Lieutenant-general Sir Arthur Currie and the Canadian Corps 1917-1918: the evolution of a style of command and attack
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1991
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Abstract
Despite the efforts of a number of influential authors, the common view of the First World War remains one of futile battles wherein millions of men became casualties because of callous and inept generalship. This has carried over to Canadian views of the war, except that Canadians also believe that their troops were uncommonly good soldiers handicapped by such generalship. This is unfair and inaccurate. Between 1917 and 1918, the Canadian Corps was able to develop a particularly successful style of attack which succeeded consistently. By the end of 1918, the Canadian Corps was utilising a complex and efficient fire-power based attacking system which included sound tactical methods. This operational system evolved out of the lessons of previous years. That the Canadian Corps was able to develop such an effective attacking style is a tribute to its commander in 1917 and 1918, Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie - the first Canadian to command such a large national force as the Corps in combat. Currie's personal style of command was well suited to the First World War. It was a style he shared, to some extent, with Lt.-Gen. Sir John Monash, the notably successful commander of the Australian Corps in 1918. Currie's style evolved out of his background as a businessman, teacher and militia officer before the war. It was a style that was open to, and actively searched for, new ideas to increase success and redrice casualties, and Currie's command of a homogeneous, national Corps allowed new ideas to be easily integrated into the Canadian Corps.
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Bibliography: p. 109-116.
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Citation
Brown, I. M. (1991). Lieutenant-general Sir Arthur Currie and the Canadian Corps 1917-1918: the evolution of a style of command and attack (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/17492