Research Catalog

Civilians at the sharp end : First Canadian Army Civil Affairs in northwest Europe /

Title
Civilians at the sharp end : First Canadian Army Civil Affairs in northwest Europe / David A. Borys.
Author
Borys, David A., 1981-
Publication
  • Montreal ; Kingston ; London Chicago : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2021]
  • ©2021

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Description
248 pages : illustrations, maps; 24 cm
Summary
"Mitigating the destruction and chaos wrought upon the civilian populations of northwest Europe during the latter years of the Second World War became the focus of Civil Affairs, a little-known branch of the First Canadian Army. Comprised of a motley collection of civilians-turned-soldiers--too old for combat yet too valuable to remain off the front lines--the members of Civil Affairs served as liaisons between Canadian combat forces and the civilians they encountered on the ground. Civilians at the Sharp End follows the story of the Civil Affairs branch through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany in 1944-45. David Borys highlights how Civil Affairs helped civilians caught in the jaws of war by delivering food and medicine, providing shelter for refugees and displaced persons, establishing law and order, dealing with resistance groups, and aiding in the reconstruction of infrastructure in damaged urban areas. Once in Germany the branch was further challenged as it transformed into a military government and became a force of occupation, rehabilitating a war-torn Germany, purging the state of its Nazi leadership, while at times having to protect German civilians from the recently liberated prisoners of the Nazi state. Borys demonstrates that while the Canadian Army was indeed concerned for the welfare of civilians, military operations took priority over civilian needs. Civil Affairs was forced to negotiate this complex terrain, assisting civilian populations while ensuring that they never impeded the work of the Canadian military and the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany."--
Subject
  • 1939-1945
  • Canada
  • Canada. Civil Affairs
  • Civilian war relief
  • Regimental histories
  • Western Europe
  • World War, 1939-1945 > Civilian relief > Europe, Western
  • World War, 1939-1945 > Regimental histories > Canada
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-244) and index.
Additional Formats (note)
  • Issued also in electronic format.
Contents
The AMGOT Model -- A Battlefield Classroom Civil Affairs in Northern France -- Death from Above in Belgium -- To Feed or Free the Netherlands -- From Civil Affairs to Military Government.
ISBN
  • 9780228006497
  • 9780228005476
  • 0228005477
  • 022800649X
Owning Institutions
Princeton University Library