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Comment by asdff | Hacker News Reader

That isn't really what happens. The unit would just surrender. That's how it went down in WWII early in the pacific campaign. Western nations don't go down to the last man.

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Don't count other nations the way you do the US, and don't compare the behaviour of troops defending some piece of jungle on the other side of the planet with those defending their homes.

I mean being given the prospect of the possibility of being treated fairly as a prisoner vs committing suicide I think many would end up being a prisoner. There is no rampant idealism in Canada like say Imperial Japan that would make someone resist their own inherent pragmatism.

In the Battle of Kapyong, Korea [0], Canadian forces refused to retreat from their position, delaying advancing Chinese forces long enough to cause them to regroup. The Canadian forces were encircled, and several times called down artillery on their own positions to clear the assaulting Chinese troops.

The fighting helped blunt the PVA Spring Offensive and the actions of the 2 PPCLI and 3 RAR at Kapyong were critical in preventing a breakthrough against the UN central front, the encirclement of US forces in Korea, which were at that point in general retreat, and ultimately, the capture of Seoul.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kapyong#Canadian_2_P...

The average cost of a home in Toronto is $1.2M CAD. The only home young able-bodied Canadians are defending is their landlord's.

> Western nations don't go down to the last man.

This may be true but we want any adversary to think that we will! We at least ought to be all able and willing to do so. I hope our generals and military command know better but I want them to have multiple options and I want any adversary to have to think twice before breaching our shores.

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