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The Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign A Study of Failure in High Command
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By John A. English
Foreword by Gunther E. Rothenberg
ISBN: 0-275-93019-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-93019-6
376 pages, figures, maps, photographs
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 5/30/1991
List Price: $112.95 (UK Sterling Price: £65.00)
Availability:
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • This immensely stimulating book by John A. English enrishes the already distinguished new generation of scholarship on the armies of the Western Allies of 1939-45.
    —
    American Historical Review
  • This book is a welcome and necessary addition to the literature. It will be warmly received by Normandy veterans, and will stimulate much interest and debate amongst professional soldiers and military historians alike.
    —The International History Review
  • [A]n outstanding analytical study that raises important questions about the army and the society that created it...The Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign is an excellent book full of insight as well as new information.
    —The Canadian Historical Review
  • English has produced a remarkably rich record of a multiple of elements that are fascinating to read and fit together. It is well written, thoroughly researched and documented, and usefully illustrated. It is an honest reappraisal of the received version of Canadian experience in the Normandy campaign. The frank identification of the reality of responsibility resting with the Canadian commanders whose abilities, or lack thereof, were products of the decade of peace during which they had led is a valuable addition to he written historical record and to the theoretical approach to the Canadian military experience.
    —The Historian
Description: The reverses experienced by Canadian troops during the late stages of World War II continue to be the subject of intensive inquiry among military historians. Going beyond the obvious immediate causes of these setbacks, the author presents a detailed historical examination of the role of the Canadian army in Normandy and of the organization, training, and fighting-style that the Canadians brought to the battlefield in 1944. In Book I, the author analyzes the impact of the British military model on the Canadian corps in terms of doctrine, training, command and staff appointments, equipment, and organization. He discusses the contribution of Canadian troops in World War I and the failure of the Canadian military to maintain a high level of professionalism in the interwar period. Drawing on archival records, particularly Montgomery's personal correspondence, the author offers new information on attempts to turn Canadian troops into an effective fighting force as late as 1943. Book II presents a critical analysis of Canadian operations in Normandy. The author gives special attention to the Canadian Army's inability to close the "Falaise Gap" in a timely manner--a delay that may have prolonged the war in Europe by several months. Providing both theoretical and practical perspectives on the relationship of peacetime preparation to the operation of large field forces in battle, this work will be of interest to students and buffs of military history and to professional analysts and strategic planners in the armed services.
Table of Contents:
  • Foreword by Gunther E. Rothenberg
  • Preface
  • Prologue: Of Ignorant Armies
  • Long Forgotten Winters
  • The Canadian Corps and the British Mold
  • The Bellows of Peace
  • Shaping an Expeditionary Force
  • The Staff Caste
  • Battle Drill Die
  • The Montgomery Measurement
  • Epilogue: Final Tempering
  • Half-Forgotten Summer
  • The Imprint of Doctrine
  • Cast of Commanders
  • Throes Beyond the Beach
  • Cold Eye on Death
  • The Amiens Alchemy
  • Case Hardening
  • Conclusion: Final Casting
  • Appendix A: Some General Notes on What to Look for When Visiting a Regiment by Lt.-Col. B. L. Montgomery
  • Appendix B: Tank and Gun Comparisons
  • Select Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 90-48955
LCC Class: D756
Dewey Class: 940.54
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