Everyone today knows about the current military
juggernauts: the United States, Russia, and China. Both the US and Russia have waged considerable
campaigns since the end of the second world war, and though both have proven they have
the might to crush any conventional army they encounter, their efforts to fight non-conventional
wars have often met with disaster. But what about the nations who have never
lost a single war? Today we’re going to look at two of the
world’s undefeated military powers. First up is the land of the Yukon, America's
ever-so-polite tophat - Canada. Canada is world renowned for its politeness
and civility, and yet time and again Canada has proven that it can be quite ferocious
in battle. Earning its independence in the second half
of the nineteenth century, Canada very quickly found itself in conflict against revolutionaries. One of those revolutionaries was Louis Riel,
who fought for the rights of the native population as the new Canadian Confederacy pushed its
influence out into tribal lands. He ultimately led two unsuccessful rebellions
against Canadian forces, and the Battle of Loon Lake during the North-West Rebellion
was the last battle to ever occur on Canadian soil. In 1899 Britain asked Canada for assistance
during the Second Boer War taking place in South Africa. Though Canada was technically a free nation,
it had always enjoyed its freedom with the very heavy implication that it would still
support Britain if need be. The Canadian population was split on the topic
of supporting Britain, but ultimately about eight thousand troops would be sent to assist
the British in South Africa. The Boer Wars- also known as the Farmers Wars-
took place between British forces and white farmers who were descendants of original British
colonists in South Africa. During the second conflict fighting started
over Britain's exploitation of gold reserves in the region, of which the South African
farmers felt they deserved some share of by virtue of this being their land. Britain, not in the habit of sharing anything
with its colonists, rebutted the South African argument by shooting a bunch of people. Ultimately the war would be successful for
the British and their Canadian allies. While Britain was engaged in an arms race
with Germany just before the First World War, it leaned on Canada again for help in maintaining
its navy. Canada, which had no navy of its own, faced
very divisive internal politics over the issue, with many feeling that Britain could very
well go mind its own business and support its own navy with its own money. In a compromise, Canada decided that instead
of directly financing the British navy, it would simply build one of its own with a clause
stating that in time of war, Britain could assume direct control over it. When Europe kicked off its 20th century tradition
of waging world wars, Canadian forces were immediately pulled into the conflict as Canada
was still subservient to Britain. This didn't exactly go well with many Canadians
who had no stake at all in a conflict taking place on the other side of the world, and
despite that over half a million Canadians were sent to war anyways. Towards the end of the fighting, Canada even
sent a small force to aid allied efforts in bringing an end to the Russian Civil War. Canada was once more embroiled in European
wars two decades later, and joined the second world war just one week after France and Britain
declared war. Canadian pilots helped defend Britain during
the Battle of Britain, and its infantry fought both in Europe and in the Pacific theater,
where they were initially defeated by the Japanese in China. The greatest Canadian contribution however
was to the Battle of the Atlantic, where Canadian ships fought side by side with the British
and the Americans against the Nazi submarine fleet. During the Cold War Canada closely allied
with the United States, cementing an alliance that holds to this day and makes the North
American continent the safest in the world. Realizing that Canada was unable to fight
conflicts alone, Canada very quickly adapted a policy of multilateralism, wherein its military
efforts would be a part of a larger coalition of nations. This led to Canada's involvement in Korea
during the Korean War, although its forces had been largely demobilized and required
a long time to prepare for combat, thus arriving late in the war. As the Korean War ended in a stalemate, it
does not count as a defeat in Canada's record. During the First Gulf War, Canada was quick
to join the US in its efforts against Iraq. It deployed a small force to support the coalition
and was placed in charge of the entire coalition's maritime logistics efforts in the Persian
Gulf. The conflict served to further cement the
American and Canadian coalition and prove that the two nations could seamlessly unite
against a common foe, with American logistic naval assets placed under Canadian command
and Canadian air assets placed under American command. Canada would support the US war in Afghanistan
against the Taliban at the dawn of the 21st century, but it would not support as extensively
the US's war against Iraq, sending only a few token logistics personnel to the latter
conflict. Canada would also lend its forces to the various
pan-african and middle east conflicts that arose as a result of the Arab spring and NATO
actions in Iraq, such as the Libyan civil war and the conflict against ISIS. To this day Canada remains undefeated in war,
and conflict has not touched its shores since the 19th century. Like many nations that were birthed as a result
of colonialism, and our second country to never lose a war also faced its share of conflicts
with native populations. We’re of course talking about - Australia. Before true independence, Australian colonies
were made responsible for their own military defense. Between 1870 and 1901, the British decreed
that Australia was to be capable of defending herself, with the British providing support
if needed- most notably in the form of the Royal Navy. To fulfill this need for defense, the Australian
colonial militias were created out of groups of paid professional soldiers, paid citizen
soldiers, and unpaid volunteer militiamen. During this time the Australian military was
still far too small to serve overseas, but many individuals volunteered in British war
efforts around the world. Much like Canada, small contingents of Australian
soldiers were called upon by the British empire to aid them in various war efforts. One of those was a conflict in Sudan in 1885,
which was ultimately abandoned by the British who didn't see the military venture as profitable. During the Second Boers War, Australian soldiers
served alongside British forces, although the British War Office declined a measure
to create a unified Australian military force. Instead individual Australian dispatches were
assigned to support British units, but not allowed to serve together. This was likely to prevent any fostering of
thoughts of true independence. When the Boxer Rebellion kicked off in China
in 1900 in response to the exploitation of China by colonial powers, the British asked
for the aid of the Australian navy, as Australian ground forces were still tied up in South
Africa at the time. In China, a single Australian ship lent its
help in efforts to blockade Chinese ports, while a small naval marine contingent of a
few hundred men assisted an 8,000 strong multinational force in the taking of key Chinese forts. With the Chinese rebellion crushed, the Australian
forces remained behind in support roles, something they were less than happy about. On January 1st, 1901, the Australian colonies
joined together into the Commonwealth of Australia, and the nation gained its pseudo-independence. When World War I broke out, Australia immediately
declared war on Germany, with Prime Minister Joseph Cook stating, “...when the Empire
is at war, so also is Australia.” Soon 20,000 men were sent to the battlefields
of Europe, and naval forces were dispatched to neutralize German Pacific colonies. Australian ground forces saw combat in both
France and in the Middle East, fighting against the crumbling Ottoman Empire. When World War II broke out Australia's military
was in sad shape, and took a while to mobilize. It would eventually send military forces to
take part in ground combat in Africa, the Middle East, and Italy, and its navy assisted
British efforts in the Mediterranean. It's component of a single light cruiser and
five antique destroyers was dubbed the “scrap iron flotilla” by Nazi propaganda minister
joseph Goebbels- a title that the Australians gladly accepted as they helped crush the Italian
navy. When war against Japan broke out in 1942,
Australia was ill-prepared to meet this new threat. It immediately recalled many of its forces
from Europe, and the Australian military suffered major defeat after major defeat. Fearing a Japanese invasion of Australia,
a large army was raised to defend their homeland, though the Japanese opted instead to secure
New Guinea and thus attempt to cut Australia off from the United States. With the arrival of American army and air
force units to the continent, the Australian military was put under the command of America's
General Douglas MacArthur. Australia would play a key role in the Pacific
offensive, fighting side by side with their American allies against the Japanese in the
US's island hopping campaign. The US Navy helped ensure that Australian
coastal cities were well protected from Japanese attack, though a fierce submarine war rocked
the Australian coasts. As the American presence in the Pacific increased,
the Australian military's low numbers became increasingly meaningless in the greater conflict. This, coupled with the need to release men
from active duty to bolster Australian war time industry, resulted in Australian forces
being relegated to smaller scale conflicts. Nearly a million Australians would serve during
the war, with half a million serving overseas. During the Cold War Australia adopted a policy
of multilateralism similar to Canada's, whereby it would not wage wars on its own but rather
as part of a collective lead by either Britain or the United States. In the case of war between east and west,
Australia expected to be fighting in the Middle East. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Australia
initially sent a squadron of P-51 Mustangs and a force of infantry to assist the UN task
force. It immediately took over providing most of
the supply and support needed by British forces in the peninsula, freeing up British naval
and logistics assets. Eventually its contribution would include
several destroyers and an aircraft carrier, all placed under the command of Supreme Commander
General Douglas MacArthur. Also in the 1950s, Australia supported British
forces during the campaign known as the “Malayan Emergency”. The emergency was trigered by the murder of
several estate managers by the Malayan Communist Party, and fearing Soviet influence growing
abroad, Australia quickly sent both ground and air forces to assist the British. Ten years later the communist presence was
considered defeated, and the Malayan Emergency came to a close. In 1962 the Indonesia- Malaysia Confrontation
sparked off between Britain and Indonesia over the latter's protests over Britain's
creation of Malaysia. An undeclared war, the Australian government
once more sent naval, air, and ground forces to support British efforts, though the government
was hesitant about committing them to actual combat. Thus Australian forces were largely used in
a security role, and kept away from the main fighting. Eventually though the Australian government
acquiesced to requests by the British and Malaysians and dispatched troops to help defend
Borneo. Later a military coup in Indonesia brought
the conflict to an end, and a peace treaty was signed. When the Vietnam War kicked off in 1962, Australia
feared the spread of Communist influence across Asia, and gladly sent military aid to South
Vietnam in the form of aircraft and military advisors. When the US sent combat troops to the region
though Australia mirrored the move, and officially entered the ground war on South Vietnam's
side. Australian units fought side by side again
with their American allies for the first time since Korea, and Australian infantry units
faced off against battalion and regimental strength units on their own for the first
time in their history. Australian forces would make a good show for
themselves despite their inexperience in large scale conventional warfare, though by 1970
the government began the withdrawal of Australian troops. In the First Gulf War, Australia once more
came to the aid of its American allies and dispatched two warships, a support ship, and
a special forces diving team to help clear out sea mines and secure ports. Ultimately though the Australians wouldn't
see combat, though they played a large role in enforcing sanctions against Iraq after
the war. Australia would continue to contribute forces
to both UN and NATO peacekeeping missions through the 1990s and into the 2000s, joining
the US's coalition in its wars both in Iraq and Afghanistan. While their initial deployments were relatively
small, Australia's military commitment would steadily increase until several thousand Australian
soldiers were serving across Iraq and Afghanistan. Australia would also join in the effort against
ISIS, deploying both ground and air forces in the war against the terrorist extremists. While the Australian military remains relatively
small, it is considered by the United States an indispensable ally in the Pacific, and
the two nations share very close military ties, with the US sworn to defend Australia
and even protecting it from nuclear attack by threatening to use its own nukes against
an aggressor. Despite their small size though Australian
forces have proven that they are amongst the world's best soldiers, and have been a stalwart
ally in the fight against extremism and dictators around the world. Despite its young history, Australia has taken
part in many conflicts, but has yet to militarily lose a true war. Did you you like this video and want to see
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