Download or read book The Second World War Europe and the Mediterranean written by and published by Square One Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2014-03-28 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ​*** OVER 210,000 WEST POINT MILITARY HISTORY SERIES SETS IN PRINT ​*** From the prewar development of the German war machine to the ultimate victory of the Allied coalition, here is an in-depth analysis of the battles that raged on the Western and Eastern Fronts. It examines the major strategies, the innovative tactics, and the new generation of weapons—along with the people who used them.

Download or read book Canada and the Second World War written by Geoffrey Hayes and published by Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. This book was released on 2013-02-01 with total page 501 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Terry Copp’s tireless teaching, research, and writing has challenged generations of Canadian veterans, teachers, and students to discover an informed memory of their country’s role in the Second World War. This collection, drawn from the work of Terry’s colleagues and former students, considers Canada and the Second World War from a wealth of perspectives. Social, cultural, and military historians address topics under five headings: The Home Front, The War of the Scientists, The Mediterranean Theatre, Normandy/Northwest Europe, and The Aftermath. The questions considered are varied and provocative: How did Canadian youth and First Nations peoples understand their wartime role? What position did a Canadian scientist play in the Allied victory and in the peace? Were veterans of the Mediterranean justified in thinking theirs was the neglected theatre? How did the Canadians in Normandy overcome their opponents but not their historians? Why was a Cambridge scholar attached to First Canadian Army to protect monuments? And why did Canadians come to commemorate the Second World War in much the same way they commemorated the First? The study of Canada in the Second World War continues to challenge, confound, and surprise. In the questions it poses, the evidence it considers, and the conclusions it draws, this important collection says much about the lasting influence of the work of Terry Copp. Foreword by John Cleghorn.

Download or read book The Canadian Army Normandy Campaign written by John A. English and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2009-08-18 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Honest reappraisal of the Canadian experience in Normandy Special focus on the struggle to close the Falaise Gap Relies on archival records, including Bernard Montgomery's personal correspondence John A. English presents a detailed examination of the role of the Canadian Army in Normandy from the D-Day landings in June 1944 through the closing of the Falaise Gap in August.

Download or read book Monty and the Canadian Army written by John A. English and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monty and the Canadian Army details the lasting influence of General B.L. Montgomery, whose military competence shaped the Canadian Army in the Second World War.

Download or read book The Fight for History written by Tim Cook and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER FINALIST for the 2021 Ottawa Book Awards A masterful telling of the way World War Two has been remembered, forgotten, and remade by Canada over seventy-five years. The Second World War shaped modern Canada. It led to the country's emergence as a middle power on the world stage; the rise of the welfare state; industrialization, urbanization, and population growth. After the war, Canada increasingly turned toward the United States in matters of trade, security, and popular culture, which then sparked a desire to strengthen Canadian nationalism from the threat of American hegemony. The Fight for History examines how Canadians framed and reframed the war experience over time. Just as the importance of the battle of Vimy Ridge to Canadians rose, fell, and rose again over a 100-year period, the meaning of Canada's Second World War followed a similar pattern. But the Second World War's relevance to Canada led to conflict between veterans and others in society--more so than in the previous war--as well as a more rapid diminishment of its significance. By the end of the 20th century, Canada's experiences in the war were largely framed as a series of disasters. Canadians seemed to want to talk only of the defeats at Hong Kong and Dieppe or the racially driven policy of the forced relocation of Japanese-Canadians. In the history books and media, there was little discussion of Canada's crucial role in the Battle of the Atlantic, the success of its armies in Italy and other parts of Europe, or the massive contribution of war materials made on the home front. No other victorious nation underwent this bizarre reframing of the war, remaking victories into defeats. The Fight for History is about the efforts to restore a more balanced portrait of Canada's contribution in the global conflict. This is the story of how Canada has talked about the war in the past, how we tried to bury it, and how it was restored. This is the history of a constellation of changing ideas, with many historical twists and turns, and a series of fascinating actors and events.

Download or read book World War II in Europe written by David T. Zabecki and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-05-01 with total page 1140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World War II defined the 20th century and shaped many events, from the decolonization of Africa to the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall. This encyclopedia offers a focused overview of this complex and volatile era, the circumstances that led up to war, the underlying causes, its unfolding and consequences. Organized for quick and precise access More than 1300 entries by 150 experts are arranged in six sections for easy reference and consultation. All the key ideas, events, actions, weapons, individuals, and organizations that played vital roles in the war are covered, from the Axis Pact to the Arab League, from the OSS to the Africa Korps, from the Chetniks to the Jedburghs, from the battle of Kursk to Operation Mincemeat, from Bill Donovan to Otto Skorzeny, from Gestapo to SMERSH, from Georgi Zhukov to Jean Leclerc, from the 88 gun to the Norden Bombsight. Covers important neglected subjects The Encyclopedia puts special emphasis on the often-neglected operations in Eastern Europe and Russia. A key section inspects and rates all the major weapons, with handy tables for easy comparison. And in recognition of the first large-scale participation of women in the war, the volume thoroughly documents their individual and unit contributions to the Allied effort. Finally, the encyclopedia discusses battlefield realties that explain, for example, why the airborne drops at Normandy succeeded and the ones at Arnheim failed. A bibliography, glossary, maps, photographs, and weapons and data tables enhance the coverage. Also includes 16 maps.

Download or read book Fire and Steel written by Peter Caddick-Adams and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-07 with total page 689 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The final volume in one of the most acclaimed works of military history of this generation. Here is Peter Caddick-Adams' third volume in his trilogy about the final year of the Western front in World War Two. Fire & Steel covers the war's final 100 days-beginning in late January 1945 and continuing until May 8th, 1945, when the German high command surrendered unconditionally to all Allied forces. Caddick-Adams' previous two volumes in the acclaimed series-Sand & Steel, which covers the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, and Snow & Steel, the definitive study of the Battle of the Bulge, the German's final offensive in the war-have set the stage for this concluding volume. In these final months of World War Two, all of Germany is ablaze, from daily bombing runs launched from just across its borders and incessant artillery fire from the east. In the west, the Allied progress was inexorable, with Eisenhower's seven armies taking on Germany's seven armies, town by town, bridge by bridge. With his customary narrative verve and utter mastery of the material, Caddick-Adams does these climactic final months full justice, from the capture of the Ludendorff Railway Bridge at Remagen, to the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, to the taking of Munich on Hitler's birthday, April 20th, and through to VE Day. Fire & Steel ends with the return of prisoners, demobilization of servicemen, and the beginning of the occupation of Germany. A triumphant concluding volume to one of the most distinguished works of military history of this generation.

Download or read book The Patriotic Consensus written by Jody Perrun and published by Univ. of Manitoba Press. This book was released on 2014-09-29 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the Second World War broke out, Winnipeg was Canada’s fourth-largest city, home to strong class and ethnic divisions, and marked by a vibrant tradition of political protest. Citizens demonstrated their support for the war effort through their wide commitment to initiatives such as Victory Loan campaigns or calls for voluntary community service. But given Winnipeg’s diversity, was the Second World War a unifying event for Winnipeg residents? In The Patriotic Consensus, Jody Perrun explores the wartime experience of ordinary Winnipeggers through their responses to recruiting, the treatment of minorities, and the adjustments made necessary by family separation.

Download or read book Beetle written by D.K.R. Crosswell and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2010-11-01 with total page 1050 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This biography recounts one of the most significant yet unsung military careers of the twentieth century: “a major contribution to the history of World War II” (Foreign Affairs). General Walter Bedell Smith began his public service career of more than forty years at age sixteen, when he joined the Indiana National Guard. His bulldog tenacity earned him an opportunity to work with General George C. Marshall in 1941, playing an essential role in formation of the Combined and Joint Chiefs of Staff. After his appointment as chief of staff to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1942, Smith took a central part in planning the major Allied operations of World War II in Europe. Among his many duties, Smith negotiated the surrenders of the Italian and German armed forces in 1945. Smith’s postwar career included service as the US ambassador to the Soviet Union, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and undersecretary of state. In Beetle, D. K. R. Crosswell offers the first full-length biography of the general, including insights into his close relationships with Marshall and Eisenhower. Meticulously researched and long overdue, Beetle sheds new light on Eisenhower as supreme commander, as well as the WWII campaigns in North Africa, Italy, and Europe.

Download or read book Snow Steel written by Peter Caddick-Adams and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 929 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new assessment of the Battle of the Bulge, the largest and bloodiest battle fought by U.S. forces in World War II, offers a balanced perspective that considers both the German and American viewpoints and discusses the failings of intelligence; Hitler's strategic grasp; effects of weather and influence of terrain; and differences in weaponry, understanding of aerial warfare, and doctrine.

Download or read book Allied Armies in Sicily and Italy 1943 1945 written by Simon Forty and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2020-03-30 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Italian campaign was one of the most debated of the Second World War, splitting the American and British allies, and causing great disharmony. After the fall of Rome and the surrender of Italy, the invasion of Normandy led to the Italian campaign becoming a sideshow as the ‘D-Day Dodgers’ fought their way through Italy to the Alps against a grinding defence and extreme weather. In a sequence of 200 wartime photographs Simon Forty sums up the major events of the conflict – from the landings on Sicily to the crossing of the Po. Commanded first by Sir Harold Alexander and then Mark Clark, the Allied armies (US Fifth and British Eighth) drew men not only from Britain, the United States, France and Poland but from all over the Commonwealth – from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa – as well as such other countries as Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Greece and Palestine. The devastation caused by the war in the cities, towns and countryside is part of the story, but perhaps the most powerful impression is made by the faces of the soldiers themselves as they look out from the Italian front of so long ago.

Download or read book Crerar s Lieutenants written by Geoffrey Hayes and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2017-07-12 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1943, General Harry Crerar penned a memorandum in which he noted that there was still much confusion as to “what constitutes an ‘Officer.’” His words reflected the army’s preoccupation with creating an ideal officer who would not only meet the immediate demands of war but also be able to conform to notions of social class and masculinity. Drawing on a wide range of sources and exploring the issue of leadership through new lenses, this book looks at how the army selected and trained its junior officers after 1939 to embody the new ideal. It finds that these young men – through the mentors they copied, the correspondence they left, even the songs they sang – practised a “temperate heroism” that distinguished them from the idealized, heroic visions of officership from the First World War. Fascinating and highly original, this book sheds new light on the challenges many junior officers faced during the Second World War – not only on the battlefield but from Canadians’ often conflicted views about social class and gender.

Download or read book Strangers in Arms written by Robert C. Engen and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 2016-04-04 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do soldiers fight? What keeps them going? What compels them to face death when their long-time comrades have fallen around them? Strangers in Arms addresses these questions in a groundbreaking study of the behaviour, morale, and motivations of Canadian infantrymen on the front lines of the Second World War. Canada’s army has long faced intense criticism for its combat performance during the war, and Canada’s official history has presented Canadian soldiers as deficient, inexperienced, and unprepared in comparison with their enemies. Questioning entrenched views, Robert Engen explores a trove of contemporaneous documents to create a remarkable new portrait of Canadians at war. Rather than the popular "band of brothers" image of soldier cohesion in battle, he finds staggering casualty rates and personnel turmoil that left Canadian infantrymen often working with and fighting beside men they hardly knew. Yet these strangers in arms continued to fight - effectively and in good spirits - against a tenacious and deadly enemy, triumphing in the face of heartrending loss and sacrifice. Challenging old narratives about the Canadian soldier and supported by cutting-edge empirical and qualitative research, Strangers in Arms crafts a new understanding of what happens at the sharp end of battle.

Download or read book Forward with Patton written by Robert S. Allen and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2017-08-25 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The WWII diary of a US soldier and Soviet spy who worked closely with General Patton is presented in this fully annotated edition. Robert S. Allen is one of the more controversial figures of the Second World War. After serving in France during World War I, he left the military to start a career as a syndicated columnist, eventually becoming the Washington, DC, bureau chief for the Christian Science Monitor. In that time, he also developed a sideline as a paid informant for the KGB. When American entered World War II, Allen rejoined the army to serve as General Patton's chief of situation and executive officer for operations. He was considered such an authority on Patton after the war that Twentieth Century-Fox asked him to develop a film script about the general. In Forward with Patton, John Nelson Rickard presents a complete, annotated edition of Colonel Allen's World War II diary for 1944-1945. The entries reflect Allen's private thoughts on the Third Army and provide an invaluable perspective on Patton, whom Allen deeply admired.

Download or read book The Longest Campaign written by Brian Walter and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2020-04-30 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The award-winning historian’s acclaimed account of British sea power throughout WWII: “a must-read for anyone interested in Naval warfare” (PowerShips magazine). For four centuries the British realm depended on sea power to defend itself against a myriad of threats. The Royal Navy established itself as the “Sovereign of the Seas,” helping transform a small island nation into the center of a global empire. But Britain’s maritime services faced an unprecedented challenge during World War II, and the survival of the nation was at stake. The Longest Campaign tells the epic story of British sea power in the Second World War. It is a comprehensive and detailed account of the activities, results, and relevance of Britain’s maritime effort in the Atlantic and off northwest Europe. Military historian Brian Walter looks at the entire breadth of the maritime conflict, exploring the contribution of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, and British merchant marines, as well as their Commonwealth equivalents. Walter puts the maritime conflict in the context of the overall war effort and shows how the various operations and campaigns were intertwined. Finally, he provides unique analysis of the effectiveness of the British maritime effort and role it played in Allied victory.

Download or read book British Armoured Divisions and their Commanders 1939 1945 written by Richard Doherty and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2013-07-16 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A total of eleven British armoured divisions were formed during the 1939-1945 war but, as this highly informative book reveals, just eight saw action.??In 1940 only 1st Armoured Division faced the German blitzkrieg and it was in the North African desert that armoured divisions came into their own. The terrain was ideal and six such divisions of Eighth Army fought Rommel's Panzers into submission. Three were disbanded prior to the invasion of Sicily and Italy. The campaign from D-Day onwards saw the Guards Armoured, 7th Armoured (the Desert Rats), 11th and Percy Hobart's 79th Armoured Division in the thick of the action.??Of particular interest are the men who commanded these elite formations and the way their characters contributed to the outcome of operations. While some, such as Dick McCreery, went onto greater heights, others did not make the grade; the stakes were high. A number, such as 'Pip' Roberts, were just perfectly suited in the role.??Written by a leading military historian, this book describes many fascinating aspects of armoured warfare from its uncertain beginnings, through the development of tactics and the evolving tank design. Due to British deficiencies, reliance had to be placed on US Grants and Shermans, with the Comet coming late and the Centurion too late.??The combination of gripping historical narrative and well researched fact make this an invaluable and highly readable work on the contribution of British Armoured Divisions to victory in the Second World War.

Download or read book Stopping the Panzers written by Marc Milner and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2017-05-26 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the narrative of D-Day the Canadians figure chiefly—if at all—as an ineffective force bungling their part in the early phase of Operation Overlord. The reality is quite another story. As both the Allies and the Germans knew, only Germany’s Panzers could crush Overlord in its tracks. The Canadians’ job was to stop the Panzers—which, as this book finally makes clear, is precisely what they did. Rescuing from obscurity one of the least understood and most important chapters in the history of D-Day, Stopping the Panzers is the first full account of how the Allies planned for and met the Panzer threat to Operation Overlord. As such, this book marks nothing less than a paradigm shift in our understanding of the Normandy campaign. Beginning with the Allied planning for Operation Overlord in 1943, historian Marc Milner tracks changing and expanding assessments of the Panzer threat, and the preparations of the men and units tasked with handling that threat. Featured in this was the 3rd Canadian Division, which, treated so dismissively by history, was actually the most powerful Allied formation to land on D-Day, with a full armored brigade and nearly 300 artillery and antitank guns under command. Milner describes how, over four days of intense and often brutal battle, the Canadians fought to a literal standstill the 1st SS Panzer Corps—which included the Wehrmacht’s 21st Panzer Division; its vaunted elite Panzer Lehr Division; and the rabidly zealous 12th SS Hitler Youth Panzer Division, whose murder of 157 Canadian POWs accounted for nearly a quarter of Canadian fatalities during the fighting. Stopping the Panzers sets this murderous battle within the wider context of the Overlord assault, offering a perspective that challenges the conventional wisdom about Allied and German combat efficiency, and leads to one of the freshest assessments of the D-Day landings and their pre-attack planning in more than a decade.