"Canadian Generals" Topic

"The footage was filmed by Walter Buckstone, cameraman with the CWRO, and contains images of the Canadian Scottish Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, along with brief close-ups of Brigadier-Generals James H. MacBrien and Victor Odlum, smiling and speaking to the camera. This is followed by group shots of Canadian officers. Towards the end of the clip we see images of the American pilot Eddie Rickenbacher and of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig.

Brigadier-Generals MacBrien and Odlum were among the most capable of Canada's commanding officers. They had been appointed through a process initiated by Lt-General Sir Julian Byng that aimed to recognize merit rather than "connections" to Sam Hughes when filling senior positions. Lt-General Sir Arthur Currie considered them among his favourites and was considering them both for promotion in the closing weeks of the war. Both were key participants in Currie's efforts to develop a more thorough system of military planning, as new methods of warfare rendered 19th century military methods obsolete. The new system of "organized learning" entailed unforeseen levels of pre-battle preparation and meticulous post-battle analysis.

MacBrien was one of the few Canadian commanders who was a professional soldier at the outset of the war, having recently completed training at the British Staff College in Camberly. When the war started he was initially employed as a staff officer with the 1st Canadian Division. He had his first opportunity to command with the 4th Division in 1916, the last division Canada sent into France. He was reputed to be reserved and somewhat aloof but also kind: he is said to have openly wept on the evening of September 2, 1918, when the faulty planning of his superiors had led to heavy Canadian casualties during the attack on the Droucourt-Quéant Line. He remained with the army following the war, going on to serve as RCMP Commissioner…"
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