<![CDATA[Life Imitates Art!]]>Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Devil's Brigade

MadTom — 19 years ago(January 16, 2007 06:11 AM)

Years ago, (1996 to be exact) as the intelligence officer of a New Jersey National Guard mech infantry battalion, I had the chance to participate in a joint exercise at Fort Drum, New York (which is on the border with Ontario) with a platoon of Canadian militia infantry, mostly from the Royal Montreal Regiment, in which they were actually under my operational control along with my battalion's own scout platoon. I have to say, with no exaggeration, that their arrival and merger with the scouts was almost straight out of
The Devil's Brigade
. The Canadians got off their bus, fell in line in full combat gear and marched smartly into our bivouac area while most of our scouts were sitting around in just T-shirts and trousers. The only thing missing, since they were militia, was that their bagpiper couldn't get off work in his civilian job to make it to this exercise, otherwise I'm sure he would have been there blaring
Scotland the Brave
as they marched in, just like the movie. And let's just say (not to take anything away from our battalion scouts) that they were even more impressive tactically.
Oddly enough, almost none of the troops involved, either Canadian or American, had ever heard of the Devil's Brigade, let alone the movie that was made about them. People just don't study the classics enough!

]]>https://filmglance.com/discuss/topic/182201/life-imitates-artRSS for NodeTue, 12 May 2026 16:59:19 GMTTue, 28 Apr 2026 12:16:36 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Life Imitates Art! on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:16:39 GMT]]>roscoe-11 — 18 years ago(July 25, 2007 03:14 PM)

I'm not sure about back in ww1 but the way I see it nowadays, canada makes an effort to train the daylights out of their troops because 1. they dont have as many troops as other nations and 2. the equipment isnt as numerous either. sort of a "make the most of what you've got" kind of thing

]]>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1529156https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1529156Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:16:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Life Imitates Art! on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:16:38 GMT]]>Dantu00e8s — 19 years ago(February 09, 2007 10:44 AM)

That's an interesting comment, especially the bit about being more impressive tactically. As a Canadian and a history buff, I find it so interesting to read about Canada's military past and how well-regarded Canadian troops have been, particularly in WWI. Canada's never been a big military nation, so the historical reputation is odd, but fascinating. I wonder why Canada seems to have a predisposition towards tactical proficiency.
"Canada has never had a major war. After hockey, Canadians would probably have found it dull." - Jim Brosnan

]]>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1529155https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1529155Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:16:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Life Imitates Art! on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:16:37 GMT]]>roscoe-11 — 19 years ago(January 18, 2007 03:49 PM)

that is strangely similar in plot-line, sadly though alot of people nowadays and people alive during the second war hadnt heard of the force either. I saw a newspaper from the globe and mail (out of toronto) dated the day after the force took rome, and it actually said "canadian/american unit first to enter capitol" which illustrates part of the problem. at the time it was as secretive as canadas JTF2 (joint task force two, do a google search:)) and people really werent supposed to know about them, although the germans sure did
people are starting to realise the force's past existence though. they just did a documentary on them (also entitled Devil's brigade) where they took modern army personnel from america and canada and ran them through alot of the similar training, you'd be surprised to see how they came out hehe

]]>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1529154https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1529154Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:16:37 GMT