# Canadian Army Reading List- 11+ Years Of Suggestions and Ideas



## cagomez

I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on good books about the CF. I would like to place on emphasis on personal accounts on combat and tactics at the platoon company, or even secion level. I‘ve found nothing but books about generals, strategy, politics, and logistics, going into long blabs about divisions and brigades and describe the fighting only as "heavy". Books on infantry would be preferred but I‘ll read about any combat arm. Some of the best books I‘ve read are the Sharp End (excellent read but highly opinionated) and the Guns of Normandy/Victory (great book for infantry and arty). Thanks for your suggestions.


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## JRMACDONALD

FUS- see you unit RSS WO(OPs /trg Wo) about theARMY recommended reading list(dec 2001) . mostly, oriented towards officers, but some excellent volumes identified. for sec Pl stuff, dont restrict yourself to CDN volumes only. Personal suggestions- 1. Eat your weakest man by Rui Amaral( Cdn AB Regt in Somalia) 2. the Defence of Duffers Drift( circa 1900, British in South Africa,but a great "primer" for understanding defensive  principles) 3. Quartered Safe out Here, by George Macdonald Fraser( British, in burma circa1944-45, very fine read , of a young fella who becomes a SEc Comd)


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## cagomez

Thanks for the suggestions. I remember going through a recommended reading list on the Infantry Journal site. Was a little shocked to find starship troopers on it (didn‘t read the book but watched the movie, hilarious !) I did manage to read a few sections of "On Infantry" by John English, excellent descriptions of fighting formations from different countries during WW II, if I recall correctly. I also have been directed towards "Eat your weakest man" by other sources but haven‘t been able to score a copy. At the moment I‘m restricted to university and public libraries. One question about that book though, what the ****  is up with that title ?!!


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## Infanteer

The movie "Starship Troopers" has almost nothing in common with the book.  I highly recommend the book, as Heinlein offers some thought-provoking ideas on the military and politics.


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## Yard Ape

The movie does a great injustice to the book.  I recomend Starship Troopers to everybody.  

  Yard Ape


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## spacemarine

Tested Mettle and Eat Your Weakest Man are very good books. Eat Your Weakest Man is sold some kitshops and it‘s not as expensive as some of the hardcovers so it‘s a decent deal.


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## enfield

Tested Mettle is garbage, tho you might as well read it.
Starship Troopers is a great book, get your hands on it as soon as you can.
Somalia On $5 a Day discusses, in detail, American company and battalion level operations in the early phases of Somalia, as well as training and disaster relief Stateside. Lots of "Lessons Learned".

There‘s a wealth of British books out there... CQB is good, as are Black Water and First Into Action. 

Blackhawk Down is a good account of a very modern incident, and a good book with lots of detail. 

I‘ve heard good thinsg about some of Farley Mowat‘s books, and "Ortona" is good but very detailed and maybe not as grunt-oriented as you‘d like.

There‘s a couple books out by German soldiers in WW2, all excellent reads. I think one is called "Soldat". 

there‘s two really good books that I cnat think of right now, and got rid of awhile ago. One is the diary/recollections of an American draftee in WW2 who fights in NW Europe and ends up a Platoon Sergeant by the end. Very detailed, very honest.

Another is about a USMC officer in Vietnam who takes comman dof a Force Recon unit and details - soldiers will recognize eveything he describes, from battle procedure to rehearsals to map recce‘s to patrol procedure. Wish I could remember it‘s name...


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## spacemarine

If you want to read about unwilling grunts try "There it is". It‘s about a Canadian who was drafted to fight in Vietnam. On one of his week long ops they sit in the same spot and call in fake sitreps while smoking herb and camping out!


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## byuill

You might also think about the books "Ortona" and "The Liri Valley",by an author whose surname is Zuelke(sp?), both of which are on the shelves.  They describe in great detail all aspects of Canadian army combat operations in the Italian theatre at a time when the Canadian military was at its peak.


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## cagomez

Looks like I got enought reading to last me till I get back to school. I tried to get a copy of Starshiptroopers from the library but they were all taken. Unfortuantely I was away from my PC and unable to look for any of the suggestions that were given. I‘m hoping to go to the big reserve ex in the states this march so I picked up a Tom Clancy books.  It is a guided tour of the 82nd Airborne. I was bit dissappointed I couldnt find any half decent CDN books but I guess I‘ll have to try harder. Thanks for all the replies.  :warstory:


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## Soldier of Fortune

Yes, I also recommend "There It Is." It describes platoon level tactics very well.


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## Jungle

FUS,
As far as I know, the saying "eat your weakest man" comes from CWO Collier, CAR RSM in 1985-87 period. One of his favourite sayings was: "when the going gets tough, eat your weakest man"    . As for good books, someone mentioned "soldat", I believe the reference was to "Le soldat oublié" or "The forgotten soldier". It is the account of a young Frenchman whose mother was German and who joins the wermacht. Of course he is sent to the Eastern front, where he will fight for 3 years    . I do not know if it is avail in english. Other good choices in french: "Un Canadien Français Ã  Dieppe" (personal account of Lucien Dumais, Fus MR) and "Nous étions 177" (story of the 177 French members of no 4 Commando on D-day.


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## cagomez

Thanks for the suggestions but I can‘t read French. Do you know if there are any English translations of those books. I have never any books giving a francophone view point of any of the wars. It would probably be very interesting


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## byuill

There is a book called "Soldat", which is not the same as "The Forgotten Soldier".  "Soldat" is written by a Wehrmacht artillery officer whose course commander during officer training was Erwin Rommel.  It also goes into some detail of his post-War experience as a captive of the Russians.  It doesn‘t get down and dirty like "The Forgotten Soldier", which is about a Frenchman fighting in the GrossDeutschland division on the eastern front.
For Canadian books, I restate my endorsement of "Ortona" and "The Liri Valley".  Though not quite as good yarns as "Immediate Action" or "CQB", they are good depictions of Canadians at their best, and I hope someday they are required reading in schools.


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## cagomez

I‘ll have to add orotona and liri valley to my reading list. Does anybody know of any books that deal with the 9th highland highland brigade of the 3rd CDN infantry div in world war II ? I believe I could find some good regimental history in any books speaking about that particular formation


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## echo

Don‘t Forget "Bravo-Two-Zero" by Andy McNab.
excellant book in my (and quite a few friends) opinion.


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## USMCMatt

Check out the page hosted by the Marine Corps‘ University on professional military reading:

 http://www.mcu.usmc.mil/reading/readinglist.htm 

I think you will find this a great resource for your military development.

Semper Fidelis,

Matt


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## cagomez

I‘m a quater way through Tom Clancy‘s book on the 82 Airborne. Its been very informative so far in terms of training, org and equipment, and I can‘t wait until unitl he speaks more on combat. I‘ve read ahead and noticed that he has written a few mock scenarios which should be interesting. The only really boring part I have encountered was a short history on (yawn) the parachute. But I guess you cant be airborne without parachutes. Well you can but just for a very short while until you nosedive into the ground. I definetly want to give starship trooper a read as it is on almost every army‘s recommended reading list. I‘ve read Immediate Action by NcNab but didn‘t find it really interesting. Hopefully B20 will be different. Once I get starship troopers in I‘ll probably go for Ortona or Liri Valley since they will probably be easier to get a hold off and possibly soldat for a different perspective. Again, if anyone has any books on the 9th Brigade 3 CDN INF DIV WWII it would be highly appreciated. Thanks for all the suggestions thus far and keep them coming.


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## rceme_rat

Jungle --

Is the CWO Collier referred to in your post the same as LFWA‘s first Area CWO (1991-1994 timeframe)?


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## cagomez

Couldn‘t tell ya


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## enfield

Be warned, Ortona is pretty slow and VERY detailed.
I personally didn‘t like B20.

Other books - "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray, I‘ve recently seen it re-released in paperback. 
Black Water and First Into Action are interetsing bcause they show another side of the SAS - the SBS guys describe a lot of the SAS‘s screw ups...


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## cagomez

Enfield 

What about Liri Valley. Is that more of a grunt book or a historical insight of proper deployment of divisions and logistics pertaining to the current poltical and strategic view point of the theater as it corresponds to .... blah blah blah blahh. Would you recommend it to a fusilier or is it more of historical artsy type affair.


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## byuill

Lrir Valley covers everything from the politics of the day [Ottawa] down to grunt level, and has insight from all the combat arms.  It goes into "big picture" planning, but goes into how that all goes to rat**** when the enemy has plans of his own.
Though it drags along in parts, I think every Canadian soldier should read this book.  There is a lot of good lessons learned in it, especially when you read about privates and corporals taking control of their platoons when their leaders get the chop.
Some of the history is coloured by the author‘s perspective, but much of the events are backed up by not only after action reports but also eyewitness accounts and interviews with surviving veterans.  Speaking of which, talk to the veterans of your regiment when there is a chance to talk to them.  They are getting fewer as time goes on.
Books like Bravo Two Zero are good, but remember that line soldiers rarely get the chance to tell their stories.  For an extremely good perspective of the Canadian private solider‘s lot in life, read the Long Road Home.  I believe the author is Frederick Cederberg (sp?).  He does a fine job of describing the terror and confusion of combat.


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## herr_scooter

Cuople of Books here that I havent seen mentioned

From a general perspective

Six Armies in Normandy by John Keegan

Gives the history of the Allied Invasion of Normandy.  Written on a more operational than tactical level though

Achtung Panzer! by Hans Guderian

Interesting read as it is where many of the concepts of mechanized warfare came from.

On Psychology of Military Incompetence by Norman Dixon

Very detailed but very interesting not for everybody but i would recommend it to anyone who asks why military adventures on an operational level sometimes fail.

The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 - Capt. JC Dunn

Great Book it is basically the a Regimental History of the 2nd Battalion the Royal Welch Fusiliers. An interesting sidebar on this book, Dunn‘s impetus to write this book was a disagreement with the Regimental Senate of 2WRF after WWI as to how the regimental history should be told.

Going to the Wars - Max Hastings

Interesting book as war correspondance tends to frame much of societies views of a particular armed conflict.  Hastings talks about his experiences in Biafra, Vietnam, the Yom Kippur War and the Falklands.  He also accounts his lackluster career as a Territoral Army Parachute Regiment Officer Cadet.

The Last Battle - In my view the best book Cornelius Ryan wrote.  Describes the battle between the Red Army and the German Military for Berlin in April-May of 45.

Inside the Red Army/The Liberators - Victor Suvorov

Inside the Red Army is an extesive yet facinating look at the structure of the Soviet Army from the high command to the concript.

The Liberators is a sardonic recounting of Suvarov‘s experiences in the Soviet Army from the time he was an officer cadet to the invasion of Czechoslovakia

Stalingrad - Anthony Beevor

Title should be self-explanatory.  For my money a better read than Enemy at the Gates

From a British Perspective I would reccomed:

Britain‘s Army in the 20th Century by Field Marshal Lord Carver

This book is a detailed history of the operations conducted by the British Army from 1900 to late 1999.

War Behind Enemy Lines - Jeremy Moore

A detailed history of the development, training and use of Special Operations Forces by Britain during WWII

Hope this helps


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## Jungle

Rat,
More than likely, although I am not sure where he went after service with the Regiment. But it would make sense when you look at the time frame. Anyway, he was a very impressive man.


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## Gunner

Gents, CWO Collier was indeed the first RSM for LFWA.  I believe he left around 93, replaced by Georg Arndt‘s long tenure.

Of note, Mr Collier joined the 4 CRPG and (as of mid 98) was happily teaching skills to young Rangers.


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## echo

for  books on "life as a soldier"

"6 War Years" is a collaboration of writings by many differant Canadians from differant perspectives.

"and no birds sang..." and "My Father‘s Son" by Farley Mowat  are good as well.


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## Marauder

What, no plug for "The Sharp End" by James R. Davis? You guys dissappoint me. LOL 
Davis is ex-RCR Recce PL and a CAR vet who walked the walk in Bosnia and Rwanda. Good read of one Bloggins putting up with the usual cock and the occasional evolutionary cul-de-sac O, as well as a good look at the kind of braindead, numpty horse**** that the CF puts up with on UN ops. Also a bit of a narrative of the last days of the CAR. Mr. Davis feels the same way about politicians as I do.   

On a side note, I got to check out the ABN coin of the CPL in our Regiment who got a chance to go to jump school with his previous (Toronto-area) Regiment. I was suprised at how thin it was (compared to the Ranger BN coins I have had a chance to look at). Still pretty damn cool. Why he isn‘t a MCPL yet is beyond me.


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## cagomez

I actually own the Sharp End, as it was a gift I received when I first joined up. Found it was a great read and I could relate to a few of his stories but the more I read it, (I must have read it front to back 4 times) the more I picked up on his high opinion of himself. Still, its one of the best books of what life is like in the forces and would recommend it.


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## hhour48

http://www.lib.ru/MEMUARY/CHECHNYA/chechen_war.txt  
  Vyacheslav Mironov. Assault on Grozny Downtown - Chechen Campaign ‘95. V. Mironov was an infantry captain involved in heavy battles of the first days of the war.

Also, some more Russian readings:
  http://www.artofwar.ru/index_e.html


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## spacemarine

If you read All Necessary Measures by Cameron Spence (who also wrote Sabre Squadron) he mentions the LCol who‘s now in charge of 3PPCLI, back then he was a captain acting as a UN observer. The SAS left him in the city under seige with no weapons. Its all about the SAS sneaking into Bosnia posing as Royal Signals.

If you‘re into the FFL [always have the backup career in mind    ] then there‘s quite a few good ones. Mouthful of Rocks is written by a deserter who likes to make up alot of BS about the legion and he‘s pretty bitter so everything he says has to be taken with a grain of salt, but a decent read. Then there‘s Paratroopers of the FFL which isn‘t sold at most book stores and Chapters can‘t order it in even after they take your money (had it on order for 6 months). Its a good history of 2REP and what happens in the modern day reg‘t. Inside the FFL is good if you‘re into history, it only covers up to right after the Gulf War.


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## enfield

Paras of the FFL is a good read, though I think it might glorify them a little to much - I believe it compares them to the SAS at one point.
"Legionnaire" is brutally honest, describing fighting in ALgeria in the 60‘s, the mutiny an disbandment of of the 1REP, as well as life in the Legion and courses and what not.

Sharp End is good the first couple times, but the more you read it the more Davis‘s arrogance comes through. I‘ve seen him on TV a couple times and can‘t say I like him awhole lot. "Fortune‘s Warriors", his second book, is no where close to Sharp End.

"War" by Gwynne Dyer is a great book (and video series by PBS). Give it a great. Anything by Keegan is good as well, although it‘s history.


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## portcullisguy

> Originally posted by echo:
> [qb]Don‘t Forget "Bravo-Two-Zero" by Andy McNab.
> excellant book in my (and quite a few friends) opinion.[/qb]


I have seen many books on the market allegedly written by SAS people, and I discounted the majority of them out of hand.

One day I picked up Bravo Two Zero and my perspective was altered forever.  A great follow-up was his quasi-autobiography, Immediate Action.

Andy McNab has been chastized for his writing those books, and in particular by at least one survivor of his doomed Gulf War mission.  Whatever your view of the man himself, the books are excellent resources and insight into a winning mindset.

McNab goes to great lengths to portray himself as just another soldier doing his job, not in it for Queen and country, but instead because it‘s what he‘s good at -- the chapters on SAS Selection in Immediate Action are very insightful and should provide a solid idea in the reader‘s head about what a professional soldier should aspire to be.

As to McNab‘s fiction novels, I have no opinion, having never read them.  The last thing that interests me is SAS fiction.


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## portcullisguy

After a long wait, Bravo Two Zero has finally - I am told - been released on VHS here in Canada.

Previously, one had to order the PAL-mode Brit copy, and have it converted to NTSC.  I did this and it resulted in a movie nearly too dark to see clearly (dirty recording heads at the video conversion place?).

Apparently, the North American version was released December 18.  Unfortunately, it has not received wide distribution yet -- Not a single Rogers Video in Toronto has it, and Blockbuster was only able to tell me that SOME store(s) has it, but they couldn‘t tell me which ones.  I know Video 99 in Stouffville has it.

The movie was quite good, although aside from Sean Bean, there are no well-known actors of note, and the acting is not award-winning.  However, it is a faithful enactment of the book by Andy McNab.  My Euro version had an interview with Mr. McNab afterwards, which I found insightful.

If you are looking for it, and you local store doesn‘t have it, bug he s*** out of them until they get it from their distributor -- it IS available to them...


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## spacemarine

B20 has been available for a long time on VHS, I‘ve seen it for sale on the net, unfortunately it‘s pricey to order from the UK, the VHS copy ends up being forty some dollars canadian. Thanks for the tip about it now being available in Canada.


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## bob

Also,excellent reading are The D-Day Dodgers by Daniel G. Dancocks,Rhineland by Brigadier General Denis Whitaker,The Patricias by David Bercuson,Our Bravest  And Our Best by Arthur Bishop and many more fine books about not only Army but also Cdn Navy and RCAF.I realize that you want books on being a grunt,but pick up and read about other CDN. Military  Services in Canada.I just read the book on H.M.C.S.Haida by Barry M.Gough.She was quite a Lady.Read about her Battle Honours. Came close to being sunk.Take a trip to Toronto if you are close and take a tour before they take her to Hamilton.YAH I know some of you think i am doing a plug for some book store.Dont stop at reading about one when you can broaden your knowledge on other Cdn.Military History.For some of you i can say i know what being a grunt is.I had the Privilege & Honour of serving with the Black Watch and R.C.R.in the 60s.I have also served with The Ontario Regiment,another great Regiment.Some of you wanted to know about comradeship & esprit de corps.The Watch was taken out of the Order Of Battle,but let me tell you that the buddies that you trained & worked with is something that will stay with you always.Our reunions are every 2 years and i can say that the comradeship and pride is just as strong to-day as it was back then.Sorry i rattled on so long.


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## Andrew

I am just curious, i have just bought the book "JTFII, Canada‘s secret commando‘s".  Seems to be pretty interesting but talks alot about weapons(think the author just tryed to make the book longer) that I and most people would know about.  Just don‘t fit well in the book with my opinion.   But my question is, in other books like B2O, CQB, Immidiate Action all the photos in the books have the faces of the SAS soldiers blocked out unless the soldier had died.  And in this book non of the faces of the JTFII‘s faces are blocked out.  Is this right to keep the soldiers identity secretive??

Andrew


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## cagomez

Andrew

There has been a previous thread regarding books and info about the JTF. Its under The Canadian Army Section titled "Well here it is" Try the link I posted if it works

 http://cdnarmy.ca/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000339


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## Spr Earl

A good book is "The Battalion of the Damned"
I can‘t remember the author‘s name.

It‘s about ex S.S. in the Foregn Legion in Indo China and how the battalion was made up of Ex S.S. and how they got the dirty job‘s and the tactic‘s they used  on patrol‘s and convoy escort‘s which French regular troop‘s refused to do.

A very good read and educational in so much it give‘s insight how to fight a hidden enemy.


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## enfield

The JTF2 book is very strange - some good stuff, and some weird stuff, and a whole bunch that is so general it seems to be just thrown in to make the book longer.
If you know nothing about the military and special forces, it‘s a good read. If you some stuff, it gets a little hard to read at parts. 
I think th length of the bibliography shows that most of what the author did was gather up every tidbit of public knowledge on JTF2 and put it in one place, and then throw in some general stuff - like Clothe The Soldier PR photos. 

In regards to the faces; the SAS policy of staying anonymous is because of the ongoing threat from the IRA, as well as other terrorist groups. Most US Special Ops Units do not have the same policy - although it‘s very difficult to find ANY photos of Delta or CIA Special Activitivies. 
Many of the "special forces" that are mentioned in the book are less secretive because they are a very different creature in mandate than JTF2.


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## Argyll_2347

McAleese‘s Fighting Manual by Peter McAleese is a great book that provides information on section to platoon level tactics.

It gives information on patrolling, ambushing, marksmanship, and more.

It could be really hard to get, I found it in a Chapters store and have not seen it anywhere else.  You might be able to find it on a British Books site.

Bravo 2-0 is good.  I have read a lot of SAS books like Cameron Spence‘s Sabre Squadron and All Necessary Measures, Immediate Action by Andy McNab, Close Quarter Battle by Mike Curtis (great book!  My grandma even liked it!).

Black Hawk Down is an alright book to read about American screw ups and how much they rely on technology!


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## herbie

"Peacekeeper" by General Mckenzie is a good read on one man‘s experence in the  CF.  Eat your weakest man is named after a rumor the author heard about how the airborne operated.  Its another good book about modern Canadian military.  Blackhawk down is a good read mostly for its lessons learned ( ie comms ) Bravo 20 and immediate action are good reads on soldiering. 
enjoy


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## Donjk

There‘s always Farley Mowat‘s classic The Regiment (McClelland & Stewart Inc)


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## Brock

Another excellent book by the well respected Canadian historian/military analyst, David Bercuson, is Significant Incident.  It is about the Canadian Army and the problems that led up to the Canadian Ariborne Regiment problems--not failure--in Somalia.  It is an excellent read and provides the reader with an accurate and interesting account of Canada‘s Armies over the years.

Another famous Canadian military historian and military analyst is Desmond Morton.  If you want a good comprehensive account of the Canadian military, read Morton‘s A Military History of Canada, from Champlain to Kosovo.  Morton also wrote the foreward for an excellent book on the Royal Canadian Amoured Corps.  The book is called, The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, An Illustrated History.  It is an indepth look at the Corps‘ history from its beginning to Kosovo.  An excellent and informative read.  It also deals with major battles of World War II.  The authors are John Matienson and Michael McNorgan.


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## Michael Dorosh

Don‘t read Zuehlke, he is NOT a military historian.  If all you want is a loose collection of interesting quote by veterans, he is ok, but for a serious discussion of the Italian Campaign, read Daniel Dancocks.  Check out Amazon.com and my review of Zuehlke‘s book LIRI VALLEY, and see what he had to say.  The guy is a bonehead.

Bercuson has written some good books, too - read SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT - also reviewed at amazon by me - it is a good social history of the Army, not just about Somalia.


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## Infanteer

Damn, and I just spent 50 bucks on the hardcover edition.  If anything, I gotta cool picture of a Westie knocking out kraut tanks on the front....


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## Michael OLeary

I have added an on-line copy of the   Canadian Army Reading List   to my website:   The Regimental Rogue .

Mike O'Leary


(Edited 14 Jan 06 to update links.)

edited to update title


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## Michael OLeary

I have added an on-line copy of the  Infantry School Reading List  to my website:  The Regimental Rogue .

Mike O‘Leary


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## Brad Sallows

That‘s a good list.  Are there any particular translations, with or without commentary, recommended in the case of Sun Tzu or Clausewitz?


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## Michael OLeary

The Infantry School Reading List doesn‘t specify recommended editions, but the  Canadian Army Reading List , published by Land Force Doctrine and Training Systems does:

Clausewitz, Carl von.  *On War*.Edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1984. ISBN 0-691-05657-9

Sun Tzu.  *The Art of War* Translated with an introduction by Samuel B. Griggith. Foreword by B.H. Liddell Hart. London: Oxford University press, 1963.

Mike O‘Leary
The Regimental Rogue


(Edited 14 Jan 06 to update links.)


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## Fusaki

Can anyone suggest some good books about the army? I‘m looking for something about the infantry, hopefully something Canadian.

There isnt much at the local bookstore, mostly run if the mill "Inside the Delta Force" and "Black Hawk Down" type books. I need something with a bit more substance. I really liked Starship Troopers - Heinlein is one smart guy (I did a report on him for OAC English) and I‘m almost done a book called Parachute Infantry (by David Webster) about the 101st in WW2. It‘s also pretty good. The next on my list is The Sharp End: A Soldier‘s Story. This one was referred to me by a few different people and it‘s also on the Infantry School reading list.

This said, can anyone suggest similar books? Please, no Tom Clancy and no Mark Bowden. That stuff‘s like porno for military buffs - all the detail and no plot.


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## Michael OLeary

That‘s a tough order, any particular wars or campaigns for which you‘re looking for recommendations?

To start with you may want to consider the Canadian Military heritage suggestions on the Canadian Army Reading List. My website has a page on that section of the reading list (as well as others) at this location:
  http://regimentalrogue.com/library/CARL3_military_heritage.htm  

Mike


(Edited 14 Jan 06 to update link.)


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## Michael OLeary

Other suggestions, for the Second World War, include the works of Farley Mowat (The Regiment and And No Birds Sang) and Strome Galloway (Some Died at ortona, etc). For the First War try Will R Bird‘s Ghosts Have Warm Hands.

Mike


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## Michael Dorosh

I would recommend

SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT by David Bercuson - it is about Somalia, but more importantly is a social history of the Canadian Army tracing its roots back throughout the last couple of centuries.

THE GENERALS by Jack Granatstein looks at Canadian commanders in WW II and the dichotomy between regular force and reserves (sound familiar?) in WW II.

For useless uniform trivia, I‘ve published a couple of noteworthy titles....


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## Guzman

maybe try out "canadas secret commandos".not very long but intresting.this is pretty much all there is to read about the JTF2,from the formation all the way to afghanistan,decent read.

if u like airborne as much as i do get "band of brothers"...or just watch the movies   
for canadian content,try "in search of pegasus" (i think thats the title)

ive also been looking for more canadian books.specialy "the sharp end" there are no copys in toronto!!!
also,ive heard of a book about the canadian para-troopers that were in bastonge.i forget the name.


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## BestOfTheBest

I live in Ottawa and i wanted to buy the book The Sharp End and they had none her in Ottawa so i was forced to but it online which wasn‘t that bad

just go to amazon.ca and type the title of the book


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## Fusaki

> maybe try out "canadas secret commandos".not very long but intresting.this is pretty much all there is to read about the JTF2,from the formation all the way to afghanistan,decent read.


hehe... I have that one, but it was bashed pretty hard in another thread so I was a little hesitant to admit it!!! But you know what? For a civillian, there isn‘t much else published with info about the JTF-2. I also have ******* Sons, by Lieutenant-Colonel Bernd Horn. It‘s all about Airborne history, but its soooooooo boring!!! It‘s like reading a textbook!!! I flipped through In Search Of Pegasus at the bookstore, but it looked to me like a Coffee Table book. Lots of pictures, but the size of the damn thing makes it pretty impractical as a book I‘d read sitting in the car or waiting for the bus.

As for the Sharp End, it seems to be pretty hard to get a hold of. There were none at any of the bookstores in my area (Brampton, Ont.). I had to go to Indigo Books and have it ordered for me, so I should have it in 3-4 weeks.

Significant Incident looks alright. Thanks for the suggestion Michael Dorosh!! I might also be Interested in the Farley Mowat ones. I‘ve read a couple of his books a LONG time ago. Thanks Michael OLeary!!



> That‘s a tough order, any particular wars or campaigns for which you‘re looking for recommendations?


When it comes to Canadian literature, I‘m interested in Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan - fairly recent stuff. Books about Paratroopers from other countries are also cool. I wouldnt mind reading about the FFL, UK Paras and RMs, US Rangers, or the Aussie Commandos (can‘t remember the regt. name).


----------



## Guzman

for a good but short read on somalia,check out  http://www.commando.org/  follow the somalia link for a diary by a former member of CAR.very intresting.theres also a "books" link listing a few books that might intrest you.


----------



## Michael OLeary

Here‘s a site with numerous resource links for Canadian military books:

CanadaAndWar.com : A Books List  

Mike


----------



## brackett

Try getting some copies of the Legion magazine at the library


----------



## GGHG_Cadet

Also if you‘re intrested in Armoured Regiments there are 2 very good books id recomend. They are The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps: An Illustrated History and The Governor General‘s Horse Guards: Second to None both by John Marteinson


----------



## Marti

what about ‘Eat Your Weakest Man‘? i‘ve heard about it, but never got around to reading it, is it any good?


----------



## aa

I know, I know.....I‘ve already said this in other posts, but I just can‘t help myself!

Canada‘s Secret Commandos- fiction. Not even good fiction. The few actual facts in it are so out of context that they don‘t even make sense. Read it if you like, but it‘s much like trying to keep up on world events by reading the National Enquirer....

The Sharp End- Those of us who have served with Jim Davis, and were there for his various "exploits" get a good laugh out of that book. Highly embellished to say the least. I‘ve no big problem with that, he‘s out to sell books just like any author. Just read it with a good dose of skepticism....

If you want a good book on Somalia read "Eat your weakest man" by Rui Amarol he‘s was a 2 Cdo WO there (and an excellent soldier and leader). It‘s written more for those soldiers who were there, and would certainly be difficult to for someone unfamilliar with military slang and the military culture to understand...and Rui won‘t be winning any pullitzers, but that‘s not what he wanted to do. He just wanted to give his side of the Somalia story and he succeeded.


----------



## SNoseworthy

Here‘s a tip from me for buying Canadian Military History books online. If you go to Amazon.ca, you‘ll see a fine selection of books to choose from. Some of the older books, which tend to be the best ones to buy, aren‘t even available. I‘ve tried three times to get some of the older books (from the late 1990s, one was even from 2000), and Amazon couldn‘t get them for me. That place in my experience is a waste of time to try to buy books from. Best for you to check a place like E-Bay


----------



## Michael OLeary

I‘ve had success tracking down ‘older‘ volumes through the on-line second hand book systems such as abebooks and alibris. You can find links to them from my website‘s links page at   http://regimentalrogue.tripod.com/roguelinks.htm  

Mike


----------



## Jarnhamar

Speaking of Canadian authors didn‘t scott taylor have something like 4 years experience in the military (give or take) and he‘s often quoted as an expert on the canadian military or something?


----------



## Michael Dorosh

Ghost, has it occurred to you that the world‘s leading military historians have never served a day in their life, or if they did, in a very limited capacity?

David Bercuson, Stephen Ambrose, Daniel Dancocks, Michael Howard, et al - representing the most prolific and the most highly respected military historians - weren‘t actually soldiers.

Who‘da thunk it, eh buddy?


----------



## Jarnhamar

No michael it has not.  In order to know anything about the military you just HAVE to spend time in the army. Not even the navy or airforce. Just army. Just infantry too. only infantry. And then only if your a private or corporal.

All sarcasim aside, buddy, if you reread my post you will infact take notice, with my prompting, that no where do i mention historians or their involvement in the military. I know your some kind of history buff and i really respect that, i loved history in highschool and i really enjoy reading it now but please don‘t put words in my mouth its rude and i would say quite unbecomming of an educated person.

I guess someone can be a great historian from sitting down and reading books be they military or not  but in my humble opinion to be an ‘expert‘ on the current military someone should spend more then 4 years (or whatever it was) in the military (And also by all accounts not be a bag of hammers)

I


----------



## Jungle

There is a difference between the study of historical facts and the knowledge of the current situation of Army personnel. Historians are just that, and their knowledge comes from the study of official history and interviews with some who were there. And then some of us don‘t know as much about the past, but know what it is to stare down a barrel, to go to ground because you really have to... some of us know the world has changed, and so did our missions. I think this is what Ghost was trying to get to. Taylor is a journalist, just like any other journalist except he is Infantry QL-3 qual‘d.


----------



## Michael Dorosh

Jungle and Ghost - you make a fine distinction between historians and journalists, and I agree.  I also agree that military experience is a "nice-to-have" when regarding those who discuss the military.  This group includes not just historians, not just journalists, but extends to a wide range of consultants, politicians (ugh), lobbyists, etc., all of whom have a vested interest.


----------



## Fishbone Jones

Don‘t exactly agree 100%, but found this little quote yesterday. Might fit here.

Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy 
can only take your life. It is far 
better that you fear the media, 
for they will steal your HONOR.


----------



## 2Lt_Martin

I am reading Fortunes Warriors by James Davis right now it‘s about his career in CP(Close Protection) corporate security world after leaving the Forces. I am not very far into it yet but so far a very good read. 

I am looking for a copy of The Sharp End by the same author noted above, as it has been recommended to me several times. Same problem though can‘t find it in stores will have to order online.


----------



## muskrat89

I liked Ortona. Also all of Blackburn‘s (I think) books. Guns of Normandy, Guns of Victory(?), Where the ****  are the Guns?. Sorry for the hesitation, but they are not all in front of me. Packed away in the garage actually, for the time being. Those books are great, even for non-Gunners, though there are some big words in them...


----------



## Michael OLeary

The Sharp End

$16.96 Cdn from   Amazon 

or

$6.99 US from  bookcloseouts.com 
(though with exchange and shipping, there may not be a great saving).

Mike


----------



## smoke

I would personaly recommend reading "Vimy" by Pierre Berton if you want a good Canadian WW1 book.


----------



## korgano

Hello,

I‘ve recently heard talk of a list of books that the army has compiled that they suggest you read for "professional development". Does anyone know where this list is posted, or can anyone tell me what‘s on this list?

Thanks for any help.


----------



## Deleted member 585

Hey Olive, 
Here‘s a link to a .pdf file on the Army Electronic Library page.

Army Reading List, A Guide to Professional Reading:

 http://armyapp.dnd.ca/ael/Reading_list/ARL_v1_sept2001_e.pdf 

Cheers.


----------



## Sundborg

That is a good list, there are lots of books on there.  The book I‘m reading at the moment is called "Attacks" by Field Marshel Rommel.  It is a good book, I am surprised I didn‘t see it on the list.  Has anyone else read this book?


----------



## Jarnhamar

Theres a canteen suggestion book inside the RCD canteen. It makes for very good reading heh


----------



## Spr.Earl

Also don‘t forget that most Unit‘s have Libraries
and you can sign out any publication from your Unit.


----------



## Danjanou

Major I think these are the books you‘re looking for. (I read them as a kid too and this sounds about right)

I found both available at this web site.

 http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm 

Volume 1 Woodshed Books is located in Ogdensburg, NY USA

Volume 2 Augustine Funnell Books Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada.

Both available for $6.95 USD each +S&H)


----------



## Gunnar

I‘m looking for a book about the second world war, which is composed of snippets written down about people‘s experiences.  I don‘t remember the name, or the editor, but I do know he did a similar one on the Great Depression called "10 Years Gone".

The war book is really good, as it is composed of snippets of 1 paragraph to 2.5 pages, written by people in the trenches, back home...wherever Canadians were at the time.  It should be required reading for any serious history class in Canada.  Before I skimmed it, I had never heard of Zombies.

Now the question:  Does anyone know the author or the name of the book?


----------



## Danjanou

The book you‘re looking for is  *Six War Years * by Barry Broadfoot, who also wrote  *Ten Lost Years* about the depression and IIRC another one dealing with the settling of the west at the turn of the century.

Pretty good read and a nice compliment to "dryer official histories."


----------



## Franko

SIX WAR YEARS....best book that shows the everyday life of a soldier. Read it 3 times cover to cover.

Regards


----------



## Gryphon

there‘s also a book from Reader‘s Digest called WWII, The People‘s Story....

Nigel Fountain, General Editor


----------



## jimbunting

Gentelmen:

I offer a few other tomes about Canadians in World War Two, from my shelves, here at home, in Toronto.

In no particular order.....................

The D Day Dodgers< by Daniel G Dancocks.

Rheinland. by Brigadier General Denis Whittaker, who was the Rileys Co in Northwest Europe, 44/45.

Tin Hats, Oilskins, and Sea Boots. by Latham B Jenson. RCNVR officer on RCN‘s small ships, on the Atlantic convoy runs. Great stories, and hand made pencil drawings of the life aboard the corvettes.

The Corvette Navy. by James B Lamb. Attacking a surfaced U-boat with empty coke bottles, cause the deck guns couldn‘t depress enough, as the sub surfaced only 30 feet off the starboard side of the corvette he was on. He went over the side, swam to the sub and along with a bosun, attempted to  "take her as a prize".

Terror in the Starboard Seat. By Dave MvIntosh a RCAF misquitto navigator, who admits he was "terrified" on every trip. Direct and truthfull and full of great word-pictures of his experiences in the air.

Maple Leaf Against The Axis. by David J Bercusson.

Tug Of War, by Denis Whittaker. The Canadians in Belgium and Holland.

And finally, Blackburn‘s trilogy about the gunners. The last one is the very best, called "Where The **** Are The Guns?" A FOO who had the best point of view, as he called the "shots".

Jim Bunting. Toronto.


----------



## East Side Soprano

"Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer
"Soldat" by Siegfried Knappe
"Panzer Commander" by Hans von Luck
"Bloody Combat" by ...
and pretty much anything by Stephen Ambrose (R.I.P.)


----------



## East Side Soprano

I‘m looking for some fiction material of the CF, preferably about the modern day/recent CF. Can anybody recommend any titles?


----------



## mattoigta

Legion Magazine put out a book called True Canadian War Stories; it‘s an anthology of true war stories people have sent in over the past 60 years to Legion Magazine.


----------



## Danjanou

Great lists there guys. So when are we going to see reviews on them here?

Just kidding.     Although reviews would be nice and it‘s not like book reports in school honest.


----------



## Danjanou

To be honest I  haven‘t come across a lot of modern stuff. There are historical novels set in WWI, WWII and earlier though.

Two  that comes to mind are *Victory* and  *The Killing Ground* which both deal with a hypothetical Canada-Quebec civil war. of the two I‘d say the first is the better.

Hope that helps.


----------



## Ex-Dragoon

Do you guys remember First Clash that was also used as a training manual as well?


----------



## East Side Soprano

Thanks for the help, can you give me the author names of those books? I‘m having a hard time finding them on Amazon.com


----------



## wright.rj

Here are a couple of fiction novels about the CF:  Both by Gordon Barr.  1. "The Devon Affair", it‘s based at Alert and the Soviets attack.  2. "Death Lost - Death Found", it‘s about two CDN‘s who find an atomic bomb in an Ontario lake which was lost in the fifties.  

They were both a good, easy reads.  Hope this helps.


----------



## Gryphon

A good book, Tho it‘s not totally CF fiction, but there is elements of a hypothetical annexation of Canada by the US, and the Canadians kick the us *** is called Exxoneration..

it‘s quite a good read..


----------



## Danjanou

Ex Dragoon I‘d forgotten about *First Clash* which was a fairly good read about 4CMBG holding off a Soviet MRD during a hypothetical WWIII.

I even have a copy of it, after it was originally released as a training pam, the ok was given to publish it as a novel. I don‘t believe it sold well and I grabbed my copy in a bargain bin at Coles I think. 

There was supposed to be a whole series and I think the sequel was actually done. It was supposed to be a Mech Brigade in the assualt. I remember the fictional armoured regiment (1CTR) was equipped with "Lion Tanks" with 120mm. Wishful thinking on the authors part.

The funny thing about First Clash for anyone who was actually in 4CMBG is where the battles take place. This is supposed to be the opening 24-48 hours of the war and the Canadian are thrown in to cover the withdrawal of US and Germany divisions.

However look at the maps where the battles take place. They‘re actually training areas around the CFBE Baden which was on the Rhine.  So what they‘re implying is that in 48 hrs the Soviets would have been able to overrun almost all of West Germany, not good. On Reforger 1980 we held "them" off for a couple of weeks in the Hoff Corridor south of the Fulda Gap, until the US reinforcements arrived

*Exxoneration* is not one of my favourites. nothing against General Rohmer but it was a great read for me as as a teenager before joining (it came out in the early 1970‘s) but now the "Battle of Pearson Airport" is highly unrealistic. 

I‘m sorry but last time I checked the 4 Infantry reserve units In Toronto never had full strength TOW platoons like in the book which they use to take out waves of Hercs and Starlifters full of Green Berets. Again wishful thinking.

Franko thanks for the heads up on the other books. I‘ll keep my eye out for them.


----------



## Ex-Dragoon

Rohmer is sooooooooo boring...


----------



## Gryphon

Okay, yes... it is quite unrealistic in today‘s terms, but i thought it was "CF FICTION"   

and Ex-Dragoon.. i could name you others that are more boring then Rohmer


----------



## Ex-Dragoon

Its not CF fiction (Canada is not even mentioned at all) but James H Cobb has a few good books starting with Chooser of the Slain.


----------



## Danjanou

Ex Dragoon tell me about it.

Shortly after I arrived in Toronto and joined the TSR, the RCMP "O" Division decided to shut down their HQ building on Jarvis St in Toronto (it‘s a hotel now). Before they did the Sgt‘s Mess there decided to have a formal mess dinner.

They sent out invites to Toronto‘s regular and reserve CF units and as my RSM couldn‘t make it he gave it to me.

Great dinner, catered in the main dining room and fantastic hospitality. As soon as I and other Snr NCOs arrived we were met at the bar my our Mountie host who made sure we never touched our wallets all night.

Any ways for the after dinner speaker they had Rohmer. Unfortunately they hadn‘t had a lot of formal dinners and got the sequence a little mixed up. After the dinner there should have been the port and toasts and then a quick bathroom break before coffee, cigars, and the speakers including Rohmer.

No break, and after almost an hour of cocktails and several bottles of wine some of us were squirming in our seats. I was sitting as far away from the head table as you could get with a bunch of RCMP Drug Squad Sgts (should have seen them try to squeeze into their Scarletts). Anyway they solved the imminent problem with a few empty wine bottles.

Can‘t remember what Rohmer spoke about. It probably was interseting, but my mind was preoccupied and I do remeber he did talk for almost an hour.

  :warstory:


----------



## Gunner

Danjanou, et al.  I had forgotten about First Clash.  



> Macksey, Kenneth
> FIRST CLASH, Toronto: Stoddart, 1985, 1st thus; 48 hours after the outbreak of World War Three, and the Canadian Brigade Group prepares to defend the approaches to a strategically important plateau; originally written as fiction and commissioned by the Department of National Defence, the book was first published in 1984 by the Canadian Forces Training Materiel Production Centre in Winnipeg, and describes what it would be like to be on the front in WWIII; 8vo, black cloth, 248 pgs., illustrated w/70+ photographs, 8 coloured campaign maps, and 13 diagrams; VG-F w/small black remainder dot on bottom edge, in VG dj;
> $20.00


You may be able to buy a copy for $20 

If I recall correctly I had a second book in this series about 4 CMBG in the offence?  Anyone recall it?


----------



## Danjanou

Gunnar, 
The second book as I recall was about offence ops but I don‘t know if it ever came out except as a training aid. I do remember seeing it in the pam library in the early 1990‘s but not in book stores (then again I never really looked).

It‘s not a bad read, especialy for newer soldiers who‘ll get an idea of what Mech operations may have been like then. Besides they won‘t get the in jokes I noted about the battle taking place practically outside the main gates of the base.
It‘s also well illustrated with plenty of maps, org charts and B&W photos(I just pulled mine off of the shelf and thumbed through it).

MacKsey BTW was a former officer in the Royal Tank Regiment and a fairly well respected popular military historian with quite a few books to his credit.

Oh well I was at the shelf I grabbed Vistory? for those interested it was written by Rufus Marlowe (former Reserve Major with 30 years in). The ISBN is 0-9696296-0-5 for those interested in grabbing it.


----------



## Gunner

Danjanou,

I didn‘t place Kenneth Macksay until you mentioned he was a military historian.  You are very correct in your comments about his ability as a military historian and I have read many of his books as I recently finished my Master of Arts through RMC.  We (the CF) were very fortunate to have someone with his talent writing "First Clash".  I am so impressed that I may even purchase a copy for my library.

Thank you very much for the information.


----------



## Danjanou

Gunner, I think that was the whole idea. DND wanted a training manual that didn‘t read like a cure for insomnia. Hey troops love Tom Clancy, Larry Bond etc style books right so why not a Canadian version and if it actually helps them understand Battle Procedure well great. 

The jacket cover on my "civvy" copy says he spent a lot of time with 4CMBG to get all the details right. Hey if a remember there‘s even a sarcastic Newf Sapper or Gunnar M/Cpl as one of the characters.

I just wish there had been more. I‘d love to have read a "training novel" on Arctic ops or Counter Insurgency etc. Hey maybe Dorosh or I could get a contract with Disney on the Rideau?

Macksey wrote a lot of those old Ballantyne Battle Books, in the late 1960‘s early 1970‘s I don‘t know if you remember. They cost about a dollar and it started with WWII and then expanded to cover the whole century. There were books on weapons, battles, campaigns, and leaders all colour coded. I think I spent half my allowance back then on them, and still have about 40-50.


----------



## Gunner

Yes, 

One of the things I liked about First Clash was it presented characters from various ranks and trades thinking about what they were doing and what there jobs were.  

Rick Mercier came to visit Bosnia when I was there.  It was after the CANCON Christmas show came through and we asked him if he was interested in coming next year.  He said he had never heard of the CF looking for Canadian artists to entertain the troops overseas (ala USO shows).  This Hour has 22 Minutes approach DND (not the other way round) and wanted to do something special, and he came over and showcased the CF.  Investing some money in a good idea or simply using some initiative within the CF can and does have some excellent results. 

I remember the Ballantyne books but I was pretty young when they came out.  I think I started reading them in the late 70s.  That is if they are the ones I‘m thinking of (black covers - paperback but funny size).  I particularly remember the one on Kursk and US operations in the pacific (Guadacanal??).  I think my Dad had one from Vietnam as well...not sure.  You are going back a couple of years but IIRC they were a good read.


----------



## Pieman

What books would any of you reccommend (sp?) for infantry and general battle tactics? Need a good introduction.


----------



## CrazyCanuck

List of US Army field manuals:
 http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/index.html 

A bunch of the manuals discuss tactics.


----------



## Michael OLeary

Are you looking for historical or current references? At what level?: small unit (section/platoon), combat team (company/squadron), battle group (battalions/regiments) or higher?


----------



## Pieman

CrazyCanuck, thanks for the tip.

Michael, I guess I want to know modern tactics. Historical stuff I can pick up later.

So I think the best way for me to learn this is to start small, with a platoon and then read my way up, so to speak.

So any platoon and section books/articles you know of please let me know. 

Also combat team, and battle group tactic books if you know any, but I will read those only after.


----------



## Spr.Earl

> Originally posted by Pieman:
> [qb] CrazyCanuck, thanks for the tip.
> 
> Michael, I guess I want to know modern tactics. Historical stuff I can pick up later.
> 
> So I think the best way for me to learn this is to start small, with a platoon and then read my way up, so to speak.
> 
> So any platoon and section books/articles you know of please let me know.
> 
> Also combat team, and battle group tactic books if you know any, but I will read those only after. [/qb]


First and for most you should be concerned with is our Battle Doctrine and Tactic‘s.

Wait till you go on course because everything you have read goes out the window once you are on course.


----------



## George Wallace

I‘d recommend you start small.  Learn Section Tactics.  They are the building block to all higher levels.  If you don‘t learn Section Tactics, you will never understand Platoon Tactics.  Then you will never understand Mech Platoon Tactics or Tank Troop tactics or anything higher.  

Once you understand Section Tactics, everything is just on a grander scale, with the exception of Armd Recce Tactics, which have a few more twists thrown in.

Remember....."Always keep one foot on the ground" and you won‘t go wrong.

GW  :soldier:


----------



## CrazyCanuck

Does the Canadian Army have Field Manuals like the Americans?


----------



## Michael OLeary

You‘ll find the available on-line manuals here in the  Army Electronic Library. 

"Section and Platoon in Battle," which you should probably start with, does not appear there at this time, it is currently being rewritten at the Infantry School.


----------



## stukirkpatrick

> You‘ll find the available on-line manuals here in the Army Electronic Library.


Thank you very much for this link, sir.

I can look to the online to supplement my notes from my BMQ/SQ, since we were not issued any manuals, and only a few handouts.


----------



## CrazyCanuck

Thank you very much for that link.


----------



## patrick666

I am looking to read more into Canada‘s military history and posted this to see what you guys would recommend. Doesn‘t matter what conflict, but preferably early to mid 20th century. 

Thanks!


----------



## Danjanou

There‘s been a few books reviewed here that might do to start.


----------



## Spr.Earl

> Originally posted by Patrick H.:
> [qb] I am looking to read more into Canada‘s military history and posted this to see what you guys would recommend. Doesn‘t matter what conflict, but preferably early to mid 20th century.
> 
> Thanks! [/qb]


Here‘s a brief History of my old Unit 6Fd. Sqn. C.M.E.

Search the net as Danjenou stated and enjoy.

 http://www.6fes.ca/cwd/frames_index.html


----------



## hoganshero

"Canada‘s Army - Waging War and Keeping the Peace"
by JL Granatstein is quite good to give you an overview of the forces history. keep in mind as you read he has an agenda. He wants you to arrive at the  same conclusion he does by the end of the book so in parts it has a bit of editorializing in it. I just finished it today. It has a large picture section in it. Granatstein chooses some rather specific events to highlight the formation and growing pains of the Military. He concentrates largely on waging the war and less on keeping the peace. The first and second world wars are covered quite heavily decribing invidual battles and actions. The Korean War in less detail. Unification is given its due but in less detail than I would have liked. Much of the recent history is dealt with in lighter detail ie Oka or Gulf war 1 to make room for the World wars. At 428 pages it is a hefty read and in places generates more questions than it can resonably answer but it is well worth it if you need a primer to further, more detailed reading.


----------



## Michael OLeary

The Canadian Army Reading List
Version 1, September 2001 
Canadian Military Heritage


----------



## logau

You may all profit from having a look at this source of thought on things military. To paraphrase the Theory of Risk Management - Risk Avoidance is not Risk management..... if that‘s true - then the Canadian Government must be a barrel of laughs when it talks about what we can and can‘t do....

 http://www.army.mil/prof_writing/index.html


----------



## Infanteer

I had one member PM me about where to start reading about the military profession, a subject which I've brought up quite frequently in the last little while.   I gave him a list of six books that would probably be a good place to start, as well as further links to good books for the professional to read.   I thought I'd put that message up here for anyone else who was interested in reading for professional development and was kind of confused on where to start.

Here are 6 books to get you started.   I've included the amazon link if you can't find them at a library.   A warning, some of the books may seem a bit "heavy" if you are not too familiar with military history or theory.   Don't hesitate to explore other books on the subject if you find the subject matter a little to in depth.

John Keegan, A History of Warfare and Victor Davis Hanson, Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power -   Although these two books do not deal directly with the profession of arms - they are general military history books - I think these are two good starting points to begin to understand the differing effects culture has played in the development of how (and why) different societies decide to fight.   Going from there, one can begin to figure out where some of the general aspects of the profession of arms are derived from (as I was describing in the thread about warriors vs. professionals) and how the aspects of this profession give it advantages over other forms of fighting.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679730826/qid=1094797889/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-5837602-8634416

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385720386/qid=1094797956/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-5837602-8634416


Samuel Huntington (The guy of _Clash of Civilizations_ fame...), The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations -   Written in the 1950's, this is a classic and comprehensive look at the development of the profession of arms.   The second half of the book dealing with the American Military can be a bit tedious, but the first half is brilliant.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0674817362/qid=1094795992/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-5837602-8634416

Col. T.N. Dupuy, A Genius for War: The German Army and General Staff, 1807-1945 -   This book looks at the organization that was the birthplace for the idea of the professional Officer Corps.   Covering the beginning of professionalism under the reforms of Scharnhorst, this book details the system that was copied to some extent by *all* other military forces to some extent.   Dupuy's thesis; the professionalization of leadership in an Army is the institutionalization of military excellence.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0963869213/qid=1094796461/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-5837602-8634416?v=glance&s=books

Maj. Donald Vandergriff, The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs -  I found this book interesting because Maj. Vandergriff has struck to the core of the issue that tends to put blinders on military forces; that is, technologically advanced weapons systems will fail in the hands of armed forces that do not recognize that it is human beings that fight wars, not guns and planes.   Vandergriff goes on to argue that an Army is best served by professional soldiers that are properly intergrated into cohesive units and given the proper education and career structure to utilize their talents.   Although his book is geared to US Army reform, the core elements of his ideas are applicable to any modern, professional fighting force.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0891417664/qid=1094797081/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-5837602-8634416?v=glance&s=books

William Lind, The Maneuver Warfare Handbook -  How does the professional soldier fight?   This slim little guidebook does an excellent job in explaining the fundamental concepts of the German way of war (they did invent the professional Officer after all...).   Although this book is a primer on concepts of maneuver warfare, it contains a good overview of the training required to develop a thinking officer, a true professional, as opposed to a drone who simply falls back on formulas and textbook solutions.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/086531862X/qid=1094797805/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-5837602-8634416?v=glance&s=books

If you want to find more books related to professional development, check out some of the reading lists that various militaries have out.   The Commandant of the US Marine Corps is a fairly comprehensive one; the Canadian Army has also released one that you can find here.

http://armyapp.dnd.ca/ael/Reading_list.asp

As well, I've found William Lind's articles on the evolution of modern conflict quite interesting; I'm in the process of reading his "Canon" of books that describe this evolution; here are links to his three-part series of articles on it:

http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,Lind_061004,00.html
http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,Lind_061504,00.html
http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,Lind_062504,00.html


Well, I hope I didn't overwhelm you with information.   Start with a general history book like Keegan's and maybe pick out some specific aspects or topics you liked and go from there.   Keep a notebook and take notes from what you read; don't try and remember dates and locations, look to the underlying concepts of battles and wars like "why did this commander do this" or "what effects to society have on the way these people fought".   Questions like these can help you to further understand the true nature of how we have developed professional fighting forces.

Hope this helps. If anyone feels they want to add a book or a comment, go on right ahead.

Cheers,
Infanteer.


----------



## Fusaki

A big part of the military profession is the philosophy and morality of the lowest ranking NCMs. Starship Troopers may be set in the future, but that doesn't stop Robert Heinlein from pointing out the universal truths that come along with serving in the military. Please, PLEASE don't associate the movie with the book. There are only SMALL similarities between the two. In my opinion, Starship Troopers by Robert Henlein is a must read for anyone who wants to know about the combat arms mentality.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0441783589/qid=1095001457/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/103-9352959-8915821


----------



## Michael OLeary

For futher suggestions, I have the following reading lists posted here:

Canadian Army Reading List --   http://regimentalrogue.com/library/CARL_intro.htm

Infantry School Reading List   --   http://regimentalrogue.com/library/library-infsch-byrank.htm


----------



## Ex-Dragoon

Some of it might be fluff but I think there are some good books out there. For instance:

1) Harold Coyle-_Team Yankee _ and several others.Near future WW3
2) James H Cobb- _Choosers of the Slain _ and several others. Near future naval warfare.
3) Douglas Niles & Michael Dobson-_Fox on the Rhine_. Alternate World War Two history.


----------



## PPCLI Guy

Company Commander - Charles B MacDonald
Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein
Forever War - Joe Haldeman (?)
Platoon Leader - Can't remember
Rumour of War - Phillip J Caputo
Fields of Fire - James Webb


----------



## devil39

To add to the above off the top of my head:

The 13th Valley - John M Del Vecchio

For the Sake of All Living Things  - John M. Del Vecchio.   This is one of the most powerful and most depressing books I have ever read.   A (large) novel that is a chronicle of the rise and effect of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

Man of War  - John Masters


----------



## DJL

The Bridges at Toko-Ri - James Michener (really good movie also)

The Guns of Navarone - Alistair Maclean (another decent movie)

The Cruel Sea - Nicholas Monsarrat (also a decent flick)

Though, IMHO all the movies are good, the books are much better.


----------



## QORvanweert

I don't know if any of you have read him, however I picked up "Rogue Warrior" -Richard Marchinko from salvation army and it reads like a bunkc of claptrap.. is this guy for real?


----------



## Freight_Train

Another thread here on the same subject - http://army.ca/forums/threads/17207/post-83037.html#msg83037  ;D


----------



## Ex-Dragoon

Not really FT..this deals with fiction while the thread you provided a link for is both fiction and non fiction.


----------



## Danjanou

Devil39 Thanks for the suggestion. I loved 13th Valley and will take a look for The Sake of All Living Things.

Just reread Larry Bond's Red Phoenix and Cauldron while on vacation in Mexico. Good technical thrillers although the first is a bit dated now as is Vortex, but still worth the price. Remember he was the coauthor with Clancy for Red Storm Rising so if you like Tom, you'll enjoy these.

Several good choices/suggestions here and not much to add, although two Brit Authors worth looking at are Terrance Strong's SAS/SBS  novels (Who Dares Wins, The 5th Hostage, Dragon Plague, Conflict of Lions etc) and Gerald Seymour's mainly Cold War era and retreat from empire Stuff. (The Glory Boys, Harry's Game, The Contract) Kind of intelligence novels moresoo than staight military but great reads as they usually have flawed realistic characters  and cynical unhappy endings.

There is also a surprising number of novels that came out of the various bush wars in Africa in the 1980's although hard to find. The Wild Geese by Danial Carney (?) and A Game for Vultures are two that come to mind.

For those who may be interested, two military humour series worth a look are Donald Jack's Bandy Papers and George MacDonald Frasers ( FLashman) three volume set of short stories base on his post WW2 experiences in thr Gordon Highlanders The General Danced art DAwn, MacAuslan in the Rough and the Sheik and the Dustbin. I started rereading them this week and the wife keeps giving me funny looks when I break out in hysterics.

Also can't fail to mention WEB Griffon's series The Brotherhood of War and The Corps although thewy are more on the lines of novels on the society of the US Military as opposed to straight action/battle novels.


----------



## jmacleod

For those interested in Canadian military history, I suggest "The Battle For A Continent" by
Gordon Donaldson, a fomer journalist amd news commentator, originally from Scotland. His
detailed perspective of the conquest of French North America, culminating with the Battle
on the Plains of Abraham is an outstanding description of not only the tactics and the battle
but also the personalities and backgrounds of Lord Amherst, Commander British Forces in North
America amd Brevet Brigadier General James Wolfe, the battefield commander. The excellent
well researched book also defines the roles of General's Townshend, Murray, and Monckton, plus
of course the French, led by Montcalm. Francis Parkinson's famous book, "Montcalm and Wolfe"
which took decades to write and research is a classic, featuring great detail. Many of the original
documents which were researched about the French Colony, Acadia, remain to this day in the
Nova Scotia Archives. For those interested in the Canadian Army in World War II, screen writer
and author Tony Foster's book, "A Meeting of Generals" is a carefully researched and well written
history of the trial of SS Major-General Kurt Meyer, whose young SS soldiers from the 12th SS
Adolf Hitler Youth SS Panzer Division murdered Canadian army prisoners in Normandy in 1944 is one
the best books published. Foster's father was the late Major-General Harry Foster whom commanded
the 3rd Canadian Division in World War II, and was President of the Meyer General Court Martial.
My daughters were taught that Canadian history is dull - it in fact is not.


----------



## Michael Dorosh

Bercuson goes down the history of militaries in general and the development of the Canadian Army in particular in Significant Incident.  It focusses on the Somalia affair, but he puts it into a larger overall context and explains, I think, why Somalia was an aberration.


----------



## jmacleod

Dr. David Bercuson of the University of Calgary has published several notable books, including 
"The Secret Army" - the historical view of the formation of the Israeli Air Force, from the point
of view of the many Canadians, (Jews and non Jews) who served in the then newly created
State of Israel. A significant part of the book is focused on the RAF/RCAF career of the late
S/L George Buerling,DSO,DFC*, DFM, our outstanding ace fighter pilot of World War II, who
was killed in the crash of a Noordyn "Norseman" aircraft in Rome on his way to Israel. An 
important role in the supply of arms to Israel was played at the then RCN Naval Air Station
"Shearwater" where B-17's loaded with arms were "interned" long enough for RCAF and RCN
navigators to assist the Israeli air crews to fly successfully to the Azores, then on to Spain or
France. Many of the fighter pilots who flew the Czech built version of the famous BF ME 109G
"Avia" were RCAF veteran fighter pilots, many of whom on return to Canada served again in
the RCAF as pilot instructors. Dr. Bercuson and his associates are real friends of the Canadian Forces
-MacLeod, 4 October 2004


----------



## Michael Dorosh

Bercuson's volumes on the Calgary Highlanders and the Korean War were not as good as Significant Incident; they were riddled with minor errors of fact and some more serious errors; FWIW Blood on the Hills is discussed on my website at www.canadiansoldiers.com under BACKGROUND ON BOOKS.  I've mostly cribbed from Canadian Army Journal, though Art Johnson (Korean War vet) adds some good comments as well.  Bercuson is a labour historian IIRC with no military experience, but his research does put him in a league with the best military historians in this country, Granatstein, Copp etc. many of whom never served either.  But I do suggest caution when reading him.  

If anyone has reason to find material in Significant Incident objectionable, I'd like to know.


----------



## Brad Sallows

If you read Hanson's "Carnage and Culture", you should read John Lynn's "Battle: A History of Combat and Culture" as well.  There was an interesting discussion panel on the H-War mailing list earlier this year which centred on the arguments in the two books.


----------



## Infanteer

Yes, you're right Brad.  Hanson's Carnage and Culture presents a certain theory of war against the backdrop of monolithic cultural .  Keegan draws upon alot of Hanson's earlier work for his History of Warfare.  Although some of their arguments relating to culture and war are very compelling, the idea of the "monolith" tends to fall short when applied in detail (which Lynn does).

In a class titled War and Society the primary textbook was Keegan.  The Professor said that he would have included Lynn's Battle as an opposing view but the book was still hardcover and he didn't want to make students pay big time bucks for the book (odd...it was a university that delights in constantly revising $120 textbooks).


----------



## armyrules

I've been lookin for info about that too thankx for the link Mike


----------



## HollywoodHitman

PLEASE just concentrate on mastering Canadian tactics!!! Never a better way to drive your Sect. Comdr and your buddies nuts than to say 'Yeah but they do it this way!'.........An interest in tactics is good initiative and you can incorporate ideas and methods eventually when you get some experience and time in the field...........

Good luck.


----------



## armyrules

good advice Hollywood Hitman I also like your signature


----------



## Farmboy

"McAleese's Fighting Manua"l by Pter McAleese and John Avery

This covers everything you will ever learn in BMQ, SQ and a hell of alot more.

A great read before, during and after courses. It is British but the tactics are the same as Canadian ones.


----------



## armyrules

Thanx Farmboy soundslike a great read  does it have any british lingo that I wouldn't understand?


----------



## Farmboy

No

 Anything mentioned is explain in good detail, for example GRIT, harbours, hides, formations, actions on, patrol SOPs, Nav, checklists, OPs, routines, ambushes, trench stages, NBC, theaters, survival, marksmanship and more.


----------



## zerhash

are they going to be publicating all pams eventualy on that site or only what the public can see?


----------



## Infanteer

For the evolution of Infantry Tactics, Col John English's On Infantry is a must.

Another interesting approach to learning in John Antal's Infantry Combat: An Interactive Exercise in Small-Unit Tactics and Leadership.  It's like a "choose-your-own-adventure" book written by an experienced Army Officer.  Entertaining approach to small unit tactics.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/089141536X/qid=1100284505/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-5292794-1661637?v=glance&s=books

Don't worry about learning "doctrine" or the "by-the-book" ways for tactical approaches.  Tactical proficiency is about understanding the unique nature of the situation like terrain, enemy, available resources, time and space, etc, etc.


----------



## Mortar guy

While I like Bruce Gudmundsson's re-write of John English's book in the form of *On Infantry*, I prefer Col English's original version *A Perspective on Infantry*. I really don't like Gudmundsson's new conclusion and I think that by paring down the book, a lot of the good material in the original was lost.

I am also a huge fan of Rommel's *Infantry Attacks*: lots of good stuff on low-level infantry tactics.

Daniel Bolger's *Death Ground* is an outstanding modern book on infantry that I would put in my must read category too.

I apologize if these were already mentioned but I'm too lazy to read this entire thread!  ;D

MG


----------



## armyrules

Which book is better for someone that is new to reading tactics On Infantry, A Perspective on Infantry or Infantry Attacks? thankx for help


----------



## Mortar guy

All of them! Seriously thouh, it depends on what you want to read. *A Perspective on Infantry  * talks alot about the theories and concepts that make good infantry (especially at the lower levels of command). *Infantry Attacks  * is basically a biographical war story with some lessons thrown in. I'd say Rommel's book is a good start if you're just reading for interest but *A Perspective on Infantry  * is best if you ant to learn about section and platoon level organization and tactics.

MG


----------



## armyrules

Thanks Mortar Guy I will have to go looking for some new reding material. I have just started reading Platoon Leader by James. R. McDonough and it is a fabulous book I like the way he writes it in first person rather in the third person aspect because I find that you get more of a "feel" for the book when rading it in this manner. Who's with me?


----------



## my love my life

Here is a link to General Store Publishing - a small publishing company in Renfrew, Ontario that has produced 39 military books   I thought some of you might be interested 

http://www.gsph.com/gsph/index.php?Lang=En&ID=1

Also there is a new novel called St. Michael's Orphans by Linda Pannell that is due to be released by next summer I believe.  It's fiction but all the characters are Airborne and the setting is the Upper Ottawa Valey/Petawawa . 

 You'll find a page on my web site http://www.renc.igs.net/~tcollier/   Cheers, Dianne


----------



## gunner56

Cdr Richard Marcinko is a real veteran USN SEAL.He commanded Team's 2 & 6.You can read more about him in the excellant 3 volume set"NAVY SEALS,A History",by Kevin Dockery.It's published by the Military Book Club,and is an excellant read.I'm about half-way through pt.3


----------



## a_majoor

Some selections from my library (no, you cannot borrow them):

War in the shadows;: The guerrilla in history, by Robert B Asprey (excellent overview of LIC operations from both sides of the fence)

Street without Joy; Hell in a Very Small Place, by Bernard B Fall; Two books which cover the doomed French war in Indochina, in particular the destruction of Groupe Mobile 100 and the investment and destruction of the French Airborn force in Dien Bien Phu

About Face, by Col David Hackworth. A pretty hair raising collection of war stories by one of Americas most decorated soldiers, but offers lots of insights on leadership, psycology, tactics and history if read closely.

Command in War, by Martin Van Crevald. A discussion of the evolution of General Staffs with particular attention to the human factors which cause these organizations to succeed or fail.


----------



## Danjanou

I highly recomend both books listed by Majoor on Indochina by Fall.


----------



## T.I.M.

Just reading "Red Army Tank Commanders: The Armoured Guards" By Col. Richard N. Armstrong.  It looks at the careers and achievements of the six generals who rose to command the Red Army's six tank armies; Katukov, Bogdanov, Rybalko, Lelyushenko, Rotmistrov, and Kravchenko.

Too often the common WWII histories of the Eastern Front (which we got mostly from the Germans, until very recently) reduce the Red Army to a faceless mass of men and machines who won through sheer ruthless expenditure of resources.  Save a few high profile figures like Zhukov, all the action and personalities are detailed from the German side and a German perspective.  Because of that, I think this book is invaluable for putting some faces to the Russian forces, and showing them in a much more detailed light.

For example, we know that the advance of Guderian's panzer group on the southern approach to Moscow past Orel was checked in October of '41, but most accounts breeze over the specifics.  In one of its chapters "Red Army Tank Commanders" details how the 4th Tank Brigade under General Katukov was able to face Guderians Panzers and soundly defeat them by a combination of spirited and innovative defense that resulted in heavy German casualties, with the Russians knocking the 4th Panzer division out of action in 10 days of combat.

I'd reccomend this book to anyone who wants a better picture of what the "other side" of the Eastern Front was like.


----------



## redleafjumper

A Rifleman Went to War, by Captain H.W. McBride, 21st  Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force is an excellent account of personal combat and employment of the rifle and machine gun in World War 1.  A great read with lots of relevant information and advice.  The material presented is just as useful today as it was back then.  It's published by Lancer Militaria, but shop around for the best price.

Redleafjumper


----------



## TangoTwoBravo

I would recommend three books (particularly for fellow junior officers):

a.  Company Commanderby Charles B MacDonald.  This is a first person account by an American Company Commander in WW 2 that gives a fairly unvarnished view of war and leadership at the lower levels in modern war.  

b.  The Generalship of Alexander the Great by J.F.C. Fuller.  This book is intesting on two accounts.  First, it gives an excellent overview of Alexander's army, battles and leadership.  It also gives insight into the author, who was a very influential military thinker and one of the fathers of the Armoured Corps  .

c.  The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.  The movie Gettysburg was pretty much based on this book.  Again, a good look at several levels of leadership and an easy read.

The three books together also give a taste of military history and the progression in equipment, tactics and organization.  They also focus on the human dimension without getting too much into doctrinal terms.  I guess that its unfortunate that they are not Canadian but that shouldn't stop one from reading them.

Cheers,

2B


----------



## echonine

If I may suggest;

http://armyapp.dnd.ca/ael/main-acceuil.asp The CA Army Electronic Library which includes the Army Doctrine Journal

http://www.libraries.army.mil/refctr.htm#Magazines%20and%20Newspapers: which includes links to the Reimer Digital Library,

http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/welcome.html for Parameters

http://militaryreview.army.mil/ for US Army Military Review

An additional suggestion: Keegan's The Face of Battle and The Mask of Command

Ubique


----------



## PPCLI MCpl

_Intelligence in War: Knowledge of the Enemy from Napoleon to Al-Qaeda_ by Sir John Keegan


----------



## QORvanweert

gunner56 said:
			
		

> Cdr Richard Marcinko is a real veteran USN SEAL.He commanded Team's 2 & 6.You can read more about him in the excellant 3 volume set"NAVY SEALS,A History",by Kevin Dockery.It's published by the Military Book Club,and is an excellant read.I'm about half-way through pt.3


 I haven't read the books you mention here, but I have read his Red Cell and Rogue Warrior and found neither of them to be very good. I thought that they both were filled with too much self-gratifying machismo and not enough realism. either or, to each their own.

*modified because of spelling mistake*


----------



## chalk1

Sorry, I don't mean to drag this thread on, so I'll keep it brief.

   A great book I read a few years ago was already mentioned here in the first few pages by jungle et al., namely "The Forgotten Soldier" which is about a young man living in France who is drafted into the Wehrmacht due to (as far as I remember) the fact that his mother was German. This is in fact an autobiography, the author being a Mr. Guy Sajer. I found it to be an all around moving book in every aspect mentioned. In retrospect I find his manner of writing similar to LGen Roméo Dallaire's recent best-seller in that they both give very real human accounts of what they experienced (this being based on my limited reading experiences w/military lit.). I strongly suggest reading this, as it taught me that there can be good guys on both sides of a war.

   Also, I've been hearing a lot about Tom Brown's field books on tracking and so on. Any comment on these? I know a bit of his background, but I've yet to read this and would appreciate any feedback from experienced members.


----------



## Infanteer

I'm almost 100% sure that Guy Sajer's book is fiction.  See Michael Dorosh's website for the whole story.


----------



## chalk1

Interesting...interesting...

   Thanks for that, Infanteer - I'll look up some more reading on it. I'm sure that you have noticed that there are quite a few points made in his favour as well?


----------



## glock17

I apologize ahead of time if these have already been mentioned, I'm at work and un-able to read the entire thread.The following are IMHO well written and factual accounts of some very tough soldiering.

1. Ortona: Canada's Epic World War II Battle

2. The Liri Valley: Canada's World War II Breakthrough to Rome

Both are authored by Mark Zuehlke and are available On-Line at Chapters.ca

Pro Patria - Stay Safe


----------



## Mortar guy

I am ready a great book right now which I recommend to anyone who liked James McDonough's Platoon Leader or books like that. Its called *Steel My Soldiers' Hearts* by David Hackworth. Excellent read and full of lots of good Infantry stuff!

Alex


----------



## armyrules

I'm almost finished reading Ortona by Mark Zuehlke and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in WWII non-fictional stories.


----------



## patrick666

I am in the middle of The Gothic Line by Mark Zeuhlke and find it a good, readable, narrative of the last offensive for the Canadians during WW2. I can't say it is very accurate but I find it to be worth reading and will be picking up the other two editions of the Italy trilogy by him.

Cheers


----------



## Michael Dorosh

Zuehlke is a poseur....see the reviews of LIRI VALLEY and ORTONA at www.amazon.com  

His stuff is readable, but for anyone interested in serious research, give him a wide berth.


----------



## Michael Dorosh

McBear said:
			
		

> Interesting...interesting...
> 
> Thanks for that, Infanteer - I'll look up some more reading on it. I'm sure that you have noticed that there are quite a few points made in his favour as well?



I hear that Sajer is now a comic book illustrator and his identity has been confirmed.  I can't confirm the confirmation!  But, even if so, there are enough factual or translational errors in the book to make one shy away from using it as a serious reference.  Which is what Stephen Fritz did in his atrocious book FRONTSOLDATEN which was ostensibly a look into the lives of German soldiers in the Second World War, but actually turned into a giant cribbing of Sajer, with entire passages done verbatim.

I will second the notion from a page ago that the Soviet experience in WW II was vastly different than the stereotype of human waves like the ones Jude Law took part in on screen.  By 1944 they had developed, if I recall the argument correctly, an operational art which is something the Germans apparently never did.  Like all the Allied armies, they learned a lot from their early experiences and were very good by 1944 and getting better all the time.


----------



## Infanteer

The Germans did have an operational art - I think the weakness was the way it related to their excellent tactics (I remember reading this somewhere).

Most good histories I read state that by 1944 (if not 1943), the Soviets were the best at executing the operational art, hands down.  Indeed, most of the principles and terms that surround the concept were pre-War Soviet developments, IIRC.


----------



## glock17

Michael Dorosh said:
			
		

> Zuehlke is a poseur....see the reviews of LIRI VALLEY and ORTONA at www.amazon.com
> 
> His stuff is readable, but for anyone interested in serious research, give him a wide berth.



   Thanks for the heads up Mike, read the reviews, seems you got some attention from the author.
Maybe he'll spend a little more time reasearching next time. Oh by the way, has Mark reviewed any of your work, I'd like to read that....LOL


Stay Safe


----------



## Cpl.Banks

August 1914...I know its not Canadian but its a very very good book, great for seeing the general confusion and incapability of the tsarist system to effectively fight a "modern war". (circa. 1914)

UBIQUE!!!!


----------



## GLOCK 31

Here are a few books that I have enjoyed, and learned certain skills with.

The Encyclopedia of Outdoor Survival - ISBN 1-930983-19-0
This book shows great survival skills based on SAS techniques.  Covers broadly in every climate condition (Desert, winter, jungle, coastal, etc.)  A very good book and read.  You have to practice what you read about though, in order for it to be of any good.  It generally covers how to survive when you have little supplies.
SAS Survival Guide - ISBN 0-00-472302-3
Very similar to the Encyclopedia of Outdoor Survival but in a pocket guide size.  Covers a lot of different topics, but as with all survival guides they only brush the surface.  It will give a general knowledge about surviving, but you can further your skills greatly by looking into other books that are more specific on a certain area.  They were good for me as just an intro before moving onto more specific books.  
Knots and Splices - ISBN 1-55267-218-2
I enjoyed this book, because I only knew the basic knots before I looked at it.  And the knots I knew would not work in every situation that I would need to tie something up.  Splices, the same, came in handy a few times.  I could have made it with out, but knowing the right one for the job, helped.
Tactical Tracking Operations - ISBN 1-58160-003-8
I have always been interested in tracking, and can't really afford to take a class like Tom Brown's (maybe some day).  So this book was an interesting read.  Its based on Military and Police tracking.  An actual course would be better, but this book is still interesting to read.
The Ultimate Sniper - ISBN 0-87364-704-1
This is a very interesting book on sniping, and has lots of interesting information.  If you are not interested in sniping, then I wouldn't get this book, but if you are, its an interesting read.  Has some good things to think about and some useful info.  Since it was written in 1993, some of the data is out of date.  Written by Maj. John L. Plaster, USAR (RET.)
Janes Guns Recognition Guide - ISBN 0-00-712760-X
This book I enjoyed because it showed me more guns that I knew of.  It is sort of like an encyclopedia of guns, of all types.  One page per gun, and it covers, handguns, revolvers, SMG's, Assault rifles, bolt action, LMG's.  Gives basic info about them and certain details about how to identify them.  Good reference book, but it is missing guns.
Visual Guide to Lock Picking - ISBN 0-9709788-1-2
Covers how to pick basic locks, introcution to certain locks, and how they work.  Also about the tools of the trade.
How to Open Locks with Improvised Tools - ISBN 0-9666087-1-2
Exactly what the name says.  Dry read since it is a how to guide, but it is informative.  Lock picking is a hobby I enjoy but it has also come in handy. 
Tao of Jeet Kune Do - ISBN 0-89750-048-2
Very good book for philosophy.  And the support of Mixed Martial Arts.  Don't get the book to learn JKD, cause thats not what its for.  Its good for philosophy and ideas to think about when in a conflict.  I would definitely recommend this book, but again not to learn JKD, instead for the philosophy and ideas to think about.
A Way to Victory - ISBN 1-58567-038-3
Miyamoto Musahi's guide to strategy.  Same concept as the Art of War by Sun Tzu, and On War by Clauswitz.  Interesting and compliments other books of the same idea.  I am reading it right now, as well as the Art of War (One of my copies, I have like seven Art of War variants, and I haven't been able to finish one. Dry reading but very interesting).  And I am in the process of ordering On War right now.  

Hope someone finds something they like from that list.

Robert

Robert


----------



## kincanucks

Wow this hasn't been added to for a while.

Picked up two very good books recently:

Masters of Chaos - The Secret History of the Special Forces by Linda Robinson.  A very good read thus far with some very interesting points of the US Special Forces.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1586482491/002-3298849-2580025?v=glance&n=283155

Rules of Engagement - A Life in Conflict by Col (ret'd) Tim Collins, the former CO of 1 R Irish.  Another good read so far and I certainly like his sense of humour.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2102-1626689,00.html


----------



## orange.paint

I actually read tested mettle, I wasted a good day reading it was was really disapointed.If you want the gyst of it find a fat career cpl in the smoking area to give you a messed up view on how he thinks the army should be run.

Just started into the storm by Tom Clancy so far an excellent read.makes for good reading awake with a 5 month old cutting 4 teeth. :crybaby: :crybaby: :crybaby: :crybaby: :crybaby: ;D


----------



## patrick666

"Total War - causes and courses of World War 2"

Very good book, so far, but it is hell for a slow reader like myself. It makes those 900 pages feel like 900 years - but worth every page. I'd recommend that to anyone looking to really inform themselves about how the world powers and their respective militaries acted and reacted. 

Cheers,

Patrick


----------



## from darkness lite

Half way through "Biggest Brother - The Life of Major Dick Winters" by Larry Alexander.  So far I like.  Good first person view of key battles in WW2 and a good insight into what makes a leader a good leader troops will follow to h*ll and back.  Also touches on the Capt Sobel school of leadership.

FDL


----------



## KwaiLo

I know I am biased, as my grandfather wrote it, but - 'The Stretcher Bearers' by David Gordon - Pacesetter Press 

"My experience with the 24th was with two different sections and what I wish to record, if only for my own benefit, is what it was like to be a stretcher bearer with a forward unit in action.  My experience in Italy was with a section attached to the Perth Regiment of the 11th Canadian Infantry Brigade (C.I.B.) in the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, 1st Canadian Corps, part of the British 8th Army."

What he was able to do was get copies of daily reports that he had prepared from the Unit War Diary.  These cover the period of Dec 3rd, 1944 to Jan 13th, 1945.  He also was able to review copies of maps with the RSM of the 24th, John Gee, to give him "a perspective not present during our activities".

With few books written about the Perths, and fewer about the men who carried their wounded comrades from the front, Canadian or otherwise, I recommend this book to all who want a view of daily life for one NSM in Italy 1944-45.

My grandfather passed away while working on a book about his experience in Holland with the D-Day Dodgers, and my uncle made a great effort to finish his work.  Unfortunately, it was not a published book.


----------



## yak

'On Killing' and 'On Combat' by Lt. Col. David Grossman are both worth reading.

'Ghosts of the Medac Pocket' by Carol Off

'Missing in Action: An RCAF Navigator's Story' by John Harvie - I've spoken with him - you have to admire someone who can bail out and then spend time in Buchenwald and come out with all his dogs still barking.

And if you like to bang a little - 'Get Tough' by Fairbairn - good both because it's old as the hills (1942), diagrams with the bad guys in German uniforms, and also because much of what it says is still taught as the foundation of many close quarter fighting programs.

abebooks.com works well to find old and out of print books, as well as used.  I think that might have been mentioned already.


----------



## aesop081

decoy said:
			
		

> Has anyone read "A Military History of Canada" by Desmond Morton?



Pretty much anyone here who has had the pleasure of doing the OPDP or OPME.........


----------



## 3rd Herd

CDN Aviator said:
			
		

> Pretty much anyone here who has had the pleasure of doing the OPDP or OPME.........


or taken courses in Mil History  ;D


----------



## Steel Badger

Just picked up "In the name of Rome" by Adrian Goldsworthy. The book is a study on the Roman art of command, by examining specific commanders during the Republic, the Principate and the Empire. 

Very good so far.



SB


----------



## daftandbarmy

The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict between the IRA and British Intelligence 
By Tony Geraghty

For anyone interested in looking at the way the intelligence services and terrorists interact during COIN Ops, this is a good read if you can get beyond the specifics related to Ireland. There's stuff in here that went on all the time behind the scenes that I was only vaguely aware of, and that we were NEVER supposed to talk about, which is obviously why the MoD took the author to court.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9780801864568&z=y

Online book:
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=azR_Rav_OMYC&dq=tony+geraghty&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=AEKzqEsfAb&sig=l5lxIjWdcBWnz7n9zSLw-frSeF4#PPR5,M1


Synopsis

Geraghty, a British subject, an Irish citizen, a writer and a military advisor, explores the roots of the civil war in Northern Ireland since the Battle of the Boyne (1690), paying particular attention to the last 30 years of violence. Drawing on public and classified sources, as well as interviews with members of British intelligence, British military sources, Unionist paramilitaries, and the IRA, the book reveals the conflict to have expanded to include convert operations, surveillance, and brutal interrogation techniques. The author was arrested in 1998 for violating Britain's Official Secrets Act because he wrote in this book about computer programs used by British security to profile suspected terrorists. The case was dismissed a year later. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR 

Publishers Weekly

The former chief reporter of the London Sunday Times, Geraghty (Who Dares Wins; The Bullet Catchers) here assesses "Irish identity," which he sees as "the true source" of the continuing troubles in Northern Ireland. The IRA, he says, has hijacked Irish identity and created something that "owes little to real Celtic culture." What the IRA "peddles" as Irish identity, Geraghty contends, is "a powerful, dynamic force which politicizes the natural culture and envenoms it through an obsession not with Ireland but with England." The book's first three sections present a highly opinionated look at the last 30 years of "Troubles," while the last section is a satisfying survey of 300 years of the relationship between Ireland and England in 100 pages. Geraghty uses a patchwork of sources, including interviews with British intelligence and IRA officials and his firsthand reporting of the fighting in Northern Ireland in 1969-1971 as a Times reporter. The author, who served with the British Red Berets and as a liaison officer in the Persian Gulf War, was arrested in 1998 after this book's British publication and accused of violating Britain's Official Secrets Act by mentioning sensitive software. The case was highly publicized in Britain. The book's strengths are its attention to detail and its direct, potent writing. While the revelations pertaining to spy methodology and guerrilla fighting might not strike readers on these shores with the same force as they did those on the other side of the pond, the book makes a compelling introduction to a painful struggle. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.| 

Biography

Tony Geraghty is a British subject and an Irish citizen. He is a veteran of the British Red Berets and served as a military liaison officer with U.S. forces during the Gulf War, for which he was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for Military Merit with a citation signed by General H. Norman Schwarzkopf. Geraghty has also worked in the United States as a writer for the Boston Globe.


----------



## Danjanou

I've read most of Geraghty's works including his history of the SAS and the Legion. Presuming this one is as well writen and researched it may be worth keeping an eye out for.


----------



## OkotoksRookie

A good piece of fiction (with a  smidge of factual details) thats quick and easy to read is Timothy Findley's 'The Wars'.
It's a fictional story of a young Canadian Soldier in WWI.
Pretty easy to find too.


----------



## KJL

Reading through the thread, it seems most works tend to be army focused, at least from my limited perspective. I was wondering if someone could reccomend something on the Air element of the CF?


----------



## dapaterson

KJL said:
			
		

> Reading through the thread, it seems most works tend to be army focused, at least from my limited perspective. I was wondering if someone could reccomend something on the Air element of the CF?



A Fodor's 4-star hotel guide?   >

Actually, there are a significant number of books written on the history of the Avro Arrow, which is inseparable from the RCAF history of the period (mid 50s through early 60s), and a good introduction to the politics of Canadian defence spending.


----------



## greentoblue

"Quartered Safe Out Here" by George MacDonald Fraser.  Fraser was the author of the acclaimed "Flashman" series.  However, in "Quartered" he recounts his experiences as a rifleman in a battalion of the Border Regiment fighting in Burma in WW2.  An excellent account of being a rifleman, how a section works and the Burma war.  Highly recommended.

Another book that is strongly recommended is "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield.  A fictionalized account of the Battle of Thermopylae it goes over how the Spartans were trained, their doctrine and the battle itself in stark, vivid prose.


----------



## WrenchBender

KJL said:
			
		

> Reading through the thread, it seems most works tend to be army focused, at least from my limited perspective. I was wondering if someone could reccomend something on the Air element of the CF?


Terror in the Starboard Seat by Dave McIntosh
Unsafe for Aircrew by Eric Stofer

Both are autobiographies, Terror is the story of a Mosquito Navigator in the RCAF, Unsafe is about a fitter who remustered to Flt Engneer on Halibags (self published in victoria)

WrenchBender


----------



## Danjanou

greentoblue said:
			
		

> "Quartered Safe Out Here" by George MacDonald Fraser.  Fraser was the author of the acclaimed "Flashman" series.  However, in "Quartered" he recounts his experiences as a rifleman in a battalion of the Border Regiment fighting in Burma in WW2.  An excellent account of being a rifleman, how a section works and the Burma war.  Highly recommended.



I agree. It took me a long time to find a copy of this and it was well worth the wait. You can also see where some of the ideas for the MacAuslan series came from. 8)


----------



## daftandbarmy

Anything by Terry Copp is absolutely first class. I took his books along on a battlefield tour of Belgium and Holland a few years ago and they are right on the money. I especially like how he talks about the personality clashes between leaders and other 'SNAFUs' at all levels that always cause problems for the troops - the reality of any conflict. 

http://www.wlu.ca/lcmsds/our%20associates/associates/copp.html


----------



## Sine Pari

Spearin said:
			
		

> Black Hawk Down is an alright book to read about American screw ups and how much they rely on technology!


 :rage: Think you might have read it, but you sure didn't understood it. :rage:



			
				Michael O`Leary said:
			
		

> Clausewitz, Carl von.  *On War*.Edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1984. ISBN 0-691-05657-9


Yes a real good read, especially for officers or those who want to become officers. If possible I would read the original version "Vom Kriege", as well as "Der Feldzug von 1796 in Italien", "Die Feldzüge von 1799 in Italien und der Schweiz" and "Der Feldzug von 1812 in Russland, der Feldzug von 1813 bis zum Waffenstillstand und der Feldzug von 1814 in Frankreich".

"Green Eyes & Black Rifles: _The Warriors Guide to the Combat Carbine_" by Retired SGM Kyle E. Lamb. For the M4/16 user who want to improve his skills.


----------



## stryte

A lot of good books mentioned in this thread already. Here are a couple more to add:

Values for a New Millennium: Activating the Natural Law To: Reduce Violence, Revitelize Our Schools, Promote Cross-Cultural Harmony 

http://www.amazon.ca/Values-New-Millennium-Activating-Cross-Cultural/dp/0915761041/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216507716&sr=8-4

and,

W.I.N.: Critical Issues in Training and Leading Warriors Volume 1

http://www.warriorspiritbooks.com/books.html


----------



## Bass ackwards

I was a little surprised to not see this one on the list:

_If the Gods are Good
(The epic sacrifice of the HMS Jervis Bay)_
by Gerald l. Duskin and Ralph Segman

I first heard about the Jervis Bay from an older brother who served on the Restigouche in the 70's. It's quite the story and one that the British, for some reason, seem to downplay. 
The book in question is written by a couple of Americans (hence the reference to "_the _ HMS") but they did a pretty good job of it, IMHO and the book has plenty of background information on the ships and parties involved, as well as a compelling account of the actual battle (including a few photo's taken from the Admiral Scheer at the time of the fight).

If I'm not mistaken, there were some thirty Canadians serving on the Jervis Bay at the time of her sinking. But Canadian connection or not, the story is well worth knowing and these two American gentlemen managed to do it the justice it deserves.


----------



## ForsterFB

This thread is what I was looking for.  Excellent Thread.


----------



## ltmaverick25

For those who are still looking for books about the Canadian military, here is a reading list of books written by professional Canadian historians.  It was my bibliography for a masters level historiographical article on Canada's participation in both world wars.  The list is army heavy.  This is a result of the army being the only branch to properly publish official histories following the Second World War.  The Navy finally got its official history published earlier in this decade as did the Air Force so the work done by scholars in this area is not as well developed, but I know there are a few historians currently working in these areas so stay tuned.

Excellent authors to follow are Jack Granatstein (Canada's leading military historian), Tim Cook and Terry Copp.  For the Navy look for books by Roger Sarty and Marc Milner.

Broadfoot, Barry. Six War Years, 1939-1945: Memories of Canadians at Home and Abroad. 1st ed. Toronto: Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday Canada; Doubleday, 1974. 
Brown, Robert Craig and Ramsay Cook. Canada, 1896-1921: A Nation Transformed. Canadian Centenary Series; v. 1. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1974. 
Canada. Dept. of National Defence. Gerald W. L. Nicholson, and C. C. J. Bond. Canadians in Italy, 1943-1945. Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War; v. 2nd printing (corrected) ed.E. Cloutier, Queen's Printer, 1957. 
Canada. Dept. of National Defence. C. P. (Charles Perry) Stacey, and C. C. J. Bond. Victory Campaign: The Operations in North-West Europe, 1944-1945. Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War; v. Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1960. 
Canada. Dept. of National Defence and C. P. (Charles Perry) Stacey. Canadian Army, 1939-1945 - an Official Historical Summary. 1948: 1948. 
CANADA. MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENCE, C. P. (Charles Perry) Stacey, and C. FOULKES. CANADA'S BATTLE IN NORMANDY.1946. 
Canadian War Museum and A. M. J. Hyatt. General Sir Arthur Currie: A Military Biography. Canadian War Museum Historical Publication. 2. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987. 
Canadian War Museum and John Swettenham. Canada and the First World War. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited, 1969. 
Clark, Alan,1928-. The Donkeys. --. 
Cook, Tim. Clio's Warriors: Canadian Historians and the Writing of the World Wars. Studies in Canadian Military History, 1499-6251; 1. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2006. 
———. "'A Proper Slaughter': The March 1917 Gas Raid at Vimy Ridge." Canadian Military History 8, no. 2 (1999): 7-23. 
Cook, Tim. No Place to Run: The Canadian Corps and Gas Warfare in the First World War. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press, 1999. 
Copp, J. T. and Robert Vogel. Maple Leaf Route, Scheldt. Alma, Ont.: Maple Leaf Route, 1985. 
———. Maple Leaf Route, Antwerp. Alma, Ont.: Maple Leaf Route, 1984. 
———. Maple Leaf Route: Caen. Alma, Ont.: Maple Leaf Route, 1983. 
———. Maple Leaf Route, Falaise. Alma, Ont.: Maple Leaf Route, 1983. 
Copp, J. T., Robert Vogel, and Walter Bean. Maple Leaf Route: Victory. Alma, Ont.: Maple Leaf Route, 1988. 
Copp, Terry. Guy Simonds and the Art of Command. Kingston, Ont.: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007. 
———. Cinderella Army: The Canadians in Northwest Europe 1944-1945. Toronto; Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 2006. 
———. Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy. The Joanne Goodman Lectures; 199; Joanne Goodman Lectures; 1998. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003. 
Douglas, W. A. B. (William Alexander Binny). No Higher Purpose. Official Operational History of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War, 1939-1943; v. 2, Pt. 1. 1st ed. St. Catharines, Ont.: Vanwell Pub., 2002. 
Douglas, William A. B. and Brereton Greenhous. Out of the Shadows: Canada in the Second World War. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1977. 
Eayrs, James George. In Defence of Canada. Studies in the Structure of Power: Decision-Making in Canada, 1,3,6. (Toronto) University of Toronto Press (Pref. 1964: 1964. 
English, John A. (John Alan). Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign : A Study of Failure in High Command. New York: Praeger, 1991. 
Goodspeed, D. J. (Donald James). Road Past Vimy : The Canadian Corps 1914-1918. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1969. 
Granatstein, J. L. Hell's Corner : An Illustrated History of Canada's Great War, 1914-1918. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2004. 
———. Canada's Army : Waging War and Keeping the Peace. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002. 
———. Normandy 1944. Ottawa, Ont.: Government of Canada, Veterans Affairs, 1999. 
———. Generals : The Canadian Army's Senior Commanders in the Second World War. Toronto: Stoddart, 1995, 1995. 
———. Canada's War : The Politics of the Mackenzie King Government, 1939-1945. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1975. 
Granatstein, J. L. and Norman Hillmer. Battle Lines : Eyewitness Accounts from Canada's Military History. Toronto: Thomas Allen Publishers, 2004. 
Granatstein, J. L. and J. Mackay Hitsman. Broken Promises : A History of Conscription in Canada. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1977. 
Granatstein, J. L. and Desmon Morton. Bloody Victory : Canadians and the D-Day Campaign 1944. Toronto: L. & D. Dennys, 1984. 
Granatstein, J. L. and Desmond Morton. Nation Forged in Fire : Canadians and the Second World War, 1939-1945. 1st ed. - ed. Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1989. 
Greenhous, Brereton. "C" Force to Hong Kong : A Canadian Catastrophe, 1941-1945. Canadian War Museum Historical Publication ; no. 3. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1997. 
Greenhous, Brereton and Stephen John Harris. Canada and the Battle of Vimy Ridge, 9-12 April 1917. Ottawa: Dept. of National Defence, Directorate of History, 1992. 
Horn, Bernd and Stephen John Harris. Warrior Chiefs : Perspectives on Senior Canadian Military Leaders. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2001. 
Hunter, T. Murray and C. P. (Charles Perry) Stacey. Canada at Dieppe. Canadian War Museum Historical Publication ; no. 17. [Ottawa]: Balmuir, 1982. 
Hyatt, A. M. J. and Nancy Geddes Poole. Battle for Life : The History of no. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital and no. 10 Canadian General Hospital in Two World Wars. Waterloo, Ont.: Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2004. 
Milner, Marc. Battle of the Atlantic. Stroud [England] : St. Catherine's, Ont.: Tempus ; Vanwell Pub., 2003. 
———. U-Boat Hunters : The Royal Canadian Navy and the Offensive Against Germany's Submarines. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994. 
———. North Atlantic Run : The Royal Canadian Navy and the Battle for the Convoys. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985. 
Morton, Desmond. When Your Number's Up : The Canadian Soldier in the First World War. Toronto: Random House of Canada, 1993. 
Morton, Desmond. Fight Or Pay : Soldiers' Families in the Great War. Studies in Canadian Military History. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2004. 
———. Silent Battle : Canadian Prisoners of War in Germany, 1914-1919. Toronto: Lester Pub., 1992. 
———. Military History of Canada. Edmonton: Hurtig, 1985. 
———. Canada and War : A Military and Political History. Canadian Political Issues in their Historical Perspective. Toronto: Butterworths, 1981. 
Morton, Desmond and J. L. Granatstein. Marching to Armageddon : Canadians and the Great War 1914-1919. 1st ed. Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1989. 
Rawling, Bill. Surviving Trench Warfare : Technology and the Canadian Corps, 1914-1918. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992. 
Reid, Gordon. Poor Bloody Murder : Memoirs of the First World War. Oakville, Ont.: Mosaic Press, 1980. 
Richardson, Gus and Daphne Read. Great War and Canadian Society : An Oral History. Toronto: New Hogtown Press, 1978. 
Sarty, Roger F. (Roger Flynn). Canada and the Battle of the Atlantic. Montréal: Art global, 1998. 
Schreiber, Shane B. Shock Army of the British Empire : The Canadian Corps in the Last 100 Days of the Great War. Praeger Series in War Studies, 1083-817. Westport, Conn. ; London: Praeger, 1997. 
Stacey, C. P. (Charles Perry). Date with History : Memoirs of a Canadian Historian. Ottawa: Deneau, 1983. 
———. Mackenzie King and the Atlantic Triangle. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada : Maclean-Hunter Press, 1976. 
———. Introduction to the Study of Military History for Canadian Students. 6th ed., 3rd revision. - ed. [Ottawa]: Directorate of Training, Canadian Forces Headquarters, 1973. 
Stacey, C. P. (Charles Perry) and Barbara M. Wilson. Half-Million : The Canadians in Britain, 1939-1946. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987. 
Swettenham, John Alexander. Evening of Chivalry. Canadian War Museum Historical Publication ; no. 6. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 1972. 
———. D-Day. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 1970. 
———. To Seize the Victory : The Canadian Corps in World War I. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1965. 
Swettenham, John Alexander and Fred Gaffen. Canada's Atlantic War. Toronto: Samuel Stevens, 1979. 
Taylor, A. J. P. (Alan John Percivale),1906-. The First World War : And Illustrated History1963. 
Vance, Jonathan Franklin William. Death so Noble : Memory, Meaning, and the First World War. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997. 
Vogel, Robert and Brian P. (Brian Padair) Farrell. Leadership and Responsibility in the Second World War : Essays in Honour of Robert Vogel. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004. 
Wolff, Leon. In Flanders Fields : The 1917 Campaign. London ; Toronto: Longmans,Green, 1959, 1959. 
Wood, Herbert Fairlie and John Alexander Swettenham. Silent Witnesses. Canadian War Museum Historical Publication ; no. 10; Publication (Canada. Dept. of Veteran Affairs) ; no. 6. Toronto: Hakkert, 1974.


----------



## OldSolduer

Vimy by Pierre Berton

This has to be required reading for any serious Canadian Army type.


----------



## leroi

This is a new release by the Rand Corporation that I began reading this week and it's chilled me to the bone. I place it here for anyone interested in reading about terrorism and terrorists and the roots thereof: 

In Their Own Words: Voices of Jihad

Rand Corporation
Compilation and Commentary by David Aaron

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG602/


Quick Edit/Format


----------



## observor 69

Col.C.P.Stacey and the three volume " The Canadian Army 1939-1945: A Historical Summary."
I particularly liked "Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War: Volume III. The Victory Campaign."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_History_of_the_Canadian_Army_in_the_Second_World_War


----------



## redleafjumper

George Stanley  The War of 1812, Land Operations

Cheers,


----------



## Johnny_H

I would like to contribute to this list with the following suggestion.

"Painting the Map Red: Canada and the South African War 1899-1902" by Carman Miller.
Fantastic book and it will leave you with a very strong appreciation for the men who started Canada's professional Army, and made history in this Countries infancy. 

Great book, it follows all three of the Canadian Contingents 1st consisting of 2RCRI, 2nd consisting of the RCD, CMR & Artillery, 3rd Contingent being a Bttn. Of RCR's to take over Garrison of Halifax from the British, Lord Strathcona's Horse, also it discusses the Canadians serving in the S.A.C. (South-African Constabulary) as well as the Canadians that served in British Line Regiments. 

Very informative about a subject that is rarely touched upon by today's military historians.

Regards,
JWHarrison


----------



## Rosenberg

I personally Love Farley Mowatt's the regiment it is a great book. and it is a very personal book, as Farley was there.  also And No Birds Sang is a good book.
Cheers,
OCdt S.D.Rosenberg
Moro Coy 
Hast&PER
PARATUS


----------



## OldSolduer

OK I am going out on a limb here:



Once you read it, you'll know why


World War Z by Max Brooks.  :blotto:


----------



## Dog Walker

Baden  Guy said:
			
		

> Col.C.P.Stacey and the three volume " The Canadian Army 1939-1945: A Historical Summary."
> I particularly liked "Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War: Volume III. The Victory Campaign."
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_History_of_the_Canadian_Army_in_the_Second_World_War



The official histories are now on line as pdf files.

http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/oh-ho/index-eng.asp


----------



## starseed

I have a few of my own to add in here, forgive me for any that have already been mentioned

1915 - Lyn Macdonald. Has some of the most poignant narrative I've ever read about the first world war. Made me want to be a Patricia, reading about third Ypres. S/he (I honestly don't remember) quotes extensively from letters home and diaries, and paints an extremely vivid and accurate picture of life in the Great War.

Defeat into Victory - Field Marshal 1st Viscount (William) Slim - the definitive account of the Burma campaign during WW2. This is an often forgotten theatre, but the struggle against the Japanese here involved some of the most brutal combat of the war. Also, Slim is possibly the most capable of the British commanders of his era, and definitely the most loved by his own men.

The Desert Generals - Corelli Barnett - If you're part of the Montgomery cult, this is not for you. Sheds a very different light on the 5th desert general, his use of Ultra and what parts of Alamein were actually his. He makes up only about 1/4 of the book, though. The rest is a truly excellent account of the North African from 8th Army's perspective and their other commanders. 

Barbarossa - Alan Clarke. The best history of the war on the eastern front (Operation Barbarossa) that I've come across, save perhaps Anthony Beavor's Stalingrad. Puts a very human face on a very brutal struggle. Also paints possibly the best picture of just how much Hitler shot himself in the foot

1812: Napoleon's Russian Campaign - Richard K. Rhien. Follows Napoleon's Grande Armee across white Russia. If you didn't understand the phrase "Amateurs talk tactics, Professionals talk Logistics" before, you will after you read this book. Not the best example of Napoleon's normally brilliant generalship, however 

The Face of Battle, The First World War, The Second World War, The Mask of Command, Six Armies in Normandy, The Iraq War - John Keegan. Actually, every book John Keegan has ever written has subsequently become a seminal work. He's probably the pre-eminent military historian of our time (in my humble opinion).

The Other Side of the Hill - Liddell-Hart. Excellent work on the German side of the story in WW2, featuring interviews with the ones that survived and were made captive.

The Battle for the Falklands - Max Hastings. The Falklands were the most recent conflict fought between two opponents who were on a relatively equal footing, and there are a great many things to be learned from it, particularly for Navy-types.

Six Days of War - Michael Oren. An excellent account of the October War between Egypt, Jordan, Syria (vs) Israel. The Israelis really get all-arms co-operation and it's very interesting to read about it in action.

That's all for now, but I've found all of these books highly illuminating in their own respects.


----------



## time expired

War without Battles 4 Brigade 1951-1993,cannot remember the authors
name,I am sure someone could help me out.Will mostly be of interest
to those who served in NWE during the Cold War and explains why we
did some of the things we did during those interesting times.
                                 Regards


----------



## PMedMoe

time expired said:
			
		

> War without Battles 4 Brigade 1951-1993,cannot remember the authors
> name,I am sure someone could help me out.



Sean M. Maloney


----------



## 3rd Herd

"Inside the British Army" by Anthony Beevor. Anyone read /thoughts


----------



## OldSolduer

The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks.

You have to be prepared for anything!! :camo:


----------



## DIESEL 007

hey everyone, Ive started reading a few of the general leadership and historical books you've mentioned here.  Im merit listed for MARS officer and wondering if anyone can recommend any technical naval books to brush up on. Looking for something talking about modern maneuvers, weapons and techniques.  I have read what i could find on the websites, mostly leadmark and its newer version.  Also have read Operation Apollo by richard gimblett.  Any help will be appreciated!


----------



## AndyRad

The one book i've found to be very informative for prospects like my self : A Soldier First Gen Rick Hellier.


----------



## leroi

WOW!! :nod:

 Just began reading this personal narrative and don't know where to begin praising it; the account is so haunting, honest and passionate.  It's the kind of story that gets right under the skin.  The book's time line covers the summer of 2006 and underscores the uniqueness of that particular tour with its unique set of frictions.  Conrad was part of the commanded the _ National Support Element_ involved in providing logistics support  to _Task Force Orion._  Blatchford refers to him as a " Soldier-Poet." 

_What the Thunder Said: Reflections of a Canadian Officer in Kandahar_ by Lietenant-Colonel John Conrad with an _Introduction_ by Christie Blatchford

_Dundurn Group_: Toronto and _Canadian Defence Academy Press_: Kingston: 2009 in cooperation with the _Department of National Defence_ and _Public Works_ and _Government Services Canada_.
ISBN 978-1-55488-408-7

One Review:
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6568

Edit: Correction


----------



## Journeyman

leroi said:
			
		

> Conrad was part of *commanded*  the_ National Support Element_...


There are also two favourable reviews in the current edition of the Canadian Military Journal


----------



## leroi

_Journeyman_,  thanks for that *important* distinction/correction!

-Apologies to Lieutenant-Colonel John Conrad.

Some of us civvies get it wrong no matter how hard we try! ;D


----------



## Journeyman

leroi said:
			
		

> _Journeyman_,  thanks for that *important* distinction/correction!
> 
> -Apologies to Lieutenant-Colonel John Conrad.
> 
> Some of us civvies get it wrong no matter how hard we try! ;D


 _~meh~_  No worries; John's just some numpty staff officer now



....and yes, I'm forwarding this reply to him  ;D


----------



## dapaterson

I have spent the past several months, off and on, reading and re-reading LCol Conrad's book and trying to formulate my own review.

Ultimately, however, the book leaves me cold.  It is an admirable memoir of life as a senior logistics officer deployed (and in the politicking leading up to deployment).  Its failure, to my mind, is unfortunately representative of the military's struggle with introspection and self-criticism.  There is too much "inside baseball", where a casual reader will miss important details that are glossed over so as not to offend (the lack of names in some places is much more important than the presence of names in others - to me, it's an immediate flag when someone is only ever referred to by their title, and not their name).

It is also instructive that LCol Conrad bemoans "the system" and the Logistics Branch writ large for a failure in leadership and vision (valid, if understated critiques to my mind), but also proudly asserts that he was never posted to NDHQ.  It is perhaps an unfortunate truism that the loudest critics inside the military of the way things are are generally those most proud that they avoided postings to NDHQ where they might have gained either an understanding of some of the whys, or the ability to influence change.

This is not to belittle the book - it is well written, does contain valuable insights and LCol Conrad is more than willing to admit to errors or failings of his own.  In fact, I would suggest takes too much responsibility in some instances - if his superiors never took interest in matters of logistics (well documented throughout the book), and did not engage the -4 staff in plans for operations, then finding yourself short of ammunition is not a supply issue - it's a command issue.

I have and will continue to recommend it as a work worthy of reading and considering for professional development of all military leaders, NCM and officer, combat arms and service support.  (Perhaps especially to combat arms officers, whose concept of logistics planning often seems to be "At this point, a miracle occurs!").  But I am still left with a nagging question of what could have been... the source material and the writer both seem so much better than the final product.


----------



## Old Sweat

I found the book interesting and informative, especially in what it told me of the logistics concept of operations for TF-K. As an example, without getting into too much detail, the artillery ammunition supply issue very nearly derailed a major operation in 2006 when the actual in theatre bullet count was well below what the loggies were claiming. To their credit, the logisticians performed magnificently in both filling the bins and supporting the operation over the next few weeks. There are a couple of reasons why this happened, including a reliance on historical data to determine future expenditure rates (without noticing that the tempo picked up mid-tour.) If there is a lesson, and John Conrad does not mention it, it is that the just in time system may work for industry and for retail, but it can bite you on the butt in war, especially if the enemy does not cooperate. Sometimes logistics planning has to err on the side of overinsurance, and not rely on precision. To my mind, the responsibility here is shared and it would be wrong, as Dapaterson points out, to allow the CoC and the operations staff to escape criticism.

I recommend this book.


----------



## dapaterson

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> the artillery ammunition supply issue very nearly derailed a major operation in 2006 when the actual in theatre bullet count was well below what the loggies were claiming.



One minor quibble:  My reading of that part of the book suggests a breakdown in communication, vice a mis-statement of the count.

LCol Conrad, based on prior consumption rates, did not identify a shortfall in artillery ammunition - thus, if asked, would say that holdings were sufficient.  That statement should have been caveated: "sufficient - as long as the consumption rate does not change."  A rather important caveat.

Thus, it would appear that it was not a conflict over the count - presenting a simple set of numbers would have been clear to all.  "We have 20 rounds, since the average usage rate is one a week, we're good for 4 months."  "But our plan needs 30 rounds in the first week."  "Well, then, we need to get more."  (Note: Numbers here are entirely fictional)

The problem was one of communication - "sufficient" means different things to different people.

Communication is a two-way street - so I'd argue LCol Conrad's assertion of sufficiency was inadequate communications on his part, and the command team's failure to ask deeper questions about what "sufficient" meant was inadequate communications on their part.


I would say that this is one of the key lessons to learn from the book - ensure clear, concise communications that are not misunderstood at either end.  (I also seem to recall a similar lesson from many, many moons ago in a leadership course in what today is called CAP...)


----------



## OldSolduer

Ah the old ABC of military communications:

Accuracy
Brevity
Clarity

I have seen too many briefings where none of these Principles were observed.


----------



## Old Sweat

Whatever the reason, the arty ammunition count got badly out of whack. I don't want to get into numbers for obvious reasons, but I have interviewed the then CO 1 RCR and BC and BSM of E Bty, 2 RCHA. Their stories match. I have an agreement from John Conrad to discuss the subject when we can get together. 

As Dapaterson notes, there was a breakdown in communications. Let's leave it at that for now.


----------



## Halifax Tar

Hey guys, 

I am looking for a book a friend lent me. Its alternative history in which the Canadian Army in Europe during the cold war is involved in conventional war with the USSR. The book was very good and highly technical. I believe the title to be something like the following:

Close Contact
First Contact
Initial Contact

I have search high and low for the name but I cant find it and my friend I cant reach at the moment. Any help would be much appreciated!


----------



## Danjanou

The name is First Clash

http://www.amazon.com/First-Clash-Combat-Close-Up-World/dp/0425107566

Not a bad little tale albeit dated now.  Mackasey was asked to write it as a form of training manual in the mid 1980's ( my first copy came form the pam library). It was later released as a novel. There were suopposed to be several in the  series but as far as I know only one "sequel"
dealing with a BG in the advance was released and only as a "pam."

Some excellent maps, orbat diagrams etc. Anyone who served in 4CMBG will enjoy it and get the in joke on where the battle takes place.


----------



## Halifax Tar

Thank you so much Danjanou off to Amazon I go!


----------



## Danjanou

Halifax Tar said:
			
		

> Thank you so much Danjanou off to Amazon I go!



Por Nada

As I said it was a pam in the 1980's probaly still a copy on some book shelf somwhere in Stadacona 8)


----------



## The Bread Guy

Jim Seggie said:
			
		

> Ah the old ABC of military communications:
> 
> Accuracy
> Brevity
> Clarity
> 
> I have seen too many briefings where none of these Principles were observed.


With most government writing, at the best of times, meeting only two of the three.


----------



## Danjanou

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> With most government writing, at the best of times, meeting only two of the three.



You get two out of three in your place?

Here if we manage one of them at least once a year it's time to break out the champagne. :


----------



## observor 69

Visiting my local "sub" library this afternoon and saw they had a collection of military books in keeping with Remembrance Day. It was entirely WWI and WWII.   I went to the stacks located three fine books on our military in Afghanistan and stuck them in amongst the display.
I did not bring this up with the Head Librarian because my requests in the past have been met with "Oh we are just a sub library, you have to go to the main branch for blah blah" and I am fairly sure her bureaucratic mind would explode.


----------



## RememberanceDay

WB said:
			
		

> When it comes to Canadian literature, I‘m interested in Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan - fairly recent stuff. Books about Paratroopers from other countries are also cool. I wouldnt mind reading about the FFL, UK Paras and RMs, US Rangers, or the Aussie Commandos (can‘t remember the regt. name).




Under a war-torn sky's a good one, forget the author...


----------



## Reesa44Wordsworth

Here is a reading recommendation to all those people who want to read military literature-"The kill".It is a fantastic novel vividly depicting the ways and nature of military people.


----------



## Journeyman

RemembranceDay said:
			
		

> Under a war-torn sky's a good one, forget the author...


Because I was in this thread checking something else.....

LM Elliot, _Under a War-Torn Sky_. NY: Hyperion, 2003. Amazon.ca link

I haven't read it, but the book services note that its intended audience is "Grade 6-9"  _~shrug~_


----------



## observor 69

Saw this one yesterday in Chapters, read a bit of it and found it very interesting.

On Killing: The Psychological Cost Of Learning To Kill In War And Society
by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman .
Little, Brown And Company | June 22, 2009 | Trade Paperback

The good news is that most soldiers are loath to kill. But armies have developed sophisticated ways of overcoming this instinctive aversion. And contemporary civilian society, particularly the media, replicates the army''s conditioning techniques …+ read more
The good news is that most soldiers are loath to kill. But armies have developed sophisticated ways of overcoming this instinctive aversion. And contemporary civilian society, particularly the media, replicates the army''s conditioning techniques, and, according to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman''s thesis, is responsible for our rising rate of murder among the young.

Upon its initial publication, ON KILLING was hailed as a landmark study of the techniques the military uses to overcome the powerful reluctance to kill, of how killing affects soldiers, and of the societal implications of escalating violence. Now, Grossman has updated this classic work to include information on 21st-century military conflicts, recent trends in crime, suicide bombings, school shootings, and more. The result is a work certain to be relevant and important for decades to come. 



http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Killing-Psychological-Cost-Learning-Kill-Lt-Col-Dave-Grossman/9780316040938-item.html?ikwid=on+killing%3a+the+psychological+cost+of+learning+to+kill&ikwsec=Books


----------



## Marshall12345

I've read _Outside the Wire_ by* Kevin Patterson * & _Fifteen Days_ by *Christie Blatchford*. Both were excellent reads and I am having trouble finding more books like it.
Have you read/enjoyed these books? Do you recommend any others?


----------



## aesop081

> Good reading books



 :rofl:


If Afghanistan is all you are interested in,"Contact Charlie" was pretty good. There are many more outstanding books that cover many Canadian military subjects.


----------



## Marshall12345

CDN Aviator said:
			
		

> :rofl:
> 
> 
> If Afghanistan is all you are interested in,"Contact Charlie" was pretty good. There are many more outstanding books that cover many Canadian military subjects.



Sort of a juvenile title looking at it now..  :facepalm:         

Im interested in any, not just Afghanistan. Although those have been the most exciting i've read yet.


----------



## mariomike

Topic: "Canadian Army Reading List-5 Years Of Suggestions and Ideas":
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/22608.0.html

10 pages


----------



## aesop081

JoeMoe said:
			
		

> Sort of a juvenile title looking at it now..  :facepalm:



Well, to be fair to your thread title, i looked through my 500+ military books and could not find a single pop-up book.

Sorry.


----------



## Marshall12345

CDN Aviator said:
			
		

> Well, to be fair to your thread title, i looked through my 500+ military books and could not find a single pop-up book.
> 
> Sorry.




Aw, darn. I hate the big words... :crybaby:


----------



## aesop081

Some of my suggestions:

"Where the hell are the guns", "The guns of Normandy" and "The guns of victory".......a 3-book series by George Blackburn

"A thousand shall fall" by Murray Peden

"Ortona" by Mark Zuehlke ( indeed i enjoyed his entire world war 2 series of books)


----------



## Marshall12345

Have you had a chance to watch the few short series that the history channel came out with? Juno Beach was a great one about the Canadian Airbourne, reminded me of Band of Brothers which was a great series. Loved the movie _Passchendaele _, the ending scene was epic. To bad there aren't more Canadian war cinematics. I'll take a look into those books.


----------



## aesop081

JoeMoe said:
			
		

> Loved the movie _Passchendaele _, the ending scene was epic. To bad there aren't more Canadian war cinematics.



That was hardly a war movie. It was a love story with "oh shit, theres a war on" at the end of it.


----------



## Marshall12345

It was a pretty awesome 8 minutes though.


----------



## a_majoor

_Passchendaele_, The first "Chick Flick" with heavy artillery....


----------



## RememberanceDay

Charlie Wilcox, Sharon E. McKay. War Brothers, Thunder over Kandahar, same author.


----------



## SeaKingTacco

Ghosts have warm hands by Will Bird.  Best book, written by a Canadian, on WW1. it is in the top 5 ever written on that war.


----------



## BDTyre

Afghanistan:
"Fob Doc," "A Line in the Sand," "Witness to War," "Unexpected War," "Canada in Afghanistan" "Misson of Folly," "Kandahar Tour"

World War I:
"At the Sharp End," "Shock Troops," "Baptism of Fire," "Brave Battalion," "The Journal of Private Fraser," "Scouting Thrills" "Vimy"

World War II:
"Liri Valley," "Ortona" (okay, all the Mark Zuehlke books)

General:
"The Fighting Canadians," "Tarnished Brass" (this one is by Scott Taylor), "Who Killed the Canadian Military?" "A Soldier First"

That's it for my admittedly small collection.


----------



## aesop081

CanadianTire said:
			
		

> "Tarnished Brass" (this one is by Scott Taylor),



Not even fit to light a fire with at a book burning.......Complete and utter garbage.


----------



## BDTyre

Hence my pointing out who the author is! It's on my shelf, but I haven't read it yet. In my defense, it was only $2.


----------



## jparkin

CanadianTire said:
			
		

> Afghanistan:
> "Fob Doc," "A Line in the Sand," "Witness to War," "Unexpected War," "Canada in Afghanistan" "Misson of Folly," "Kandahar Tour"



I just finished reading A Line in the Sand, I'm working on FOB Doc at the moment. I've got to say, the way these two books were written really holds my attention and gets me thinking. FOB Doc got onto the Editor's Picks: Top 100 list on amazon.ca in 2009. I would definitely recommend them to anyone interested in checking them out.

Jonathan


----------



## Farmount1989

Bratok said:
			
		

> http://www.lib.ru/MEMUARY/CHECHNYA/chechen_war.txt
> Vyacheslav Mironov. Assault on Grozny Downtown - Chechen Campaign ‘95. V. Mironov was an infantry captain involved in heavy battles of the first days of the war.
> 
> Also, some more Russian readings:
> http://www.artofwar.ru/index_e.html



Hello,

I've made translation of the book of Slava, full version - http://artofwar.ru/a/abramow_o_b/ - "I was at that war" / "Assault on Grozny downtown"
The text is corrected and I'd appreciate very much Your comments about possible unclear things in it or pure mistakes. Welcome to do that in comments or per e-mail, the last renewed version was published on Oct. 12, 2011

Sincere best regards


----------



## observor 69

The End by Ian Kershaw 
Why Did the Nazis Continue to Fight a Losing War?, Sep 28 2011 
By Ronald H. Clark - Published on Amazon U.S. 
This review is from: The End (Hardcover) 
Ian Kershaw, the author of a number of excellent books on the Third Reich including a fine biography of Hitler, asks a key question in this book: when when it became obvious that Germany would lose the war, and continue to suffer devastating destruction, why did the Nazis continue to fight on in futility? The author first sketches the issue in a preface and then identifies the "dramatis personae" or key players in the drama in brief bios. Then in a substantial introduction, he outlines the issues and explanations that have been offered. While not a book of military history as such, there is certainly enough discussion of the Reich's military posture during and after key battles to satisfy those with such interests.

Rest of review at link.

http://www.amazon.ca/End-Ian-Kershaw/dp/1594203148/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319317141&sr=1-1


----------



## mariomike

> when when it became obvious that Germany would lose the war, and continue to suffer devastating destruction, why did the Nazis continue to fight on in futility?



This is one explanation I have read:

"The mental reaction of the German people to air attack is significant. Under ruthless Nazi control they showed surprising resistance to the terror and hardships of repeated air attack, to the destruction of their homes and belongings, and to the conditions under which they were reduced to live. Their morale, their belief in ultimate victory or satisfactory compromise, and their confidence in their leaders declined, but they continued to work efficiently as long as the physical means of production remained. The power of a police state over its people cannot be underestimated."
THE UNITED STATES STRATEGIC BOMBING SURVEY
(European War)
September 30, 1945

Highlight mine - mm.


----------



## NBiederman

Anyone have any recommendations on books that cover basic information regarding the CF? My fiance wants to learn about the CF, its history, rank structures, elements and so on and was looking for a "CF for dummies" type book. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


----------



## aesop081

HAWX said:
			
		

> Anyone have any recommendations on books that cover basic information regarding the CF? My fiance wants to learn about the CF, its history, rank structures, elements and so on and was looking for a "CF for dummies" type book. Any suggestions would be appreciated.



Even better......

www.forces.gc.ca


----------



## q_1966

"The world of the lower deck is a fertile field for research. Much has been written about naval policy and operations, but little insight into naval society exists other than the contemporary accounts of William Pugsley, a public relations officer who went "undercover" to report  life as viewed from the mess decks"]"The world of the lower deck is a fertile field for research. Much has been written about naval policy and operations, but little insight into naval society exists other than the contemporary accounts of William Pugsley, a public relations officer who went "undercover" to report  life as viewed from the mess decks"
http://cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol09/nm_9_3_1-22.pdf

Great Reading
Saints, Devils & Ordinary Seaman (1945)
Sailor Remember (1948)
Return to Sea (1960)
By Lieut.(S) later LtCdr. (Retired) William Pugsley

CFB Esquimalt (HMCS Naden) Naval Museum 
http://navalandmilitarymuseum.org/

CFB Halifax (HMCS Stadacona) Naval Museum
http://psphalifax.ca/marcommuseum/index.html


----------



## BadgerTrapper

A lot of good recommendations, my next trip to Chapters should hopefully be an expensive one. Can anyone recommend any books that revolve around Battlefield medicine? I.e. Medics, Corpsmen etc. 

(No, I did not read all 11 pages of this thread )


----------



## MikeL

Amazon search came up with these titles
http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=war+medic

http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=sr_nr_scat_928712_ln?rh=n%3A928712%2Ck%3Acorpsman&keywords=corpsman&ie=UTF8&qid=1358094938&scn=928712&h=47d5929ffbcfc17d9b1e447ee0ba03b31cb67440

http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D928712&field-keywords=combat+medic&rh=n%3A916520%2Cn%3A!927726%2Cn%3A927728%2Cn%3A928712%2Ck%3Acombat+medic

There is also Fob Doc


> Military doctors serving in Afghanistan usually spend their entire tour in the relatively safe confines of the main base. FOB Doc is the story of one Canadian doctor who spent nearly his entire tour in combat. Captain Ray Wiss was stationed at Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) in Kandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban and the most intense zone combat in Afghanistan. He shares the 'terror and boredom' of the front-line soldier's life in this candid personal diary. One day, he might be participating in combat operations, treating severe and bloody injuries and coping with the deaths of fellow soldiers, both Afghans and NATO allies; another day, he might be writing about the challenges of going to the latrine in sub-zero weather. FOB Doc is heartbreaking and hilarious, often on the same page.


http://www.amazon.ca/Fob-Doc-Ray-Wiss/dp/1553654722/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358094780&sr=1-1


----------



## jeffb

mariomike said:
			
		

> This is one explanation I have read:
> 
> "The mental reaction of the German people to air attack is significant. Under ruthless Nazi control they showed surprising resistance to the terror and hardships of repeated air attack, to the destruction of their homes and belongings, and to the conditions under which they were reduced to live. Their morale, their belief in ultimate victory or satisfactory compromise, and their confidence in their leaders declined, but they continued to work efficiently as long as the physical means of production remained. The power of a police state over its people cannot be underestimated."
> THE UNITED STATES STRATEGIC BOMBING SURVEY
> (European War)
> September 30, 1945
> 
> Highlight mine - mm.



A counter to the USSBS and the later United States Gulf War Air Power Survey, can be found in Gian P. Gentile's book _How effective is strategic bombing: Lessons learned from WW II to Kosovo_. This book systematically illustrates how flawed the USSBS was in its design. He argues that it was set up to try and set the conditions to create an independent US Air Force. (During the 2nd World War air power was split between the services with the Army largely responsible for strategic bombing). It's an interesting read for those interested in the role of strategic air power and weather it is effective or not. 

Gentile, Gian P. _How Effective is Strategic Bombing: Lessons learned from World War II to Kosovo_. New York: New York University Press, 2001. 
ISBN: 0-8147-3135-X


----------



## mariomike

jeffb said:
			
		

> A counter to the USSBS and the later United States Gulf War Air Power Survey, can be found in Gian P. Gentile's book _How effective is strategic bombing: Lessons learned from WW II to Kosovo_. This book systematically illustrates how flawed the USSBS was in its design. He argues that it was set up to try and set the conditions to create an independent US Air Force. (During the 2nd World War air power was split between the services with the Army largely responsible for strategic bombing). It's an interesting read for those interested in the role of strategic air power and weather it is effective or not.
> 
> Gentile, Gian P. _How Effective is Strategic Bombing: Lessons learned from World War II to Kosovo_. New York: New York University Press, 2001.
> ISBN: 0-8147-3135-X



The USSBS - Europe was a massive project. The RAF hoped to do likewise, but Churchill rejected it. He said it would be a waste of post-war resources. Perhaps he also wanted to distance himself from the area bombing campaign, now that the war was won. 

The British Bombing Survey Unit ( BBSU ) was tiny in comparison to the American one. They had to compete for documents and access to top Nazis, most notably Albert Speer. 

Professor Zuckerman had always advocated attacking transportation and communications, rather than area bombing. But, his report was suppressed by the Air Ministry, as was the "Final Dispatch" of Bomber Harris. 

There was also uncertainty in America: "Even General Arnold had doubts about how effective the air war had been. The British-American strategic air forces had blasted factories and cities from one end of the Reich to the other. Unquestionably a huge amount of structural damage had resulted. Yet it was clear that this destruction had not had the effect on the enemy's war effort that Arnold had expected and hoped for, the effect "we all assumed would result."
Craven and Cate  "Germany: The Climax of Strategic Operations"


----------



## Leafheart11

Hello, I am hopefully going to be in the forces soon enough (just waiting to hear back). In the meantime I am working a desk job that allows for some time to read a book. I was wondering if there are any books that any of the forum users could recommend some books on Canadian Military strategies specifically looking at the Infantry tactics/strategies as that is my chosen field.

If this is the wrong place to put this I do apologize I just was unsure as to where this should go when I was scanning the forum lists.


----------



## Leafheart11

Sorry it is for some reason not allowing me to edit my previous post but it should read: "...books that any of the forum users could recommend on Canadian Military strategies specifically..."


----------



## dapaterson

Canadian Army Reading List: http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/22608/post-3787.html#msg3787


----------



## Leafheart11

Wow I totally missed that. Thanks


----------



## Danjanou

and thread merge in 3...2...1


----------



## Edward Campbell

Part 1 of 2



			
				Michael O'Leary said:
			
		

> The Infantry School Reading List doesn‘t specify recommended editions, but the  Canadian Army Reading List , published by Land Force Doctrine and Training Systems does:
> 
> Clausewitz, Carl von.  *On War*.Edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1984. ISBN 0-691-05657-9
> 
> Sun Tzu.  *The Art of War* Translated with an introduction by Samuel B. Griggith. Foreword by B.H. Liddell Hart. London: Oxford University press, 1963.
> 
> Mike O‘Leary
> The Regimental Rogue
> 
> 
> (Edited 14 Jan 06 to update links.)




The book isn't released in Canada yet, but John Thornhill, Deputy Editor of the _Financial Times_, thinks that Emile Simpson merits being discussed in the same sentence as Clausewitz in this article which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the _Financial Times_:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/8061f9a6-fde1-11e2-a5b1-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2csEENKSP


> Lunch with the FT: Emile Simpson
> *Hailed as a Clausewitz for our times, the former soldier talks to John Thornhill about military strategy, the Afghanistan conflict and ‘armed politics’*
> 
> By John Thornhill
> 
> When the veteran military historian Professor Michael Howard raves about a book by a little-known, 30-year-old ex-Gurkha officer and declares it to be comparable to Clausewitz, it is surely worth snapping to attention. And after reading _War From the Ground Up_, I am all the more intrigued to meet its author, Emile Simpson. Drawing on his experience of fighting in Afghanistan, Simpson has written an engrossing account of the 12-year conflict that challenges the way we think about war and suggests how we might better fight the next one. “_War From the Ground Up_ is a work of such importance that it should be compulsory reading at every level in the military,” Howard concluded in his Times Literary Supplement review.
> 
> Sitting in the Drapers Arms on a gloriously sunny day in north London, Simpson looks every inch the military man, from his regulation haircut to his civilian uniform of brown sports jacket and green tie. As he rises to
> greet me, the tall, athletic Simpson exudes an air of orderliness. His voice, modulated by his schooling in Cambridge and the parade grounds of Sandhurst, is one notch too loud, as is often the way with army officers.
> 
> We decide to move to the garden of the Islington gastropub, which he says is one of his favourite watering holes. It is eerily deserted on a Friday lunchtime. As we settle at a shady table, I ask Simpson whether he is from a military family and what first drew him to the army. He explains that his parents are both Cambridge academics who were somewhat surprised by his choice of career. “My interest in things military was part through history and [part] a spirit of adventure,” he says, in the slightly elliptical manner he deploys when talking about himself.
> 
> On a gap year spent teaching in Nepal, he was drawn to the local culture and traditions of the Gurkha regiment. After studying history at Jesus College, Oxford, where he was tutored and inspired by Niall Ferguson, he went to Sandhurst, where he was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Gurkha Rifles. In his six and a half years in the army, Simpson served three tours in southern Afghanistan, first as a platoon commander in charge of 30 men in Kandahar in 2007, then as a military intelligence officer helping to fight the counterinsurgency in Helmand province in 2010, and, finally, working at headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) under the US commander General John R Allen in 2011. Like Carl von Clausewitz, whose service in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic wars shaped his classic book _On War_, Simpson’s writings are informed by deep personal experience as well as a fascination with military theory.
> 
> Before we can plunge too deeply into Afghanistan, the waitress arrives to take our order from the surprisingly ambitious menu. Simpson goes for steak tartare and Dorset crab. I opt for the smoked mackerel and am also tempted by the crab. We order two glasses of Picpoul.
> 
> Simpson says that what intrigued him as a frontline officer was how much his experience on the ground diverged from what he had been taught about war and the way politicians talked about the conflict. Clausewitz still largely defines how most people understand war: it is primarily seen as an interstate activity that is polarised, decisive and finite. One side wins, declares victory and imposes its terms – and narrative – upon the loser. The other side accepts defeat, licks its wounds and works out how to fight smarter next time.
> 
> But the Afghanistan conflict, which has lasted longer than the two world wars combined, does not neatly conform to this pattern. Who is the enemy? How do you know when you have won? What would victory even look like? At times, when Simpson was fighting in Helmand at the height of the counterinsurgency, the battle lines were fairly clear. “We were fighting the Taliban pretty much every day. There were a lot of casualties – both ways. The battle group as a whole [of 1,000] had about 110 wounded and 28 dead, both British and Afghans,” he says.
> 
> At other times, it became near-impossible to distinguish between enemies and friends. The conflict appeared kaleidoscopic, indecisive and seemingly infinite. In his book, which interweaves military theory with personal anecdote, Simpson cites the example of one local commander who was notionally on the side of the Afghan government in Kabul but “rented” out some of his forces to the local Taliban because they had agreed to pay for them. In such situations, trying to divide the population between “them” and “us” was not only dangerous but counter-productive. “There were not two sides. Everyone was on their own side,” he says.
> 
> What frustrated Simpson was that abstract doctrinal concepts kept obstructing sensible operational judgments. “The metrics of success were based on red and blue and geographical control of an area – blue being our own forces and red the enemy,” he says. By 2010 his unit had developed its own alternative metrics “identifying different constituencies in the area you were operating in, be they violently or politically hostile to you, sympathetic or undecided.
> 
> “From that understanding, you could use both military means and non-military means, working with our civilian counterparts, to deliver a narrative, or a political story, if you like – just like a politician might deliver a narrative during an election. You give each constituency what it wants while going on the offensive against the opposition’s narrative.”
> 
> Simpson is as passionate in talking about army doctrine as he is dispassionate in talking about his own personal experiences. But he uses a very different vocabulary from the normal terms of military discourse – “persuasion”, “opponents” and “strategic audiences” in place of “force”, “enemies” and “targets” – and draws inspiration from sources as varied as Aristotle’s teachings on rhetoric and medieval theologians. As he expounds his theory of “armed politics” with eloquence, I am struck by his more than fleeting resemblance to a young David Cameron.
> 
> Our starters arrive and Simpson laughs at my mackerel, an upturned tail of a fish pointing up to the cloudless sky. He tucks into his steak tartare and launches into an explanation of how the relationship between soldiers and politicians must change if we want to fight 21st-century conflicts more effectively.
> 
> Simpson says that the accepted model for civil-military relations remains Samuel P Huntington’s classic book _The Soldier and The State_, first published in 1957. That book’s main reference point was the showdown between President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean war when the over-mighty general threatened to unleash nuclear war on China. Huntington argued that generals should never again be allowed to have that level of strategic authority, and that policy guidelines should be set by the president. There was also the longstanding constitutional argument that soldiers should not interfere in setting policy because that was the preserve of elected politicians. While that policy may have made sense during the cold war, it does not convince Simpson today. “What I am saying now is that the constitutional argument still makes sense but the strategic argument doesn’t. What you have now is the politicisation of military action down to a tactical level.”
> 
> As Simpson puts it, strategy is always “the dialogue between desire and possibility”. Politicians may desire an outcome but their strategy has to be tempered by the operational realities on the ground. In conflicts such as Afghanistan, those frontline soldiers responsible for implementing armed politics on the ground must have more say in shaping and presenting that strategic narrative. “Huntington’s one-way flow simply does not make sense if you want a nuanced political approach down to the tactical level,” he says.
> 
> The crabs arrive accompanied by an array of crushing and gouging instruments that would not have disgraced a medieval dungeon. And, however splendid the crab looks and tastes, I quickly realise it was the daftest main course I could have ordered. Extracting meat from a crustacean’s extremities is not compatible with taking shorthand notes. While we’ve been talking, the pub garden has slowly filled up with fashionable young mothers and prams. The badlands of Afghanistan could not seem further away. I ask him what he thinks will happen when Nato forces pull out next year.
> 
> As he rips a claw off his crab, Simpson says he doesn’t foresee a dramatic collapse of the Kabul regime. The government’s endemic corruption poses a bigger threat to its survival than the Taliban does, he argues. When Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989 they left behind a reasonably stable regime that was still able to defeat the Mujahideen when they massed for a conventional battle at Jalalabad later that year. It was the implosion of the Soviet Union in 1991 that doomed the Najibullah regime by cutting off its funding. The regime in Kabul today may not be very democratic or effective, he says, but it is unlikely to be overthrown by force.
> 
> “The Taliban can take dusty villages but for them to present an existential threat to the state means they have to knock out the Afghan army backed by US air power. They did not do it with the Russians. They will not do it today. If the state fails, it will be because it implodes as a result of corruption,” he says. As fragments of dismembered crab are cleared away from the table (and my notebook), Simpson orders a lemon tart and I plump for a poached pear. I am keen to prolong the conversation and explore one of the other big ideas of his book: the fact that social media has had a transformational effect on war.
> 
> Unsurprisingly, we return to Clausewitz, who is still taught in military academies today. Simpson rejects any suggestion that his work is comparable. “That would be incredibly immodest and inappropriate,” he says. “But my book is an interpretation of Clausewitz in the modern day ... [_On War_] is characterised by dialectics, between theory and experience, between history and the present day, between intuition and doctrine ... It is very much located in reality, but not consumed by it. I very much identified with that experience.”
> 
> As a young soldier in the Prussian army, Clausewitz fought at a time when the whole conception of conflict was being revolutionised. In the late 18th century, war was not unlimited: the great powers would try to defeat the enemy on the battlefield to gain an advantage but they rarely knocked out other states. Following the French Revolution, Napoleon was able to mobilise millions of soldiers and overthrow other regimes. “The whole state was at risk. It was a fundamentally different concept,” Simpson says.
> 
> He argues that a similarly decisive change in conflict is taking place today. Thanks to videos taken on smartphones and the universality of social media, the “strategic audiences” in any war are global. As we are seeing in Syria, images of conflict can be flashed around the world in a heartbeat. “Can we get back to a situation where there is a clear divide between military and political activity? I don’t think we can. Any war is going to be contaminated by contact with audiences around the world who have an interest in that conflict,” he says.
> 
> That has two big consequences. First, there needs to be a fusion of military and political activity at the operational level. But, second, conflicts have to be dealt with on their own terms and compartmentalised to prevent their proliferation, as the French have successfully done in Mali. “How you can box in a conflict will be the number one strategic question that will govern the next few decades,” he says.
> 
> In Simpson’s view, one of the biggest mistakes the US has made has been to talk about a “global war on terror”, a phrase he describes as silly because it raises expectations that can never be met. “If you elevate this to a global concept, to the level of grand strategy, that is profoundly dangerous,” he says. “If you want stability in the world you have to have clear strategic boundaries that seek to compartmentalise conflicts, and not aggregate them. The reason is that if you don’t box in your conflicts with clear strategic boundaries, chronological, conceptual, geographical, legal, then you experience a proliferation of violence.”
> 
> Simpson finished his last tour of Afghanistan just before Christmas 2011 and left the army shortly afterwards because it “was mainly incompatible with personal life, my girlfriend and my family”. He also had broader frustrations with the career structure in the army. “If you are a reformist and want to reform the army then you have to bide your time, as you do in any organisation. Just being in a bureaucracy in general was quite frustrating,” he says.
> 
> Simpson has switched careers and is now studying international law, a field in which he hopes he can combine both theory and practice. But he will not be wholly lost to the field of military doctrine as he is already working on another book about the concept of the enemy. His spirit of adventure is sated by trekking trips in Nepal and cycling tours in Oman.
> 
> Since his book’s publication in 2012, Simpson has been invited to speak to several military audiences in the US, where the debate still rages about how best to conduct counterinsurgency campaigns. It has received a cooler response from Britain’s top brass, despite Professor Howard’s endorsement, but Simpson says the army is slowly becoming more receptive to fresh thinking because of its recent setbacks in Basra and Helmand.
> “Thirty years ago, if you could drink a bottle of whisky in the evening and run 10 miles in the morning and had a big moustache, then you were a good bloke and didn’t need to read anything. But today the army is much more open to reading. The army has got less afraid of intellectualism since things went wrong in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he says. “We do need to rethink our profession.”
> 
> _John Thornhill is the FT’s deputy editor_



End of Part 1 of 2


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## Edward Campbell

Part 2 of 2

And here, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the _Times Literary Supplement_, is the earlier article by distinguished military historian Michael Howard:

http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/article1239841.ece


> Narratives of war
> 
> Michael Howard
> 
> Some four decades ago, the TLS sent me a book to review by a young lecturer at Sandhurst entitled _The Face of Battle_. It impressed me so much that I described it as “one of the best half-dozen books on warfare to have appeared since the Second World War”. I wondered at the time if I had made a total fool of myself, but I need not have worried. The author, the late Sir John Keegan, proved to be one of the greatest military historians of his generation. It would be rash to put my money on such a dark horse again, but I shall. Emile Simpson’s _War From the Ground Up_ is a work of such importance that it should be compulsory reading at every level in the military; from the most recently enlisted cadet to the Chief of the Defence Staff and, even more important, the members of the National Security Council who guide him.
> 
> Emile Simpson does not presume to show us how to conduct war, but he tells us how to think about it. He saw service in Afghanistan as a young officer in the Gurkhas, and his thinking is solidly rooted in that experience. Like Clausewitz 200 years earlier, Simpson found himself caught up in a campaign for whose conduct nothing in his training had prepared him; and like Clausewitz he realized that to understand why this was so he had to analyse the whole nature of war, from the top down as well as from the ground up. Afghanistan, he concluded, was only an extreme example of the transformation that war has undergone during his lifetime; and that itself is due to the transformation of the societies that fight it.
> 
> Clausewitz saw that the limited wars of the eighteenth century on which he had been brought up had been transformed into the total wars of the Napoleonic era – and all subsequent eras – not by any change in the nature of weaponry, but by the enlistment of “the people”; people whose emotions would distort the rational calculations of governments and the professional expertise of the military, but could never again be left out of account. Now there has been a further change. The paradigm (still largely accepted by Clausewitz) of “bipolar” wars fought between discrete states enjoying the support of their peoples has now been shattered by globalization. Popular support can no longer be taken for granted. “The people” are no longer homogeneous and the enemy is no longer a single entity. Further, “the enemy” is no longer the only actor to be taken into account. The information revolution means that every aspect, every incident of the conflict can be instantly broadcast throughout the world in width and in depth, and received by anyone with access to the internet; including the men in foxholes fighting it.
> 
> All this is common knowledge. It has been treated in dozens of studies based on the unhappy experiences of Iraq and Afghanistan, and has been absorbed into the teaching of staff colleges on both sides of the Atlantic and elsewhere. But no one to the best of my knowledge has previously propounded a theory that explains so clearly the full implications of this transformation, and provides a guide to strategic thinking for the future. Simpson follows Clausewitz in seeing war as “a continuation of politics with an admixture of other means”, but he divides wars into two categories: not the “total” and “limited” wars of Clausewitzian analysis, but those fought “to establish military conditions for a political solution” and those that “directly seek political, as opposed to military, outcomes”. The first are the traditional bipolar conflicts in which all operations are directed to defeating the enemy armed forces and compelling his government to accept our political terms. The second – those in which the British armed forces have been largely engaged for the past half-century – are those where operations themselves are intended to create the necessary political conditions, usually through what are known as counterinsurgency techniques. In the former, strategy, though still directed to an ultimate political objective, is largely driven by the operational needs of “bi-polar” warfare which anyhow come naturally to those engaged in battle. (“For a protagonist to understand combat as anything other than an intensely polarised confrontation”, remarks Simpson with splendid understatement, “is very difficult.”) But in the latter, operations are themselves political tools, used to undermine the adversary, deprive him of political support and if possible to convert him. The people firing on you today may be vital associates tomorrow. But in both, the ultimate object of combat is to convey a message; and to ensure that the message is understood, one has to understand the audience for which it is intended.
> 
> In traditional “bipolar” war between nation states, the ultimate “audience” was the enemy population, which was assumed to be united behind their government and armed forces and therefore only likely to listen to reason once the latter had been defeated – or clearly would be defeated if they were brought to battle. In contemporary conflicts the audience is far more diverse. The adversary is no longer homogeneous, one’s own people may be puzzled and divided, and a significant element in the audience will be spread throughout the world.
> 
> Under such circumstances a military operation intended to convey a message to one audience may mean something quite different to another. Simpson shows how this was so in Afghanistan, where the audience was kaleidoscopic, but one can see its effect in all contemporary operations. The operations of the United States and her allies in the Middle East have been intended to convey to their own peoples and to the international community that they intend to liberate the indigenous populations from their oppressive regimes and bring to them the blessings of “freedom” as the West understands it. But to many on the receiving end (especially those who saw their homes destroyed and their families slaughtered), and to observers elsewhere in the world, it appeared as a neo-imperialist attempt to impose Western hegemony. More recently, the Israeli bombardment of Gaza was intended to show, both to Hamas and to the Israeli electorate, that the Israeli people would tolerate no further aggression against their own population; but to others in the Arab world it has been seen as further evidence that Israel is a cruel and implacable enemy with whom no peace is possible short of her total destruction.
> 
> None of this is new or surprising. No responsible government now uses armed force without calculating the global impact of doing so; deciding, that is, which is “the strategic audience”. But in addressing a strategic audience, Simpson explains, a “strategic narrative” is all-important. This is a public explanation of why one is at war at all, and how the military operations are devised to serve the strategy that will lead to the desired political outcome. Without such a narrative, no government can command the support of its people, nor, indeed, ensure effective planning by its armed forces – to say nothing of gaining the sympathy of “the strategic audience” beyond its own frontiers. The narrative must not only be persuasive in rational terms. It also needs drama to appeal to the emotions. Above all, it needs an ethical foundation. Not only one’s own people, but the wider “strategic audience” must believe that one is fighting a “good” war. The genius of Winston Churchill in 1940 was to devise a strategic narrative that not only inspired his own people, but enlisted the support of the United States: indeed, most of British military operations in the early years of the war were planned with an eye on that strategic audience. The great shortcoming of Hitler’s strategy was his failure to create a strategic narrative that appealed to anyone apart from his own people – and a rapidly decreasing number of them.
> 
> It is impossible to summarize Emile Simpson’s ideas without distorting them. His own style is so muscular and aphoristic that he can concentrate complex arguments into memorable sentences that will have a life of their own. His familiarity with the work of Aristotle and the history of the English Reformation enables him to explain the requirements of a strategic narrative as effectively as his experiences in Afghanistan illuminate his understanding of the relationship between operational requirements and political objectives. In short (and here I shall really go overboard) _War From the Ground Up_ deserves to be seen as a coda to Clausewitz’s _On War_. But it has the advantage of being considerably shorter.
> 
> _Michael Howard’s books include Strategic Deception in the Second World War, 1992, and A Short History of the First World War, 2002. He is the co-editor and translator of Clausewitz On War, 1976._




Far be it from me to argue with Michael Howard, especially about a book I have yet to read, but I will note my agreement with Simpson on one key point: Huntington is still right about generals not having the sort of _strategic_ authority that Douglas MacArthur reserved for himself, but, equally, politicians ought to be denied the sort of _tactical_ authority that many have assumed. There are _lines_, however blurry, between grand strategy, military strategy (which is rarely seen or needed), the operational level of war and tactical operations. Soldiers have neither the skill nor the "skin in the game" to play at the _grand strategy_ level; soldiers and politicians may operate together at the _military strategy_ level ~ think Roosevelt, Stimson and Marshall  for the best ever example of that ~ and politicians ought to be excluded from both the _operational_ and _tactical_ levels except for the fact that they always retain the authority to fire military commanders, with or without "cause."

End of Part 2 of 2


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## dapaterson

Amazon.ca reports that War from the Ground Up will be available just after Thanksgiving.

http://www.amazon.ca/War-Ground-Up-Twenty-First-Politics/dp/019933353X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377360198&sr=8-1&keywords=war+from+the+ground+up


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## Old Sweat

dapaterson said:
			
		

> Amazon.ca reports that War from the Ground Up will be available just after Thanksgiving.
> 
> http://www.amazon.ca/War-Ground-Up-Twenty-First-Politics/dp/019933353X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377360198&sr=8-1&keywords=war+from+the+ground+up



I ordered a copy this morning with delivery in October.


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## Journeyman

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> I ordered a copy this morning with delivery in October.


I just have, as well.  Looking forward to it.


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## Edward Campbell

I finally got my copy of _War From The Ground Up_ and have just started it. I am already convinced that Mr Simpson is a scholar we should welcome and he has ideas with which we must wrestle.


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## Edward Campbell

Update: I'm on my second reading of _"War From The Ground Up"_.

I've had to dig back into Clausewitz - not my strong suit at all! - by reading all the "Clausweitz for Dummies" articles as well as bits of the books, themselves. I also had to reread Samuel Huntington's _"The Soldier and the State"_ because Simpson tears big holes in some of its arguments.

One second reading I am 100% certain that I understand nothing about counter-insurgency ... not even what it is. But I find myself in good company since it appears that everyone with more than two stars in the UK or US Military (and, doubtless the CF, too) are in the same boat.

I just invested in a _Kindle_ edition so that I can read it again while I travel.


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## TerraIncognito

I've been reading One Soldier (https://www.amazon.ca/One-Soldier-Canadian-Soldiers-Against/dp/1443449318/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476202585&sr=8-1&keywords=one+soldier) and it currently seems to be pretty good. 

From Amazon:



> Dillon Hillier, a corporal with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, returned home from a tour in Afghanistan and started up a normal life. But when ISIS insurgents began attacking local populations in Iraq and elsewhere, Hillier, a long-time soldier, felt he had to join in the action, so he sold his truck, lied to his parents about where he was going and became the first Canadian to volunteer to fight ISIS in Iraq
> 
> For three months, Dillon accompanied the Kurdish army as they fought a series of battles against the Islamic State throughout northern Iraq. During his mission, Dillon saw combat, experienced life in the trenches, partnered with a former US Marine, had a bounty placed on his head and learned an important truth: that in the chaos of war, the difference between life and death is measured in inches, and some things can never be forgotten.
> 
> One Soldier is about Hillier’s three months fighting with the Kurds in Iraq, on the front lines. The only reason Dillon’s tour wasn’t longer was because the government wanted him back home, safe and sound.


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## Kirkhill

Not so much What to read but Why to read

http://www.businessinsider.com/general-james-mattis-email-viral-2016-11



> Here's what he (Mattis) wrote, on Nov. 20, 2003:
> 
> "… The problem with being too busy to read is that you learn by experience (or by your men’s experience), i.e. the hard way. By reading, you learn through others’ experiences, generally a better way to do business, especially in our line of work where the consequences of incompetence are so final for young men.
> 
> Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed (successfully or unsuccessfully) before. It doesn’t give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.
> 
> With TF 58, I had w/ me Slim’s book, books about the Russian and British experiences in AFG, and a couple others. Going into Iraq, “The Siege” (about the Brits’ defeat at Al Kut in WW I) was req’d reading for field grade officers. I also had Slim’s book; reviewed T.E. Lawrence’s “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”; a good book about the life of Gertrude Bell (the Brit archaeologist who virtually founded the modern Iraq state in the aftermath of WW I and the fall of the Ottoman empire); and “From Beirut to Jerusalem”. I also went deeply into Liddell Hart’s book on Sherman, and Fuller’s book on Alexander the Great got a lot of my attention (although I never imagined that my HQ would end up only 500 meters from where he lay in state in Babylon).
> 
> Ultimately, a real understanding of history means that we face NOTHING new under the sun. For all the “4th Generation of War” intellectuals running around today saying that the nature of war has fundamentally changed, the tactics are wholly new, etc, I must respectfully say… “Not really”: Alex the Great would not be in the least bit perplexed by the enemy that we face right now in Iraq, and our leaders going into this fight do their troops a disservice by not studying (studying, vice just reading) the men who have gone before us.
> 
> We have been fighting on this planet for 5000 years and we should take advantage of their experience. “Winging it” and filling body bags as we sort out what works reminds us of the moral dictates and the cost of incompetence in our profession. As commanders and staff officers, we are coaches and sentries for our units: how can we coach anything if we don’t know a hell of a lot more than just the TTPs? What happens when you’re on a dynamic battlefield and things are changing faster than higher HQ can stay abreast? Do you not adapt because you cannot conceptualize faster than the enemy’s adaptation? (Darwin has a pretty good theory about the outcome for those who cannot adapt to changing circumstance — in the information age things can change rather abruptly and at warp speed, especially the moral high ground which our regimented thinkers cede far too quickly in our recent fights.) And how can you be a sentinel and not have your unit caught flat-footed if you don’t know what the warning signs are — that your unit’s preps are not sufficient for the specifics of a tasking that you have not anticipated?
> 
> Perhaps if you are in support functions waiting on the warfighters to spell out the specifics of what you are to do, you can avoid the consequences of not reading. Those who must adapt to overcoming an independent enemy’s will are not allowed that luxury.
> 
> This is not new to the USMC approach to warfighting — Going into Kuwait 12 years ago, I read (and reread) Rommel’s Papers (remember “Kampstaffel”?), Montgomery’s book (“Eyes Officers”…), “Grant Takes Command” (need for commanders to get along, “commanders’ relationships” being more important than “command relationships”), and some others. As a result, the enemy has paid when I had the opportunity to go against them, and I believe that many of my young guys lived because I didn’t waste their lives because I didn’t have the vision in my mind of how to destroy the enemy at least cost to our guys and to the innocents on the battlefields.
> 
> Hope this answers your question…. I will cc my ADC in the event he can add to this. He is the only officer I know who has read more than I.
> 
> Semper Fi, Mattis"



And in the vein of nothing new under the sun: this from a Facebook link provided by somebody name of Mark Bossi

https://www.facebook.com/WeAreInLoveForever/videos/1045568018829732/

As I said in the comments - Marius would have been proud of his mules - he would have recognized the tactics.

PS - If you want to dress up square-bashing (Napoleonic Drill) maybe it would be more useful to reinstitute Marian Drill.


----------



## CEDE NULLIS

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Update: I'm on my second reading of _"War From The Ground Up"_.
> 
> I've had to dig back into Clausewitz - not my strong suit at all! - by reading all the "Clausweitz for Dummies" articles as well as bits of the books, themselves. I also had to reread Samuel Huntington's _"The Soldier and the State"_ because Simpson tears big holes in some of its arguments.



Same here. Michael Howard's "Clausewitz: A very short introduction" is guiding my through Simpson's book. 

I am thoroughly impressed thus far.


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## Journeyman

If you like Simpson's book, check out the writings of Hew Strachan (especially _The Direction of War_ ).  Simpson was one of Strachan's students; you'll see many similar, well done approaches.


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## CEDE NULLIS

Journeyman said:
			
		

> If you like Simpson's book, check out the writings of Hew Strachan (especially _The Direction of War_ ).  Simpson was one of Strachan's students; you'll see many similar, well done approaches.



Will do. Thanks for the heads up.


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## Cloud Cover

Little bump here:  is The Kill Chain on anyones reading list?


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## armrdsoul77

Scattering Chaff: Canadian Air Power and Censorship During the Kosovo War - University of Calgary Press
Very interesting book about the CF-18's deployed on Operation Echo the Canadian contribution to the 1999 Kosovo air war. No shortage of examples of how they made it work despite not deploying with everything they needed(such as weapons technicians having to buy bombs from the Americans using government-issued credit cards or how the jets didn't have secure radios and had to endure Celine Dion songs being used to jam their communications.


----------

