The Gray Ghost | 18 Jul 2014 11:04 a.m. PST |
I'm looking for a book on the Canadian Army in northern Europe during WW II, I just finished reading Rhineland which covers the Rhine crossings and am in the middle of The Long Left Flank |
Highland Guerilla | 18 Jul 2014 11:22 a.m. PST |
Mark Zuehlke's Terrible Victory.1st Canadian army and Scheldt estuary campaign. |
Jamesonsafari | 18 Jul 2014 12:26 p.m. PST |
Also Zuehlke's "On To Victory" covering the Rhine and the end of the war. Another good'un is "Tug of War", written by the author of "Rhineland" (who was also CO of the RHLIs during these operations). This title covers the Scheldt campaign as well. Some different details, more on the battle of Woensdrecht for example. |
MAD MIKE | 18 Jul 2014 1:00 p.m. PST |
Two that I woud highly recommend are FIELDS OF FIRE and CINDERELLA ARMY both by Terry Copp. Fields of Fire deals with the Normandy campaign and Cinderella Army covers the rest of the NW Europe fighting. |
MAD MIKE | 18 Jul 2014 1:05 p.m. PST |
NO HOLDING BACK by Brian A. Reid is a good detailed account of Operation Totalize. Lots of diagrams showing the composition and layout of the units involved in this battle. |
Sparker | 18 Jul 2014 3:35 p.m. PST |
Yes No Holding Back is a damn good read. Hoping from more from Brian A Reid. |
Dave Jackson | 18 Jul 2014 4:29 p.m. PST |
Agree with all above. Here's the official site (I've chosen the "history" link link |
wrgmr1 | 18 Jul 2014 5:20 p.m. PST |
"The Guns of Normandy", by George G. Blackburn is a riveting account of Canadian 25pdr artillery in Normandy. |
Centurion9046 | 18 Jul 2014 6:00 p.m. PST |
NO HOLDING BACK is truly outstanding… it was my understanding in 2011 that he planned on also doing a related book concerning Operation Tractable. I am not sure if this is still planned 3 years on. If you want to go deep and truly understand the Canadian Army in Normandy you should also read FAILURE IN HIGH COMMAND by John English. |
Jamesonsafari | 18 Jul 2014 6:03 p.m. PST |
Another vote for "No Holding Back". If you want to include Normandy then also put Zuelke's "Juno", "Holding Juno" and "Breakout from Juno" on your reading list. |
MAD MIKE | 18 Jul 2014 6:20 p.m. PST |
I'll echo the recommendation for Failure in High Command. I've read several of Zuelke's books but the poor editing was a constant irritation. Tanks are constantly being destroyed by .88mm guns. Now an 88mm gun might be capable of doing this but a .88mm gun would have to have near light speed velocity to manage this. It's a minor quibble but it was evidence of a lack of knowledge by all concerned. RANT OVER |
MAD MIKE | 18 Jul 2014 6:26 p.m. PST |
On the video front you might enjoy For King and Country YouTube link |
Ryan Gebhart | 18 Jul 2014 7:50 p.m. PST |
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MAD MIKE | 18 Jul 2014 11:37 p.m. PST |
canadian soldiers seems to provide just the most basic information without any insight. Hard to make a really informed judgement as it kept freezing on me |
RJ Smith | 29 Jul 2014 10:41 a.m. PST |
The main problem with canadiansoldiers.com is Michael Dorosh hasn't really done much updating of late, and some links etc are broken. I would presume he's busy with other endeavours, It is kind of basic but does cover a wide period and does ( when workign) give suggestions on where to look elsewhere. As for books, Mark Zuehlke's stuff is a good intro and easy to read. for more detials and in depth analysis I would go with TerrY copps especially the 2 volume set noted aboved,Fields of Fire and Cinderella Army. I'm biased because I know Brian Reid and count him a friend, but No Holding Back is the definative account in my opinion of Operation Totalize, and I'm eagerly awaitng more from him. Bonus his conclusions on what happened to Wittmann are I feel the most accurate and tend to drive certain fanboys on various forums nuts :) |