In the Footsteps of First Canadian Army: Southwest Europe 1942-45 (2009) By Angus Brown & Richard Gimblett
 
Featuring the Collections of the Canadian War Museum.
 
 A reference to the route taken by First Canadian Army in northern Europe during the Second World War. Includes then and now photographs, maps, accounts of battles, and index. The book helps to give perspective to the route taken by the Canadians from June 1944 to May 1945. 
 
First Canadian Army was not only the largest field command of the Second World War for Canada, but it also was a major coalition formation with a number of units from different countries under General H.D.G. Crerar. Through the medium of text, art and photos this book traces the operations of First Canadian Army during the liberation of Northwest Europe: from the long prelude of garrison and training in the United Kingdom, to the beaches of Normandy and the killing fields of France, through the clearing of the Channel ports, into the horrible conditions of the Scheldt and the violent fighting in the German Rhineland, to the final freedom of the Dutch people in Holland. This narrative will help people to put these momentous events of the Second World War into geographical and historical perspective. Through it all, First Canadian Army slogged along in poor weather and slugged it out with a determined foe. This is the story of Canadians and compatriots who took their place in the line with bigger, more glamourous and better-known Allies. General Harry Crerar, the commander of First Canadian Army, had to cope with the most multinational force (a 'coalition-of-the-willing' in today's parlance) in the entire European theatre, with all the resulting unique challenges, particularly as that force executed a multitude of joint operations on land, sea and air. Making his command even more challenging was his successful commitment to maintaining an identifiable Canadian profile and independence within 21 Army Group, an aim at odds with the vision of its formidable commander, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery. In the Footsteps of First Canadian Army proves that the operational level of command can be extremely interesting and at times entertaining, particularly when complemented with war art, photographs, maps and quotes from the Canadian War Museum 's oral history collection. Arriving later than some into the fight, First Canadian Army quickly came of age and more than made up for lost time. Just ask the enemy.
 
Soft Cover
160 pages
In Good Condition