Strangers in Arms : Combat Motivation in the Canadian Army, 1943-1945

A penetrating study of why soldiers fight and what sustained Canadians in battle during the Second World War. A penetrating study of why soldiers fight and what sustained Canadians in battle during the Second World War. 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.-- 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. Robert Engen. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "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."-- Résumé de l'éditeur "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 Why do soldiers fight? What keeps them going? What compels them to face death when their long-time comrades have fallen around them? Strangers in Arms addresses these questions in a groundbreaking study of the behaviour, morale, and motivations of Canadian infantrymen on the front lines of the Second World War. Canada’s army has long faced intense criticism for its combat performance during the war, and Canada’s official history has presented Canadian soldiers as deficient, inexperienced, and unprepared in comparison with their enemies. Questioning entrenched views, Robert Engen explores a trove of contemporaneous documents to create a remarkable new portrait of Canadians at war. Rather than the popular "band of brothers" image of soldier cohesion in battle, he finds staggering casualty rates and personnel turmoil that left Canadian infantrymen often working with and fighting beside men they hardly knew. Yet these strangers in arms continued to fight - effectively and in good spirits - against a tenacious and deadly enemy, triumphing in the face of heartrending loss and sacrifice. Challenging old narratives about the Canadian soldier and supported by cutting-edge empirical and qualitative research, Strangers in Arms crafts a new understanding of what happens at the sharp end of battle. Cover Contents Figures and Tables Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Myths and Realities of the Canadian Army 2 Building the Canadian Infantry 3 The Canadians in Sicily and Italy, 1943 4 The Canadians in Italy, 1944–1945 5 The Canadians in Normandy, 1944 6 The Canadians in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 Conclusion: Strangers in Arms APPENDICES A: Methods and Sources B: PULHEMS C: DPS Mean “M” Score for Population D: Canadian Army Infantry Organization E: Discipline and Offence Statistics F: Comparative Casualty Data G: Morale Statistics Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z