Historical Bibliography

While no list can hope to be comprehensive, the following are books that have proven to be of interest or use to the webmaster, or have been discussed on the site's forum or been recommended in other venues. These are books of general historical interest as they relate to the Canadian Army in the 20th Century.

Historical Overviews

Battery Flashes of W.W. II Battery Flashes is a book by D.W. Falconer that provides a comprehensive survey of the history of all Canadian artillery units in the Second World War. These are thumbnail histories only, but every battery and regiment is included, of all types including coastal, field, medium, anti-tank and anti-aircraft units. Also special purpose units like the Survey Regiments, rocket batteries, counter-mortar units etc. are included. However, the book also includes thumbnail sketches of Canadian formations, including all overseas divisions and corps as well as First Canadian Army, and in addition all domestic formations including both Atlantic and Pacific Command, the three home service divisions, and the various forces sent on garrison duty to locales such as Iceland, Jamaica, or Newfoundland. Primary research is evidence, with the provision of General Order references. Physical Description Paperback, 514 pp. Published by the author, D.W. Falconer, 1985 ISBN 0969186509 Review All thumbnail histories include the serial number assigned to the unit on mobilization, place of mobilization, dates of overseas service, and date of disbandment. What isn't included is any info on personalities, commanders, statistics, types of equipment used. These are very bare bones histories. Other bonus material includes brief survey of formation patches used in Canada and overseas, with primary references, a nice addition. This does not however cover regimental insignia. The book is a rare volume, but one that is worth picking up for both general interest regarding dates and serial numbers, and for anyone interested in specific battery and regimental information, the book is a must.

Gaudeamus Igitur ‘Therefore Rejoice’; The Campaigns Of The Canadian Army In The Second World War While the official histories of the Canadian Army in the Second World War are now available online for free, this book does a good job of condensing the three volumes comprising the official record of the Army's campaigns in Italy, North-west Europe, and the Pacific, into a single, easy-reading format. Physical Description: Paperback, 328pp. Written by A. Donald McKay, published by Bunker to Bunker Books, 2005 ISBN 1-894255-53-4 The drawbacks of the treatment are an account often interrupted by personal opinion  (the author was a junior officer in the Canadian Army in the Second World War, who went on after the war to earn a Masters Degree in International Affairs). The maps, all taken from the official Canadian Army histories, are poorly reproduced to the point of being unreadable. However, the sketch descriptions of the individual battles and campaigns are well done, and the book provides perhaps the only single-volume account of the Canadian Army in the Second World War. Dr. Jack Granatstein reviewed the work in Canadian Military Journal: Unfortunately, while this volume has its merits, it is not a scholarly treatise. The author’s sources are much too limited for that. He has used no archival records, and, as he disarmingly admits: “The primary sources have been the official British and Canadian histories.” Nor has he covered much of the published literature, and, regrettably, he leaves out the most recent published works – and much of the older material too. In other words, this is not scholarship. What it is, however, is an informed, opinionated, tart assessment of the Canadian Army’s battlefield performance by a junior officer who served in its ranks... Take the Dieppe raid of August 1942, for example. McKay fixes most of the blame on Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten of Combined Operations Headquarters. The raid, he states, “was largely a failure due to overoptimistic, half-baked planning assumptions, incredibly poor intelligence and faulty appreciations on the part of HQ [Combined Operations] and an over ready willingness by HQ [2 Canadian Infantry Division] to believe that HQCO knew what it was doing and had produced an outline plan that should be accepted at face value.” Exactly right, as is McKay’s judgment that, because it was a raid, “the troops knew that they would only be ashore for a few hours [and this] psychologically militated against [their] energetically persisting in trying to push deep inland...” “After all,” he writes, “who wants to be marooned inland when the evacuation fleet sails away?” If anyone else has made this point that ought to have been obvious to all, I am not aware of it. McKay also questions the hoary legend that the raid greatly influenced subsequent Allied landings. “Whether or not these improvements would have been made in any case,” he states correctly, “is matter of conjecture.” As these comments suggest, McKay is unafraid to state his positions with a full frontal candour. He even gives Field Marshal Montgomery his due. Unlike the Great War’s Haig, Monty “emerged from final victory with esteem and honour and it is hard to argue with results.” ...E.L.M. Burns, surprisingly, gets the warmest of accolades: “His Gothic Line battles were the 8th Army’s greatest achievements to that time and possibly Canada’s greatest victories of the war.” But Burns was sacked at the moment of victory. “Since here he is rated for achievement and not personality,” McKay boldly states, “he receives an ‘A’.” I am not wholly convinced of Burns’s superior generalship, but it is hard to argue with McKay’s later judgment that Bert Hoffmeister, GOC of 5th Canadian Armoured Division, was “Canada’s best general of the war.” That would also be Doug Delaney’s judgment in his 2005 biography of Hoffmeister, and it is a pity that McKay could not make use of this book which, unlike other titles omitted from his research, certainly appeared too late to be taken into account... McKay’s volume is unlikely to change many minds here or abroad...but it is worth reading for its refreshing willingness to call a spade a bloody shovel.

Hobbyist's Primers

Equipment Books

Collector's References are a category of book more in-depth than primers and study individual subjects in great detail. The books on this page are recommended reading for understanding the personal equipment used by Canadian soldiers in the 20th Century.

British Web Equipment of the Two World Wars Martin J. Brayley, Europe Militaria No. 52, Crowood Press, 2005. 64pp An excellent full-colour photographic guide to British 1908 and 1937 Pattern Webbing, with a good look also at 1944 Pattern and some of the interwar sets. Good extras, like list of British manufacturers and their abbreviated names as found on actual webbing items. Aug 2002
'37 Web: Equipping the Canadian Soldier is the first book devoted solely to Canadian produced 1937 Pattern field equipment. The book was written by lifelong collector WE "Ed" Storey, and covers in detail all major components of infantry and officers field equipment, larger items of field equipment, orders of dress, and even reprints the wartime manual regarding this equipment. Physical Description Service Publications, Ottawa, ON, 2003. Softcover, extensively illustrated ISBN 1894581091
The Tangled Web: Infantry Accoutrements 1855-1985 was the first major attempt to catalogue all major types of infantry equipment used by the Canadian Army in a single volume. The book was written by retired Brigadier General Jack L. Summers. Physical Description Hardcover, published by Museum Restoration Service, 1992 146 pp., many illustrations ISBN 0919316972 Review A good introduction to Canadian infantry equipments, though rather pricy and not comprehensive. Certain types of infantry equipment are covered much more comprehensively in other sources, but for many less common types, this is the only Canadian reference in print.

Osprey Men-at-Arms

The 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.

Colour plate from CANADIAN FORCES IN WORLD WAR TWO displayed here with the permission of the artist, Ron Volstad

The colour plate above depicts an infantryman in Sicily (Royal 22e Regiment), a tank crew officer of the South Alberta Regiment in North-West 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 H.L.I. 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

• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (August 29, 2006)

• ISBN: 1841769851

• Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.3 x 0.2 inches

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.

General Reference Books

Photo Collections

• Bell, Ken Not in Vain (University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON 1973) 142pp ISBN 0802019

  • Then and now photos in Northwest Europe, where the author served as a Canadian war photographer. Text by C.P. Stacey, the official Canadian Army WW II historian.

• Bell, Ken The Way We Were (University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON 1988) 256pp ISBN 0802039901

  • Then and now photos in Italy and Northwest Europe, including Dieppe, featuring the work of many different Canadian war photographers, including the author.

• Chretien, Guy Juno Beach: Les Canadiens Dans La Battaille (n.p., n.d.)

  • Bilingual book with then and now photos of the Canadians who fought in Normandy

• Ellis, Chris. The Churchill Tank (Arms and Armour Press, London, UK, 1987) 64pp ISBN 0853688087

  • Softcover volume, number 25 of the TANKS ILLUSTRATED series. Mostly British photos, with a small sampling of photos of the Churchill in Canadian service before and during the Dieppe Raid.

• Henry, Hugh G. Jr and Jean Paul Pallud Dieppe: Through the Lens of the German War Photographer (After the Battle - Battle of Britain Prints International Ltd, London, UK nd) 64pp ISBN 0900913762

  • Detailed overview of Calgary Tank Regiment vehicles and landing craft used during the main landings at Dieppe. Wealth of data on tank crews, vehicle movements, markings with very informative captions. Based on the doctoral dissertation of the author.

• Perrett, Bryan. Allied Tanks Italy: World War Two (Arms and Armour Press, London, UK 1985) 64pp ISBN 0853687803

  • Softcover volume, number 20 of the TANKS ILLUSTRATED series. Photos and captions regarding American, British, South African, New Zealand, and Canadian armoured units in Italy in WW II.

• Thompson, Leroy. US Special Forces of World War Two (Arms and Armour Press, London, UK 1984) 68pp ISBN 0853686266

  • Softcover volume, number 1 of the UNIFORMS ILLUSTRATED series. Contains photos of the US-Canadian First Special Service Force.

Officers, Generals and Command

• Granatstein, J.L. The Generals: The Canadian Army's Senior Commanders in the Second World War (Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto, ON 1993) 370pp ISBN 0773727396

  • Brief study of Canadian generalship in the Second World War, focusing on select senior officers with detailed biographies.

• Harris, Stephen J. Canadian Brass : The Making of a Professional Army, 1860-1939 (University of Toronto, Toronto, ON 1988) ISBN 0802057659

Comics, Cartoons, Songbooks, Fiction

• Chantler, Scott Two Generals (Emblem Editions, 2011) ISBN 978-0771019593

  • Graphic novel of the service of the author's grandfather, who had served with the Highland Light Infantry of Canada in the U.K. and Normandy in the Second World War.

• Coughlin, William Garnet and "JDM" Herbie!

• Di Tullion, Saverio 1943: The Road To Ortona (Legas, Ottawa, ON 1998) 109pp ISBN 0921252781 **Comic book history of the battle of Ortona, well researched and written, though art is not entirely accurate with regards to uniforms, etc. Very dramatic portrayal of events, and much good information of the Italian civilians' perspective on the battle which is overlooked in many histories.

• Hopkins, Anthony. Songs from the Front and Rear: Canadian Servicemen's Songs of the Second World War (Hurtig Publishers, Edmonton, AB 1979) 192pp ISBN 0888301723

  • Sheet music and lyrics for popular WW II songs.

• McDougall, Colin. Execution (MacMillan and Sons Ltd., Toronto, ON 1958) 227pp

  • Novelization of a Canadian infantry unit in Sicily and Italy, later formed the basis of a TV movie of the same name (set in France). McDougall was an officer with the PPCLI in the Mediterranean during the Second World War.

Tour Books

• Christie, Norm For King and Empire (Bunker to Bunker Books, Winnipeg, MB)

  • Volume I: The Canadians at Ypres, April 1915

  • Volume II: The Canadians on the Somme September- November 1916 ISBN 0969903944

  • Volume III: The Canadians at Vimy, April 1917

  • Volume IV: The Canadians at Passchendaele, October-Novemer 1917

  • Volume V: The Canadians at Arras and the Drocourt-Queant Line, August-September 1918

  • Volume VI: The Canadians at the Canal-du-Nord and Cambrai, September-October 1918

  • Volume VII: The Canadians at Amiens, August 1918

• Copp, Terry A Canadian's Guide to the Battlefields of Normandy (The Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Waterloo, ON 1994) 174pp ISBN 0969795505

  • Guide to battlefields in Normandy with relevance to Canadians.

• Copp, Terry A Canadian's Guide to the Battlefields of Northwest Europe (The Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Waterloo, ON 1995) 236pp ISBN 096979553X

  • Historically detailed guide, with good period photos, of the battlefields in Northwest Europe from both World Wars and how to visit them.