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Osprey Men-at-ArmsThe Osprey "Men at Arms" titles are well known to many interested parties; plastic modellers, wargamers, uniform collectors, and those with a general interest in history. The titles are relatively inexpensive and follow a common format - 32 to 40 pages of text with 8 pages of colour plates. All colour plates have extensive captions at the back of the text, and main text is punctuated with sidebar articles. Authors and artists are different with each volume, as each is written by a leading researcher of the particular area being discussed. The following titles are most applicable to those with an interest in the Canadian Army in the 20th Century. As with most of the Men At Arms titles, the titles are generally so broad that it is hard to grasp what the book is about without purchasing it first. A brief description here will hopefully better guide potential purchasers; some titles in the MAA line specialize in uniforms, others in general history, some have details of weapons while others do not, etc.
Men at Arms 107: British Infantry Equipment 1880-1914 Deals with British leather equipment, much of which was also used, in limited numbers by Canadians from 1880-1914. Good thumbnail reference for early pre-Great War equipment. Mike Chappell, Osprey Publishing, 1980. 40pp ISBN 0850453747 Men at Arms 108: British Infantry Equipments 1908-1980 Deals with British web equipment, much of which was also used in modified form by Canadians from 1914-1953. Good thumbnail reference, unfortunately, Canadian variants are not discussed. Photos are poorly thought out and order of dress illustrations not always correct - Ed Storey's book on '37 Web is much better for those interested in Canadian WW II Equipment. A Revised Edition of MAA 108 was released in 2000, updating the book and causing a slight adjustment to the name to bring it into line with other titles, now being known as 'British Infantry Equipments (2) 1908-2000'. From the Amazon.com description: The conflict in South Africa from 1899 to 1902 gave the British military establishment reason to effect swift reforms in the period which followed the end of the hostilities. The humiliating defeats suffered at the hands of a comparatively small number of Boer citizen-soldiers in the opening months of the war showed up deficiencies in leadership, training and equipment. In a companion volume to Men-at-Arms 107: British Infantry Equipments 1808-1908, Mike Chappel examines the period from 1908-80 in a text complemented by numerous illustrations including eight full page colour plates by the author himself. ISBN 1855328399 Men at Arms 138:British Cavalry Equipments 1800-1941 Deals with British Cavalry equipment, some of which was used in limited numbers by Canadians. Good thumbnail reference for pre-Second World War cavalry equipment. Mike Chappell, Osprey Publishing, 1983. 40pp ISBN 0850453794 A revised edition of the book released in 2002 claims to represent 20 years' of new research. According to amazon.com" It covers the saddlery, horse furniture, and personal equipment of the British horsed cavalryman from the early stages of the Napoleonic Wars until the final disappearance of the mounted arm during World War II. Such details are essential for an understanding of how cavalry fought in the 19th and early 20th centuries, since the design of equipment was intimately connected with cavalry tactics in any particular period. Students of campaign history, and particularly modellers, will find here a mass of specific information, illustrated with photographs, diagrams, drawings and full colour plates. Mike Chappell, Osprey Publishing, 2002. 48pp ISBN 184176471X Men at Arms 164: The Canadian Army at War An overview of the Canadian Army from 1900 to 1985; very little information about post-Korean War Army, but useful thumbnail sketches of Canadian involvement in the Boer War, World War One, World War Two and Korea. Very, very brief historical text, with well done colour plates and captions serving as an introduction to uniforms, weapons and equipment. No sidebar articles to speak of, closest this comes are listings of the main combat unit composition of the Canadian Corps in World War One, First Canadian Army in Europe in World War Two, and the 25th Canadian Brigade in Korea. Mike Chappell, Osprey Publishing, 1985. 48pp Men at Arms 359: Canadian Forces in World War Two The emphasis on Canadian Forces in World War Two is very much on the general history and organization of the three services - Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force, with a look at other auxiliary organizations as well such as the Veteran's Guard, Pacific Coast Militia Rangers, and the women's services. The text is well written and solidly researched and includes a lengthy introduction to the Canadian military in general, and how the government guided the raising and deployment of Canadian military power in WW II. A brief chronology of WW II is presented, and then text outlining the Army, Navy and Air Force. The meat of the Army text concerns organizational and training issues, and is divided into three separate parts of equal size; the Army in general, the Veteran's Guard, and the PCMR. A lengthy section on Army uniforms and accoutrements (equipment) follows, supported by photos (some current photos of poor quality). Finally, a page long bibliography is presented followed by captions to the exceptional colour plates by Ron Volstad. Five of the eight colour plates are devoted to Army subjects. Contemporary photos are mostly of uniform details, with well written and descriptive captions. Sidebars seem to be a bit of a waste - almost three pages of text devoted to naming the infantry and armoured regiments. Conspicuous by its absence are any charts of the rank structure or rank insignia of the three forces - a standard in other MAA titles. Artist Ronald Volstad, well known in the military and hobby world, has come into his own as well. The colour plates in this volume are spectacular in their detail, the varied character of the faces, and the subtleties of light and shadow.
The colour plate above depicts an infantryman in Sicily (Royal 22e Regiment), a tank crew officer of the South Alberta Regiment in NorthWest Europe, and a PIAT man from the Highland Light Infantry of Canada in Normandy shortly after the Normandy Invasion. The colour plates are especially well researched; the pouches on the HLI PIAT man, for example are undone because in actuality, the pouches of the 1937 Web Equipment were too short to carry Sten gun magazines with a closed flap. First Field Dressings are obviously carried in the pockets of the battle dress trousers and Khaki Drill shorts. All in all, one of Volstad's best sets of artwork, in a career that has spanned from his days in the early 1970s illustrating the Squadron-Signal books, to his recent work on countless Dragon model box tops and 12" action figures. The text of the book is well written and for such a short text (48 pages including Index) amazingly comprehensive. The book is an excellent introduction to the subject of Canadian military participation and uniforms, and provides a bibliography of suggested further reading. Unfortunately, there are some inaccuracies in the text, as is the norm for any book attempting to give blanket coverage to such a large and diverse topic, such as the misinformation regarding rank insignia for the Queen's Own Rifles (the photo caption on page 12 lists this as black on green when in reality the QOR has always worn black on red insignia), or the misidentification of British Khaki Drill clothing as Canadian. In all, however, this is a very useful volume and an excellent starting point for further research. Rene Chartrand (Illustrated by Ron Volstad), Osprey Publishing, 2001. 48pp Elite 143: Canadian Airborne Forces since 1942 Paperback: 64 pages
Lieutenant Colonel Bernd Horn, PhD is the former commanding officer of 3 Commando, The Canadian Airborne Regiment and of 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, as well as Adjunct Professor of History at the Royal Military College of Canada. He has published several books. Michel Wyczynski is an archivist with the National Archives of Canada, the Canadian Airborne Forces Museum and the Airborne Regiment Association. Keeping with the ongoing trend of Osprey to provide first rate colour plates combined with information by knowledgeable authors, this book is an excellent précis of Canadian airborne soldiers. The authors have produced other works on the subject which are well known. The colour plates are of a higher standard than many recent Osprey titles, and the subject matter is fairly completely covered. The book seems to lack the interesting sidebars found in other recent Osprey titles, and little attention is actually paid to parachute equipment, as the focus of the text is on history. Still, an invaluable aid to those interested in this subject matter. Some bias also slips into the text, such as a statement to the effect that all staff officers without exception must dream of commanding an airborne battalion - an unfair assumption on the part of the author, a former airborne officer! However, good detail in the coverage, including the Militia jump companies. |
