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Chris Madsen

Royal Military College of Canada, Defence Studies, Faculty Member

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Chris Madsen is a Professor in the Department of Defence Studies at the Canadian Forces College and Royal Military College of Canada in Toronto, Ontario. He teaches military officers and senior public servants on the National Security Programme and the Joint Command and Staff Programme. His fields of expertise include naval history, Canadian military law, shipbuilding, naval procurement, military support to federal law enforcement, national security policing, organized crime, ports and waterfront labor.

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Papers by Chris Madsen

A Sailor’s View of Early Service in the Marine nationale on the Eve of the First World War

The Northern mariner/Northern mariner, Apr 19, 2024

Conventional naval histories seldom consider the individual experiences of common sailors. Subalt... more Conventional naval histories seldom consider the individual experiences of common sailors. Subaltern and other approaches to history from below use new sources to take a different viewpoint. In May 1913, recruit Georges Brucelle arrived in Toulon to start voluntary service in France's Marine nationale. After completing common training, he specialized in torpedoes and undertook instruction to gain qualification. Assigned to a destroyer minelayer, Brucelle died along with many other of the ship's crew during operations in 1915. Personal letters sent to his family reveal insights into the working and social lives of a French sailor just before the Great War.

Robert K. Liu, Naval Ship Models of World War II in 1/1250 and 1/1200 scale: Enhancements, Conversions & Scratch Building by Chris Madsen

Northern Mariner, May 29, 2023

The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord some additional information and damage statistics to furt... more The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord some additional information and damage statistics to further highlight the effectiveness of the attacks. He rounds out the work with a few paragraphs on surviving airframes related to the Truk campaign. Pre-Hailstone information on Truk from 1914 to 1939 is covered, if not repeated, in several places throughout the work. If this was reduced to just one location, it would help the work flow more smoothly and free up space within the restrictions of Osprey's format for additional information or photographs. Additionally, having a section at the end of an operation's coverage with statistical information or tables of losses would be an appreciated addition. This would allow for quick referencing of force disparity and loss illustration, further driving home the effectiveness of Allied operations and the dwindling Japanese capabilities as the campaign progressed. Finally, since the Aftermath section discusses the surviving aircraft of the engagements, it is surprising that the various sunken wrecks of Truk only warranted two sentences and no images (86). Given the ongoing efforts to locate airframes in the waters, the renown of some of the shipwrecks, and the looming threat posed by the fuel and munitions carried within, a more detailed discussion would help further illustrate the campaign's lingering presence in the modern day. Truk 1944-45 is a good introductory work about the various air assaults carried out by American and Commonwealth aircrews across 18 months against a beleaguered Japanese force who expected an altogether different type of enemy attack. Lardas provides solid summary information and important details regarding the involved airframes, plans, and attacks that illustrate the innovative island-hopping technique of aerial reduction that helped Truk morph from a potentially dangerous enemy base into a convenient live-fire training tool. For those interested in the air operations of the late war Pacific and the Japanese defenses of important forward naval anchorages, this text offers one a decent initial exposure to the topic.

Conrad Waters (ed.), Seaforth World Naval Review 2022 by Chris Madsen

Northern Mariner, May 29, 2023

to the extent that escape attempts by slaves working on the docks were almost expected, but such ... more to the extent that escape attempts by slaves working on the docks were almost expected, but such was the value of the work that they performed, that the risk was accepted. It was virtually assumed that a missing slave in a coastal community had attempted to escape by boat. Measures were put in place to thwart escape attempts: boats were searched before departing, free Black sailors had their freedom of movement restricted, and punishment for absconders and those that assisted them were harsh, while rewards were given to those who revealed them. But, as the book makes quite clear, these measures were no deterrent. The text is aimed primarily at an academic audience but is accessible enough for general readership. Indeed, I make no claim to be an expert on American slavery or the Underground Railroad, but I found the text to be both informative and, for the most part, engaging throughout. Some chapters are better than others, as may be expected when a book has multiple contributors, and while there is some minor repetition, all the contributors offer something unique about the respective areas they cover. All chapters are very well researched with extensive footnotes giving the text intellectual vigour. I do not know that this book will inspire new scholarship into the Saltwater Underground Railroad, but it certainly helps to raise awareness of its existence and of those who were involved. Highly recommended.

Steve R. Dunn, Battle in the Baltic: The Royal Navy and the Fight to Save Estonia & Latvia 1918-20 by Chris Madsen

Northern Mariner, May 29, 2023

The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord the relative dominance of the offense and defense. If mod... more The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord the relative dominance of the offense and defense. If modern analysts are to be believed, and technological change is faster now than it has ever been in the past, that rebalancing might create rapid changes in the military dynamics of the Indo-Pacific and affect defenses against the threat of the missiles. Doyle and Herzinger's Carrier Killer offers a thoughtful, thorough, and clear-eyed analysis of the possibilities created by China's deployment of antiship ballistic missiles. Rather than "silver bullet" weapons that change the balance of power in the Pacific, the authors demonstrate that these weapons are complex and unproven. At the same time, they certainly represent a threat to the safety of American aircraft carriers and the power projection mindset of American naval thinking. The vulnerability of the carriers has been a subject of debate for almost a hundred years. The authors do an excellent job of placing these new weapons in their technological, military, diplomatic, and informational context, backed up with excellent illustrations, maps and historical background. As a quick primer on important developments in the Pacific world, Carrier Killer offers naval professionals, contemporary analysts, historians, and students a valuable resource to help them understand the complexity of today's Sino-American naval competition.

5 Labour versus the Injunction: Insights into the Surveillance State and Public Order Policing during the 1966 Lenkurt Electric Strike

University of Toronto Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2022

War stimulus: The Japanese threat and rebirth of the North America Pacific Coast shipbuilding industry, 1937-1946

The International Journal of Maritime History, May 1, 2021

Henry Eccles, in classic studies on logistics, describes the dynamics of strategic procurement in... more Henry Eccles, in classic studies on logistics, describes the dynamics of strategic procurement in the supply chain stretching from home countries to military theatres of operations. Naval authorities and industrialists concerned with Japanese aggression before and after Pearl Harbor looked towards developing shipbuilding capacity on North America’s Pacific Coast. The region turned into a volume producer of merchant vessels, warships and auxiliaries destined for service in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Shipbuilding involved four broad categories of companies in the United States and Canada that enabled the tremendous production effort.

The Imperial Munitions Board and Merchant Shipbuilding in Canada

University of British Columbia Press eBooks, Feb 15, 2017

From Auvours Plateau to Minister of Marine: Limitations of Auguste Gougeard as an Agent of Organizational Change in the French Navy 1870- 1886

Northern Mariner, Jul 18, 2023

Following the Franco-Prussian War, the French Navy confronted the need for fundamental changes to... more Following the Franco-Prussian War, the French Navy confronted the need for fundamental changes to its organization during the early years of the Third Republic. Auguste Gougeard-a naval officer, general, politician, and cabinet minister-pushed for naval reform through his published writings and advocacy, and eventually gained the opportunity to implement change when he became political head of the navy. But, the established naval leadership disliked his personal qualities, republican ideals, and nonconsensus approach. This article traces Gougeard's military and political life, his role inside and outside the navy as an influencer, and relative effectiveness as minister of marine in Léon Gambetta's brief republican government. Complicated relations with the navy's top admirals impaired acceptance of proposed organizational changes in the French Navy that delayed real progress. Après la guerre franco-prussienne, la marine française fait face à des changements fondamentaux de son organisation au cours des premières années de la Troisième République. Auguste Gougeard-officier de marine, général, homme politique et ministre-a fait avancer pour la réforme navale à travers ses écrits publiés et ses plaidoyers, et a finalement eu l'opportunité de mettre en oeuvre des changements lorsqu'il est devenu chef politique de la marine. Mais la direction navale établie n'aimait pas ses qualités personnelles, ses idéaux républicains et son approche non consensuelle. Cet article retrace la vie militaire et politique de Gougeard, son rôle à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur de la marine en tant 7 Jean-Philippe Zanco, Dictionnaire des ministres de la marine (1689-1958) (Paris: Editions SPM, 2011), 500-502. Gougeard's private papers transferred from France's national archives to the defence historical service comprise two boxes and are uneven in nature, with mostly anecdotal value and few insights into his personality. Ministère des armées, Service historique de la défense, Vincennes (SHD), Marine GG2 5, Auguste Gougeard papers.

Stephen P. Roberts, French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859-1914: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates by Chris Madsen

Northern Mariner, Jul 27, 2023

Matthew Willis, Royal Navy Torpedo-Bombers vs Axis Warships 1939-45 by Chris Madsen

Northern Mariner, Jul 27, 2023

Book Reviews 163 (but later promoted) and never served at sea again. He, Sablin, and the three ot... more Book Reviews 163 (but later promoted) and never served at sea again. He, Sablin, and the three other officers judged wanting in Riga were evicted from the party. Thirteen Storozhevoy officers and other crew members who had actively supported Sablin were given the equivalent of dishonourable discharges. Sablin and a 20-year-old conscript who had acted as his assistant were formally tried months later. The sailor spent eight years in Russian jails while Sablin, whose idealism impressed his KGB interrogator, was shot. His family were not informed of his fate for almost a year. The Soviet regime supressed information about the incident while denying that it could ever have happened. Eyewitness accounts tell of the repercussions within Soviet Frontal Aviation. Von Essen discusses changes to internal Swedish intelligence reporting procedures and how operating hours for analysts were increased. The Hunt for the Storozhevoy is illustrated with clearly reproduced photographs and adequate maps. Colour plates of Soviet naval uniforms do not add to the story and are padding. This book is a careful account of an ill-fated attempt to initiate internal political reform in the USSR fifteen years before its collapse. Details about this episode remain obscure because official records are not available or were destroyed. Michael Fredholm von Essen's meticulous use of Swedish intelligence records in addition to Russian-language accounts that appeared years later make this as close to an authoritative record as possible.

Nick Robins, From War to Peace: The Conversion of Naval Vessels after Two World Wars by Chris Madsen

Northern Mariner, Mar 10, 2023

The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord The apogee of the narrative concerns Tiger's participatio... more The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord The apogee of the narrative concerns Tiger's participation in the Battle of Jutland. The prelude captures well the nervous tension and anticipation of imminent contact with the enemy, and the mock insouciance of pre-battle banter (150). The battle itself is told from two perspectives: first, the imagined or secondhand perspective of the lieutenant in the armoured conning-tower, 120 feet above the sea (151-161), a blow-by-blow account of spotting and salvos exchanged, including the sudden and shocking loss of the battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary, next ahead in line. The second perspective is the parallel, but more personal one, in the chapter "MO in Action." This is, I think, the most interesting, natural, and gripping chapter of the book. There are not many narratives of naval surgeons, and fewer still that convey with such immediacy the stress, the din, the grinding fatigue, and the uncertainty of service in the medical officer's "distributing station," the modern counterpart of the orlop or cockpit of Nelson's day. In the aftermath of the battle, there is the return to Rosyth, with inevitable operational post mortems. Muir himself, having had ten days leave in the preceding two and a half years, is posted ashore (against his own wishes to remain with the ship for the duration). The meat of the book is bracketed by two seagoing vignettes. The first is an amazing evocation of HMS Tiger at sea in a North Sea storm, amazing in the sense of how wet the ship is, and the violence of motion, in spite of the ship's size. The second vignette is of another night at sea, in a P&O liner headed east to his new posting. Muir is asked by an apprehensive passenger if he intends to turn in fully dressed (in consideration of the risk of being torpedoed). Muir answers in the negative, remarking, in a fitting epitaph to his experience in Tiger, "Look here! I've been so frightened for the past two and a half years that I cannot be frightened anymore. Good-night." John Muir completed his RN service as a Surgeon Rear-Admiral. Years of Endurance was his first book, followed in 1938 by Messing About in Boats (a brilliant account of his many adventures under sail, republished in 2016 by Lodestar Books). When war broke out in 1939, Muir was 67 and too old to be called up to active service. Undeterred, he secured a commission as a temporary sub-lieutenant, RNVR, and was lost when HM Yacht Campeador hit a mine in June 1940. Indeed, he could not be frightened any more. Years of Endurance is a most worthwhile read, and the new edition includes an introduction by retired RN Surgeon Rear Admiral Mike Farquharson-Roberts.

Henri-Pierre Grolleau, French Naval Aviation by Chris Madsen

Northern Mariner, Jul 18, 2023

The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord Then at 9:36 pm (13 minutes after the second signal), the... more The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord Then at 9:36 pm (13 minutes after the second signal), the fateful and most criticized "Most Immediate" signal for the convoy to scatter! "Scattering" and "dispersing" were not synonymous! With that signal, most escorts turned about and abandoned the neardefenseless freighters. The latter headed in all directions-those that headed more or less directly to Russia were picked off by U-boats and aircraft, while those that headed north into the icefield fared better. The armed trawler Ayrshire and three ships (Troubadour, Ironclad, and Silver Sword) painted themselves white and became ghosts (hence the title of the book), practically invisible in the icefield. The story line of the book, as seen through the eyes of their sailors, tells of their exploits in the ice and along the coast of Novaya Zemlya, a dash to Archangel with a few other ships which had found their way to that island, and then their experiences in the Russian port. I recommend this book because, not only does it tell the full story of PQ-17, but also provides the human element of wartime experiences and of life on board ships and in Russia. The "Notes on Sources" is not just "end notes" but a much fuller rendering of information and obiter dicta. The book concludes with a chapter called "The Reckoning." Need I say more?

Book Review: The Royal Navy since 1815: A New Short History

The International Journal of Maritime History, Jun 1, 2006

documents make clear. They also show that the well-known dispute about cruiser size and numbers w... more documents make clear. They also show that the well-known dispute about cruiser size and numbers was not just about naval status. The Americans opposed larger numbers of small British cruisers for their blockade potential and wanted larger ships to break such blockades. The threat of a potential Great Anglo-American War of the late 1920s, which the Washington Treaty helped dispel, looks even less unlikely in this context. The final section on "The Use of Belligerent Rights 1937-70" concentrates at first on the debate over the Spanish Civil War when the Royal Navy, rather against its better judgement, protected British merchant ships from the unrecognized belligerent depredations of nationalist warships. It then prints the British "Handbook of Economic Warfare" drawn up in the Summer of 1939 that "provided a definitive statement of the methods of economic warfare ... based on the experience of nearly a century since the declaration of the Treaty of Paris in 1856." [413] This is followed by a report of the Ministry of Economic Warfare of a year later that admitted that following the fall of France, "contraband control, previously the chief weapon of the economic war, becomes relatively unimportant" [498] and that new blockade measures were necessary. These are detailed in subsequent documents. The collection then goes on into the postwar period covering in the main the problems thrown up by the Chinese Civil War, the Cuba Quarantine and the Beira Patrol. One interesting fact thrown up by the documents is that Macmillan was minded to try to stop Kennedy imposing the Quarantine but thought better of it. The final section is a little scrappy and although (as has just been said) it contains interesting material it lacks the comprehensiveness of the earlier sections. A more general criticism is that there is little overall on the debate on the use of submarines as commerce raiders. The 1937 Protocol on submarine warfare is mentioned in the relevant introduction but not included. Probably, and rather understandably, the editor thought the topic was too large to add to a study of the control of trade through surface blockade. The book might have had more focus if it had concentrated on its main underlying theme, Anglo-American relations, but it is a useful and significant volume nonetheless. It contains vital material for any future study of blockade and maritime interdiction. The volume is expensive on its own, but as always in these circumstances, prospective readers are encouraged to join the Navy Records Society. It really does offer excellent value, and back numbers are available at reasonable prices.

Coursework During Officer Attendance at the École de guerre navale in Paris 1920-1939

The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord

Following the interruption of the First World War, the French Navy’s higher naval school reopened... more Following the interruption of the First World War, the French Navy’s higher naval school reopened its doors to receive selected officers admitted for advanced studies. In keeping with its mission statement, the naval war school prepared them for staff duties and higher command positions appropriate to their competencies and rank. Most were French naval officers, though foreign officers from other navies allied to France also attended on a yearly basis during the interwar period. Coursework included significant research and writing components, in the form of major papers focused on specific naval topics and themes. This research note provides contextual information on the interwar École de guerre navale, a list of the French and foreign naval officers attending by class year, and translates into English the titles of student papers written in French, where known and available in French repositories. Après l’interruption de la Première Guerre mondiale, l’École supérieure de marine de ...

Book Review: The Development of Mobile Logistic Support in Anglo-American Naval Policy, 1900–1953

International Journal of Maritime History, 2010

J.E. Kaufmann and H.W. Kaufmann, Fortress Europe: From Stone to Steel Fortifications 1850-1945 by Chris Madsen

The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord

Different European countries planned, funded, and built a wide variety of fortifications and mili... more Different European countries planned, funded, and built a wide variety of fortifications and military strongholds in the modern period from the Crimean War to the end of the Second World War. Some were more or less permanent installations prepared during peacetime over years and decades and manned by dedicated troops, while others were definitely ad hoc in response to wartime exigencies, time and available resources, geography, as well as particular threats and needs. Fortifications primarily fulfilled defensive purposes to bolster the fighting capabilities of positional armed forces, to slow down or ward off attacks, and to provide greater temporal space for formulation of policy, plans, and national mobilization. Technological changes in the art and design of fortifications were also notable in the so-called second industrial revolution, as the characteristics of weapons and materials advanced. Joseph and Hanna Kaufmann, a husband and wife team based in Texas, both retired from careers in public school and college education, are well-known for previous publications on fortresses and fortifications in the new and old world. The present work updates and synthesizes many themes and topics developed previously and gives particular attention to coastal defences and fortifications depending on the locale and strategic circumstances of particular countries near the sea. The book is divided into 17 distinct chapters, each covering a specific country and area for either part of or the entire time period. The focus progresses from smaller neutral countries and the Baltic region to Central and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, and finishes with the big three-the British Isles, Third Republic France, and Germany from the Kaiser to Hitler. The Kaufmanns explain the changes wrought from introduction of rifled artillery, high explosive shells, and replacing centuries-old stonework with better protection from new materials. At first, Hermann Grüson's process for chilled cast iron possessed superior qualities for resisting penetrating fire compared to steel and was used extensively in armour facings and armoured turrets. The contest between protective armour and bigger and better guns played out with new offerings from private companies with state contacts like Armstrong, Krupp, and Schneider. The Belgian fort designer Henri Brialmont and his French counterpart Raymond Séré de Rivières, though less lasting, were recognized at the time for their expertise and innovation in the field. Quickly obsolete once completed, these types of fortifications proved their worth in the

Social Democrat Space on Vancouver's Contested Waterfront: Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (CIO) Organizing Amongst Sugar and Grain Workers 1946-1949

The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord, 2017

Le Syndicat des détaillants, grossistes et magasins à rayons, reconnu pour son organisation de ca... more Le Syndicat des détaillants, grossistes et magasins à rayons, reconnu pour son organisation de campagnes d'adhésion auprès des principaux détaillants en Ontario, a fait son entrée en Colombie-Britannique en établissant une présence précoce et importante auprès de certains travailleurs des quais de Vancouver. Un représentant international au niveau local a recruté des travailleurs pour les syndicats affiliés aux terminaux céréaliers et de raffinerie de sucre, exigé des salaires plus élevés et de meilleures conditions de travail de la part des employeurs, demandé la conciliation dans les négociations et surpassé d'autres syndicats concurrents qui cherchaient à exercer une influence sur les quais. Les travailleurs céréaliers se sont finalement alliés à un autre syndicat, tandis que les travailleurs de sucre de la section locale 517 sont demeurés membres du Syndicat des employés de gros et de détail, dont le siège est à New Westminster. In the latter half of the 1940s, the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union actively organized workers outside existing longshore trades in Vancouver, British Columbia's largest metropolitan city and the biggest commercial port in Western Canada. 1 Vancouver's large natural harbour accommodated considerable investment in maritime-related infrastructure for loading and unloading ships. Employment on the waterfront was divided by different classes of workers and the unions that represented them with employers. The stories of longshoremen, their work organization, and union traditions are fairly well documented by existing literature 1 The author thanks Ray Haynes for sharing memories and photographs of Gerald Emary and the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union.

Anna Sergi, Alexandria Reid, Luca Storti, and Marleen Easton, Ports, Crime and Security: Governing and Policing Seaports in a Changing World by Chris Madsen

The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord

Book Reviews 145 on the subject, as well as to help explain and/or suppress some myths that have ... more Book Reviews 145 on the subject, as well as to help explain and/or suppress some myths that have emerged in the more than 150 years since the disaster (ix). In reexamining primary source materials, he provides a new perspective on the sinking; for example, how newspapers approached the event, the investigations, and the hearings and influenced subsequent attitudes about it. Despite his extensive research into Sultana's fate, Salecker does not offer his own theory on what happened or indulge in speculation and mythmaking. Instead, he lays out the available evidence and allows readers to draw their own conclusions. The author's extensive use of first-hand accounts, secondary sources, newspaper reports, trial transcripts, and numerous other sources, means those interested in pursuing additional research for academic study will find much to offer. The emphasis on the human element of the Sultana tragedy reminds readers at all levels that this is a very human story. Any references to technical aspects of steamboat construction or operations, or the dynamic conditions that influenced travel on the Mississippi River appear within the context of their role in the disaster. Destruction of the Steamboat Sultana the Worst Maritime Disaster in American History, provides an accessible and comprehensive account of the events surrounding the loss of the Sultana, and the events that followed. It is both a gripping introduction to the subject and a thorough, wellresearched, account, accompanied by enough source materiel to inspire future investigations. While exploring the sinking and its aftermath, he touches on other historical influences at the time and debunks decades worth of speculation and mythmaking that have grown up around the Sultana disaster.

Douglas Porch, Defeat and Division: France at War, 1939-1942 by Chris Madsen

The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord

1942. The second portion of the campaign is described in Volume 2 of this series and I look forwa... more 1942. The second portion of the campaign is described in Volume 2 of this series and I look forward to reading it in due course. Michal Piegzik has produced a very good analysis of the Japanese thrust westwards into the Indian Ocean. This campaign is often overshadowed by the campaign in the Pacific, but the essential flow of logistics support to India, to support the British campaign in Burma, helped prevent a potential Indian uprising. Additionally, maintenance of the sea lines of communication to Australia meant that Allied forces could use the continent as a safe springboard to commence offensive operations in the Pacific. While the book is extremely well illustrated with photographs and graphics of Japanese aircraft, it is quite light on maps which would enhance the narrative. That said, it is still highly recommended.

Time to Drop the Mounted: Reimagining a Royal Canadian Gendarmerie

As Canada’s federal police force celebrates its 150th anniversary, the past and future of the ... more As Canada’s federal police force celebrates its 150th anniversary, the past and future of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police/Gendarmerie royale du Canada (RCMP/GRC) is coming under intense scrutiny. Dogged by historical legacies and endemic external and internal controversies, the gendarmerie is a national police force with military characteristics that serves the Canadian state loyally and professionally. The anachronistic connection with horses in the English name has long outlived its usefulness and it is time that Canada’s federal police force embraced more French, greater inclusivity in the ranks, better accountability, and a functional approach to provision of national security policing at higher levels. A new refresh requires rebranding into a true gendarmerie adequately manned, trained, and equipped for the task, already anticipated in the French name. Refocusing on federal roles at the national level without the distraction of contract policing would give the RCMP/GRC gre...