At the Sharp End

This is the first volume in a two part series about the Canadians fighting in the Great War from 1914 - 1916.

Author Tim Cook begins by outlining the conditions that led up to the outbreak of the First World War.  Once Britain declared war, Canada was automatically in because foreign affairs were still controlled by Britain at the time.  Most Canadians were in favour of the war primarily for two reasons; because The Mother Country was involved and secondly they thought it would be over by Christmas, and the men didn't want to miss out on the excitement.

Initial training occurred at Valcartier, Quebec in a hastily set up camp.  Minister of Defence, Sam Hughes wanted to have his say in everything.  Further training would take place on the Salisbury Plains in cold and rain.  As a result, the Canadians didn't enter the fighting until 1915.

The author graphically describes the horrors of trench warfare that the Canadians encountered.  We're it not for pairing with the, by now, hardened British troops, matters would have been worse.  The Second Battle of Ypres was where the Canadians would forge their reputation.

Snipers, artillery, set battle attacks through craters, mud, machine gun bullets and poison gas brought death on a daily basis.  Men couldn't stay in those conditions for a long time, so they were rotated out on a regular basis for rest.  As time progressed the Canadians began to take over their own corps.  They had a style of fighting that was different compared to the British who regarded them as wild colonials.

The Somme in 1916 was a battle intended to relieve the pressure on the French at Verdun.  On July 1st, the Newfoundland Regiment was virtually wiped out, but General Haig wanted the battle to continue despite the heavy loss of life.  It would be a learning time for the Canadians, and they would become better soldiers for it.  These battles created a new national identity for them, too.

The author offers great detail about the first two years of the war, based on military dairies, the dairies of soldiers and their letters home.  Maps augment the telling of this story that would eventually see the Canadian army come to fight as an army unto itself, and not just a part of the British Expeditionary Force.  War is not nice, but it did have a way of forging a nation in fire.