Canada and the liberation of the Netherlands

Every year around this time, but especially on decennial anniversaries, we hear about how, in the final weeks of the Second World War, Canadian troops liberated the Netherlands following five horrible years of nazi German occupation. Today marks the 60th anniversary of the liberation, and a suitable ceremony was conducted to mark the occasion at the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery. What none of the speakers was willing to say is that, given the dangerous attenuation of our military capacity over the past half century, we could almost certainly never do it again, if we were called upon to do so.