Canadian Armed Forces
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The Churchill in Canadian Service
The Churchill in Canadian Service uses photographs and illustrations to highlight the Churchill (A22) during its service with the Canadian Army Overseas from July 1941 to May 1943.
The Churchill Tank and the Canadian Armoured Corps
This new book covers the history of the venerable Infantry Tank as used by the Canadian Army Overseas during the Second World War. Detailed examination including vehicle specs of the four major Marks, 26 tables and 9 appendices. Included are colour graphics of the markings found on these tanks in Canadian use. 126 pages, 124 illustrations, softcover.
The Corvette Navy: True Stories from Canada’s Atlantic War (2nd Edition)
At the beginning of World War Two, Britain stood alone, relying on the vital supplies transported by convoy across the North Atlantic. The pride of Hitler's navy, the U-boat wolf-packs, waited there to pick off the slow, unarmed convoys. What stood between the U-boats and their prey were the corvettes. They were small, battered, under-equipped, and in need of repair. They were manned not by naval professionals but by a group of skilled and dedicated amateurs, many still in their teens, their officers often in their mid-twenties. Yet this little band of amateurs took on and beat the German U-boat professionals, and won a vital portion of the war.
James B. Lamb, an ex-corvette officer, captures the excitement as well as the inevitable tragedy involved when teenagers who had never even seen the sea were shoved aboard aged and ill-equipped ships and forced to grow up fast. Trapped in a world gone mad, the crews of the corvettes countered with individualism and a unique sense of the absurd. Amid the antics and fear, these men banded together to become a highly efficient fighting unit. They witnessed history and created some history of their own.
The D-Day Dodgers: The Canadians in Italy, 1943-1945
When troops of the First Canadian Infantry Division waded ashore in southern Sicily in July 1943, it marked the first time- aside from the few bloody hours on the beach of Dieppe-that Canadian soldiers had gone into combat in Europe since the start of the war. This is their story.
The D-Day Dodgers: The Canadians in Italy, 1943-1945 (Hardcover)
When troops of the First Canadian Infantry Division waded ashore in southern Sicily in July 1943, it marked the first time- aside from the few bloody hours on the beach of Dieppe-that Canadian soldiers had gone into combat in Europe since the start of the war. This is their story.
The Ferret Scout Car in Canadian Service
The development and use of the Ferret scout car in Canadian service.
The Gallant Cause: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War
At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War on July 17, 1936, forty-two thousand Internationals, comprised of Canadians, Americans, and Spaniards, fought together on the side of the Republicans who were trying to throw back fascist dictator General Franco's troops, which included countless German and Italian soldiers. By October 29, 1938 though, only two thousand Internationals were able to gather for a speech requesting them to withdraw. Despite all their efforts, Spain wanted to continue on its own, hoping the war would become a Spanish affair once again.
Drawing on diaries and newly documented sources, Zuehlke offers a compelling account of the Canadian experience in Spain. It was not a popular war for Canada, with even the prime minister praising Hitler for his social and economic advances. Most world powers were aligning themselves with Italy and Germany, who supported Franco's movement.
Along with allied troops, some 1,500 Canadians joined together in a valiant but doomed cause. This is the story of these brave Canadians, who like all veterans of war, deserve to have their story told and their experiences related, so that they will not be forgotten.
The Generals: The Canadian Army’s Senior Commanders in the Second World War
The Generals has received resounding praise for its relevance, depth, and scholarship. A detailed account of Canada's military at a crucial time in history, the book focuses on the personalities, politics and pressures that define Canada's involvement in WW2. By examining closely the remarkable individuals who fought and won WW2, this book will once again give Canadians an objective, unfiltered look at our leadership during this vital period in our military history. It is the only book of its kind on this subject and remains an invaluable resource for academics, policy makers and anyone interested in Canada's military history.
The Ghosts of Medak Pocket: The Story of Canada’s Secret War
In 1993, Canadian peacekeepers in Croatia were plunged into the most significant fighting Canada had seen since the Korean War. Their extraordinary heroism was covered up and forgotten. The ghosts of that battlefield have haunted them ever since.
Canadian peacekeepers in Medak Pocket, Croatia, found no peace to keep in September 1993. They engaged the forces of ethnic cleansing in a deadly firefight and drove them from the area under United Nations protection. The soldiers should have returned home as heroes. Instead, they arrived under a cloud of suspicion and silence.
In Medak Pocket, members of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry did exactly the job they were trained — and ordered — to do. When attacked by the Croat army they returned fire and fought back valiantly to protect Serbian civilians and to save the UN mandate in Croatia. Then they confronted the horrors of the offensive’s aftermath — the annihilation by the Croat army of Serbian villages. The Canadians searched for survivors. There were none.
The soldiers came home haunted by these atrocities, but in the wake of the Somalia affair, Canada had no time for soldiers’ stories of the horrific compromises of battle — the peacekeepers were silenced. In time, the dark secrets of Medak’s horrors drove many of these soldiers to despair, to homelessness and even suicide.
Award-winning journalist Carol Off brings to life this decisive battle of the Canadian Forces. The Ghosts of Medak Pocket is the complete and untold story.
The Guns of Normandy: A Soldier’s Eye View, France 1944
In the weeks after D-Day, the level of artillery action in Normandy was unprecedented. In what was a relatively small area, both sides bombarded each other relentlessly for three months, each trying to overwhelm the other by sheer fire power.
The Guns of Normandy puts the reader in the front lines of this horrific battle. In the most graphic and authentic detail, it brings to life every aspect of a soldier's existence, from the mortal terror of impending destruction, to the unending fatigue, to the giddy exhilaration at finding oneself still, inexplicably, alive.
The story of this crucial battle opens in England, as the 4th Field Regiment receives news that something big is happening in France and that after long years of training they are finally going into action. The troop ships set out from besieged London and arrive at the D-Day beaches in the appalling aftermath of the landing.
What follows is the most harrowing and realistic account of what it is like to be in action, as the very lead man in the attack: an artillery observer calling in fire on enemy positions. The story unfolds in the present tense, giving the uncomfortably real sense that "You are here."
The conditions under which the troops had to exist were horrific. There was near-constant terror of being hit by incoming shells; prolonged lack of sleep; boredom; weakness from dysentery; sudden and gruesome deaths of close friends; and severe physical privation and mental anguish. And in the face of all this, men were called upon to perform heroic acts of bravery and they did.
Blackburn provides genuine insight to the nature of military service for the average Canadian soldier in the Second World War --- something that is all too often lacking in the accounts of armchair historians and television journalists. The result is a classic account of war at the sharp end.
The Guns of Normandy: A Soldier’s Eye View, France 1944
In the weeks after D-Day, the level of artillery action in Normandy was unprecedented. In what was a relatively small area, both sides bombarded each other relentlessly for three months, each trying to overwhelm the other by sheer fire power.
The Guns of Normandy puts the reader in the front lines of this horrific battle. In the most graphic and authentic detail, it brings to life every aspect of a soldier's existence, from the mortal terror of impending destruction, to the unending fatigue, to the giddy exhilaration at finding oneself still, inexplicably, alive.
The story of this crucial battle opens in England, as the 4th Field Regiment receives news that something big is happening in France and that after long years of training they are finally going into action. The troop ships set out from besieged London and arrive at the D-Day beaches in the appalling aftermath of the landing.
What follows is the most harrowing and realistic account of what it is like to be in action, as the very lead man in the attack: an artillery observer calling in fire on enemy positions. The story unfolds in the present tense, giving the uncomfortably real sense that "You are here."
The conditions under which the troops had to exist were horrific. There was near-constant terror of being hit by incoming shells; prolonged lack of sleep; boredom; weakness from dysentery; sudden and gruesome deaths of close friends; and severe physical privation and mental anguish. And in the face of all this, men were called upon to perform heroic acts of bravery and they did.
Blackburn provides genuine insight to the nature of military service for the average Canadian soldier in the Second World War --- something that is all too often lacking in the accounts of armchair historians and television journalists. The result is a classic account of war at the sharp end.
The Machinery Lorry in Canadian Service
New in the popular Service Publications series, this compact book provides details of the various types of Machinery Lorries used by the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps since World War I. Extensively illustrated with a centre spread showing the C60X Machinery Lorry Type 'A'.
The National War Memorial/Le Monument commemoratif de guerre du Canada
This is a guide book to the National War Memorial that was published in 1982.
The National War Memorial granite memorial arch with accreted bronze sculptures in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was designed by Vernon March and first dedicated by King George VI in 1939. Originally built to commemorate the Canadians who died in the First World War, it was in 1982 rededicated to also include those killed in the Second World War and Korean War.
In 2014 the dead from the Second Boer War and War in Afghanistan, as well as all Canadians killed in all conflicts past and future were added tp the monument. It now serves as the pre-eminent war memorial of 76 cenotaphs in Canada. In 2000, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was added in front of the memorial and symbolizes the sacrifices made by all Canadians who have died or may yet die for their country.
The Otter Reconnaissance Car in Canadian Service
New in the popular Service Publications series, this compact book provides details of the Otter Light Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle produced by General Motors of Canada which was brought into production in 1941. The book is extensively illustrated with a centre spread showing the Otter.
The Persian Excursion: The Canadian Navy in the Gulf War
This is a first-hand, inside account of the Canadian Navy action in the Gulf War. Through the recollections and anecdotes of Commodore Miller and others who served at the front, the reader is given a birdÂ’s-eye view of the Canadian Navy undertaking a dangerous operation, 13,000 kilometres from home. The Persian Excursion is the first comprehensive account of the Canadian Navy in the Gulf War. It is of interest to both the military professional and those in the general public who wish to learn about the role of their Navy in this recent conflict.
The Quiet Canadian: The Secret Service Story of Sir William Stephenson
Sir William Stephenson is a name probably unknown to most Canadians, Britons and Americans, and yet in the Second World War his service to these three countries should guarantee him an element of recognition on both sides of the Atlantic.
During World War I, with Royal Flying Corps, he shot down 26 enemy planes. After the war he competed in air races, and invented and patented the first device for transmitting photographs by wireless; making him a millionaire before he was thirty.
After a secret intelligence mission to Sweden and Finland in 1940 Churchill asked him to take charge of all British secret intelligence and security interests in the Western hemisphere. His codename: Intrepid. Many people consider him to be one of the real-life inspirations for James Bond.
Harford Montgomery Hyde provides enjoyable and informative look at this Canadian soldier, airman, businessman, inventor, and spy.
The Sharp End: A Canadian Soldier’s Story
A front-line view of life in Canadas armed forces.
Davis captures the essence of the terror and the tedium that mark an ordinary soldiers life at home and abroad. Vivid and compelling, The Sharp End expresses a renewed faith in the dedication, bravery and professionalism of our ordinary soldiers.
The Skink in Canadian Service
The effectiveness of the Luftwaffe in the ground support role during the early campaigns in WWII led to the development of self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicles to protect tank units. One of the more unusual was the Skink which carried four 20mm guns in a powered, fully-enclosed turret. Designed to be fitted to the Grizzly, which was the Sherman M4A1 built in Canada, its development history is covered well here, from early concepts though production of a wooden mock-up turret, to the final cast metal design.
The Staghound in Canadian Service
A review of the development of the Staghound Armoured Car and its service with the Canadian Army in WWII.
The Suicide Battalion
The 46th Canadian South Saskatchewan Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The 46th Battalion was authorized on November 7th, 1914 and embarked for Britain on October 23rd, 1915. On August 11th, 1916 the men of the 46th disembarked for France.
The 46th fought as part of the 4th Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war.
With men 1,433 killed and 3,484 wounded --- a casualty rate of 91.5 percent --- in 27 months; the unit came to be known as "The Suicide Battalion".
This book is about the 46th Canadian South Saskatchewan battalion and what happened to them in France during World War I.
The Town that Died: The True Story of the Greatest Man Made Explosion Before Hiroshima
A really interesting and detailed account of the explosion in Halifax harbor in 1917 that destroyed a large part of the city and killed and injured thousands of the inhabitants.
The Wing and the Arrow
It's the beginning of the Cold War - a new and threatening power is emerging in the Soviet Union which escalates the pace in the race for the skies. This contest will pit East against West, friend against friend, and the US Wing against the Canadian Arrow.