Title Strangers in arms : combat motivation in the Canadian Army, 1943 1945 / Robert Engen

Published Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen's University Press, 2016

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Description 1 online resource Contents Myths and realities of the Canadian Army -- Building the Canadian infantry -- The Canadians in Sicily and Italy, 1943 -- The Canadians in Italy, 1944 1945 -- The Canadians in Normandy, 1944 -- The Canadians in Northwest Europe, 1944 1945 -- Conclusion : strangers in arms Summary "This book is a study of the combat motivation and morale of infantrymen in the Canadian Army during the Second World War. Using previously unexamined archival sources, including battle experience questionnaires, censorship reports, statistical analyses, and operational research, it offers a "big-picture" look at the human dimensions of warfare as experienced by Canadian soldiers in Italy and northwest Europe from 1943 to 1945. The work addresses many long-standing myths about the composition, behavior, and morale of the Canadians who fought in the Second World War, ie. "that the Canadian reinforcement stream produced poorly trained and unmotivated replacements, men who did not fit well into battle seasoned units and whose lack of basic skills, motivation and knowledge adversely affected the combat power of Canadian infantry units." Engen explains how this perception emerged and became entrenched in official and scholarly historiography, and he shows why it is largely untrue. After establishing some of thedemographic parameters of the Canadian Army in two background chapters, The author assesses the force structure, behavior in battle, morale, cohesion, and motivation of Canadian infantrymen in each of four periods during the war (Sicily and Italy,1943; Italy, 1944-45; Normandy, 1944; northwest Europe, 1944-45), comparing them to demonstrate continuities and change based upon shifting conditions, ground, and circumstances. As with his prior book, Engen connects his empirical research with wider literature in the field--this time using the concept of "swift trust" to explain the cohesion in the Canadian regiments, even as their personnel frequently changed. He proposes a new interpretation of Canadian combat motivation: due to high casualty rates, influxes of new reinforcements, and organizational turmoil, Canadian soldiers frequently fought as "strangers-in-arms" alongside unfamiliar faces. In spite of this, they maintained remarkably high levels of cohesion, morale, and effectiveness throughout the fighting. Engen argues that these successes can be attributed to the phenomenon of swift trust cohesion, the preservation of core leadership despite heavy casualties, and effective training."-- Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Subject Canada. Canadian Army -- History -- World War, 1939-1945 SUBJECT Canada. Canadian Army fast Subject World War, 1939-1945 -- Regimental histories -- Canada World War, 1939-1945 -- Canada World War, 1939-1945 -- Manpower -- Canada World War, 1939-1945 -- Psychological aspects. Motivation (Psychology) -- Canada -- History -- 20th century Military morale -- Canada -- History -- 20th century Soldiers -- Canada -- Psychology Combat -- Psychological aspects. Combat sustainability (Military science) Military morale -- Canada -- 20th century HISTORY -- Military -- Canada. HISTORY -- Europe -- Western. Combat -- Psychological aspects Combat sustainability (Military science) Manpower Military morale Motivation (Psychology) Psychological aspects Regimental histories Soldiers -- Psychology Militär Weltkrieg 1939-1945 Motivation Kampfeinsatz Canada Genre/Form Electronic books History Form Electronic book ISBN 9780773599086 0773599088 9780773599093 0773599096 9780773547254 0773547258

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