From Normandy to the Scheldt logistics and the First Canadian Army (June-September 1944)

During its pursuit of the German Army in August 1944, the Allied Expeditionary Force (AEF) ran into serious logistical problems including shortages of fuel and other supplies. Logistical problems of the First Canadian Army in Northwest Europe (1944-1945) were indicative of those facing the other Allied armies, the entire AEF, and are useful in identifying those factors that led to the (temporary) failure of the pursuit. The problems faced by the Canadian army during the pursuit are therefore an important aspect of any logistical, and hence strategic and operational, study of the campaign. A study of Canadian operations, however, raises a second important matter: as the "long left flank" of the Allied advance, the First Canadian Army was strategically located to resolve the supply problem for the entire AEF by opening Antwerp to shipping in the early fall of 1944.;Significantly, little study and analysis has been devoted to the influence of logistics on the operations of the First Canadian Army during the pursuit. This work addresses this missing dimension in order to provide a clearer and more authentic image of the Canadian army--one that includes logistics. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).