Breakout from Juno: First Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign, July 4–August 21, 1944

With its trademark “you are there” style, Mark Zuehlke’s ninth book in the best-selling Canadian Battle Series graphically describes First Canadian Army’s bitter and costly combat debut in World War II — the breakout from Normandy’s beaches to the closure of the Falaise Gap.

On July 4, 1944, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division won the village of Carpiquet but not the adjacent airfield. Instead of a speedy victory, the men faced a bloody fight. The Canadians advanced relentlessly against Hitler’s finest armoured divisions, at a great cost in bloodshed. Initially, only the 3rd Division was involved. But in a couple of weeks two other Canadian divisions —  2nd Infantry and 4th Armoured — along with a Polish division and several divisions of I British Corps came together as First Canadian Army.

While their generals wrangled and planned, the soldiers fought within a narrow landscape extending a mere twenty-one miles from Caen to Falaise. The Canadians won a two-day battle for Verrières Ridge starting on July 21, costing them 1,500 casualties. More bloody battles followed, until finally, on August 21, the narrowing gap that had been developing at Falaise closed when American, Polish, and Canadian troops shook hands. The German army in Normandy had been destroyed, less than 50,000 of about 400,000 men escaping. The Allies suffered 206,000 casualties, of which 18,444 were Canadians.

Breakout from Juno is a story of uncommon heroism, endurance and sacrifice by Canada’s World War II volunteer army. It pays tribute to Canada’s veterans at a time when many Canadians, young and old, are actively engaged in acts of remembrance.

Published by Douglas & McIntyre, 2011: 513 pages.

Reviews:

Winnipeg Free Press

This is a monumental series of books, each of which presents the events of a particular battle in amazing detail. The exploits of the Canadian Army during the war have often been lost among the flood of books, movies and television documentaries about the American and British forces. Zuehlke's efforts right this wrong and ensure that the bravery and sacrifice of the Canadians will be remembered...Zuehlke's research for all his books is meticulous, making use of regimental histories, interviews with veterans and the masses of paper reports that the army produced during the war. In Breakout from Juno he uses this material to recreate each engagement, his writing style effectively capturing the confusion and chaos of warfare. He presents a seemingly endless parade of Canadian soldiers, naming them, describing their actions that are often extraordinarily heroic, and sometimes telling us how they died.

Rocky Mountain Outlook, Canmore, AB

In what is the first major account of Canada’s role during this period of the war, Breakout From Juno is a challenging and difficult book, as it reflects in extensive detail what was a complex two months of the war. But that doesn’t mean this is a poorly written or researched book. Not at all. It is excellent and on par with Zuehlke’s other Canadian Battle Series books which strive to present the war through the eyes of the individuals who were there.

Victoria Times Colonist

Another great chronicle from award-winning local author Mark Zuehlke. Zuehlke examines Canada's heroic, costly and successful efforts that ultimately led the Allies to victory in the Second World War.

On To Victory: The Canadian Liberation of the Netherlands, March 23-May 5, 1945

March 23, 1945. Tens of thousands of Allied troops, following on the heels of a massive artillery barrage, lunge across the Rhine River aboard amphibious craft, while even more land from the skies. Operations Plunder and Varsity aimed to smash the German forces determined to stop this crossing, which sought to unleash a breakout into the heartland of Germany and the Netherlands and bring about a rapid end to the war.

On the left flank of Plunder, First Canadian Army thrusted into the westernmost corner of Germany and advanced into the Netherlands to free the Dutch people from a tyrannical Nazi occupation. In much of the Netherlands, the population was on the brink of starvation, a disastrous humanitarian crisis imminent.

For the millions of Dutch facing imminent starvation, the period of their liberation, from March 23 to May 5, 1945, is “the sweetest of springs.” But for the Canadians fighting a series of fierce, desperate battles in these last months of the war, it was bittersweet. A nation’s freedom was being won and the war concluded, but these final hostilities ultimately cost First Canadian Army 6,289 casualties, of which 1,481 were fatal

These numbers would have been far higher had it not been for one of the war’s most highly guarded secrets—a clandestine agreement with the German command in the Netherlands to allow the Allies to deliver food to the people in western Holland—where the country’s largest cities were situated—in exchange for a ceasefire in that area. Food supplies were virtually exhausted, and the Germans had threatened to open the dykes and flood the entire region if they were attacked. Only skillful negotiation with these German leaders prevented a catastrophe.

But on other fronts, the Canadians continued the grim fight to liberate the rest of Holland and to drive into northern Germany as part of the Allied push to end the war. During the forty-eight days from the start of the Rhine crossings, Canadian troops faced some of their toughest fighting. Repeatedly, at such towns as Bienan, Speldrop, Zutphen, and Deventer and in the major Dutch city of Groningen, they were embroiled in costly large-scale street fighting. And on the other side of each of the multitude of canals or rivers—whose dykes provide ideal defences—the Germans waited calmly for the attack. Each day the casualties mounted, while the tension of a war nearly over increased. Would the last man to fall today be the war’s final casualty?

With his trademark “you are there” style that draws upon official records, veteran and Dutch civilian memories, and a keen understanding of the combat experience, Mark Zuehlke brings to life this final chapter in the story of Canada in World War II, in time for the 65th anniversary of Holland’s liberation by Canadian troops.

Published by Douglas & McIntyre, 2010:526 pages.

Reviews:

Quill & Quire:

Zuehlke "writes brilliantly, maintaining a fine balance between objective operational fact and human detail, providing the reader with the emotional resonance necessary to understand what happened, not just know what happened." On To Victory continues thhis approach, expertly blending official reports with first-hand accounts to create a fast--paced, exciting read...With On To Victory, Zuehlke continues building a canon all his own."

Canada's History--Review by Tim Cook

"Zuehlke succeeds in finding that middle ground between writing academic history and relying exclusively on strung-together eyewitness accounts. This is good history, told well, and makes for powerful reading...The raw sights of battle, the cacophny of sounds, the stench of the dead--it is all here in its full brutality."

Victoria Times-Colonist:

"Zuehlke is able to pull together hundreds of stories from different people who were there and turn them into a highly readable account of some of the pivotal days of the war. He also helps to explain the remarkable bond between Canada and the Netherlands that came to life during the fighting and has only grown stronger in the six day's since the war's end...as valuable as his battle series is today, it will only become more important in the years to come."

Focus:

"Zuehlke's diligent pursuit of detail in official and personal sources--including regimental histories, veteran memoirs, interviews and accounts from designated brigade war diaries--means that we don't just get the movement of troops and he planning of operations. Rather, the reader is virtually wearing the soldier's uniform, in his boots and in his mind, which makes for an exceptionally immediate and personal experience."

Operation Husky: The Canadian Invasion of Sicily, July 10–August 7, 1943

Published by Douglas & McIntyre, 2008: 492 pages.

Reviews:

The Globe & Mail—“This volume and, indeed the entire [Canadian Battle] series, can only cement Zuehlke’s position as among our foremost chroniclers of Canada at war.”

Daily Graphic, Nov. 8, 2008—“Zuehlke's attention to tactical detail is a signature of his work. From first-hand accounts of veterans combined with official military records, the author paints vivid battlefield portraits with his prose."

Terrible Victory: First Canadian Army and the Scheldt Estuary Campaign, September 13–November 6, 1944

On September 13, 1944, First Canadian Army’s most horrific battle of World War II began, in the mud-soaked Belgian and Dutch lowland country bordering the West Scheldt estuary near Antwerp. This sixty-mile waterway linking Europe’s greatest port to the North Sea was crucial to support the vast Allied armies rolling toward Germany. The advance was grinding to a halt for want of supplies.

Told to open Antwerp at any cost, First Canadian Army slammed hard against heavily entrenched German forces ordered to die in place. For 55 days, a titanic contest between two equally determined foes ensued—fought at close quarters in ground devoid of protective cover and in appalling conditions where each day was colder and wetter than the one before.

Published by Douglas & McIntyre, 2007:  545 pages.

Reviews:

The Toronto Star—“Victoria's Mark Zuehlke is nothing if not prolific…Another new Zuehlke book chronicles a vicious conflict with a name - the Scheldt Estuary - that will be horribly familiar to many of those at the Old City Hall ceremonies this morning [November 11]. The savage two-month battle to free the crucial waterway linking the port of Antwerp to the North Sea is told in Terrible Victory: The first Canadian Army and the Scheldt Estuary Campaign, September 13- November 6, 1944.”

The Globe & Mail—“Zuehlke tells the story well, and his work is a welcome addition to Second World War literature on the subject.”

Esprit de Corps—“Zuehlke has produced another winner. Terrible Victory covers the little known series of battles to wrest the strategically vital Scheldt estuary from the Germans….it was a tough grinding slog that resulted in more Canadian deaths than any other battle in the war. Zuehlke brings this story to light in his inimitable style.”

Holding Juno: Canada's Heroic Defence of the D-Day Beaches: June 7—12, 1944

As June 6, 1944 passed into history, the Allied battle to hold onto the French soil won on D-Day began. Six miles inland from Juno Beach, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division had advanced, at great cost in lives, farther than any other Allied division. But an even grimmer, bloodier fight than winning the beach awaited. Infantry and tankers now slammed head-on into the fury of the 12th SS (Hitlerjugend) Panzer Division, which was determined to hurl the invaders back into the sea. For six days, the outcome hung in the balance as the Canadians and fanatical Hitler Youth engaged in close-quarters battle neither side could afford to lose. Holding Juno dramatically retells this all-or-nothing battle that decided the fate of the Normandy invasion.

Published by Douglas & McIntyre, 2005:  423 pages.

Awards:

2006 City of Victoria Butler Book Prize Winner

Reviews:

The Globe and Mail: "a meticulous, often gripping story.. The scenes recounted here sometimes make the film The Longest Day seem tame by comparison.. an eloquent accounting."

The Victoria Times-Colonist: "Zuehlke's skill lies in selecting sufficient detail to paint an effective picture without bogging us down in too much minutiae."

Quill & Quire: "Mark Zuehlke has emerged as Canada's pre-eminent writer of popular military history. Holding Juno, the follow-up to Juno Beach.. only confirms that accolade...Holding Juno brings to the battle narrative a breathtaking and unparalleled level of detail... Offering long overdue recognition for the [Canadian] efforts, Zuehlke has done a great service in excellent form."

Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944

By dawn of June 6, 1944, the rough seas facing three small resort towns in Normandy bristled with an immense armada. More than 6,500 ships prepared to disembark Allied troops in a do-or-die effort: D-Day. The 14,500 Canadians among them were to take "Juno Beach," a five-mile-long stretch protected by a seawall, barbed wire, underwater obstacles, hundreds of mines and heavily armed German forces inside concrete bunkers, fortified houses, and trenches.

This book recreates this pivotal day of World War II, from planning through attack. Falling through a black night, praying to land on target were the newly trained Canadian paratroopers, among the first Allies on French soil. Canadian soldiers, most untested in battle, crossed the English Channel during a night storm and ran off landing craft into a deadly sea. Juno Beach is their story, shared at last in the rich detail their achievement deserves.

Published by Douglas & McIntyre, 2004:  414 pages.

Awards:

Editor's Choice Award Winner for 2004 by Stone and Stone World War II Books.

2005 City of Victoria Butler Book Prize Finalist

Reviews:

J. L. Granatstein, International Journal: "The Book flows smoothly and is a terrific read, and he gives full weight to the air and naval aspects of Operations Overlord. There can be no doubt that...Juno Beach is...indispensable for anyone studying the events of 60 years ago."

Quill & Quire: "destined to become the defining popular history of Canada's D-Day battle. No other battle narrative comes close to the breadth and depth of detail, nor the clarity of presentation."

Ottawa Citizen: "a fine literary accomplishment. Zuehlke successfully recreates that fateful day."

Edmonton Journal: "An exciting and moving narrative.. It is distinctive in elevating the Canadians from footnote status to tell their own story."

The Gothic Line: Canada's Month of Hell in World War II Italy

In this third volume of his critically acclaimed trilogy tracing Canada's involvement in World War II's Italian campaign, Mark Zuehlke vividly recounts the Battle of the Gothic Line. The line was meant to be impregnable, a final fortified position that would enable the battered German divisions to bring the Allied advance up Italy's boot to a decisive halt. On August 25, 1944, it fell to the soldiers of I Canadian Corps to spearhead the British Eighth Army's attempt to rip a hole in the line.

For the next twenty-eight days, the men of 1st Canadian Infantry Division and 5th Canadian Armoured Division slugged their way through a rugged killing ground in the most costly battle of the campaign. The Gothic Line portrays the horror, the fear, the courage, and ultimately the glory that Canadians won on this remote battlefield.

Published by Douglas & McIntyre, 2003:  550 pages.

Awards:

Shortlisted for the 2003 B.C. Book Prizes Hubert Evans Award for Non-Fiction.

Editor's Choice Award Winner for 2003 by Stone and Stone World War II Books.

Reviews:

Canadian Military Review: “Zuehlke has written a riveting story about Canadians in battle, organizing veterans’ recollections of the campaign to tell us what it was like to fight a determined enemy across the valleys and mountains of Italy…. In just four years, Mark Zuehlke has produced three first-rate volumes of lively and accessible prose treating the Canadian Army in the Italian campaign. This is an impressive contribution to Canadian military historiography, where the gaze continues to be fixed on the European Theatre in the Second World War. Indeed, Mark Zuehlke has been a D-Day Dodger and we are better informed for it.”

Esprit de Corps: "The Gothic Line is a masterpiece."

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

For the Allied armies fighting their way up the Italian boot in early 1944, Rome was the prize that could be won through one of the greatest offensives of the war. The Liri Valley was a long, flat corridor through miles of rugged mountains. At one end stood the formidable Monte Cassino, at the other, Rome. In May 1944, I Canadian Corps drove up this valley toward the Italian capital, facing the infamous "Hitler Line" a bastion of concrete bunkers fronted by wide swaths of tangled barbed wire, minefields, and "Tobruk" weapon pits. The ensuing battle resulted in Canada's single bloodiest day of the Italian Campaign. But the sacrifice of young Canadians during the twenty-four days of relentless combat it took to clear the valley paved the way for the Allies to take Rome.

The Liri Valley is testament to the bravery of such Canadians as Victoria Cross-winning Jack Mahony, Panzer killer Private J.A. Thrasher, and the badly wounded Pierre Potvin who survived more than thirty hours alone in the hell of no man's land. This book, like the battle it records, will live long in readers' memories. Published by Douglas & McIntyre, 2003: 492 pages.

Reviews:

London Free Press: "This book is must reading…it is a riveting, often hair-raising account of mechanized warfare and the death, destruction and heartache it entailed."

Globe And Mail: "An exquisitely detailed database of veterans' experiences that's tied together by an elegant, respectful and tellingly brutal narrative of war on the ground."

Ortona: Canada's Epic World War II Battle

In one blood-soaked, furious week of fighting, from December 20 to December 27, 1943, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division took Ortona, Italy, from elite German paratroopers ordered to hold the medieval port town at all costs. Infantrymen serving in the Loyal Edmonton Regiment and the Seaforth Highlanders, supported by tankers of the Three Rivers Regiment, moved from house to house in hand-to-hand combat amid heavy shelling and wrested the town from the grip of the fierce German defenders. When the vicious battle was over, 2,339 Canadians were dead or wounded. But the town that had become known as "Little Stalingrad" was now in Allied hands.

Ortona brings Canada's first major triumph of the war to life in dramatic, suspenseful narrative, weaving reminiscences of the Canadians, Germans, and Italians who were there together with a blow-by-blow account of the fighting that raged throughout December 1943 from the Moro River Valley past the infamous Gully and finally into the streets of Ortona itself. It is a masterful work a story told from the soldier's-eye view.

Published by Douglas & McIntyre, 1999:  443 pages.

Reviews:

Book-of-the-Month Club: "Destined to become a Canadian military history classic."

Esprit de Corps magazine: "This reviewer was astonished at the way Zuehlke's pen has grasped the realities of the battle.. brings the battle for Ortona and the men who fought it back to life."

Toronto Star: "Mark Zuehlke's grindingly researched book is a heart-stopping, intimate look at all the brutal excesses of war.. Infantry and tank warfare comes alive in Zuehlke's hands."

The Globe and Mail: "Mark Zuehlke conveys the apocalyptic feel of the battle in agonizing detail and recounts the exploits and sacrifice of 1st CID with extraordinary thoroughness."