Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Women Artists And The 1944 Canadian Army Art Exhibition, Laura Brandon

Canadian Military History

In 1944, the Canadian Army held an art exhibition in Ottawa. Among the 33 exhibitors were five women: Cathryne Blackley, Beulah Jaenicke, Molly Lamb, H.E. Herbert, and Mary Wilson. Lamb went on to a stellar career but no trace of Wilson or Herbert or their exhibited paintings has yet been found. Unknown and invisible for more than 60 years, Beulah Jaenicke and Cathryne Blackley recently donated their war-related work to the Canadian War Museum. Why has it taken so long for their work to resurface? By exploring the presence in the exhibition, their subject selection, their artworks’ reception, and their …

Naval Medical Operations At Kingston During The War Of 1812, Gareth A. Newfield

Canadian Military History

Throughout the War of 1812 the practice of naval medicine in Kingston (the headquarters of British naval forces on the Great Lakes) was beset with adversity. Dependent for years upon the army, the Provincial Marine’s medical resources were minimal, with problems increasing exponentially after the expansion of the Royal Navy’s forces on the lakes in early 1813. Naval surgeons in Kingston faced almost constant shortages of personnel, supplies and facilities, issues which were not fully resolved until the very end of the war. Yet although the standard of care under these conditions has earned a poor reputation in the past, …

A Canadian Conscript Goes To War—August 1918: Old Myths Re-Examined, Patrick Dennis

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

The Essex Scottish Regiment In Operation Atlantic: What Went Wrong?, John Maker

Canadian Military History

On 20–21 July 1944 the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade was engaged in combat operations on Verrières Ridge south of Caen. Enemy resistance was stronger than expected and teh Canadian attack was met by strong German counterattacks supported by armour. During the course of the battle, two units, the Essex Scottish Regiment and the South Saskatchewan Regiment were driven back. In the aftermath of the battle the Essex Scottish Regiment and their commanding officer were criticized for their poor performance. This article examines the battle in an attempt to understand who was to blame. Lieutenant–Colonel B.J.S. MacDonald, the commanding officer of …

To The Last Canadian?: Casualties In The 21st Army Group, Terry Copp

Canadian Military History

In Normandy, Canadian infantry divisions suffered a higher rate of casualties than British divisions engaged in similar operations. These figures have been used by some historians to prove Canadian failure on the battlefield. However, by using statistics gathered by operational research scientists during the war, this article shows that the “considerably heavier casualties” suffered by the Canadians in Normandy and beyond were the product of a greater number of days in close combat with the enemy, not evidence of operational inexperience or tactical failure.

Table Of Contents

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

Internet Forums And Canadian Military History, Ken Reynolds

Canadian Military History

This note is the next instalment in a series of short pieces on Internet resources and tools available to researchers, writers and readers of Canadian military history. The author, Ken Reynolds, an historian with the Department of National Defence, also writes “The Cannon’s Mouth” blog.

From The Rhine To The Baltic: The Final Operations Of The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, Part 1—24 March To 2 April 1945, R.F. Anderson

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

From Alberta To Avion: Private Herbert Peterson, 49th Battalion, Cef, Ken Reynolds

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

“The Pow Will Safely Return!”: Second World War Allied And German Propoganda, Amber Lloydlangston, Tracy Lo

Canadian Military History

During the Second World War, both the Allied and Axis governments expended significant resources in the production and dissemination of propoganda. Directed at their own people, the propoganda of these governments fostered correct thinking, feelings, attitudes, and behaviours. Directed at military personnel of enemy nations as part of psychological warfare operations, this propoganda was far more subversive. Its goal was to undermine the efficiency and coherence of enemy forces and, ultimately, to weaken their will to fight. Among the different media harnessed to achieve this end, aerial leaflets hold a unique place in the history of psychological warfare operations. Their …

Canada And The First World War: A Canadian War Museum Internet Exhibition, Tim Cook, Kathryn Lyons

Canadian Military History

Canada and the First World War is the largest internet resource ever developed by the Canadian War Museum. The goal of this site is to provide visitors across the country and around the world with the most comprehensive and authoritative site for the history of Canada and Canadians in the First World War.

Like our permanent galleries, the site’s goal is to tell the story of Canada’s role in the First World War at the international, national, and personal levels. While the CWM’s collection dictated, to some degree, the extent of the storyline, this will be an important site for …

For King, Not Tsar: Identifying Ukrainians In The Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914–1918, Peter Broznitsky

Canadian Military History

Canadian-born men, followed by those born in the British Isles, made up the bulk of the 620,000 men who enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the First World War. Many Americans, perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 or more, enlisted in Canada or were recruited in the USA. Men holding Russian passports became the next most numerous group in the CEF, as recent immigrants from the vast Russian Empire joined up. How many of these were ethnic Ukrainians, born in Ukrainian regions of the Tsarist Empire? And how many ethnic Ukrainians born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, even though it was …

Toward A Transnational History Of World War I, Michael S. Neiberg

Canadian Military History

Michael S. Neiberg delivered the keynote address at the 19th Military History Colloquium, held at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, 1–3 May 2008. This is the text of his address.

Spirited Imperialism: The Formation And Command Of The First Canadian Expeditionary Force In South Africa, Daniel P. Gosselin

Canadian Military History

This article explores the role played by Chamberlain, Minto and Hutton in shaping the organizational and command structure of the Canadian expeditionary force that deployed to South Africa. In 1899, the war raised not only the vital question about the kind of imperial war Canada ought to participate in, but also the form of that participation. As this article demonstrates, the British politician, the colonial administrator and the general saw the war as an opportunity to advance their specific agenda, strongly fuelled by imperialist sentiments. In doing so, the ideas that shaped their actions between July and October 1899 provided …

Table Of Contents

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

The “Canadian Virtual War Memorial” At Veterans Affairs Canada, Ken Reynolds

Canadian Military History

This note is the next instalment in a series of short pieces on Internet resources and tools available to researchers, writers and readers of Canadian military history. The author, Ken Reynolds, an historian with the Department of National Defence, also writes “The Cannon’s Mouth” blog.

Outside The Box: A New Perspective On Operation Windsor—The Rationale Behind The Attack On Carpiquet, 4 July 1944, David Patterson

Canadian Military History

Operation Windsor never seemed to fit. Why, one asks, would the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division launch a major operation to seize Carpiquet village and airfield a mere four days before I British Corps started the much larger three-division Operation Charnwood to seize Caen? It seemed a distraction from the main effort—a needless diversion of resources. This view was reinforced by the standard interpretations of the battles as reflected in the two introductory quotations: Windsor as a prelude to Charnwood. I had succumbed to what I will call the black box syndrome. I looked only within the analytical framework established by …

Provincial Patterns Of Enlistment In The Canadian Expeditionary Force, Jonathan F. Vance

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

Evan Macdonald: Camouflage Artist, Laura Brandon, Jeff Noakes

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

Sir Arthur Currie And The Legacy Of The Great War: Letters From The Archives Of The Canadian War Museum, Mark Osborne Humphries

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

Military Aid To The Civil Authority In The Mid-19th Century New Brunswick, J. Brent Wilson

Canadian Military History

During the mid–19th century, the role of the military in New Brunswick began to change. Although its primary function remained defence against invasion, the civil power called on it with increasing frequency; first the British regulars and later the militia assisted in capacities ranging from fighting fires to policing. Nevertheless, as New Brunswick changed from colony to province, the militia did not automatically replace the imperial garrison. Civil authorities were reluctant to call on it, and volunteers assumed this role only after the regulars departed in 1869. This article first examines the types of disorder that occurred between the 1830s …

“He Was My Best Subaltern#8221;: The Life And Death Of Lieutenant Herrick S. Duggan, 70th Field Company, Royal Engineers, Nic Clarke

Canadian Military History

At 0400 hours on 21 October 1915, 24 year–old First Lieutenant Herrick “Heck” Stevenson Duggan died of wounds in Béthune, France. One of the 61,000 casualties suffered by the British Army during its failed Loos offensive (25 September to 19 October 1915), Herrick differed from the vast majority of the dead and wounded because he was Canadian, not British.

Based primarily on correspondence between Herrick Duggan and his family during the years 1913–15, this article explores Duggan’s life and experiences leading up to, and during, the Great War. In doing so it examines how the “war to end all wars” …

A Force Of Reason: Canada, Central America, And The Grupo De Observadores De La Naciones Unidas Para Centro America, Andrew B. Godefroy

Canadian Military History

Though the Cold War never led to open hostilities between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers did engage in a seemingly endless series of wars by proxy in their struggle for dominance over international affairs. One of the major arenas was Central America, where regional politics influenced by ideologies led to decades of internal and external strife. Yet a glimmer of hope for peace emerged in the early 1980s even though acrimonious relations persisted between the US and USSR. Central and South American governments, with the encouragement of more distant nations, began a process …

Table Of Contents

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

“War Diaries Of The First World War” At Library And Archives Canada, Ken Reynolds

Canadian Military History

This note is the next instalment in a series of short pieces on Internet resources and tools available to researchers, writers and readers of Canadian military history. The author, Ken Reynolds, an historian with the Department of National Defence, also writes “The Cannon’s Mouth” blog.

Incursion At Howz-E Madad: An Afghanistan Vignette, Sean M. Maloney

Canadian Military History

On 20 June 2007, Canadian and Afghan National Army forces supported by Dutch and American air forces conducted one of a series of incursions into the Zharey District west of Kandahar City. This incursion, called Operation SEASONS, was representative of operations undertaken in the summer of 2007 by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in this area and is an evolution from how Canadian ground forces have been employed since they were re–introduced to the region in 2005. This account is based on the personal experiences of the author who observed these combat operations while they were in progress.

Medical Care Of American Pows During The War Of 1812, Gareth A. Newfield

Canadian Military History

In 2005, a service in Halifax commemorated US soldiers and sailors who perished in Britain’s Melville Island prisoner-of-war camp during the War of 1812 and whose remains now lie on Deadman’s Island, a nearby peninusla. The service culminated nearly a decade of debate, in which local history enthusiasts, the Canadian and American media, and Canadian and US politicians rescued the property from developers. The media in particular had highlighted the prisoners’ struggles with disease and death, often citing the sombre memoirs of survivors.¹ Curiously, Canadian investigators relied largely upon American accounts and did little research on efforts at amelioration …

Harry Crerar And An Army For Strategic Effect, Paul Dickson

Canadian Military History

Few people did as much to shape Canada’s Second World War effort, and no single person did as much to shape the Canadian army, as did General H.D.G. “Harry” Crerar. As chief of the general staff during the critical year and a half following the fall of France in June 1940, he was the primary architect of First Canadian Army, established the conditions for the army’s training and expansion, and advised the government to dispatch troops to Hong Kong. As a corps commander, he campaigned for Canadian involvement in the Dieppe raid. And, by 1944, he had assumed command of …

Canadian Soldiers In West African Conflicts, 1885–1905, Andrew B. Godefroy

Canadian Military History

This article examines the role played by Canadians at the turn of the century in West Africa. Though not intended to draw sweeping conclusions about the influence of such operations on the Canadian army as a whole—such analysis must follow at a later time when more contextual evidence is available—it does rediscover a largely forgotten chapter in the origins and evolution of the army, as well as raise a number of questions that obviously deserve greater attention. Most important, perhaps, this article demonstrates that a new approach to the analysis of the pre–1914 Canadian army is required, one that focuses …

“Anything But Lovely”: The Canadian Corps At Lens In The Summer Of 1917, Geoff Jackson

Canadian Military History

Much has been written on the Canadian Corps and the string of victories that it achieved after its initial triumph at Vimy Ridge. The corps did not have a perfect record after Vimy, although the battles are often depicted as such. The attack on the town of Lens in August 1917 demonstrated that the corps was still capable of making mistakes that were extremely costly in casualties and did not garner any sort of victory.

Examining the battle of Lens will dispel some of the myths. The brief literature on Hill 70 and Lens has always lumped them together as …