The first five parts of an all-new episode of Professor Darryl Dee’s Great Battles in History podcast has been released. In previous episodes, Professor Dee examined the Battle of Thermopylae and its legacy, followed by the bloody Battle of...
Category: War and Society
Bob Bergen has won the 2019 C.P. Stacey Award
[Cliquez ici pour le français]2019 Winner: Bob Bergen Scattering ChaffThe C.P. Stacey Award Committee and the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS) have awarded Professor Bob Bergen of the University of Calgary with the 2019 C.P....
Bob Bergen a été nommé gagnant du prix 2019 C.P. Stacey
[click here for English]Gagnant 2019: Bob Bergen Scattering ChaffLe Comité du Prix C.P. Stacey et le Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS) ont décerné le Prix C.P. Stacey 2019 au professeur Bob Bergen de l’Université de Calgary pour...
Gridlock Averted: The Importance of the Canadian Corps’ Tramways Organization at Second Arras in 1918
by Bill Stewart In the Hundred Days campaign of 1918, the Canadian Corps had significant advantages over comparable British formations. One advantage less noted was its tramway organization that was instrumental in sustaining its high operational tempo. Tramways were...
Now Available on YouTube – Stopping the Panzers: Canada’s Forgotten Overlord Mission with Marc Milner
The Maple Leaf Route, Part II Historians have traditionally criticized the 3rd Canadian Division for its 'slow' progress after 6 June, for its failure to take Caen when it had a chance, and for succumbing to German counter-attacks and digging in on the Oak Line. But...
On War & Society E43: Broken Promises with Christopher Capozzola
The United States and the Philippines have been intimately bound by conflict. A US colony from 1898 to 1946, it remained an important US ally in the Pacific. In that time, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos fought and died for...
Now Available on YouTube: Juno Beach, 1944-2014: An Overview with Terry Copp
The Maple Leaf Route, Part I Terry Copp first visited the Normandy beaches in 1981 when researching Maple Leaf Route: Caen. Armed with the original maps and air photos, he studied the terrain, a key primary source for tactical and operational history. Copp has...
On War & Society E42: A Curious Case of Shell Shock with Joy Porter
In April 1918, Canadian soldier Frank "Toronto" Prewett was buried alive on the Western Front. Managing to claw his way out of the earth, Prewett was reborn but with a lasting trauma that manifested in a curious way. While recuperating alongside Siegfried Sassoon and...
Underestimated Leadership: Assessment of Harry Crerar’s competency during WWII
by Marianne Grenier This article is part of the Canadian Military History Colloquium Web Series, created to provide an online space for papers which otherwise would have been presented at the 31st Canadian Military History Colloquium, if not for last year's...
Recordings Available from the 31st Canadian Military History Colloquium
On War & Society E41: A War of Emotions with Lucy Noakes
The first half of Britain’s twentieth century was shaped by death. Between 1914 and 1918, over 700,000 men died in the First World War, followed by another 250,000 between 1918 and 1919 from the influenza pandemic. Over three decades later, another 380,000 were killed...
Call for Papers: Submissions to the Cape Breton Highlanders Conference on Military and Social History
Call for Papers: The Cape Breton Highlanders and the Shaping of Canada:Conference on Military and Social History Cape Breton Highlanders Association / Cape Breton University / Atlantic Memorial ParkSeptember 30, 2021 at Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia On...
Call for Papers: Submissions to the Cape Breton Highlanders Conference on Military and Social History
Call for Papers: The Cape Breton Highlanders and the Shaping of Canada:Conference on Military and Social History Cape Breton Highlanders Association / Cape Breton University / Atlantic Memorial ParkSeptember 30, 2021 at Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia On...
The Canadians who Captured the First Tiger Tanks where No Canadian Forces Fought, Part III
by Bruce Oliver Newsome This is the third and final article in a three-part series on the deployment of German Tiger tanks in 1942, while Canadian forces were still staging in Britain for campaigns in Europe. Nevertheless, thanks to opportunities for a few Canadian...
On War & Society E40: The Great War at Home with Martha Hanna
For a long time historians studying the First World War had to rely on the memoirs of soldiers, but over the last several decades, more and more letters have made their way into the archives as family members inherit and donate the written material of their relatives....
Great Battles in History: The Battle of Hattin
The first four parts of an all-new episode of Professor Darryl Dee’s Great Battles in History podcast has been released. In the inaugural episode, Professor Dee examined the Battle of Thermopylae and its legacy, followed by the bloody Battle of Cannae during the...
The Canadians who Captured the First Tiger Tanks where No Canadian Forces Fought, Part II
by Bruce Oliver Newsome This is the second article in a three-part series on the deployment of German Tiger tanks in 1942, while Canadian forces were still staging in Britain for campaigns in Europe. Nevertheless, thanks to opportunities for a few Canadian personnel...
On War & Society E39: Biodefense and the War on Terror with Gwen D’Arcangelis
In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, five people were killed and another seventeen were injured from anthrax spores as part of a deliberate attack against members of the US media and Senate. Fears quickly spread that this was another incident of...
The Canadians who Captured the First Tiger Tanks where No Canadian Forces Fought, Part I
by Bruce Oliver Newsome This is the first article in a three-part series on the deployment of German Tiger tanks in 1942, while Canadian forces were still staging in Britain for campaigns in Europe. Thanks to opportunities for a few Canadian personnel to volunteer for...
Book Review: “A Midnight Massacre: The Night Operation on the Passchendaele Ridge, 2 December 1917: The Forgotten Last Act of the Third Battle of Ypres” by Michael LoCicero
Michael LoCicero. A Midnight Massacre: The Night Operation on the Passchendaele Ridge, 2 December 1917: The Forgotten Last Act of the Third Battle of Ypres. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company, 2014. Pp. 517. By William F. Stewart, Independent Researcher This review...
Call for Papers: Submissions to the CDA Institute On Track Publications
Call for Papers: Submissions to the CDA Institute On Track Publication (en français ci-dessous) On behalf of my editor colleagues Dr. Robert Martyn (Queen's University) and Dr Youri Cormier (Royal Military College of Canada), I would like to invite you to submit...
On War & Society E38: Disaster in Halifax, 1917 with Roger Sarty
On the morning of 6 December 1917 two cargo vessells, the SS Mant Blanc and SS Imo collided in Halifax Harbour. The resulting catastrophic explosion occurred thousands of miles away from the Western Front but it was a direct result of the First World War. The war was...
Now available: David O’Keefe’s Seven Days in Hell
In October, David O'Keefe gave a talk as part of our webinar series based on his book Seven Days in Hell: Canada's Battle in Normandy and the Rise of the Black Watch Snipers. His talk is now available on our YouTube channel. More than 300 soldiers from the Black Watch...
On War & Society E37: Reclaiming Canada’s Second World War with Tim Cook
In his new book The Fight for History: 75 Years of Forgetting, Remembering and Remaking Canada’s Second World War, Tim Cook reminds us that "if we do not tell our own stories, no one else will." But the ways in which Canadians have chosen to remember the Second...
Book Review: Thunder in the Skies: A Canadian Gunner in the Great War by Derek Grout
Derek Grout. Thunder in the Skies: A Canadian Gunner in the Great War. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2015. Pp. 472. By Kyle Pritchard, Wilfrid Laurier University. The study of First World War diaries, both personal and operational, has grown considerably over the last two...
The French Commando Course of Vieux-Brisach, Winter 1976
by Corporal Ret. Frank Reid This article is part of the Canadian Military History Colloquium Web Series, created to provide an online space for papers which otherwise would have been presented at the 31st Canadian Military History Colloquium, if not for this year's...
“If my Son had not Joined the Army, He would Still be Alive…”: The Struggle to have Soldier Suicides Recognized as War-Related Deaths
by Kathleen Taggart I would like to thank the student researchers and volunteers who made this work possible through the digitization of First World War soldiers pension files, along with Georgia Gingrich, Emily Oakes, Matt Baker, and Dr. Mark Humphries at the LCMSDS....
Now available: Tim Cook’s webinar “The Fight for History”
In September, Tim Cook launched his new book The Fight for History: 75 Years of Forgetting, Remembering, and Remaking Canada's Second World War. His talk is now available below and on our YouTube channel. Based on his new book, historian and best-selling author Tim...
On War & Society E36: The Black Watch Snipers with David O’Keefe
David O’Keefe is the author of One Day in August: The Untold Story Behind Canada’s Tragedy at Dieppe and his most recent book, Seven Days in Hell: Canada’s Battle for Normandy and the Rise of the Black Watch Snipers. Never one to shy away from public...
Ghostly Tales, Dark Tourism and the (Un)Haunted Landscapes of the First World War
by Kyle Falcon Every October ghost tours spring up around various historical sites. Sometimes these are harmless ways for heritage sites to share local history, but other times, they exploit the past for commercial gain. The ugly side of our fascination with dark...
Book Review: The British Commonwealth and Victory in the Second World War by Iain E. Johnston-White
Iain E. Johnston-White. The British Commonwealth and Victory in the Second World War. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. Pp. 319. By Brad St. Croix, University of Ottawa This review appears in Canadian Military History Vol. 28 No. 1 (2019). It is often said...
On War & Society Special Video Edition, Part 2: Edward Cecil-Smith and the Spanish Civil War with Tyler Wentzell
Edward Cecil-Smith was a Christian, journalist, playwright, member of the Communist Party of Canada and a volunteer in the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion, where he served alongside 17,000 other Canadians and 45,000 internationals. Why did he and other Canadians fight in...
Great Battles in History: The Battle of Cannae
An all-new episode of Professor Darryl Dee's Great Battles in History podcast has been released. In the inaugural episode, Professor Dee examined the Battle of Thermopylae, its origins and its legacy, now he sets his sights on The Battle of Cannae: On August 2, 216...
Book Review: Flying to Victory by Mike Bechthold
Mike Bechthold. Flying to Victory: Raymond Collishaw and the Western Desert Campaign, 1940-1941. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2017. Pp. 281. By David Stubbs, Independent Researcher This review appears in Canadian Military History Vol. 28...
On War & Society Special Video Edition, Part I: War Junk with Alex Souchen
During the Second World War the Allies, including Canada, produced a tremendous amount of war material. But what happened to these objects after the war? As Canada transitioned from a war-time to peace-time economy, the War...
Shoring up the Supply Lines: The CFC in the First World War
by Cameron Bartlett This article is part of the Canadian Military History Colloquium Web Series, created to provide an online space for papers which otherwise would have been presented at the 31st Canadian Military History Colloquium, if not for this year's...
On War & Society E34: The Medic’s Tale with Ted Barris
At the age of 13, Ted Barris asked his father a common question: “Dad what did you do in the war?” This began a fifty-seven-year investigation into his father’s war experiences as a sergeant medic in the US Army during its bloodiest campaign during the liberation of...
Book Review: “An Army of Brigadiers: British Brigade Commanders at the Battle of Arras 1917” by Trevor Harvey.
Trevor Harvey. An Army of Brigadiers: British Brigade Commanders at the Battle of Arras 1917. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company, 2017. Pp. 433. By Tyler Wentzell This review appears in Canadian Military History Vol. 28 No. 1 (2019). The brigade level of...
Book Review: “Mobilizing Mercy: A History of the Canadian Red Cross” by Sarah Glassford
Sarah Glassford. Mobilizing Mercy: A History of the Canadian Red Cross. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2017. Pp. 408. By Adam Montgomery This review appears in Canadian Military History Vol. 28 No. 1 (2019). Sarah Glassford’s...
Chinese Canadian Secret Warriors in the Pacific, 1944-46
by Colonel Ret. Chris Weicker This article is part of the Canadian Military History Colloquium Web Series, created to provide an online space for papers which otherwise would have been presented at the 31st Canadian Military History Colloquium, if not for this year's...