World War II
He served in World War II, initially as a Brigadier on the General Staff at Canadian Military Headquarters in England. In early 1940 he was appointed Vice Chief General Staff in Canada and then later that year he became Chief of the General Staff.
He became General Officer Commanding 2nd Canadian Infantry Division in England in 1941, General Officer Commanding I Canadian Corps in England and then Italy in 1942 and General Officer Commanding 1st Canadian Army in North-West Europe in 1944. Crerar was recovering from a bout of dysentery during the Battle of the Scheldt in October 1944 and his role as General Officer Commanding was assumed by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds.
Crerar was on the September 18, 1944 cover of Time magazine. He was promoted to full general in November 1944.
He has been described as an able administrator and politically astute, assessments of his performance as a military commander range from "mediocre" to "competent".
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