The First World War was the first total war in the history of mankind. It threw hundreds of thousands of men into a cauldron of inhuman conditions. The stress on living and dying was often too much and for the first time expressions like shell-shock or self-inflicted wound became part of day-to-day vocabulary. Desertion was also a problem. Generals needed to keep up the discipline of their men, so in keeping with military law draconian measures could be taken “for the sake of example”. Twenty-five Canadian volunteers were executed by Firing Squad, a small, but sad footnote to Canada’s great contribution to the war.

by A. B. Godefroy