Filling the Ranks: Manpower in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1918 (Volume 239) (Carleton Library Series)

A groundbreaking work on the management of Canadian manpower in the First World War. A groundbreaking work on the management of Canadian manpower in the First World War. Manpower is the lifeblood of armies regardless of time or place. In the First World War, much of Canada's military effort went toward sustaining the Canadian Expeditionary Force, especially in France and Belgium. The job was not easy. The government and Department of Militia and Defence were tasked with recruiting and training hundreds of thousands of men, shipping them to England, and creating organizations on the continent meant to forward these men to their units. The first book to explore the issue of manpower in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, Filling the Ranks examines the administrative and organizational changes that fostered efficiency and sustained the army. Richard Holt describes national civilian and military recruitment policies and criteria both inside and outside of Canada; efforts to recruit women, convicts, and members of First Nations, African Canadian, Asian, and Slavic communities; the conduct of entry-level training; and the development of a coherent reinforcement structure. Canada's ability to fill the ranks with trained soldiers ultimately helped make the Corps an elite formation within the British Expeditionary Force. Based on extensive research in British and Canadian archives, Filling the Ranks provides a wealth of new information on Canada's role in the Great War. -- provided by the publisher Cover 1 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Tables and Figures 8 Acknowledgments 10 Foreword 12 Abbreviations 16 Illustrations 18 Introduction 34 1 Militia Roots 44 2 Regulating Manpower: Government and Military Policies 1914–18 65 3 Enlistment Criteria 86 4 Alternative Sources of Manpower 114 5 The Recruiting Structure 1914–18 135 6 Infantry Training 159 7 Reinforcements: Policy, Management, and Wastage 200 8 Reinforcements: Canada to England 215 9 The Overseas Via Dolorosa: Reinforcements in England and France 240 Conclusion 282 Notes 288 Bibliography 360 Index 374 McGill-Queen’s,University,Press,2017,isbn,978-0-7735-4877-0,(cloth),isbn,978-0-7735-4910-4,(epdf),isbn,978-0-7735-4911-1,(epub) McGill-Queen’s University Press 2017,isbn 978-0-7735-4877-0 (cloth),isbn 978-0-7735-4910-4 (epdf),isbn 978-0-7735-4911-1 (epub) Richard Holt. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Issued Also In Electronic Formats.