"We took our positions, five kneeling and five standing … we got the order to fire. One blank and nine live rounds … I did not have the blank."That is the voice of Deward Barnes, an unwilling but dutiful member of the firing squad that shot Harold Lodge, one of 25 Canadians executed during the First World War. In this diary we hear something that is otherwise gone forever: the authentic voice of the First World War soldier, Everyman in khaki. Fully annontated so that everyone today...

The giant conflagration of the First World War created the world we live in today, and its history is replete with stirring battles, mind-boggling strategies, and geopolitical manoeuvring. However, the real story was lived in the trenches of Europe and the lonely households of those left behind. The stories of this period are full of tragedy, anger, and loss but also inspirational courage. This special five-book bundle presents some of these stories, from brave Canadian contributions to th...

Canadian regimental histories are war stories that provide testimony to the feats of courage and tenacity of Canadians tested in combat or engaged in the sometimes tedious regimen of peace. These regimental histories speak to the collective military heritage and legacy of the country. They are, in fact, windows on our nation and ourselves. This volume, the companion to Establishing a Legacy, the first volume, provides a detailed account of The Royal Canadian Regiments story from 1...

These published rolls are intended to provide a fairly comprehensive list of the loyal colonials who joined the Provincial Corps of the British Army , 1775-1784, that werepart of the Northern, or Canadian, command during the American Revolution. The name "Provincial corpos of the British Army" applied to regiments established for loyal residents of Britain's colonies. To conduct the war against the rebels in the Thirteen colonies, the British government organized military departments at ke...

At the outbreak of World War II, the Royal Canadian Navy consisted of just 13 warships and about 3000 permanent and reserve members. By the war's end, however, it had grown into the third largest navy in the world, with 365 warships and more than 100,000 personnel. The men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy came from all corners of Canada to fight in the sea war against the enemy. Together, they exceeded even the highest expectations of their allies.

Seven soldiers. Seven military specialties. Seven stories.What was it like to serve in the combat mission in Afghanistan? Journalists’ reports from 2006 to 2011 could only give brief glimpses of the reality on the ground for Canadian soldiers. This book reveals the full story of what happened to seven soldiers, ranking from corporal to captain, who were deployed during Operation ATHENA, Phase 2. The operation became known as “the combat mission” as Canadian battle ...

In his controversial and award-winning 2003 book Fields of Fire, Terry Copp offered a stunning reversal of accepted military history, challenging the conventional view that the Canadian contribution to the Battle of Normandy was a failure. Cinderella Army continues the story of the operations carried out by the First Canadian Army in the last nine months of the war, and extends the argument developed in Fields of Fire that "the achievement of the Allied and espec...

"Never talked about it."That's what most people say when they're asked if the veteran in the family ever shared wartime experiences. Describing combat, imprisonment or lost comrades from the World Wars, the Korea War, or even Afghanistan is reserved for Remembrance Day or the Legion lounge. Nobody was ever supposed to see them get emotional, show their vulnerability. Nobody was ever to know the hell of their war.About 25 years ago, Ted Barris began breaking through the sile...

In the dark, early days of the Second World War, the Allies found themselves with their backs against the wall. With their armies, tactics, doctrine, and equipment in tatters, the Allies turned to special operations forces to carry the fight to the Axis enemy until their conventional forces could be built up once again. Specially selected and trained, these forces struck fear into the hearts of the enemy. One such unit, the First Special Service Force (FSSF) or Devil's Brigade, was created...

Between 1950 and 1953, nearly 30,000 Canadian volunteers joined the effort to contain communist incursions into South Korea and support the fledgling United Nations. All the services were there and all served with distinction. The Royal Canadian Navy led a daring rescue of troops from the port of Chinnampo in 1950; members of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry won the highest US battle honour at Kap’yong in April 1951; the Vandoos turned the tide at Hill 355; and twice -- at H...

On April 18, 2002, Alpha Company, Third Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was on a training exercise at Tarnak Farms, a former Taliban artillery range in southern Afghanistan. The exercise had been underway for nearly seven hours when two American fighter pilots flew overhead. One, Major Harry Schmidt, saw the artillery fire below, and thinking he was under attack, dropped a laser-guided bomb.Four Canadian soldiers died that night, the first Canadian com...

In the Service of Peace simple words that adorn the obverse of every United Nations medal, yet behind this eloquence lurks violence and an unheralded heroism invisible to an often misunderstood quarter of Canadas military history. The Canadian contribution to peacekeeping is enormous but ensnared in a lethal mythology that has seen it abandoned to popular folklore. From the early and intrinsic Canadian contribution to the U.N. Emergency Force in 1956, through the blur of the frenetic 1990s...