A Still Untold Story of the Canadian Corps
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Canadian Military History Volume 11 Issue 2 Article 2 2002 Byng’s and Currie’s Commanders: A Still Untold Story of the Canadian Corps Patrick H. Brennan University of Calgary, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh Recommended Citation Brennan, Patrick H. "Byng’s and Currie’s Commanders: A Still Untold Story of the Canadian Corps." Canadian Military History 11, 2 (2002) This Article 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 editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Brennan: Byng’s and Currie’s Commanders Byng's and Currie's Commanders A Still Untold Story of the Canadian Corps Patrick H. Brennan n 1915, the Canadian Corps was little more transformation, and contributed mightily to the Ithan a rabble of enthusiastic amateurs. Yet by Canadian army's growing success on the Western 1917-18, it had become an accomplished Front. The first was the establishment of the professional fighting force, one characterized by merit principal in promotion at the senior level, Denis Winter as "much the most effective unit a process underway by 1916 and confirmed by in the BEF" and by Shane Schreiber as "the Sam Hughes' removal in November, 1916. In shock army of the British Empire."1 While theory at least, Hughes' firing cleared the path Canadian military historians have studied this for Canada's "best and brightest" officers to take evolution extensively few have examined the command of the nation's army. The second was decisive element in the transformation - the the institutionalization and standarization of development of a cadre of proficient senior learning within the army - a policy implemented combat officers. No one questions Currie's status by Byng and expanded by Currie in which the as Canada's best fighting general, but of the battalion, brigade and divisional commanders supporting team he and his predecessor, General played a central and indispensable role. Byng, assembled we know precious little. Who, Professionalization of the senior officer corps then, were the men commanding the Corps' four was thus a crucial step in the transformation of divisions, 12 infantry brigades and supporting the CEF into a first-rate fighting force.2 machine gun and artillery units - the senior officers whose abilities as trainers and fighters Military historians have largely inferred what were integral to the CEF's battlefield success? is known about the men who commanded the Corps' infantry divisions and brigades and From Flanders to Vimy these mainly specialized supporting arms. Good armies have Canadian-born, militia-trained officers learned good commanders; from Vimy Ridge onward the how to command by commanding. Their Canadian Corps was very good, Ipso facto, our apprenticeship taught them that their militia commanders must have been very good. But our training hardly prepared them for the war in knowledge of these individuals extends little which they were now engaged, and that the beyond this generalization. Jack Granatstein militia's patronage-ridden system of promotion concluded in The Generals, his study of in a fighting army got men killed. Fighting a Canada's Second World War commanders, that modern war demanded that all ranks be the Hundred Days "demonstrated...Canadian properly trained and equipped professionals. generals were the peers of those in any country."3 From hard lessons they developed the "Canadian A.M.J. Hyatt, Currie's biographer, has more way of war" characterized by meticulous cautiously asserted that while "a description of planning, training and rehearsal, artillery- Canadian generals during the First World War infantry co-ordination, and innovative tactics. is hardly a tale of great captains, one could argue Two factors proved essential to this that the quality of generalship among Canadians © Canadian Military History, Volume 11, Number 2, Spring 2002, pp.5-16. 5 Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2002 1 Canadian Military History, Vol. 11 [2002], Iss. 2, Art. 2 General Sir Julien Byng talking to Lieutenant-General Arthur Currie, February 1918. In France was very high."4 Why have Byng's and Canada and the West: eleven lived in Ontario, Currie's commanders, with rare exceptions, not nine in Quebec, seven in British Columbia, four been studied? Perhaps, as Arthur Lower in Manitoba, three each in Alberta and concluded, Canadians "became intensely proud Saskatchewan, and one in Nova Scotia.10 Their of their fighting men, though characteristically average year of birth was 1873, and for those they took little interest in their generals."5 serving at war's end, when the GOC Heavy Unfortunately, this disinterest has also extended Artillery and six of the 12 infantry brigadiers to Canada's military historians.6 were in their thirties, their average age was 42. Only three were francophones, and one of those Who were the combat officers of general rank - Brutinel - was a French national. As for who served under Byng and Currie during the religion, 62 percent were Anglicans, 21 percent period from late May 1916 through the end of Presbyterians, with Odium the lone Methodist. the war? This study includes only those who held Only two of the anglophones - Elmsley and A.H. their appointments for an extended period - at Macdonell - were Roman Catholic.11 least two months - with those whose tenures were terminated by the end of hostilities All of them had prewar military experience, naturally excepted. Of these 48 officers, seven though it had been obtained in a variety of ways: were British regulars, leaving 41 members of nine were Canadian regulars at the war's the CEF.7 outbreak, two had once served in the British army and another in the French, while the Drawing on the personnel records of these remaining 27 had served in the Canadian militia. individuals, one can draw several useful A dozen had South African War experience, and generalizations.8 Most - 74 percent - were 22 of the 27 from the infantry commanded a Canadian-born, a notably higher proportion than battalion at the front. was found among the ranks (generally accepted at only slightly more than 50 percent) and even Their prewar careers confirm that most were among battalion commanders where the figure solidly ensconced in the middle class with was 65 percent.9 At the time of enlistment, they careers in the military, business or the were almost equally split between Central professions. Apart from the nine serving in the 6 https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol11/iss2/2 2 Brennan: Byng’s and Currie’s Commanders regular forces (Burstall, Elmsley, Ketchen, Of the 25 senior commanders Currie MacBrien, the two Macdonells, Panet, Thacker inherited in June 1917 (including Currie's own and Williams), a further two listed their replacement as OC the 1st Division, A.C. occupation as "soldier" (Bell and Hilliam). Macdonell),13 Thirteen were still there at the Professional occupations accounted for a further armistice 17 months later. Of those Currie dozen, including seven lawyers (John Clark, replaced, four were British or ex-British regulars Embury, Griesbach, Hill, McLaren, Ormond and who moved back to the British army and another Alexander Ross), four engineers (Brutinel, - Bell - had been wounded.14 From the Garnet Hughes, McNaughton and Tremblay), remainder of that initial cadre, Loomis replaced and one dentist (Stewart). Only two - Draper Lipsett as OC 3rd Division while Rennie, A.H. and Dyer - listed their occupations as farmers. Macdonell, Elmsley, McLaren and Hill were Most of the remainder were in business and replaced as Brigadiers chiefly (though in related activities: three were merchants (Rennie, Macdonell's case, certainly not solely) because Turner and Tuxford), McCuaig was a stock they had worn out. The removal of Ketchen and broker, while Arthur Currie, Dodds, and Odium Mitchell was dictated by performance.15 were in real estate and insurance. King was in manufacturing, as was Loomis who was also a Most striking is not the number of building contractor. John Ross was a miller. replacements but the number who continued to There was one senior civil servant (W. Hughes, a soldier on efficiently. Including Currie himself, prison inspector), one newspaper publisher seven officers served the full period, another (Watson), one journalist (Odium's other career), seven served from two years to 28 months, while a "secretary" (Mitchell), and an "agent" (Robert seven more served between 18 and 23 months. Clark). From the middle of 1916 onward, only a relative handful - maybe six - of the 42 Canadian officers They were also a homogeneous group in seem to have been replaced for "deficient another way - those who got to France generally performance" without at least the extenuating stayed there. Tenure of command was circumstance of exhausting service at the front.16 pronounced among senior officers during the 29 Another six fell into the latter category, several month long Byng-Currie regime. At the end of of them after a long period of exemplary May 1916, Byng inherited 22 senior service.17 commanders: four divisional commanders, 12 infantry brigadiers, three divisional artillery Byng and Currie's commanders were a self- commanders,12 GOCs Royal Artillery (GOCRA) confident group who had grown accustomed to and Heavy Artillery (GOCHA) and a Brigadier- leading and winning, important qualities in General, General Staff. Of these, Mercer was successful combat officers. A significant number promptly killed and Williams taken prisoner in had been with the army from the start at "Bloody the same action, necessitating Lipsett's Ypres" - seven future divisional commanders, promotion to divisional command, Loomis's eight infantry brigadiers, a GOCRA and GOCHA switch to replace Lipsett (and Odium's and three divisional artillery commanders.18 promotion from battalion to replace Loomis), Some were promoted by virtue of Sam Hughes' and Elmsley's promotion from command of a patronage, most by virtue of merit, and not a cavalry regiment to replace Williams.