Artifact 4 Dark Side of Canadian Soldiers

As the Great War went on Canadian soldiers developed two types of reputations. The first one mentioned previously was how well Canadian soldiers fought and how effective they had become. The second known reputation that is lesser known is how cruel Canadian soldiers were becoming as the war went on. Later parts of the First World War saw mistreatment of prisoners of war on both sides. Unfortunately Canadian soldiers were not exempt from this as they developed the reputation of shooting prisoners of war. This meant that even after the enemy had surrendered, Canadian soldiers would show no mercy and execute any enemy soldiers who would surrender. The most combat-experienced veterans of the Canadian armed forces who had experienced the horrors of the First World War were the ones committing these acts. But it wasn't just simply due to revenge. Many historians believe that the reason for these horrendous acts lies in the fact that Canadian soldiers had little to no discipline. Most likely, stemming from a lack of respect for officers' orders.          

Bibliography: 

Pascas, Brian. “Pursuit to Valenciennes 1918: The Fate of Soldiers at the Point of Capture.” Canadian Military History 31, no. 2 (July 2022): 1–33. 

https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol31/iss2/4/.