Military History Commons^™

“One More For Luck”: The Destruction Of U971 By Hmcs Haida And Hms Eskimo, 24 June 1944, Barry M. Gough, James A. Woods

Canadian Military History

On the evening of 23 June 1944, HMCS Haida and HMS Eskimo set out from Plymouth, operational base of the 10th Destroyer Flotilla (10th DF), to conduct a sweep of the Western Approaches to the English Channel. Their role was to assist in securing these waters for the ongoing delivery of supplies and reinforcements to the Normandy bridgehead. Across the Channel to the southest, American, British and Canadian forces were now in their third week of fighting across the fields and hedgerows of Normandy. Operation OVERLORD had been the largest amphibious invasion in history and, dependent as it was on …

In Remembrance Of Doomed Youth: Private Ralph C. Crew (1893–1917), 87th Battalion, Grenadier Guards, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Thomas E. Crew

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

“The Simplest Thing Is Difficult”: The United States Army And The War Of 1812, John M. Carland

Canadian Military History

The War of 1812 occupies an uneasy place in the American memory. Despite some popular notions of victory in that conflict, serious students of military history have always known that the United States did not win it. The war was at best a draw because the nation lacked experienced officers, disciplined soldiers, a working logistical system, and a clear-cut strategic plan. For most of the war American leadership was bungling and inadequate. The performance of the Regulars was frequently far from perfect, and that of the militia even less so. Yet the nation maintained its territorial integrity, and some younger …

“Regret Deeply…” The Second World War Experiences Of Bill And Fred Tucker, Angela Fritz

Canadian Military History

Over a million Canadians wore a uniform in the fight against Hitler’s Germany. The Tucker family of Kitchener, Ontario sent two brothers, Bill and Fred, to aid in this cause. Only one returned.

In The Heat Of Battle: Letters From The Normandy Campaign, Harold Macdonald, M.A. Macdonald

Canadian Military History

Harold S. MacDonald was an officer with the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment from June 1942 until the end of the Second World War in Europe. Throughout this period he penned a steady stream of letters to his bestfriend, his wife, Marjorie, who was then a newspaper reporter with the Saint John Evening Times-Globe. These letters, totalling 463, were carefully preserved by Marjorie and provide a continuous and absorbing account of the experiences of a front-line Canadian infantry officer in Northwest Europe during the Second World War. They begin in June 1942 with a description of the rowdy voyage …

“Treasures” From The Canadian War Museum’S Backlog, Dan Glenney, Eric Fernberg, Harry Martin, Philip White

Canadian Military History

In the 1970s Canadian War Museum curatorial staff decided they needed to bolster the scope of the museum’s national military collection. Consequently, they placed ads in Legion magazine and enclosed flyers in veterans’ pension cheques inviting veterans to send in military or military related items they had in their possession that they thought would be of interest to the museum. The response was overwhelming. In the end, a grand total of 24,400 objects poured in; many more than was anticipated and much too large a number for the museum’s small staff to properly register and catalogue. The only option was …

“Johnson Forever!” Revisiting A Hero Of The Seven Years War, Mark Eaton

Canadian Military History

William Johnson moved to New York from his ancestral homeland Ireland in 1738 and soon became one of the most influential and prosperous colonists of his time. As a trader, land developer, speculator and government official, he co-operated extensively with the tribes of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. Considered a fair and honest man by these people, Johnson developed close personal and economic relationships with many of them, especially within the Mohawk tribes. So when the British and French clashed between 1744 and 1748 (King George’s War), the New York colonial government turned to Johnson.

The Achievements Of Trooper Mulloy, Jack Schecter

Canadian Military History

In the summer of 1900 Lorne Mulloy, a wounded Canadian soldier serving with the second Canadian contingent in South Africa, wrote from a military hospital in Johannesburg to his family about serious wounds to his eyes received in battle: “I have not experienced even the faintest sensation of light since that shot was fired. My left eye is totally destroyed and my right one is so badly injured that it is like a man halting between life and death undecided to advance or retreat.” Although totally blind because of these wounds Mulloy went on to obtain three university degrees, and …

Carrying Canadian Troops: The Story Of Rms Olympic As A First World War Troopship, David R. Gray

Canadian Military History

In the long adventurous life of Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Olympic, the older sister of the ill-fated RMS Titanic, the time she spent as a troopship ferrying Canadian troops during the First World War is a notable but frequently overlooked part of her career. Olympic was cheered enthusiastically by Canadian troops who sailed aboard her, respected as the “Old Reliable,” praised for services rendered to other ships, and honoured for her own success in attacking an enemy submarine. Carrying more Canadian soldiers than any other troopship, Olympic was an important part of Canada’s war effort.

Able to accommodate …

A Rideau Canal Tragedy, Gerry Purchase

Canadian Military History

On 2 July 1942, two young Canadian soldiers on duty drowned in the Rideau Canal in downtown Ottawa. Amid the major horrors of the Second World War the victims of this tragedy have been almost forgotten.

“Not Competent To Produce Tanks”: The Ram And Tank Production In Canada, 1939–1945, Graham Broad

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

Toronto’S Reponse To The Outbreak Of War, 1939, Ian Miller

Canadian Military History

Canadian historians have paid little attention to the transition from peace to war in late August and early September 1939. Jonathan Vance’s award-winning Death So Noble: Memory, Meaning and the First World War (1997) does a marvelous job of surveying attitudes towards war in the wake of the Great War, but it does not expand into the start of the Second. C.P. Stacey’s official history, Six Years of War, devotes only minimal space to exploring the transition, focusing instead on the activities of Canadian servicemen and women. The dozens of militia histories written by the units after the war …

Report On The Part Played By The Winnipeg Grenadiers In The Defence Of Hong Kong, George Trist

Canadian Military History

The writer commences this report knowing full well that a report containing criticisms or accusations is bound to be read with a certain amount of skepticism particularly if it is written in opposition to an official report submitted by a much higher authority.

Two important factors have decided me to compile this report without further delay and while still a prisoner of war and subject to search at any time by the Japanese authorities (although they have not done so as yet). The first and most urgent one is the necessity for a very accurate recording of events as they …

A Trip To Remember: An Airman’S View Of D-Day, Gordon Gross

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

The Homecoming: Lieutenant Donald Armitage Ross, Canadian Grenadier, Georgina H. Matthews

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

“Fairly Well Known And Need Not Be Discussed”: Colonel A.F. Duguid And The Canadian Official History Of The First World War, Wes Gustavson

Canadian Military History

In 1938, Colonel Archer Fortescue Duguid published the first and only volume of his Canadian official history of the First World War. It was eagerly anticipated as the Historical Section had been directed to compile such a history in 1921, and many veterans as well as the public were puzzled by the delay in publication. Despite this, however, reviewers were generally satisfied with the results. Writing in the Legionary, W.W. Murray declared it “a masterly work of great care and precision,” while W.B. Kerr believed that it would form the basis for all future works on the subject. It was …

The Other Side Of The Hill: Combat Intelligence In The Canadian Corps, 1914–1918, Dan Jenkins

Canadian Military History

For some, a discussion on military intelligence and the First World War is the ultimate oxymoron. They might ask: when and where did generals display any use of intelligence? That the Battle of the Somme continued beyond the first day, they might argue, demonstrates a complete lack of military intelligence, or any other type of intelligence for that matter. If there ever was a war, they might add, where donkeylike officers led lion-like soldiers to slaughter against barbed wire, machine guns, and trenches, then the Great War was it. The oft told story of how Sir Launcelot Kiggell, Sir Douglas …

Some Thoughts About Private Harold L. Green Of The Scout Platoon, First Battalion, The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, Doug Shaughnessy

Canadian Military History

Editor’s note: On 12 August the RHLI was ordered to advance towards Clair Tizon. At a small crossroads near the abandoned hamlet of Barbery, the Regiment met German resistance. As the unit moved through the wheatfields, it encountered German infantry and armour. The maelstrom that engulfed the Rileys was later described as “the most intense mortaring and shelling the unit ever witnessed.” All day long the Battalion endured German counterattacks designed to keep the Falaise pocket open. At dusk the Germans withdrew leaving the field to the Canadians. The cost of the battle was high—20 men killed and 100 wounded. …

The Military And “Mob Rule”: The Cef Riots In Calgary, February 1916, P. Whitney Lackenbauer

Canadian Military History

During the First World War, unruly and ill-disciplined Canadian soldiers, on “assorted ’patriotic’ pretexts,” damaged local property and battled with local police forces in Victoria, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Campbellton, New Brunswick, and other Canadian centres. The riots in Calgary in February 1916 involved members of Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) battalions encamped near the city. While historians have focused on the anti-German nature of the attacks, several other considerations must be examined to explain the unlawful behaviour. Although a court of inquiry into the riot failed to conclude who was responsible, the contemporary evidence suggests strongly that soldiers, rather than civilians, …

A Military Engima: The Canadian Air Service Company, 1948-1949, Bernd Horn

Canadian Military History

The Canadian Special Air Service (SAS) Company is truly a military enigma. Very few people are aware of its short-lived existence. Those who are normally have a misunderstanding of its origins and role, a misconception largely reinforced by the sparse and largely inaccurate material that has been written on the subject. For example, most believe that it was raised specifically to provide a commando capability within the Canadian Army immediately after the Second World War.

The story of the Canadian SAS Company is actually surreptitious. The army originally packaged the sub-unit as a very benevolent organization, centred on aid to …

Providing The Gift Of Life: Canadian Medical Practitioners And The Treatment Of Shock On The Battlefield, Bill Rawling

Canadian Military History

The story of Ambroise Pare’s discovery has been told often; of how, during Francis I’s campaign against Turin in 1536-37, he ran out of the oil medical practitioners used to cauterize the stumps of amputees and used an herbal remedy and ligatures instead; and of how the patients treated by the latter method did so much better than those tortured with the former. The tale has much to commend it to the popular imagination: a medical hero makes a serendipitous discovery to relieve the suffering of thousands. However, the story is an exception to a steadfast rule in warfare, for …

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 …