THE CANADIAN ARMY (original) (raw)

During the North-West Europe Campaign, the fighting efficiency of the Canadian Army had been severely tested. The infantry, the dominant arm in the conflict, suffered 70% of all casualties as it accounts for less than 15% of the total number of the Canadian forces in Normandy. These brutal conditions affected the organization of reinforcements as it shambled to provide a constant number of trained infantrymen for fighting. As a result, Canadian units ended up continuously under-staffed. Therefore, the training of infantry reinforcements was a key factor of the military effectiveness of the fighting units. However, it is generally considered that the combat capability of Canadian infantry reinforcements during World War II was less than satisfactory due to their inadequate training. Using a case study and new sources, the article calls into question this idea.

The motto of the Royal Canadian Air Force—per ardua ad astra—through adversity to the stars—might also serve as an apt expression when beginning research on individual Canadian airmen or airwomen of the Second World War. Without a guiding-hand, the first-time researcher is likely to experience some considerable “adversity” before locating their “stars.” This note introduces the key records and published

A review of Mike Bechthold's book about the trials and tribulations of Raymond Collishaw in the North African campaign during the early part of the Second World War.Canadian Military History: Vol. 28 : Iss. 1 , Article 19. Available at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol28/iss1/19

On the world wars at home, we were conscious of just scratching the surface. In part, brevity reflected scholarship: the many issues, great and small, that generations of historians have failed to elucidate, or those on which popular myth, passionately argued, still crowd out sober judgement. In part too, we self-censored, trying not to repeat entries elsewhere in the book. Even in skimming trees we covered plenty, although arguably – especially for World War I – not quite enough. Industry, women, local history, the economy, home defence, governance, administration, and wartime politics in both wars could all stand more room than time and sheaf space easily allowed. Of the summative challenges we faced in the book, these entries were among the greatest. Résumé : Nous étions conscients d’à peine aborder le sujet des guerres mondiales au pays. La concision reflétait en partie l’état de la recherche : les nombreux sujets, petits et grands, que des générations d’historiens n’ont pu écla...

History is a people’s record. So, what do we know of the people – great and not-so-great, famous and not-so-much – who populate Canada’s military past? The answer, based on any reasonable assessment of the material produced thus far, is precious little. Few soldiers have written their own tales and still fewer witnesses have drawn such subjects from obscurity into the mainstream narrative of the nation’s past. The reasons are complex, and worthy of more detailed study in their own right. The results are depressingly self-evident: frustrating omissions; unchallenged mythologies; damning silences. The dual entries that follow also highlight obvious exceptions gems of autobiography or interpretation, institutional achievements in research or publishing. The authors had current soldiers, stewards, and scholars unapologetically in mind. Who will tell your stories, if not you? Résumé : L’histoire constitue le dossier d’un peuple. Mais que savons-nous des individus – importants ou non, cél...