Ted Glenn

In the Spring of 1870, Colonel Wolseley led an expedition of troops to Fort Gary in Manitoba to put down an insurrection led by Louis Riel. The focus of this book is the about actual preparations and travel experiences of the soldiers, voyageurs and indigenous who made the trip. As the route was through wild country with no roads or settlements, all food and supplies had to be brought along with the large party. There were no settlements where one could resupply. Transport was mainly on rivers and lakes and to avoid portaging, the party ran many rapids.

Accompanying the expedition were two Toronto newspaper reporters and the wife of one of them. As they are part of the title of the book, there part in the trip and the history of Manitoba is also a focus of this work.

There is a good introduction to the efforts of Riel and the original settlers of Manitoba to get self government within Canada but race and religious differences made this difficult resulting in an execution of of Orangeman Thomas Scott and the organization of Wolseley's expedition. Having done many wilderness canoe trips with portages and roping rapids, I have only admiration for the men and the woman who made this trip. A great read.… (lisätietoja)

Riding into Battle: Canadian Cyclists in the Great War by Ted Glenn history of the Canadian bicycle troops. Glenn is a professor at Humber College and writes about Canadian government and military history at home and abroad. He lives and cycles in Toronto.

World War I was a significant event in Canadian history. It put Canada as a nation on the world stage. Canada was no longer just seen as a Commonwealth nation of Britain. Their soldiers proved themselves on the battlefield, and Canadian forces were not filler troops but a national army. Vimy Ridge was Canada's Belleau Woods or Iwo Jima.

WWI was the first industrial war, and mechanization began replacing older methods of warfare. Machine guns and airplanes took to the field. The horse cavalry was no longer useful and motorized vehicles were very prone to failure. Moving troops quickly was the job of the rail system, but tracks did not always run where they were needed. Canada responded with bicycle troops. When the cavalry dismounted, it lost 25% of its firepower as some troops were required to secure the horses. Bicycles could be dropped, and all the soldiers could move on foot. Bicycle troops were weighed down with equipment; up to 90 lbs of were packed onto the bicycles. Even so, the cyclists were are to move farther and faster than other troops.

The trenches did create a problem for the cyclist troops. There was no moving to engage the enemy, but they could be moved from trench to trench and be assigned infantry and police duties that did not take away personnel from the trenches. Bicycles would seem to have a limited role in modern warfare, but the Soviets used bicycles through WWII. The Viet Cong loaded bicycles with supplies and transported them down the Ho Chi Mihn Trail. The Swiss Army maintained a Bicycle regiment until 2001. Bikes are cheap, low maintenance, and extremely efficient.

Glenn captures a little-known aspect of WWI and Canadian forces in Europe. The text is well documented and contains many more pictures than one would expect. The Canadian Cyclists formed a bond during the war as many small elite forces did. A well-done history of a little known, but very proud, WWI force.… (lisätietoja)