Using the Legacy of World War I to Evaluate Canadian Military Leadership in World War II

Authors

  • Erin M. K. Weir University of Calgary

Abstract

Recent Canadian military history has not been kind to the men who led Canada’s Army in the Second World War. In particular, Canadian generals in World War II are presented as mediocre in contrast to their legendary counterparts in World War I. But is this a fair comparison? Canada’s military leadership resolved three main dilemmas in the first conflict: professional organization versus militia organization, meritocracy versus patronage, and allied integration versus national independence. Because these issues did not manifest themselves as resolvable dilemmas in the second conflict, the legacy of the Canadian Corps in World War I is not an appropriate benchmark for assessing Canadian military leadership in World War II.

Author Biography

Erin M. K. Weir, University of Calgary

Erin Weir holds a BA in Economics, History and Political Science from the University of Regina, is completing an MA in History through the University of Calgary, and began a Master of Public Administration at Queen’s University in September 2004. He had another essay published in the Spring 2003 edition of this journal. Erin was the New Democratic Party candidate in his home riding of Wascana in Canada’s 2004 federal election. For more information about his publications and activities, please visit his web-site: www.erinweir.ca.

Downloads

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2004): Fall 2004

Section

CDAI Graduate Student Symposium Award Winners