Canadians being nicknamed "Red Devils" by Germans...

pattle · Aug 5, 2013

stona said:
It did. It's something that was done by all sides. Solid information? there are many first hand accounts. For example I have read some recently, by the perpetrators, of the killing of captured and wounded German paratroopers on Crete.
A man surrendering is giving himself up to the very people he has likely just been trying to kill. The first few minutes are critical. If the prisoner survives these his chances of longer term survival increase exponentially.
Cheers
Steve

Could you please let me know where you read this about Crete? it is not that I doubt you it is only that I have a particularly strong interest in Crete.
I have more often heard of the killing of captured and wounded German troops by Cretan civilians and later the Andartes SOE than by regular Commonwealth troops. I am aware that in places when the German paras first landed the Commonwealth troops went through the olive groves and orchards as quickly as they could killing German paras suspended from trees and not taking prisoners because there was nobody to take them back behind the lines. I did see a documentary where a veteran talked of this and I was disgusted by his proud and gloating attitude, the harsh reality may have been that there was no other option than to do this but there is no need to be proud of it.

pattle · Aug 5, 2013

razor1uk said:
The nickname 'Storm Troopers' isn't Hitlers, he reused/borrowed it; it relates to the Canadians or some of there forces who fourght hard in trenches of WW1, at Paschendael I think amongst other locations, where they excelling in trench clearences, fighting hand to hand in improvised close combat with tenacity and vigour to a man, driving off over whelming enemy attacks, and for operating in a slightly different manner to the British .

I'm sure some of the Canadian forum members will know better and correct me here

I don't know that much about the First World War or the part played in it by the Canadians but I think it was the Canadians that first introduced the method of sending forward in attack blobs of troops supported by their own machine guns etc under a creeping barrage rather than ranks of slowly moving soldiers shoulder to shoulder. There was also an infamous story of a Canadian soldier being crucified by Germans, it is generally accepted now that this unfortunate Canadian soldier was blown into that position by a artillery shell.

stona · Aug 5, 2013

In Anthony Beevor's book on Crete.

Crete: The Battle And The Resistance by Antony Beevor - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

I remember one account from a British officer and one from a Maori soldier off the top of my head.

Cheers

Steve

pattle · Aug 6, 2013

Thanks, I have read that one but not for a few years.

stona · Aug 6, 2013

pattle said:
Thanks, I have read that one but not for a few years.

I re-read it recently. My copy is on the way back from Spain.....it's a long story

Cheers

Steve

Volunteer · Jun 24, 2025

Maestro said:
Hi.

I heard a weird rumour lately. I heard that German troops were nicknaming Canadian troops the "Red Devils" during WWII because they had a reputation for not taking any prisoners.

Is that true ? Anyone can confirm that rumour ?

I volunteer at a hospital where I spend a lot of time with people over 90 and 100 years old. The men talk about their youth and war time. An old Dutch man said that the Germans feared the Canadians. He said they were brave, tough and strong. He also said they had red faces. It wasn't war paint. I don't know if it was from sunburn, or rosacea (which is common in Irish, English, Scottish..- a lot of pre-WW2 Canadians were from these countries). So maybe that's where it came from?

Snautzer01 · Jun 25, 2025

Maestro said:
. I heard that German troops were nicknaming Canadian troops the "Red Devils" during WWII because they had a reputatio

kwamen er ook allerlei bijnamen voor:
- 'The Red Patch Devils' voor de 1st Canadian Infantry Division naar het rode mouwembleem en de vechtlust van de soldaten;

There were also all kinds of nicknames:
- 'The Red Patch Devils' for the 1st Canadian Infantry Division after the red sleeve emblem and the fighting spirit

Tableau Canadian Regiments en de Victory Walk - Apeldoorn en de Oorlog

www.apeldoornendeoorlog.nl

And a side note although Canadian troops are held in high regard by the dutch it was not all rosy.

De donkere zijde van de Canadese bevrijders

Een onbekende bladzijde in de militaire geschiedenis van het Canadese leger zijn de ernstige geweldsdelicten gepleegd door Canadezen in Nederland. Helaas hebben honderden Canadese militairen zich hieraan schuldig gemaakt. Zij pleegden de misdaden in de eerste plaats tegen hun eigen officieren...

www.liberationroute.com

Roger51 · Aug 6, 2025

I agree. A bit of family history that I can add. My late uncle was a medical officer examining members of the Canadian First Division in England after the Italian Campaign. In his memoirs he states that the Canadians had received the 'Red Devil' nickname in the Italian Campaign because of their smash mouth style of fighting and the red shoulder patch of the First Division. He said that much of the division was composed of Canadian farm boys from across the nation, who were great snipers and fierce building to building fighters. I remember in high school in the sixties, some sports teams in BC had adopted the Red Devils name.

Canadians being nicknamed "Red Devils" by Germans...

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