Reluctant Warriors : Canadian Conscripts and the Great War (Studies in Canadian Military History)

Dennis, Patrick M.

University of British Columbia Press（2017/09発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 332 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780774835978
• DDC分類 940.41271

Full Description

During the "Hundred Days" campaign of the First World War, over 30 percent of conscripts who served in the Canadian Corps became casualties. Yet, they were generally considered slackers for not having volunteered to fight. Reluctant Warriors is the first examination of the pivotal role played by Canadian conscripts in the final campaign of the Great War on the Western Front. Challenging long-standing myths about conscripts, Patrick Dennis examines whether these men arrived at the right moment, and in sufficient numbers, to make any significant difference to the success of the Canadian Corps. He examines the conscripts themselves, their journey to war, the battles in which they fought, and their largely undocumented sacrifice and heroism. Reluctant Warriors sheds new light on the success of the Military Service Act and provides fresh evidence that conscripts were good soldiers who fought valiantly and made a crucial contribution to the war effort.

Contents

Foreword / By J.L. Granatstein

Introduction: Slackers, Shirkers, and Malingerers

1 "The Blood Dimmed Tide"

2 Canada's New Fighting Forces

3 The First Canadian Conscripts in Combat

4 Conspicuous Gallantry at Amiens

5 "Draft Men" and the Battle of the Scarpe, 1918

6 The Hardest Single Battle: The Drocourt-Quéant Line

7 Canal du Nord and the Brotherhood of Arms

8 A Dangerous Advance Continued

9 Cambrai and Iwuy: "For a time hell was loose"

10 Honour and Duty in the Pursuit to Mons

11 The Equal of the Best

Conclusion: Evidence has a Way of Dissolving Theories

Appendices

Notes; Bibliography; Index