When we think of war we usually think of men—and now women as well—fighting battles on land and sea and in the air. All too often we forget that for these combatants to fight millions of people are required to work behind the front line to provide them with supplies of food, clothing and weaponry and to fill positions the combatants occupied before joining the armed forces. In Canada, during the Second World War, this vital role was filled by hundreds of thousands of women on the home front—in the armed forces, the volunteer sector, war industries, the civilian labour force and agriculture.