The Canadian Army Journal

as a “Villa Rogati dwelling” (p. 38) used by several Patricias to seek refuge; the text was
not clear on its location.
There are no maps in the conventional sense. Images from Google Earth have
been modified to depict major unit or formation movements using lines drawn over the
satellite imagery. This at first seems a wonderful innovation, but upon closer
examination is not. These cover large areas of land and few of the modern major
roadways are identified. Moreover, specific stands and sites described in the text appear
as large blobs covering large areas, of little use to a battlefield tourist trying to navigate
from a car or bus. If the intent were to provide a bird’s eye view, then using photographic
maps similar to those produced after the Second World War for the official histories,
would be of much greater utility, especially as they show the ground more or less as it
appeared and not with 60 years plus of urban development. In addition, the reproduction
technique does not lend itself to sharpness, causing much detail to be lost. This reminds
me of a comment made by a veteran of the Liri Valley, who during an interview described
the gridded aerial photographs of the Liri Valley he received to aid navigation. These
also lacked sharpness and gave a deceiving perspective of the lay of the land; they were
soon discarded for conventional maps. To be fair, most other guidebooks do not have
detailed maps, but they tend to make good use of period or sketch maps to orient the
user to the battlefield and help in moving from point to point. These don’t, although the
map of the town of Ortona, covering a much smaller area than the others, is good.
Without good sketch maps, the driving instructions in this book can be confounding.
For example, rather than using more conventional, helpful terms like “drive west” or “look
to the southeast…” the tour for Ortona states at one point, “return to the road and
continue towards Frisa. You will soon see a sign for Caldari where you will turn sharply
to the right. Before you do, find a vantage point near the turn and look across at Villa
Rogati. A little to the right, you will see a cluster of houses on a spur jutting forward from
Villa Torre” (p. 38). Using these directions in conjunction with the Google Earth maps,
where Frisa, Caldari, Villa Rogati and Villa Torre are but blobs on a photograph, while
bouncing along the Italian countryside, would be enough to send the battlefield tourist
into the nearest gas station in search of a Michelin map.
Despite these criticisms, there is considerable merit in the book, which provides
good synopses of each campaign. There are some curious usages, such as describing
Captain Paul Triquet’s Victoria Cross action at Casa Berardi as “winning the ‘gold
medal’” (p. 43). There are also minor editorial oversights, including typos and the
employment of the 24-hour system as used in Quebec rather than the military system
(12h00 vs 1200h), but then these are minor observations.
The travel information includes many useful tips and offers a selection of
accommodation and dining locations, along with related websites. The list of suggested
reading is excellent. Most guidebooks are produced in a smaller format so they can fit
in a pocket or pouch of a bag, whereas this series is a larger size format (8 ½” x 11”),
which people may find difficult to use in the field.
Overall, the first volume of this series is a good effort. The battle synopses, tour
itineraries and travel information are well done and useful. The only serious failing is the
type of map employed. A more effective guidebook could have been achieved by
focusing more on guidance and less on glossiness.
Canadian Army Journal Vol. 11.1 Spring 2008 125