiara International Airport with some WWII structures still standing.

[@somewhereonjupiter5282]

My dad was a CB during WWII and helped build that airfield

[@travr1131]

Just perhaps, the memory of the USA and the Soviet Union being allies during World War II reminded just enough people back during the Cold War that there were good people on both sides, enough to overcome the relentless propaganda of the time and avoid catastrophe. An old American officer smiling of his memories meeting the Soviets in Germany during WWII and vice versa... A kindness and a heartfelt handshake can go a long way sometimes. I wish we had more people today reminding us all of our past friendships and common struggles together, but the people who lived through those times are gone now.

[@subjekt5577]

Bro Stalin cooperated with Hitler in the ribbentrop pact we were never gonna be friends with a country les by someone like that

[@johnreydelatorre3450]

@16:22 - Yes. But was prevented/minimized by their respective authorities because of different ideologies and future plans of those in power.

[@Iandar1]

While kinda, the problem mainly was just how warmongering the US is. And reminder that the majority of what the Soviet Union did was in retaliation of what the US had done, if the US wasn’t as warmongering and actually practiced it’s espoused values we could have seen different world.

[@ScipioAfricanus_Chris]

As a U.S. Navy Sailor, I loved working with the Kiwis, Aussies, Canadians, Korean, and Japanese naval forces.

[@TheDubVee]

"As a U.S. Sailor, I loved working with the.... Japanese naval forces." This has a much different meaning in the context of WW2, which I know isn't what you're talking about. 😂

[@ScipioAfricanus_Chris]

@TheDubVee lol yeah, it is a pretty ironic comment in the context of WWII. I'll tell you something else that was wild, we were participating in RIMPAC ( a Pacific Battle exercise) and I wound up drinking with a bunch of Japanese Sailors at Pearl Harbor every weekend until the exercise concluded.

[@TheDubVee]

@@ScipioAfricanus_Chris lol "we've kinda come full circle here, eh fellas?"

[@ScipioAfricanus_Chris]

@@TheDubVee absolutely!

[@paulbedichek5177]

Yes, we do like the Japanese,but they must hurry to change their constitution,their armed forces must be allowed to aggressively promote the interests of the Japanese nation. They should take back their islands from Russia and this would be a timely time to do it.

[@T30-z5w]

Interesting. As an American my sense is that the British, Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders are always going to be like cousins to us. We share a language, have common origins and our customs are similar.

[@Finnbobjimbob]

More like a mother and her children

[@alal-yy7jg]

Not from my perspective to me as an English person I'm indifferent to all of them. I see myself and by extention UK as European first and foremost. I don't feel any kinship to those countries or it's peoples, I mean Iv never even met a single person from any of those countries barring one elderly American couple here in UK. They don't come here, why would any English person feel some kind of bond to them.

[@balaton1]

I'm American former USN. While all the countries you speak of, I agree. In my time with USN and earlier competitive sailing, I just found the Ozzies and NZ (the ANZACS!!!), I just found WAY easier to break bread with. While I love my Brit brothers, there is just something remarkable when an American bumps into an Anzac. It's just too easy of a friendship. Maybe it's that we are just the bastards of the long lost empire. I never met an Anzac (Aus/ NZ) that I didn't feel at home with within 5 minutes. Such pride and self deprecating humor in one swipe. Anzacs for the win!!!!!!!!

[@brokenbridge6316]

Beyrule's story is an example of perseverance and finding friendship when needed. His WWII exploits should be made into a movie.

[@blebblebberson9327]

This. If you'd told me a movie was being made about a POW escaping a camp and returning to his friends with an entire Soviet tank brigade led by a decorated female commander, I'd think it was too embellished to be a true story.

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@blebblebberson9327---I still think it would make a good movie.

[@blebblebberson9327]

@@brokenbridge6316 Agreed. Hollywood couldn't come up with a story this engaging.

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@blebblebberson9327---They don't need too. Real life gave it to us.

[@dohanddonuts5716]

My father was in Vietnam with the Australian Task Force in Nui Dat. He said he got more along with the Aussies than his compatriots and talked about them with a smile. He once told me they were talking once and they handed him a case of beer, "That's yours mate." He also told me we played a certain type of football. It was crazy. I had no idea what I was doing. But it was fun.

[@charlesgru8978]

This is true even today. I had 2 deployments in the US Army & both times I ended up working embedded with Brits. And I loved it both times. They were a bit leery at first but once you proved that you knew what you were doing, they were amazing to work with.. (Just don't leave American MREs unguarded or they'd disappear in a heartbeat 😅 )

[@b.santos8804]

That's interesting on the MREs. I thought MRE stood for "Meals Rejected by Ethiopians." Apparently it also means "Meals Really enjoyed by Englishmen." This probably says a lot about typical English cuisine. 😂😂

[@charlesgru8978]

@@b.santos8804 OH, it's less a positive reflection on our MREs than it just shows how utterly horrible the British "24 Hour Rations" are/were. And they truly were horrid. Compared to those, our 3rd Gen MREs were practically cuisine. 😂

[@Parker_Douglas]

@@b.santos8804 excuse me but they are Scotsmen Irishmen & Welshman also in the British army or else we be calling it the English Army !!! The English are big headed enough . Ps. By the way it’s the Scot’s & Irish & Welsh that are killing machines lol

[@reimuhakurei2123]

Its the average bri'ish meal for them

[@charlesgru8978]

@@reimuhakurei2123 Ha! Yea, as one of them once said to me: "That's why had to go conquer the whole world, cuz we couldn't make decent food of our own"

[@MFC343]

US have an amazing industry.. they can produce so much stuff in a short period of time.

[@darnit1944]

People tend to forget that American made stuff are really good. The versatile M4 Sherman, M1 Garand, Browning M2, B-17, P-51 Mustang. All good stuff and produced in the tens of thousands.

[@meligoth]

Mexico's industrial contributions to the U.S. during the war from steel production to farmers tending the fields in the south was key in outpacing the Axis having an abundance of food and raw materials. No other country in the world had that kind of access of workers in the hundreds of thousands in that time.

[@burtbiggum499]

Nah we shipped it all to mexico and china

[@MFC343]

@@burtbiggum499 during ww2 you didnt , The Allies was getting most of their stuff from the US. but maybe nowerdays you do.

[@burtbiggum499]

@@MFC343 your initial comment was present tense

[@idealicfool]

Iirc segregation also played a role in tensions leading to the battle of Brisbane as indigenous Australians serving in the armed forces recieved equal pay, equal opportunity and equal treatment. Also another factor was that Macarthur would claim allied victories as american victories and refused to recognise allied achievments

[@H4CK61]

Macarthur was an overated general with a big chip on his shouder and always gave Americans the glory as with Stillwell in burma and Clark in italy what assholes the trio of them were.

[@Cam-nq8br]

MacArthur was a prick at times unfortunately

[@bigenglishmonkey]

@@Cam-nq8br yep, he demanded Britain not take Vietnam and capture the surrendering Japanese until he got the surrender from japan itself. this gave the Japanese extra months to army the Vietnam communists, and we all know how well that turned out later down the line.

[@SmashedGlass]

Mac was, all said and done, actually a worthless commander. Kind of like Monty.

[@Rivaldi530]

@@SmashedGlassAs an American I find this insulting. Please don’t do Monty dirty like that 😂!

[@regandouglas]

My grandfather was in the First Special Service Force (aka Devil's Brigade) in WW2. It was a joint Canadian/American commando unit.

[@EskayDuro]

The Canadian Navy appears to be much more laid back to a US sailors eyes...but having worked with them and gamed against them in the Notth Atlantic I would like to say that they are very professional and exhibit outstanding tactical use of their ahips. Woe be unto anyone they are hunting....

[@avroarchitect1793]

Work hard party hard. When its time to get serious they do. Polite and cordial in peacetime and terrors upon the Earth in wartime.

[@huebdoo]

I have a Voitlander Vessa camera on my dresser my Dad gave me, it came from a Uboat Officer from a Sub his HMCS Saskatoon sank outside of Boston Harbour around 42.

[@richardcostello360]

That's because like the RAN and RNZN, the RCN ain't big so everyone are cross trained whereas the USN is so large you have people that specialises in one role ......the rest of the Anglophone world do 2-3

[@EskayDuro]

@@richardcostello360 Good point! Thanks! Yes, cross training always makes an organization more efficient!

[@squarewave808]

My grandfather served in the US Navy in the Pacific theater of WW2. He spent part of that time in Australia, in Darwin I believe, and he always had great things to say about his time there. He collected a lot of the paper labels from various Australian beer bottles, and I have them now. I should probably scan them and post the images. Later he was part of the New Guinea campaign, again alongside the Aussies. Whatever minor confrontations might have happened, there was a definite sense of sympatico between the two countries. My granddad spoke of his admiration for the Australians for the rest of his life.

[@OldWolflad]

I wasn't aware the Americans fought with the Canadians to clear the Scheldt estuary, you learn something new every day. I know the British 49th and 52nd Division's were heavily involved, and 1st and 2nd Corps, but was unaware which American divisions were involved.

[@rb239rtr]

The US 104th (timberwolf)division, fresh from America, fought on the south/west bank, starting Oct 25, 1944. I too was unaware, you have to dig deep to find information

[@InsaneHunter01]

135.000 allied soldiers fought in the Scheldt. Of those, 90,000 Canadians and Canadian commanders who commanded the battle. Assisting were 45,000 troops form Britain, Poland, France and lastly the US. There were more British, than Polish, more Polish than French, and more French then US troops. And if you talk to a Brit, they say it was a British operation, and not Canadian. Down playing Canada's part.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

12,000 US troops were also in Burma to help the 14th army.

[@Mondo762]

@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony- I knew a man that was a US Army Soldier in the Burma-India Theater.

[@MarcKSmith]

@@Mondo762 My dad (USA) was in that theatre. He shipped out to North Africa and was then transported across the Mediterranean, thru the Suez Canal, and then to India. He helped train Chinese troops in Ramgahr and never had to shoot a rifle in anger. You could say that he got off easy.

[@zachkup6161]

The bit with the paratrooper who joined with the soviet and who's bravery touched the heart of commander Zhukov makes me nostalgic for a time that never got to exist because of a massive power struggle by a few people. I wish so dearly that we could all have been great friends as we all have the capacity to. Its something I often have to remind myself when I learn of the corruption and evil from the current russian government or the ccp. That similarly to how our own U.S government does not serve the will of the people neither do their governments and that as much hatred or disgust I have of their governments I need to remember its just that. I hate the government but I have to remind myself to always try and love the people. The people do not want what their governments do a lot of the time and I don't know man I just wish we could all be nice to each other.

[@dennisweidner288]

@zachkup6161 As bad as the Biden Administration is, it canot be compared to the Soviet Union and CCp.

[@MM22966]

I'll add there was a limited attempt in 1943 to base US aircraft in the Soviet Union as part of that air campaign against Germany. This fizzled out as the Soviets got very nervous having the Americans around their police state, and the lack of cooperation as a result (compared to the Brits, Aussies, French, etc) hampered the military operations. There were also various Lend-Lease operations as aircraft, supplies, and other war materiel shuttled from the US to the Soviet Union through northern ports, Iran, Alaska, etc.

[@aidanacebo9529]

my grandfather was a part of one of these aircrews. he didn't care for their politicking, but he said the reds were good fighters and good friends. never a bad word of them.

[@Mondo762]

The Murmansk run for the US Merchant Marine was the most dangerous. Many ships and men were lost supplying the Russians.

[@cjthebeesknees]

The police state, lol irony is truly oblivious.

[@wombatwilly1002]

Operation Frantic.Stalin just wanted to get his hands on a B-29

[@balasaashti3146]

@@cjthebeesknees Really, ignoring the facts of what they were doing to the Kulaks, religious leaders, or anyone who had a head on their shoulders and questioned on the tongue. The Soviets were no better then the Germans a bunch of idiots who believed in socialist paradise. Too bring this paradise to reality they decided they needed to genocide entire people groups. I think you should go and move to China if you live their system so much now for my I heard enough horror stories form my uncle who escaped the great leap forward in China to know to stay clear of communist scum.

[@ppsh43]

My uncle was a rifleman in the US army serving from Normandy to the Elbe River. He saw a lot of combat but like most vets he shared little except his story about celebrating the end of the war with the Russians. He chuckled when he told this as this was the height of the Cold War and now the Soviets were the bad guys.

[@Texasjim2007]

I ran into a couple of Red Chinese exchange students in NYC when Reagan was President. I told them my old man was a U.S. Marine who personally tore down Japanese imperial flags in China at the end of the war and had a lot of Chinese friends he used to go out drinking with who used to call him "Big Nose" which he was very proud of. They laughed and said, 'That's what we call the Russians now." It was evidently a Chinese racial slur although he never realized it. :)

[@angusmacdonald7187]

My paternal grandfather was born in 1876 in Scotland, but his family emigrated to Canada by the time he was 10. He fought in the 2nd Boer War and WWI, rising to the rank of sergeant. Actually when WWI broke out he was living in the USA; he was upset when the US didn't join the war straight away, so he renounced his US citizenship, became Canadian again, and once again joined The Royal Canadian Engineers. When WWII came up, he was furious that they wouldn't allow him into the ranks again. He was placated when they allowed him to become an air raid warden, but as he lived in southern California at the time he only warned a few folks about too many lights at night.

[@dntakemesrs]

This would make ypu one of those Boomer POS's that ruined our environment and economy.

[@ArnoBach]

Hi, during the Anglo-Boer War/ Second Boer War, The British and their allies committed several horrendous war crimes. There was no honor in how they fought and the terrible crimes and genocide they committed. Whether your paternal grandfather partook in those unspeakable acts, we will never know, but I would like to inform you and the other people about that terrible war. British greed for our natural resources led to it. Breaking treaties, organizing riots, invasions and instigation trouble started the war. The British as a "professional standing army", had to outnumber normal citizens/farmers by 600 000 to 61 000, in order to "win" the war, that includes them resorting to war crimes, that later inspired Hitler. These were some of the war crimes: shot innocent civilians, burned down farms and crops, cutting livestock's' tendons and leaving them to suffer, looted farm houses, British troops (and their allies, which included African tribal troops) resorted to mass rape of Boer girls and women on the farms, then force marched them(including old people and children) to the concentration camps, which were very far away. Some were forced onto open cattle trains with similar conditions to the Nazi/gulag death trains(crammed,no water, hot conditions,no toilet... Some died on the way.). Many of the rape victims gave birth on the way to and in the concentration camps. They were then raped and starved to death in those evil camps. heroes like Emily Hobhouse had great difficulty in gaining access and campaigning for better medical treatment and conditions in those camps. The only good thing that originated from that war, was the boy scouts. The founder of the boy scouts that fought in the British army, took the skills and knowledge that he observed the Boers used and used it to create the Boy scouts. Which helps many young boys world wide. There is absolutely no honor to be claimed in fighting for the British and their allies during that war. www.bloemfonteincourant.co.za/profound-lecture-on-anglo-boer-rape-affidavits/

[@angusmacdonald7187]

@@ArnoBach I know far too well the horrors of the 2nd Boer War. I do not know the specifics of his service. And I know that he was of the Kipling generation, "take up the white man's burden" and all that nonsense. I loved Macky (what I called my grandfather), but I also know the history. As far as I am concerned, all war is a crime, a failure. Even a war as "good" as WWII had unimaginable horrors and crimes committed by the winners. My grandfather fought in two wars. My father fought in two more (WWII and Korea). My father was happy that I and my brothers never served in any. So, no, not trying to whitewash the 2nd Boer War. I only speak to my grandfather's attitude.

[@ntvypr4820]

@@ArnoBach Hi back. Whadya want? Reparations? That's history. So write a book. I bet if we look at YOUR past, all you're people weren't perfect saints across the pages of history and timeline. Yes the Brits were aggressive in their expansion of the Empire but look where it got them today. They no longer have one. That's what's wrong with the world, people wanting to hash over forever what one person's GG-Grandfather did to THEIR GG-Grandfather 150-1000 years ago or whatever. It's over, it's done it's DUST in the pages of history. Work on yourself TODAY and for the future. Good Grief.

[@ntvypr4820]

@@angusmacdonald7187 Angus, ya shouldn't have given him anything. It's over and long ago done and buried. My father also fought in WWII, Korea, and the beginning of Vietnam. 24 Years in the USAF. Hello from the South in the U.S.! PS: My wife is a McKenzie.

[@EnriqueGavel-m8d]

I think another big reason why many of the Allie’s of America got along very well and continue to get along and fight with us is that the USA allows the nations Allie’s with us to command their troops on the battlefield. The American military when fight with a coalition tends to give each nation a specific mission and even specific regions of responsibility like in Vietnam the Aussie and South Koreans had their own regions of Vietnam that they were responsible. Even in Iraq and Afghanistan nations like the British had specific cities or regions that they controlled. In some cases, US troops and units were put under the responsibility of other nations in those regions. I know my unit while deployed to southern Iraq were controlled by the British. You don’t see that with a lot of other nations when they fight wars together. I think that does a lot for morale by making the ally nations feel that they are an important piece in the war.

[@alal-yy7jg]

"Allows"?...Why would the USA have the right to dictate who does what? Just having the biggest guns doesn't automatically grant you leader status.

[@norsethenomad5978]

⁠​⁠@@alal-yy7jgin warfare it generally does. The US doesn’t have a 857 billion dollar military budget for nothing. Also, the British stopped being a Major power militarily in the 60’s, and the US has only gotten larger. They may not have the right to call leadership position, but boy can they be persuasive

[@alal-yy7jg]

Surely strategy and tactical knowledge is at least as valuable as hardware. Yes UK is not powerful anymore, but it's my opinion that our training, and our thinking is world class when it comes to military doctrine. Perhaps you disagree, but if you believe that weapons equal total supremacy, then Id say history has shown that planning, and tactics have outplayed raw power a hundred times over. And vice versa to some degree, but my point remains. Also as a side note yes the UK is not powerful anymore in terms of sheer power and hardware. But the SAS is one of the most respected special forces in the world, with at LEAST a parity with the Seals. Some would even say that they're actually slightly more elite/competent in fact. @@norsethenomad5978

[@KosstAmojan]

Somebody else commented about the US military mastering overseas logistics which no other nation had as a big advantage. But reading the Original Comment I'm wondering if this is how it was done? Not actually mastering it but having the insight/humility to harness the logistical inroads our Allies had already made. By subordinating our troops to foreign commands it simplifies the workload that the US Military faces. Just get the goods to the Allies and let the Allies do the rest.

[@xanderpham-rojas9927]

@@alal-yy7jg the OP said that the US allows other countries to command US troops in their designated areas. The reason for the dictating who does where is to make sure the organization in areas of conflict are not muddled up by contradictory or differing organization structures. Currently in the modern political climate past World War 2 the USA and USSR were the two leading nations both militarily and economically, and dominated their respective spheres of influence, in turn became the natural powers in which things like military decisions were generally defered. This is the current status quo of the world for NATO and in military conflicts specifically has not yet changed.

[@gj1234567899999]

There were riots in Australia between America and Australian soldiers. Some Joe Pesci and John Travolta -looking American soldiers started hitting on a Nicole Kidman Aussie girl, and then some Chris Hemsworth -looking Aussie soldier comes up and says - are these Yanks bothering you? Joe Pesci says - “who the fuck are you” starts swinging up at Hemsworth and then all hell breaks loose.

[@jimmyshousevideos]

I love how they just had to get into a big fight to ease tensions in Australia. I remember visiting Sydney for the first time, not even 5 minutes of walking around I saw some guys fighting. I bet they were great friends.

[@JoshuaRyanActual]

I've been subscribed to this channel when it barely had 700+ subs, and it's amazing to see how far this team has come and continue to put out videos like this exploring these less discussed yet extremely captivating topics from the War of our Dad's/Grandpa's/Great Grandfathers. Keep up the good work! Your channel is such a breath of fresh air compared to the ChatGPT/AI voice generated mass produced crap that's flooding KZbin these days.

[@TheFront]

Thank you for your loyalty man! Glad you're still enjoying the videos all these years later

[@deanbusch2727]

Canada and the USA formed the 1st Special service force in WW2, better known as the Devils Brigade. Canada and the USA have always had close interaction militarily I still have buddies from the US that I served and worked with while in the CAF.

[@Reepicheep-1]

Only 20 brawls per night? My word, everyone was being so well-behaved!

[@kevinerose]

In 1990, we met an Aussie in Italy. He quickly became all of our best friend and he got lots of free drinks from the sailors there. He told us one story of where he was trying to hit on a lady but come to find she was the daughter of the high mafia leader there. He had his life threatened and we had a good laugh at his story.

[@timtheskeptic1147]

When I was stationed in Pearl Harbor we made it a point to invite visiting foreign sailors to the barracks and drink with us. It was cheaper than going out in town. RIMPAC was always a throw down that you wouldn't believe. And, guess what? It's actually the South Korean sailors that will outlast you. They had to help the Aussies back to their ship but came back for more drinks with us.

[@Rivaldi530]

Could be wrong but I’m pretty sure the South Koreans rank near the top of the world in terms of heavy drinkers. I saw so many empty Soju bottles at outdoor BBQs in Seoul when I visited, and the guys just kept going! I can only imagine how hard RoK sailors can go!

[@timtheskeptic1147]

@zachober5489 yeah, that's true. When we told them there's Soju at the package store, two minutes walk away, that was when stuff got really lit.

[@b.santos8804]

​@@Rivaldi530This is true. I've read somewhere that Korea is the #2 heavy drinking nation. #1? Why, that would be Russia, of course!

[@nicholasjackson358]

You could drink in your barracks?

[@nicholasjackson358]

Maybe I’m thinking of training commands, but I’ve never heard drinking in barracks is allowed. Especially with foreign soldiers

[@binqer]

The hilarious part about the battle of Brisbane is that it’s just the same story of two guys hating each other when they first meet, fighting it out, then immediately becoming thick as thieves; only played out on a much larger scale

[@skullyairsoft80]

I think American and Soviet soldiers would have a relatively easy time getting along, but the presence of political commissars would likely not let things go too far. Unfortunately, the intense political differences would prevent any large scale cooling of tensions, aside possibly from greater respect between common soldiers, who would have very little influence on the geopolitics.

[@TheVillainInGlasses]

Same to this day, I think. The militaries themselves would probably get along great, it's the governments that cause the problems.

[@futuza]

Yeah it's a shame we never worked together more often and frequently during the war, perhaps that commoderie and experience with each other might've influenced both countries enough to have prevented the cold war and hostilities that came about shortly after the war.

[@amsuther]

AT the highest level Zhukov and Eisenhower had a pretty robust friendship post war.

[@mrfrosty3254]

The Canadians and Americans had a joint special forces unit together, The Devil’s Brigade. Not sure if you have seen the movie. I served in the Canadian Army in the early 90’s and trained along with Americans often. When they came to Yugoslavia, after we had been there for years already, they wouldn’t listen to experience and ended up with a few casualties because of that. Although there were problems with several nations peacekeeping there.

[@duanepigden1337]

The Americans only like their ideas and views. I worked in an American company after the military.

[@joeysausage3437]

I rented an apartment from a man that was in that outfit.

[@crabluva]

I think a really good topic would be how Commonwealth commanders and soldiers felt about being subordinate to the British. It's a recurring theme that a lot of the most dangerous missions or battles with highest casualties (Vimy Ridge, Dieppe Raid, North Africa)...this happened in WW1 as well with colonial troops. They couldn't influence Parliament when their men died in suicide missions under horrible command like Gallipoli.

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

I wouldn't say the most dangerous missions with the highest casualties were all fought by commonwealth and colonial troops. In the 1940 campaign in France the British suffered 11,000 dead in five weeks of fighting. An entire British division was wiped out during market garden & during a battle in Cyrenaica and in the north African campaign the majority of the troops(and the majority of the casualties) were British. The statistics also prove this.. Military deaths in ww2 NZ 🇳🇿 11,000 AUS 🇦🇺 42,000 CAN 🇨🇦 45,000 IND 🇮🇳 90,000 UK 🇬🇧 383,000 It's a bit of a recent myth that all the fighting was done by the commonwealth and colonial forces. It's just a shame people believe it

[@klondikechris]

My understanding is that Canadians refused to be under the Brits. This shocked the British, especially in WWI, when the Brits expected Canadians to serve in British units, but this was refused. Canada had the First Canadian Army, with two Corps by the end. Canadians did become shock troops, sent to the fiercest fighting as they were that good.

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

@@klondikechris it was usually Airborne units and commandos that were used as shock troops in ww2 not conventional infantry Divisions.

[@klondikechris]

@@lightfootpathfinder8218 No, it was the regular infantry - in both world wars.

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

@@klondikechris that's incorrect for ww2. For example during the invasion of Sicily,D-Day,market garden and the crossing of the Rhine it was Allied Airborne Divisions that were the first units into action. Also during amphibious operations the British used commandos in the first wave (like at sword beach,Walcheren and lake cammachio). Airborne and commando troops were trained to a higher standard than conventional British, American or Canadian infantry purely because they were to be used as shock troops.

[@geod3589]

In Vietnam I had quite a few Australian friends. Dang they were so much fun to hang out with, we all just loved them. I took my R&R in Sydney and man I just loved it, everyone was super nice.

[@paladin11C40]

I served along side British Army troops while in Iraq in 2009, the Iron Fist Brigade. I met a few of the Brits and had a great repour with them. We got a few of them hooked on Starbucks Coffee since we would get pounds of it for free on a monthly basis. Brits called them welfare packages, the Americans call them care packages. A few years later I was visiting Ireland, Temple Bar in Dublin to be exact, when I ran into a few guys that either served in Iraq or had family who did. It was like we knew each other for our whole lives. As the Brits would say, we got along famously.

[@keegobricks9734]

As a Canadian, we do like to think we're so much different (see also; better) than americans, but frankly there's very little difference. If you compare northern white americans to white canadians, an outsider would not be able to tell the difference and frankly americans and canadians would have trouble noticing if one wasn't one of their own countrymen. I'm not saying it was always this way, but this is just what I've observed. Other than certain american areas tend to have accents that give them away, and some of the maritime provinces along with Quebec have more french influence. In the Priarie provinces I'd say we actually have more in common with the northern states bordering us than we do with Ontario or the maritimes, and we very often have american hunters coming here for recreation.

[@wiseandstrong3386]

Americans are far better😅

[@silverstar4289]

There are indeed a lot of similarities. I used to jeer the pride Canadians seem to have in serving as part of United Nations peacekeeping- such as the image on one of the currency notes. Less about Canada and more about the UN. Then I came to appreciate the willingness to have their military participate on the World Stage, and service members willing to place themselves in danger to ease suffering of strangers.

[@mrthewubbie]

Yeah, I'm from one of those states, in a group, I couldn't ever tell who was Canadian or what unless it came up. Usually about 🍻 or 🏒

[@ferretforrent1144]

one of my good friends is Canadian, you wouldnt be even able to tell that he is Canadian 99% of the time.

[@MStafford-lr9le]

Canada is the country that the U.S. has the most in common with, and it’s not close. When you think about it, it’s mostly 18th century politics that keep the two apart. Canada was formed from North American British colonies that stayed loyal to the King, the U.S. was formed from the North American British colonies that did not.

[@booradley6832]

I really like hearing about the Australians being so enthusiastic to attack the mp's. I love it.

[@MrTommygunz0482]

I served in Iraq and Afghanistan and I'm happy to say that most of these relationships are still intact. I love aussie and British soldiers and had great times with both

[@ulvesparker]

I had the pleasure of working with the Aussies on a joint exercise in the 80s, and I had similar impressions of them. Good professional soldiers, very friendly, and kind of crazy in that Crocodile Dundee "that ain't a knife" way. We traded field rations, smokes, and uniform bits.

[@ShadowsOfTheSky]

I forget who said it, I believe someone of high rank serving on the USS Eisenhower, but: “The US Navy promotes diversity in everything. It does matter if you are brown, black, white, man or woman, your sexuality or your religion. You are all brothers, serving your country together. How can our enemies stand a chance against such diversity, when they don’t even allow diversity of thought?”

[@schadowization]

The captain of the USS Eisenhower

[@sjwoo13]

And now it's the opposite.

[@citricdemon]

that's a stupid quote

[@crimsonneko]

Diversity is not our strength anymore.

[@ihaveachihuahau]

Lol, well the US military was racially segregated back then, so idk about that.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

Sometimes I remember how the tensions were with Monty and Eisenhower but then I look at the Germans and Italians and realise the Allied squabbling was nothing compare to the Axis 😂 At least the Allies actually co operated!

[@TheDubVee]

I didn't think Montgomery had much of a rivalry with Eisenhower so much as he did Patton? I'll need to read about it.

[@JaredJanhsen]

Japan couldn't even get along with itself. Their army and navy hated each other to the point they didn't want the other using interchangeable nuts and bolts. One service used all right hand thread and the other all left hand thread.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@@JaredJanhsen Yep, and there's still people who actually believe Japan and Germany could have coordinated lol.

[@LindaLittle-m7j]

This was all very educational! Thank you for sharing this!❤