Small in physical stature Colonel, later Brigadier, Patsy Pagan was seen as a giant by the men of the Gloucestershire Regiment, whom he commanded for over three gruelling years of The Great War.He and his Battalion endured some of the hardest fighting and grimmest conditions on the Western Front; The battles of Loos 1915, Somme 1916 and Passchendaele 1917. Wounded three times, Pagan discharged himself from hospital to rejoin his men rather than be evacuated to Blighty.He reluctantly left h...

Miles Dempsey, Commander of the British Second Army in the invasion of Europe 1944-45, is almost unknown to the general public. Yet his part in Britains contribution to that campaign was second only to Montgomerys in importance. Dempsey survived two and a half years of bitter fighting as an infantry officer on the Western Front before accompanying his beloved Royal Berkshire Regiment in the little-known North West Persia campaign of 1920-21. In six years he rose from Major to command over ...

It is no exaggeration to claim that 46th North Midland Divisions action on 29 September 1918 was the hammer blow that shattered the will of the German High Command.Painting the strategic picture from early 1918 and the dark weeks following the Germans March offensive, the Author lays the ground for the Allied counter-strike. Ahead of them was the mighty Hindenburg Line, the Kaisers formidable defensive obstacle given added strength by the St Quentin Canal.Undaunted the Allies attacked usin...

This fascinating study of military leadership follows British general Bernard Law MontgomeryÆs military career from his cadet days and service in World War I to his great victories of World War II, including his defeat of the great German panzer commander, Erwin Rommel, at Alamein.Nigel Hamilton presents a brilliant, arrogant Montgomery, who refused to bow to authority and skated on the edge of dismissal like his American counterpart, George S. Patton. Though very different in the...

Co-winner of the 2014-2015 Charles P. Stacey AwardTim Cook, Canada’s leading war historian, ventures deep into World War Two in this epic two-volume story of heroism and horror, of loss and longing, sacrifice and endurance.Written in Cook’s compelling narrative style, this book shows in impressive detail how soldiers, airmen, and sailors fought—the evolving tactics, weapons of war, logistics, and technology. It gauges Canadian effectiveness against the skil...

**Winner of the 2016 Ottawa Book AwardThe magisterial second volume of Tim Cook's definitive account of Canadians fighting in the Second World War.**Historian Tim Cook displays his trademark storytelling ability in the second volume of his masterful account of Canadians in World War II. Cook combines an extraordinary grasp of military strategy with a deep empathy for the soldiers on the ground, at sea and in the air. Whether it's a minute-by-minute account of a gruelling art...

A bold new telling of the defining battle of the Great War, and how it came to signify and solidify Canada's national identity.Why does Vimy loom so large in Canada's identity—and should it? Tim Cook, Canada's foremost military historian and a RBC Taylor Prize winner, examines the battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917 and the way the memory of it has evolved over a hundred years. Vimy is unlike any other battle in Canadian history: it has been described as the "birth ...

A unique insider's account of the Harper government so damning that it cannot be ignoredIn March 2008, Kevin Page was appointed by the federal Conservatives to be the country's first Parliamentary Budget Officer. The move fulfilled a Tory campaign promise to deliver greater government transparency and accountability. He was later denounced by the same people who appointed him to scrutinize their spending. When he challenged the government on several issues--most not...

A first-hand account of World War I by a nineteen-year-old Englishman who led a platoon into the carnage of the Battle of the Somme.While researching his excellent earlier book: Veterans of World War I, author Richard Van Emden encountered a fascinating personality of that long-ago conflict. After witnessing German naval attacks on British civilians, Norman Collins enlisted in the Seaforth Highlanders of the 51st Highland Division, even though he was under...

"A personal and vivid view of the Royal Air Force's (RAF) engagement of the Luftwaffe in World War II . . . Exciting, valuable, and good reading." — Library JournalThis is the autobiography of Group Captain Sir Hugh Dundas CBE, DSO, DFC, who was one of the most distinguished fighter pilots of World War II. He writes of his wartime experiences, and particularly of his period as Squadron Leader and Wing Commander and his involvement in the Battle of Britain.

It’s 1942 and Hitler’s armies stand astride Europe like a colossus. Germany is winning on every front. This is the story of how one of the world’s first commando units, put together for the invasion of Norway, helped turn the tide in Italy.1942. When the British generals recommend an audacious plan to parachute a small elite commando unit into Norway in a bid to put Nazi Germany on the defensive, Winston Churchill is intrigued. But Britain, fighting for its life, c...

The Germans were masters of Blitzkrieg. But in the rubble of a ruined city, the Russians knew the troops of the Third Reich were reluctant to engage in the hand-to-hand battle that victory required. The Soviet soldiers were fearless; time was blood. The Red Army commander’s tactics were brutally simple – defend the city or die...Read about the Attack by the German army on Stalingrad; the brutal Fighting in the Streets and Sewers; and the eventual Final Encirclement by the do-or-die...