Portraits of Battle brings together biography, battle accounts, and historiographical analysis to examine the lives of a cross-section of Canadians who served in the First World War. All Canadians are taught about Vimy Ridge, but that celebrated victory was just one battle among many to shape the country’s experience of the war. These portraits of the formerly faceless men and women honoured on war memorials provide a fresh and nuanced perspective on the complex legacy of the Great War in Canadian history.

Portraits of Battle brings together biography, battle accounts, and historiographical analysis to examine the lives of a cross-section of Canadians who served in the First World War. All Canadians are taught about Vimy Ridge, but that celebrated victory was just one battle among many to shape the country's experience of the war. These portraits of the formerly faceless men and women honoured on war memorials provide a fresh and nuanced perspective on the complex legacy of the Great War in Canadian history.