Montreal at War, 1914-1918

Review

"Terry Copp brilliantly combines the two fields of interest that defined his fruitful career—social and military history—to immerse readers in the urban emotions of Montreal and the muddy trenches of Europe. Montreal at War is an important addition to a flourishing body of literature on the Great War in Canada." -- Carl Bouchard, Professor of History, University of Montreal

"Terry Copp’s detailed study of wartime Montreal challenges many established ‘truths’ about Canada in the First World War. The war both united and divided Montrealers. But little-known strikes, hockey rivalries, and municipal tragedies also reveal the wartime city’s complex fault lines. A remarkable work." -- Geoffrey Hayes, Professor of History, University of Waterloo

"Terry Copp has given us a magnificent history of a city at war, not from the hindsight-skewed view of a historian a hundred years removed but from the perspective of the citizens who lived it. This is how history should be done." -- Douglas E. Delaney, Canada Research Chair in War Studies, Royal Military College of Canada


Product Description

Drawing from newspapers, journals, government reports, and archival records, Terry Copp – one of Canada’s leading military historians – tells the story of how citizens in Canada’s largest city responded to the challenges of the First World War.
Montreal at War addresses responses to the outbreak of war in Europe and the process of raising an army for service overseas. It details the shock of intense combat and heavy casualties, studies the mobilization of volunteers, and follows the experience of battalions from Montreal to the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Challenging long-held assumptions, Montreal at War aims to understand the war experience as it unfolded, approaching history from the perspective of those who lived through it.

About the Author

Terry Copp is a Canadian military historian, director emeritus of the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, and a professor emeritus at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is an award-winning author of more than twenty books on Canada’s role in the World Wars and an influential advocate for military history in both military and civilian education.

Alexander Maavara is a former graduate student at Wilfrid Laurier University and is currently a copyeditor and researcher.