Drawing from newspapers, journals, government reports, and archival records, Terry Copp - one of Canada's leading military historians - tells the story of how citizens in Canada's largest city responded to the challenges of the First World War.

Montreal at War addresses responses to the outbreak of war in Europe and the process of raising an army for service overseas. It details the shock of intense combat and heavy casualties, studies the mobilization of volunteers, and follows the experience of battalions from Montreal to the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Challenging long-held assumptions, Montreal at War aims to understand the war experience as it unfolded, approaching history from the perspective of those who lived through it.