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of the Navy and Air Force, all describing what they themselves and their units actually
did in support of the plan.
As might be expected, the focus of the discussion switches from pre-landing
activities of the parachute battalions to the actual landing units and the Navy and Air
Force units participating in or supporting the actual beach assault. The hourly chapters
follow the Canadian activities throughout the day, providing a blend of historical analysis
and veterans’ input. The chapters are rich with photographs and maps leaving the
reader with a very good sense of both the location and the environment in which the
battle was being conducted.
Goddard concludes the book with a summary of results and the significance of the
event. He then provides a brief biographical sketch of the veterans who provided the
valuable input to the book, including a current day picture where available. Finally,
Goddard ends the book with a section discussing Canada’s Juno Beach Centre and a
Glossary with pictures of some of the major equipment used by the Canadians during
the Normandy landings.
D-Day: Juno Beach, Canada’s 24 Hours of Destiny provides an excellent tribute to
our veterans and their contribution to defend freedom and democracy. The reader
should not expect there will be an in-depth analysis of Canadian participation at D-Day.
This was not the intended purpose of the book; nor was it ever intended to be by the
author. If there is a fault with the book it is that the reader really does need to have a
good understanding of the Normandy campaign and the Canadian contribution in order
to appreciate the value of the comments made by veterans throughout the book.
Nevertheless this book is a very worthwhile and useful addition to anyone’s library or
book collection.
LOOS 1915: THE UNWANTED BATTLE
CORRIGAN, Gordon. Gloucestershire: Spellmount, 2006, 174 pages. Hard Cover
Canadian Army Journal Vol. 11.1 Spring 2008
Reviewed by Major Andrew B. Godefroy CD, PhD
Despite 90 years and much opportunity to
explore the breadth of the conflict, much of the
operational writing on the British Expeditionary Force
(BEF) has remained focused on the battlefields of the
Somme and Passchendaele. Few historians venture
to examine the year 1915, when the BEF in France
remained very much a junior partner to the French
Army and subservient to its campaign strategy. Its
engagements were considered sideshows in the eyes
of the French high command, and this lack of
recognition towards the BEF during its second year at
war has in many ways persisted to the present day.
In, Loos 1915: The Unwanted Battle, ex-soldier
and historian Gordon Corrigan takes you through one
of the BEF’s toughest engagements on the western
front. He has done a commendable job of presenting
a very readable history of this battle without
sacrificing attention to historical accuracy and detail.