Operation “Spring”,
2012
Wilfrid Laurier University
Operation “Spring”, Guy Simonds
Canadian Military History
Lieut.-General Guy Granville Simonds wrote this account of Operation “SPRING” in response to a statement written for the Minister of National Defence by the Official Historian C.P. Stacey. The statement was based on a detailed study of the battle which Stacey completed in late 1945.
Table Of Contents,
2012
Wilfrid Laurier University
Johnson, John R., 1893-1974 & Andrew Wilson Johnson, B. 1896 (Mss 392),
2012
Western Kentucky University
Johnson, John R., 1893-1974 & Andrew Wilson Johnson, B. 1896 (Mss 392), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Manuscript Collection Finding Aids
Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 392. Letters written by John R. Johnson and Andrew Wilson Johnson to their parents in Wooster, Ohio, during the brothers’ military service in World War I and Andrew’s attendance at Ohio State University.
The Long Wait (Part I): A Personal Account Of Infantry Training In Britain, June 1942–June 1943,
2012
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Long Wait (Part I): A Personal Account Of Infantry Training In Britain, June 1942–June 1943, Harold Macdonald, M.A. Macdonald
Canadian Military History
In the early summer of 1942, Harold (Hal) MacDonald, a young infantry officer from Saint John, New Brunswick, was posted overseas to join the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, then stationed in Great Britain. The North Shores were part of a growing Canadian military presence in Britain, preparing for the day when the Allies would return to the continent to help defeat the armies of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. Canadian troops had begun to arrive in England in 1939, and indeed, after the fall of France in the late spring of 1940, formed an important part of Britain’s defence forces …
Public Opinion And National Prestige: The Politics Of Canadian Army Participation To The Invasion Of Sicily, 1942–1943,
2012
University of Waterloo
Public Opinion And National Prestige: The Politics Of Canadian Army Participation To The Invasion Of Sicily, 1942–1943, Brandey Barton
Canadian Military History
The participation of Canadian troops in the Sicilian campaign of July and August 1943 marked a distinctive shift in Canada’s war policy, and significantly influenced the employment of the army until the end of hostilities in May 1945. Advocates of Canadian participation in the campaign argued that the overseas army, which had been on garrison duty in Britain since 1939, needed to gain combat experience. Yet it was largely due to political reasons and concerns with prestige rather than military necessity that prompted the Canadian government to bring increasing, and ultimately effective, pressure to bear on the British government to …
Preparing For Higher Command: The British Approach To The Normandy Campaign Staff Ride,
2012
Royal Military College of Canada
Preparing For Higher Command: The British Approach To The Normandy Campaign Staff Ride, David Ian Hall
Canadian Military History
No abstract provided.
The Relevance Of The Normandy Battlefield Tour To The Professional Military Education Of The British Armed Forces,
2012
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Relevance Of The Normandy Battlefield Tour To The Professional Military Education Of The British Armed Forces, Stuart Thomson
Canadian Military History
No abstract provided.
Pilgrimmage To Holland,
2012
Wilfrid Laurier University
Pilgrimmage To Holland, George Blackburn
Canadian Military History
May 2005 marked the 60th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. A large number of Canadian veterans travelled to Holland to mark the occasion, remember the good times and honour their comrades who never made it home. Among the many returning veterans was George Blackburn who served as a FOO (forward observation officer) with 4th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery throughout the course of the campaign in Northwest Europe. Blackburn has written an award-winning trilogy about his wartime experiences, The Guns of Normandy (1995), The Guns of Victory (1996) and Where the Hell are the …
A Dutch Boy’S View Of The Liberation Of Holland: Achterveld And The End Of The War,
2012
Wilfrid Laurier University
A Dutch Boy’S View Of The Liberation Of Holland: Achterveld And The End Of The War, Jan Boersen
Canadian Military History
Jan Boersen was a lad of 6 living in the Dutch village of Achterveld when German troops invaded Holland. His memories of the role Canadian soldiers played in the liberation of his country remain strong and are, in part, recalled in the following article.
The German 79th Reserve Infantry Division In The Battle Of Vimy Ridge, April 1917,
2012
Wilfrid Laurier University
The German 79th Reserve Infantry Division In The Battle Of Vimy Ridge, April 1917, Alfred Dieterich
Canadian Military History
Canadian narratives of the Great War rarely give a very clear picture of the enemy. They may mention German regiments, brigades, divisions or corps that opposed Canadian troops on this or that front, but detailed citations from German sources are often missing. There are a number of reasons for this, most notably the scarcity of translated primary documents. A number of comprehensive regimental histories were published in Germany during the interwar years, but these are often difficult to obtain and tend to be printed in old German. Consequently, we were glad to receive this translation of Generalleutnant Alfred Dieterich’s report …
A Trophy Of The First World War In The Air: Captain William Wendell Rogers And His Victory Over A German Gotha Bomber, 12 December 1917,
2012
Canadian War Museum
A Trophy Of The First World War In The Air: Captain William Wendell Rogers And His Victory Over A German Gotha Bomber, 12 December 1917, James Whitham
Canadian Military History
On 12 December 1917, Captain Wendell Rogers, a Canadian pilot in the Royal Flying Corps, was leading a patrol near Ypres, Belgium when his flight intercepted a group of German bombers. In the ensuing combat Rogers shot down a giant Gotha bomber, the first time such an aircraft had been brought down over continental Europe. A piece of that bomber was recovered and was recently acquired by the Canadian War Museum. The artifact, a fabric Iron Cross salvaged from the wing of the downed Gotha, was donated by Captain Rogers’ son Lloyd. The following article will trace how this object …
Faith, Hope And Love: The Wartime Motivations Of Lance Corporal Frederick Spratlin, Mm And Bar, 3rd Battalion, Cef,
2012
Wilfrid Laurier University
Faith, Hope And Love: The Wartime Motivations Of Lance Corporal Frederick Spratlin, Mm And Bar, 3rd Battalion, Cef, Michelle Fowler
Canadian Military History
In an attempt to understand the motivations that drive soldiers in war, historians often seek to capture the experience of an individual soldier through his letters, diaries and other personal accounts. But what of the artifacts that are left behind? The personal effects that arrive home to a family after a soldier’s death, neatly labeled and wrapped in yellowed paper. These also have a story to tell. Lance Corporal Spratlin, from Toronto, was killed during the Battle of Amiens in 1918. Today his remains lie in the Toronto Cemetery in France, but following his death one of his most treasured …
Learning From The Canadian Corps On The Western Front,
2012
Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
Learning From The Canadian Corps On The Western Front, Christopher Pugsley
Canadian Military History
There is a curious paradox about the Canadian Corps that is summed up in this quotation from Canadian Brass, Stephen J. Harris’s study of the evolution of a professional army in Canada. How did this military organisation become so effective in war, considering the background it had and the structure that supported it for most of its existence? This model of tactical excellence was born amid the chaos of Canadian Minister of Defence Sam Hughes’ egomaniacal control at Valcartier Camp. It was beset by jealousies, political backhanders, corruption and influence peddling, and saddled with favourites as incompetent officers who …
The Liberation Of Holland: A Photographic Record,
2012
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Liberation Of Holland: A Photographic Record, Bob Mcgirr
Canadian Military History
No abstract provided.
A Foo At Troteval Farm: 20–21 July 1944,
2012
Wilfrid Laurier University
A Foo At Troteval Farm: 20–21 July 1944, A. Britton Smith
Canadian Military History
No abstract provided.
The Pawns Of War: A Personal Account Of The Attack On Verrières Ridge By The South Saskatchewan Regiment, 20 July 1944,
2012
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Pawns Of War: A Personal Account Of The Attack On Verrières Ridge By The South Saskatchewan Regiment, 20 July 1944, John S. Edmondson, R.D. Edmondson
Canadian Military History
A number of current books deal with Operations Goodwood and Atlantic, but scant attention has been paid to the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade and its three regiments, the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada (CAM), the Fusiliers Mont-Royal (FMR) and the South Saskatchewan Regiment (SSR), and to the Essex Scottish Regiment which was attached to 6th Brigade during this operation. When our role has been discussed at all, historians have inferred that the SSR fled or withdrew in panic in this action. My role was as Commander “B” Company of the SSR, and later as Acting Commanding Officer (A/CO) of …
The Myth Of The Learning Curve: Tactics And Training In The 12th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 1916-1918,
2012
University of Western Ontario
The Myth Of The Learning Curve: Tactics And Training In The 12th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 1916-1918, Mark Osborne Humphries
Canadian Military History
Canadian military historians generally accept that during the First World War the Canadian military improved over time. This idea of a “learning curve” suggests that Canadians began the war as inexperienced colonial volunteers and, as the Corps gained experience on the battlefield, commanders and ordinary soldiers alike learned from their mistakes and successes and improved combat tactics from battle to battle and from year to year.1 Several different approaches to this argument are evident in the literature. Tim Cook and Bill Rawling both published works in the mid-1990s that argue technology was the impetus behind this process of learning. …
Hollow Of Death: Rogers’ Rangers Desperate Fight For Survival,
2012
Canadian Forces Leadership Institute
Hollow Of Death: Rogers’ Rangers Desperate Fight For Survival, Bernd Horn
Canadian Military History
No abstract provided.
Cfb Goose Bay And Operation “Desert Shield”,
2012
Canadian Army Reserves
Cfb Goose Bay And Operation “Desert Shield”, James R. Mckay
Canadian Military History
Canada committed forces to the American-led Coalition in the 1990–1991 campaign to liberate Kuwait (Operation DESERT SHIELD and Operation DESERT STORM). The Navy played an important role in the naval portion in this campaign known as Operation DESERT STORM. Canadian CF-18s provided defensive combat air patrols over the Persian Gulf region (less Kuwait and Iraq). Canadian soldiers helped guard prisoners of war, defend airfields and provide security for the 1st Canadian Field Hospital that provided additional health service support. While all of these were important contributions, Canada also provided assistance for Operation DESERT SHIELD. A number of states deployed forces …
“There Is No Alternative”: The Diary Of Harry H. Coombs, 9th Battalion, Cef, August 1914–January 1915,
2012
Canadian War Museum
“There Is No Alternative”: The Diary Of Harry H. Coombs, 9th Battalion, Cef, August 1914–January 1915, Barbara M. Wilson
Canadian Military History
No abstract provided.
