 Based on his own experiences of the Boer War, Hughes believed that Canadian soldiers were much better soldiers than the British, and it was because of Hughes, the Canadians fought together as a separate expeditionary force in World War I.The staff officers had developed a plan for mobilizing the militia in the event of the war, which Hughes disregarded in August 1914 by creating an entirely new organization called the Canadian Expeditionary Force, which was to consist of numbered battalions that had no connection with the militia regiments.Reflecting his own beliefs about the superiority of Canadians over the British as soldiers, Hughes fought hard to ensure that the divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force be commanded by Canadian generals, and very reluctantly accepted British officer, Lieutenant General Edwin Alderson, as the commander of the 1st Canadian Division and only then because of the lack of a qualified Canadian officer.