Product Description

This text is one of the rare first-hand accounts to come out of this period of the war and covers the Battle of Caen, the closing of the Falaise pocket, through to the crossing of the Seine.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #525954 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1056 pages

Customer Reviews

Gritty WW2 memoir
This book (or rather two books: The Guns of Normandy and The Guns of Victory, combined in one volume) is a memoir by a Canadian Artillery Officer, working as a Forward Observation Officer, of his experiences in Europe in 1944-45, supplemented by interviews with those who fought alongside him.

It is a full and frank account of life in the front line which is definitely not for the squeamish, nor for anyone who thinks that war is a romantic adventure. The brutal savagery of the fighting and the appalling casualty rates (at WW1 levels) suffered by the Canadians are graphically described. The daunting task of attacking in the face of much superior German equipment - especially the dreaded Panther and Tiger tanks - is very clear. Fortunately, the Allied artillery was the one army branch which was demonstrably better than its German equivalent, a factor which undoubtedly helped the Allies to succeed.

Not to be missed by anyone who wants to know what it was really like to fight in that campaign.

An excellent account of the war in Europe after D Day
The cover of this book almost put me off since it appears to depict an American soldier and whilst I have nothing against the Americans, I was looking for a book on the British Normandy experience. However, having read the cover I realised that it was a Canadian artillery officer's account and went ahead with the purchase.

At first I found the author's style of writing a little irritating but as I read on, it quickly became apparent that this really is an outstanding account of front-line artillery in Normandy and beyond to the end of the war. The account is personal, sometimes humerous and very touching in places. It details what life was like in a slit trench under fire and makes no attempt to avoid the horror of war.

The Author fills his account out with interesting detail along the way; about life with V1's in London, detailed artillery practice, the bitter truth about how useless all the allied tanks were, how soldiers were fed and clothed, how men were injured, how they died and how many were buried where they fell.

The account does not always concentrate on detailed battle. The author steps up from time to time to look at the strategic view and I now know and appreciate the Normandy battles far better that I ever did before. It puts some of the more dry strategic accounts into perspective, particularly in terms of explaining why the British and Canadians found it practically impossible to dislodge the Germans around Caen.

Above all, as a British reader I now appreciate how brave and effective the Canadian troops were and what a vital role they played throughout the Normandy and north European campaigns.

Somebody should film this account. It's that good.

Different Class
When buying this book at first glance it's daunting, at over a 1000 words you may be thinking it will take forever to read. However remember that it is in fact two books combined (The Guns of Normandy and The Guns of Victory). The former taking you through the British and Canadian battles around Caen and onto the destruction of the german armies in the falaise gap while the latter follows the allies through Belgium, Holland, France and on into Germany as they finally destroy the nazi regime.

The book is far from a blood and guts action story instead passing on to readers the horrors of war without leaving you feeling suicidal. The casaulty statistics alone show the reader the ferosity of the conflict. The author is able to describe through interviews with his wartime colleages aswell as his own experiences, the never ending firing of the artillary in support of the front line troops, where his own field regiment reached never before seen levels of shell consumption in helping prevent the entire front collapsing.

As a FOO (Forward Observation Officer) He leaves the comparative safety of the guns to serve on the front line directing the guns onto oncoming german attacks or helping with allied pushes. This risky job has huge casultie rates and before long he is the most experienced foo in the Canadian army. Having taken part in several major battles he experiences victories aswell as defeats first hand and close up.

This book will take you through the authors emotions be they humorous or desperate, whilst vividly describing the courage shown by himself and others around him, a must read for anyone even if they have no interest in the military or military history.