The Second World War Canadian Army Air Photo Collection can be searched using keywords as well as dates. Previously, the photos were only searchable by location, and one of the most frequent requests we received was for a search format which allowed for dates. For example, if you would like to search for images of […]
Second World War Canadian Army Air Photos – By Rebekah Petzold
February 3, 2015 by
The First Canadian Army Air Photo collection was brought to the Laurier Center for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS) in 1985. Originally being used for the Air Photo Interpretation Section of the First Canadian Army during the Normandy Campaign and Northwest Europe in 1944-45, it was transported after the war to the air photo […]
Benzedrine Sulphate used in War Operations – by Brook Durham
November 10, 2014 by
The mechanized nature of warfare during the Second World War tested the limits of human endurance. Physical exhaustion had always concerned military commanders, but technological advances in the 1930s and 1940s created new possibilities for conducting operations across great distances, at any time of the day, including night warfare. Mechanized vehicles in the army, navy […]
Bayonet Training and Application – by Ben Toews
September 29, 2014 by
In the decades prior to the outbreak of the First World War, weapons technology underwent an upgrade. The introduction of machine guns and quick-fire artillery significantly changed the dynamics of waging war. Despite the lethality of the new firepower, however, a strong belief in the bayonet as an essential component for victory remained in Commonwealth […]
The Military Industrial Paperwork Complex
September 22, 2014 by
Ronnie Shephard’s career in operational research stretched from the Second World War to the 1990s. During this time he worked for many different government, corporate, and educational institutions, from the wartime Army Operational Research Group to the Royal Military College of Science to subsidiaries of BAE Systems. A great deal of Shephard’s work was designed […]
Panzers and the Western Allies
August 11, 2014 by
To this day, German Panzers of the Second World War enjoy a fearsome reputation and enduring mythology. Much of this has to do with notions of the perceived superiority of German armour over British and American tanks, ideas that took root during post-war military and historical collaboration between the Western Allies and the former Wehrmacht […]
Decoding Flying Neurosis in the Mediterranean
July 16, 2014 by
During the Second World War, many aircrew fell victim to what medical personnel termed ‘flying neurosis,’ a psychological/emotional reaction to stress analogous to ‘battle exhaustion’ suffered by ground troops. Today, this is referred to as an Operational Stress Injury (OSI). In 1945, the Operational Research Section of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces issued A Statistical Analysis […]
Desertion in the 118th Battalion
July 8, 2014 by
The Laurier Military History Archive holds the original papers of Lieutenant Colonel William Merton Overton Lochead, Commanding Officer of the 118th (North Waterloo) Overseas Battalion. This battalion was comprised primarily of Canadians of German descent and suffered from a high level of desertion during its year in Canada. Our collection documents the establishment, recruiting and […]
“Use of Infantry Weapons and Equipment in Korea” / Operations Research Officer
July 4, 2014 by
Starting with this entry, the LMH Archive will begin publishing a series of blog posts featuring select items from our holdings. This item is from the Ronnie Shephard Fonds. By Matt Baker In ground combat, the outcome of battle often depends on some of the most banal and unglamorous tools: the infantryman’s weapons and equipment. […]
Newly Digitized Item In The Ronnie Shephard Fonds
June 16, 2014 by
By Matt Baker “A detailed study of the actual effects of Naval and Army Fire and R.A.F. bombing on the beachies in the Assault phase of “Overlord.”” / COHQ Special Observer Party In the days following the D-Day landings, British military officials dispatched observers to the Normandy beaches in order to assess the effectiveness of […]
