Canada in Vietnam.

Like the title says, with a POD in 1960, get Canadian soldiers in Vietnam, by order of the Canadian government. You can still have 50K volunteers join the US Army if you want. (It is not widely known that more Canadians volunteered to serve in the US military during the Vietnam War than there were American "draft dodgers" hiding in Canada.)
 

MacCaulay

Banned
This is separate from the UN force that had Canadians in it? Lew MacKenzie wrote about being posted along the DMZ for awhile in...'64 or '65, I want to say.
 
Robert Winters wins the Liberal leadership over PET in 1968. Better yet, PET stays with the Dippers, which are a better ideological fit for him IMO. Winters is to Stanfield's right and would likely send troops to Vietnam. It also depends who's in power in the US.
 

MacCaulay

Banned
Yes. I didn't know about that UN force at all.

I'll have to dig up that book. It was the first one he wrote. Peacekeeper.

MacKenzie was there when he was in the PPCLI, so it might have been in the early 70s. I remember reading that there were Yugoslavs, Poles, and someone else involved from the Warsaw Pact and they were along the DMZ to observe cease-fire violations.
 
I'll have to dig up that book. It was the first one he wrote. Peacekeeper.

MacKenzie was there when he was in the PPCLI, so it might have been in the early 70s. I remember reading that there were Yugoslavs, Poles, and someone else involved from the Warsaw Pact and they were along the DMZ to observe cease-fire violations.

Well, I was implying that the Canadians would be actually fighting, with a force and commitment similar to the Korean War. The butterflies would probably be rather extensive and potentially nasty.
 
Interestingly enough, there could be huge Canadian political butterflies. If both the Liberals and PCs support it, then we could see a larger NDP. The Liberals would become the party of the right under Winters and the PCs become Third Way populists, almost like under Dief IOTL...
 
Yes. I didn't know about that UN force at all.

International Commission of Control and Supervision Vietnam (ICCS) - Staffed by Canada, Hungary, Indonesia and Poland. Their role was to monitor the cease-fire in South Vietnam as per the Paris Peace Conference. Early 1973 to mid 1975
 

MacCaulay

Banned
International Commission of Control and Supervision Vietnam (ICCS) - Staffed by Canada, Hungary, Indonesia and Poland. Their role was to monitor the cease-fire in South Vietnam as per the Paris Peace Conference. Early 1973 to mid 1975

Thank you! I was trying to remember the countries. I knew Canada and Poland and after that it was just kind of picking random countries out of my butt that I knew were involved in 1970s peacekeeping.

That wasn't such a good lineup. Hungary and Poland always sided with the North, Indonesia did the majority of the time too, and Canada was actually neutral. So right from the beginning, on paper at least, the South was pretty much screwed in the UN department.
 

Thande

Donor
Thank you! I was trying to remember the countries. I knew Canada and Poland and after that it was just kind of picking random countries out of my butt that I knew were involved in 1970s peacekeeping.

That wasn't such a good lineup. Hungary and Poland always sided with the North, Indonesia did the majority of the time too, and Canada was actually neutral. So right from the beginning, on paper at least, the South was pretty much screwed in the UN department.

Maybe somebody from the rightpondian side of NATO could have contributed to balance Hungary and Poland? France is right out for obvious reasons. Actually, we would probably have been ideal, but suggesting British troops get involved in Vietnam even as peacekeepers would probably have been political suicide at the time.
 

MacCaulay

Banned
Maybe somebody from the rightpondian side of NATO could have contributed to balance Hungary and Poland? France is right out for obvious reasons. Actually, we would probably have been ideal, but suggesting British troops get involved in Vietnam even as peacekeepers would probably have been political suicide at the time.

Well...a quick check in one of my Osprey books says you guys were out of Malaysia/Indonesia at the time. It wasn't a large contingent, perhaps fourty men from each country. Lew MacKenzie, in Peacekeeper, writes that they were situated at posts along the DMZ with a member of each nationality to the bunker.

So...give it two dozen troopers, probably officers looking to get their ticket punched for advancment. Is that the kind of thing they could've snuck by the public in the 70s?
 
It wasn't a large contingent, perhaps fourty men from each country. Lew MacKenzie, in Peacekeeper, writes that they were situated at posts along the DMZ with a member of each nationality to the bunker.

My sources indicate that the commision consisted of 1,160 personnel during the time Canada was a member. Canada was there till mid 73 and was replaced by Iran.

One Canadian was killed during that time when a helicopter was shot down.
 

MacCaulay

Banned
My sources indicate that the commision consisted of 1,160 personnel during the time Canada was a member. Canada was there till mid 73 and was replaced by Iran.

One Canadian was killed during that time when a helicopter was shot down.

That's much larger than MacKenzie's book led me to believe. Perhaps it was 4 of each nationality in each bunker, as opposed to 1 from each of the 4 countries.
 
(It is not widely known that more Canadians volunteered to serve in the US military during the Vietnam War than there were American "draft dodgers" hiding in Canada.)

Not sure if that's true. The highest estimates were that up to 125,000 hid out in Canada, though most accept the lower estimates of 30-40K. Not sure how it's relevant though, comparing apples and oranges.

A lot of the volunteers were Natives, esp Six Nations who moved freely back and forth across the border. They in turn formed a large part of the warriors societies that have been active in places like Oka and Lake Gustafsen (sp?).

It'd be interesting if Canada had been in Vietnam and thus even more Natives join up. My guess is there'd be even more Oka-like standoffs.
 
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