Mitigating the destruction and chaos wrought upon the civilian populations of northwest Europe during the latter years of the Second World War became the focus of Civil Affairs, a little-known branch of the First Canadian Army. Comprising a motley collection of civilians-turned-soldiers – too old for combat yet too valuable to remain off the front lines – the members of Civil Affairs served as liaisons between Canadian combat forces and the civilians they encountered on the ground.

Civilians at the Sharp Endfollows the story of the Civil Affairs branch through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany in 1944-45. David Borys highlights how Civil Affairs helped civilians caught in the jaws of war by delivering food and medicine, providing shelter for refugees and displaced persons, establishing law and order, dealing with resistance groups, and aiding in the reconstruction of infrastructure in damaged urban areas. Once in Germany the branch was further challenged as it transformed into a military government and became a force of occupation, rehabilitating a war-torn Germany and purging the state of its Nazi leadership, while at times having to protect German civilians from the recently liberated prisoners of the Nazi state.

Borys demonstrates that while the Canadian Army was indeed concerned for the welfare of civilians, military operations took priority over civilian needs. Civil Affairs was forced to negotiate this complex terrain, assisting civilian populations while ensuring that they never impeded the work of the Canadian military and the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany.

David A. Borys is a Canadian military historian and faculty member at Langara College in Vancouver. He has been seen on such history programs as APTN’s Nations at War and National Geographic’s Hitler’s Last Stand, and is the host of the popular history podcast Curious Canadian History. He lives in Vancouver.

David A. Borys' profile page

“A solid contribution to Canadian military history and to any study of Civil Affairs/Military Government in wartime.” Journal of Military History

“The first book on Canada’s role in Civil Affairs, Civilians at the Sharp End describes an important and neglected aspect of the campaign to liberate northwestern Europe and goes well beyond the official history, particularly in regard to the channel ports and Belgium.” Terry Copp, Wilfrid Laurier University.