Military History Commons^™

Hmcs Thiepval: The Accidental Tourist Destination, Duncan Mcdowall

Canadian Military History

In the spring of 1910 an act of Parliament gave birth to the Canadian navy. What followed were four years of bitter partisan battles over whether this new service would be small and largely coastal, or whether the money was better spent in direct support of the imperial fleet. By the time war came in 1914 the fledgling service consisted of two dilapidated old cruisers—Niobe and Rainbow—acquired solely for training. During the war this navy evolved into a hodgepodge of little auxiliary vessels as it scrambled to meet the new threat from submarines. By the time the war ended, as …

“In The Eye Of The Storm”: A Recollection Of Three Days In The Falaise Gap, 19–21 August 1944, Arthur Bridge

Canadian Military History

These are the memoirs of a Canadian infantryman who was involved in, and survived, the battle of the Falaise Gap, the final phase of the Normandy Campaign, in August 1944. He was a rifleman of 14 Platoon, “C” Company, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders of Canada. In the author’s own words this account, “is not intended to represent me as being heroic. Far from it. I was terrified most of the time in battle, and eventually ended up a couple of months after St. Lambert as a battle exhaustion casualty. There’s nothing heroic about that. It just happened that I …

Canada And The Korean War: Fifty Years On, Denis Stairs

Canadian Military History

In September 1998, the Canadian War Museum initiated a visiting speaker series to make available to the general public the latest research, debate and opinion on Canadian and international military history. Like the Museum’s highly popular film series, the talks were usually held on week nights and carried no admission fee. They have proven highly successful, both with Museum visitors and invited speakers. The latter have included eminent Canadian historians like Terry Copp, David Bercuson and Bill McAndrew, and international scholars like John Keegan, Paul Gough, and Christopher Pugsley. In the autumn of 2000, the Museum will welcome world-renowned First …

“Necessary Stepping Stones”: The Transfer Of Aurora, Patriot, And Patrician To The Royal Canadian Navy After The First World War, William Schleihauf

Canadian Military History

Canadians seem to have difficulty in understanding the importance of naval forces in the defence of their nation. Twice in the early years Canada took the first steps towards the creation of a useful fleet, but then lost interest. The acquisition of Niobe and Rainbow for training the nascent Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 1910 was a good beginning, but even before the First World War broke out in 1914, the government’s priorities changed. A second, more promising start was made immediately after the end of hostilities. In the spring of 1919, hesitant discussions began which led to the commissioning …

Bypassing The Chain Of Command: The Political Origins Of The Rcn’S Equipment Crisis Of 1943, Richard Oliver Mayne

Canadian Military History

At the behest of Angus L. Macdonald, the Minister of National Defence for Naval Services, John Joseph Connolly conducted a secret investigation in October 1943 into the state of equipment on Canadian warships. Connolly, who was Macdonald’s executive assistant, traveled to St. John’s, Londonderry and London where he discovered that the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was far behind its allies in the modernization of its escort fleet. Canadian ships lacked gyroscopic compasses, hedgehog, effective radar and asdic, as well as other technical gear that was essential in the Battle of the Atlantic. These deficiencies should not have come as a …

Minefield: The Mining Of Hms Achates, 25 July 1941, Ronald Weyman

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

Soldier, Pow, Partisan: My Experiences During The Battle Of France, June–September 1944, Don Learment

Canadian Military History

The invasion of Festung Europa has been called many things, among them, die greatest military feat in history, the liberation of Europe’s downtrodden millions, and many other such high and mighty sounding phrases. But to those of us who were to take part in this operation the mouthings of the country’s great meant little. Truly we were impressed by the magnitude of the coming battle, but its true meaning to us who had waited so long was simply “action.”

Canvas Of War: Masterpieces From The Canadian War Museum, 1914–1918 And 1939–1945, Duncan Mcdowall

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

Snapshots From The South African War: The F.C. Cantrill Photograph Collection At The Canadian War Museum, Brendan Mccoy

Canadian Military History

The Canadian War Museum’s (CWM’s) Photographic Archives contains over 600 photograph collections or fonds. These include over 17,000 individual photographs, some with their original negatives, and more than 250 photo albums. This collection has been acquired from private sources, with the photographs for the most part representing the personal documentation of Canada’s military history by the participants. These have been brought together as part of the CWM’s mandate to collect, preserve and make available for research and exhibition the artifacts of the Canadian military experience. The collection of Frederick Charles Cantrill who served in the South African Constabulary from 1901 …

From Enlistment To The Grave: The Impact Of The First World War On 52 Canadian Soldiers, Mike Wert

Canadian Military History

Because they have clearly demarcated beginnings and endings, wars tend to be studied in isolation. Studies are made of the events leading up to wars, the wars themselves, and their aftermaths as though each could be easily pigeon-holed. The majority of work done on the First World War, for example, has concerned itself solely with the events of 1914-1918, as though the war ended with the Armistice. What this approach forgets is that wars exact a profound and lasting influence on those who live through them. For many—and in particular for many veterans—the Great War did not end with the …

The Royal City At War: The Military Mobilization Of Guelph, Ontario During The First 18 Months Of The Second World War, Jason R.H. Braida

Canadian Military History

The story of a country at war can be told at various levels. Traditional histories speak of generals and statesmen, of decisions made in cabinet rooms, war rooms, and dimly-lit clubs. Others choose to concentrate upon particular instances or groups, such as the impact of the war upon women, a particular military unit, or even a specific family. This article seeks to combine those two traditions by examining the manner in which international events and political decisions made at the national level affected the way in which the nation’s military mobilization was carried out in one particular Canadian community.

Recipe For Victory: The Fight For Hill 677 During The Battle Of The Kap’Yong River, 24-25 April 1951, Brent Watson

Canadian Military History

During the night of 24–25 April 1951, the Second Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry fought what became the most famous Canadian battle of the Korean War. Outnumbered and isolated, the Princess Pats repulsed wave after wave of attacking Chinese infantry from their positions atop Hill 677 overlooking the Kap’yong River Valley. Although a comparatively minor episode in the broader context of the Korean War, Canadian retention of Hill 677 made an important contribution to the Commonwealth victory at Kap’yong. More significantly, the fight for Hill 677 was clearly the most successful set-piece engagement fought by the Canadians in Korea. …

The 1999 Vimy Award: Acceptance Address By Ltd. General Charles Belzille, Charles Belzille

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

Bed And Breakfast: A Canadian Airman Reflects On The Food And Quarters During The Second World War, Bill Mcrae

Canadian Military History

Hollywood’s stereotyped version of an RAF fighter pilot—lounging about in a comfortable leather chair with a pint in one hand and Punch in the other—is not quite as I remember it. But what were “typical“ conditions? Using my log book and wartime letters as references, with war art to serve as illustrations, this is how I recollect RAF/RCAF living conditions during the Second World War.

Army Supplies In The Forward Area And The Tumpline System: A First World War Canadian Logistical Innovation, F.R. Phelan

Canadian Military History

Editor’s Note: In British Logistics on the Western Front, 1914–1919 (Praeger, 1998), Ian M. Brown documents the problems of maintaining an army in the field; throughout that war, supply lines were strained to get food, equipment and ammunition forward. Early problems of adequate supplies were replaced by an inability to get the items from depots to where they were required. Some of these latter problems were blamed on “establishments” and other force-structure problems caused by stripping logistical-support units to meet the manpower needs of the fighting units. The decision to dramatically reduce the size of the BEF divisions in France …

James Peters, Military Photography And The Northwest Campaign, 1885, Owen Cooke

Canadian Military History

In June 1884, the noted buffalo hunter Gabriel Dumont led a delegation of Métis from the Batoche settlement, in what is now Saskatchewan, to Montana in the United States to search out Louis Riel. He hoped to persuade Riel to lead them as he had in 1869–70 in their demands for the Canadian government to recognize their land claims and other grievances. Riel reluctantly returned to Canada. The situation worsened until March 1885, when a skirmish between Métis and North West Mounted Police at Duck Lake, near Prince Albert, cost seventeen dead on both sides. The government feared a general …

“The Boys Of Summer”: A Personal Account Of The Canadian Berlin Battalion, June–July 1945, Kurt Loeb

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

1st Canadian Parachute Battalion In The Ardennes: A Personal Account, 23 December 1944 To 26 February 1945, R.F. Anderson

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

Canada’S Peacekeepers Remember, Murray Johnston

Canadian Military History

Stopping wars, keeping them from restarting, and observing the implementation of cease-fires—various shades of “peacekeeping”—have always been dangerous work. It has become particularly so over the past decade as peacekeepers increasingly find themselves in high intensity, near-war situations. No longer are belligerents constrained by world power blocs as they were before the end of the Cold War.

This is reflected in the list of the 107 Canadian soldiers who have been killed worldwide since 1950 while serving as peacekeepers, including 22 killed since 1992. The Peacekeeping Memorial in Ottawa reflects Canada’s tribute to this sacrifice and the nation’s pride in …

A Nightmare Revisited: The Resotration Of The Canadian War Museum’S 8.8 Cm Flak Gun, Michael H. Miller

Canadian Military History

The German 8.8 cm Flugabwehrkanone (flak) gun is one of the most famous weapons of the Second World War. It was greatly feared by Allied soldiers and airmen alike. Just as every tank they encountered was a Tiger, so too was every German gun an “88.” In December 1998, the Canadian War Museum set out to restore the 88 in the museum’s collection and return to public view one of the few such artifacts in Canada. The museum’s gun was in extremely poor condition, and needed major work. Its components had been disassembled before it had come to the museum …