Leo Major: Canada's Very Own Rambo
The legend of Leo Major resembles that of ancient warriors from Greek mythology, but his tales of courage are more recent than you may know.
When you read what Leo Major accomplished in World War II while fighting for Canada’s Regiment de la Chaudiere, you may think you’ve stumbled across a movie script. The stories of Major’s accomplishments sound more like legends from Greek mythology and not 20th century combat.
But Leo Major was no ordinary soldier. As a nineteen year old kid, hard up for work as a French Quebecois in Canada, Major volunteered to the Canadian army. The year was 1940 and Major wanted adventure. At the time there was no bigger adventure to be found then liberating Europe from fascism.
Major Lands on Normandy
Major’s legend begins at the largest amphibious assault this world has seen. Landing on the beaches during the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, Major captured a German halftrack single-handedly while on a reconnaissance mission. Aboard the vehicle he commandeered was military equipment and a number of secret German codes.
Later in June, Major would stumble upon an SS patrol. He would successfully kill four of the soldiers on patrol, but not before losing his left eye to a phosphorus grenade. Instead of using the injury as a ticket home, Major opted to serve as a scout and as a sniper. His argument to be a sniper - you only need one eye to sight your weapon.
Sustaining a second major injury did not slow Major down. While on a mission to rescue missing British soldiers, a truck Major was riding in struck a land mine. He was launched into the air and crashed back to earth.
A broken arm, two broken ankles, and three broken vertebrae were not enough to stop him. He would sneak out of the Belgium hospital he had been recovering in to rejoin his unit and fight.
A One Man Wrecking Crew
The Battle of Scheldt had been raging on in the Netherlands in October of 1944. Reunited with is unit, Major and the First Canadian Army were asked to clear any German troops that impeded supply lines to Antwerp. This led them to Zeeland.
Major embraced the opportunity and the challenge. Swimming through multiple canals, he was able to penetrate a German camp. Once in, he eliminated two sentinels on watch and found his way to a sleeping commanding officer.
Forcing the commanding officer to surrender, Major then was able to intimidate and force an additional 93 German soldiers to surrender. Having captured so many soldiers single-handedly, Major called in two Canadian tanks to assist in escorting the prisoners to Canadian forces.
Zwolle: The Height of His Legend
A town named Zwolle in the Netherlands would be Major’s next stop, and the setting for the story he is most famous for. In the spring of 1945, as World War II was winding down, Major and fellow soldier Corporal Willie Arsenault, entered the city of Zwolle on a recon mission.
The Dutch city, home to around 50,000 people, had been under German control for most of the war. Major and Arsenault had been asked to scout out the German forces before a planned Allied artillery shelling of the city. Not wanting to see the city destroyed, Major and Arsenault decided they would try to capture Zwolle alone.
Late in the evening on April 13th, 1945, Arsenault and Major snuck into Zwolle. It was around midnight that Arsenault was shot and killed by Nazi soldiers. Major quickly retaliated and eliminated the pair of Germans who had killed his partner.
Taking Matters Into His Own Hands
Grabbing a bag of grenades, Major set off through the town. Major stumbled into a bar and found a German officer who spoke French. Sitting down with the officer, Major began to explain to the commander that city of Zwolle was completely surrounded and Allied forces would be invading in the morning.
The German officer is said to have believed Major. Major offered him and his men a chance to escape, but they had to leave right away. Major even returned the German officer’s gun to him as a show of good faith.
As the German officer ran off, Major sought to make it sound as if the Allied forces surrounding the city were starting their attack. He took off through the streets tossing grenades, firing his machine gun and capturing any German soldiers he came across.
During his explosive charade, Major came across Dutch resistance fighters. They quickly joined him and set out running around Zwolle. Collectively, they would capture nearly 50 German soldiers.
The commotion and staged attack was successful. The German forces quickly vacated the city. As a final show of the town’s successful liberation, Major located the Gestapo headquarters within town…and set it ablaze.
When the sun rose the following morning, the city of Zwolle and its 50,000 inhabitants had been liberated from the Nazis. Major once again had achieved the impossible. His efforts likely saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives.
Born to be a Solider
Many believe Leo Major was born to be a soldier. Despite the horrendous injuries he sustained during World War II, he would fight again in the Korean War. There he would be a part of a hill capture mission against a Chinese force that vastly outnumbered his Canadian unit.
For his efforts in the Korean War, Major would received a medal for bravery. For his accomplishments and courageous acts in World War II, Major was chosen for the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
Legend has it that he famously declined the offer to be decorated because he would have received the medal from General Bernard Law Montgomery. According to Major, Montgomery was ‘incompetent’ and in no position to be handing out medals.
Major’s accomplishments would remain largely unknown for years. It wouldn’t be until 1969 when residents of Zwolle sought out Major in Montreal. They asked him to participate in a ceremony commemorating their city’s liberation from the Nazis. It was then that his wife and four kids learned of their father’s heroic actions.
Today the legend of Leo Major lives on in Zwolle. He has a street named after him and the city holds an annual ceremony in his honor. It is safe to say he means a great deal to that city, even decades later.
Just a few years ago there was an event at a Dutch soccer match where dozens of Zwolle fans unfurled a banner. On that banner was the image of a young soldier with an eye patch. It was Leo Major.
History for the Hurried
March 11, 1918: The Spanish Influenza first reaches America. 107 soldiers become sick at Fort Riley, Kansas. Before it is over, one-quarter of the U.S. population will have contracted the virus, resulting in half a million deaths.
March 12, 1609: Bermuda, the tropical island in the Atlantic, is colonized by the British after a ship on its way to Virginia is wrecked on the island’s reefs.
March 12, 1938: Nazis invade Austria and absorb the country into Hitler’s growing Reich.