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The Road to the Cobourg Court Room: New Material from the Archives of the Canadian War Museum on the Sir Arthur Currie-Sir Sam Hughes Dispute, 1918-1919 Barbara M

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The Road to the Cobourg Court Room: New Material from the Archives of the Canadian War Museum on the Sir Arthur Currie-Sir Sam Hughes Dispute, 1918-1919 Barbara M CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Wilfrid Laurier University Canadian Military History Volume 10 | Issue 3 Article 6 1-25-2012 The Road to the Cobourg Court Room: New Material from the Archives of the Canadian War Museum on the Sir Arthur Currie-Sir Sam Hughes Dispute, 1918-1919 Barbara M. Wilson Canadian War Museum Recommended Citation Wilson, Barbara M. (2001) "The Road to the Cobourg Court Room: New Material from the Archives of the Canadian War Museum on the Sir Arthur Currie-Sir Sam Hughes Dispute, 1918-1919," Canadian Military History: Vol. 10: Iss. 3, Article 6. Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol10/iss3/6 This Canadian War Museum is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Canadian Military History by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Wilson: The Road to the Cobourg Court Room: New Material from the Archive The Road to the Cobourg Court Room New Material from the Archives of the Canadian War Museum on the Sir Arthur Currie- Sir Sam Hughes Dispute, 1918-19 Barbara Wilson he post-First World War dispute Garnet Hughes had commanded a T between Sir Sam Hughes, Minister brigade in France until he was promoted of Militia and Defence from October 1911 to command the 5th Canadian Division to November 1916 and Sir Arthur Currie, as a major-general upon its formation in General Officer Commanding the England in February 1917. Sir Sam Canadian Corps from 9 June 1917 to the Hughes had provided for the creation of end of the war, must be one of the least this division, and even a later 6th, when dignified episodes in Canadian military he was Minister of Militia and Defence history. Hughes, although very energetic, and he planned for it to take the field as was also erratic and arbitrary and was fired by a fighting formation with the Canadian Corps in Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden for his France. Currie opposed this, as he believed that, inefficient administration of the Canadian military at four divisions, the Canadian Corps had reached forces overseas. 1 Currie, on the other hand, led the size of maximum efficiency and sustainability. the Canadian Corps in a stunning series of Currie's view prevailed and the 5th Division was successes: Hill 70, Passchendaele, Amiens, the broken up in February 1918, its personnel sent Drocourt-Queant Line, the Canal du Nord, and as reinforcements to units already at the front. 4 the final entry into the Belgian town of Mons on This flaunting of Hughes's wishes, and probably the last day of the war. He has, indeed, been viewed especially the denial of a significant command to by historians as one of the war's most capable his son, led Hughes, possibly even before the war field commanders and, arguably, as Canada's had ended, to begin a vitriolic campaign of greatest native-born military commander. 2 denunciation against Currie. The corps commander was, he declared, a cowardly Although Currie owed his initial appointment incompetent who had been frivolous with as a brigade commander at the start of the war to Canadian lives, particularly in the last Canadian Hughes, the two men came eventually to clash on action of the war, the entry into Mons. many issues. Possibly what rankled Hughes the most, however, was Currie's refusal, after Hughes made these attacks in Parliament, of becoming Corps commander, to appoint Hughes's which he remained a member until his death in son, Garnet, to command the 1st Canadian 1921. Here, of course, he was protected by Division, the command of which which Currie parliamentary privilege, which meant that Currie himself had recently vacated. In place of Garnet could take no action against him in the courts. Hughes, Currie, secured the appointment of But Currie, who left the army in July 1920 to Brigadier -General Archibald Macdonnell, who was become Principal of McGill University, continued more experienced and, in Currie's view, more to smart under the stigma of Hughes's attacks. able.3 Accordingly, when, in July 1927, the Port Hope ©Canadian Military History, Volume 10, Number 3, Summer 2001, pp.67-73. 67 Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2001 1 Canadian Military History, Vol. 10 [2001], Iss. 3, Art. 6 Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie, Sir Sam Hughes Commander of the Canadian Corps, Minister of Militia and Defence, 1917-1918 October 1911 to November 1916 newspaper, the Evening Guide, published an the advice of many, Currie jumped at the chance attack on him that was essentially a reiteration of to achieve redress when the attacks were made Hughes's calumnies, Currie sued. The resulting unambiguously in the public forum of the Port highly publicized libel trial, which was held in Hope newspaper. Cobourg, Ontario, lasted from 16 April to 1 May 1928, and has been brilliantly dissected by Robert During the last Hundred Days (actually 96) of J. Sharpe in his book, The Last Day, the Last the Great War, the Canadian Corps under Currie's Hour. Currie won the judgement, but the award command achieved one outstanding success after was small and the stress great, resulting in his another. Between8Augustand 11 November 1918 suffering a complete nervous collapse soon it liberated 228 cities, towns, and villages and afterwards. There can be no doubt that the trial's penetrated over 80 miles of enemy territory in five effects helped to hasten Currie's death at the age separate offensives: Amiens, Arras, Canal du of 57 on 30 November 1933.5 Nord, Cambrai, and the drive through Valenciennes to Mons. 6 The cost was high- some The Archives of the Canadian War Museum 42,000 casualties including, on the last day of the hold a small collection of Currie's papers, given fighting, one dead and 15 wounded.7 to it by Currie's son, Garner, in 1980. This collection contains some interesting letters relating Sir Sam Hughes had other views of these to the above events that have not previously been events, both with regard to the conduct of the seen by researchers and have not yet appeared in campaign and to the casualty rate, that were print. In particular, they cast some new and extremely negative. On 4 March 1919, in a broad interesting light on Currie's reaction to Hughes's ranging discussion of the Canadian Corps that charges while Currie, still overseas in the army, occupies 16 pages in Hansard he launched a bitter was forced to stand by relatively helplessly as the attack on Currie. Here, he read out a letter that attacks spewed forth in parliament. The he had written to Prime Minister Borden dated 1 correspondence reveals his sense of impotent rage October 1918 whilst the Canadians were both at the charges themselves and also at the advancing towards Cambrai (they did not enter failure of government to take a firm stand on his the city itself until 7 October) wherein he sought behalf. Their publication will help researchers to to draw Borden's attentions to "the useless better understand why, six years later and against 68 http://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol10/iss3/6 2 Wilson: The Road to the Cobourg Court Room: New Material from the Archive massacre of our Canadian boys." "I have on other I have only this to say.... Were I tn authority, the occasions," he continued in his letter, officer who, four hours before the Armistice was signed, and although he had been notified drawn your attention to massacres at Lens, beforehand that the Armistice was to begin at Passchendaele, etc. where the only apprent eleven o'clock, ordered the attack on Mons thus object was to glorify the General in command, needlessly sacrificing the lives of Canadian and make it impossible, through butchery, to soldiers, would be tried summarily by court have a Fifth and Sixth Division and two Army martial and punished so far as the law would Corp. allow. There was no glory to be gained, and you cannot find one Canadian soldier retumtng from In the present case, however, around Cambrai, France who will not curse the name of the officer It seems simply a case of'bull-head' and sendtng who ordered the attack on Mons. 9 up our gallant lads against positions swarmtng with machtne-guns, and without our boys betng Although members were used to Hughes's properly supported by tanks, or guns, to destroy these machtne gun positions .... tirades, they were especially shocked by this attack and worried about the possible effect on grieving I have no details other than general and special families of his accusation that soldiers' lives were reports, but I know the locality thoroughly and any General who would undertake to attack needlessly wasted. In fact, records were available Cambrai by suburb or street fighting should be at the time proving that only one soldier was killed tried by court martial. and another 15 wounded on the last day of the I think the time has arrived when you should war in Mons. Apparently, though, no one in assert yourself along positive lines, demand the parliament bothered to check into the matter at removal of incompetents and have this needless the time of Hughes's attack. (The dead soldier was slaughter for I can call it nothing else - of our the unfortunate Private George Lawrence Price of Canadian lads stopped.8 the 28th Battalion who, despite warnings from local citizens, stepped into an open street three In fact, when they got there, the Canadians found minutes before the eleven o'clock armistice and that the Germans had abandoned Cambrai and was shot in the right breast by a German sniper.
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