It may be stated here that though a fifth Canadian division was formed and thoroughly trained in England, it never reached France. Canada until the passing of the Military Service Act on July 6, 1917, depended solely on voluntary enlistment. Up to that time Canada, with a population of less than 9,000,000 had recruited 525,000 men by voluntary methods. Of this number 356,986 had actually gone overseas. Voluntary methods at last, however, failed to supply drafts in sufficient numbers to keep up the strength of the depleted reserves in England, and in consequence conscription was decided upon. By this means, 56,000 men were drafted in Canada before the war ended. In the meantime, through heavy fighting the demand for drafts became so insistent that the Fifth Canadian Division in England had to be broken up to reinforce the exhausted fighting divisions in France.
It would be an incomplete summary of Canada’s part in the war that did not mention some of the men who have been responsible for the success of Canadian arms. It is obviously impossible to mention all of those responsible; it is even harder to select a few. But looking backward one sees two figures that stand forth from all the rest—General Sir Sam Hughes in Canada, and General Sir Arthur Currie, commander of the Canadian corps.
To General Sir Sam Hughes must be given the credit of having foreseen war with Germany and making such preparations as were possible in a democracy like Canada. He it was of all others who galvanized Canada into action; he it was whose enthusiasm and driving power were so contagious that they affected not only his subordinates but the country at large.
Official Canadian War Records.
“TIME’S UP! OVER YOU GO!”
The word comes from the officer, watch in hand, “Time’s up! Over you go!” and instantly the men from the Dominion begin to climb out of the trench. The picture shows the departure of the first of the three or more lines or “waves” that moves forward over “No Man’s Land” against the enemy trenches.
Sir Sam Hughes will be remembered for the building of Valcartier camp and the dispatch of the first Canadian contingent. But he did things of just as great importance. It was he who sought and obtained for Canada huge orders for munitions from Great Britain and thereby made it possible for Canada to weather the financial depression, pay her own war expenditures and emerge from the war in better financial shape than she was when the war broke out. It was easy to build up a business once established but the chief credit must go to the man who established it.
Sir Sam Hughes was also responsible for the selection of the officers who went overseas with the first Canadian contingent. Among those officers who subsequently became divisional commanders were General Sir Arthur Currie, General Sir Richard Turner, General Sir David Watson, Generals Lipsett, Mercer and Hughes.
Of those generals, Sir Arthur Currie through sheer ability ultimately became commander of the Canadian corps. This big, quiet man, whose consideration, prudence and brilliancy had won the absolute confidence of Canadian officers and men alike, welded the Canadian corps into a fighting force of incomparable effectiveness—a force which was set the most difficult tasks and, as events proved, not in vain.