An Army of Never-Ending Strength

An army may march on its stomach, but it needs more than hot dinners to fight. As Canadians battled through Northwest Europe in the late stages of the Second World War, how did they reinforce their front line? And at what cost?

An Army of Never-Ending Strength investigates the operational record of the First Canadian Army during 1944–45 to provide detailed insight into its administrative systems, structure, and troop and equipment levels. In a close analysis of monthly resources, losses, and replacement flow, Captain Arthur W. Gullachsen demonstrates the army’s effectiveness at reinforcing its three traditional combat arms. The total fighting power of the infantry, armour, and artillery units was never inhibited for long.

An Army of Never-Ending Strength draws a powerful conclusion: the administrative and logistical capability of the Canadian Army created a constant state of overwhelming offensive strength, which made a marked contribution to eventual Allied victory.

Arthur W. Gullachsen is an assistant professor in the History Department of the Royal Military College of Canada. He has published in the Canadian Military History Journal and Britain at War magazine and is a contributor to the Large-Scale Combat Operations series of the US Army University Press.

"It would be good to have more studies of how armies reprovisioned during World War II, and Gullachsen’s is a model to follow."