Corps Commanders: Five British and Canadian Generals at War, 1939-45

by Douglas E. Delaney

Corps Commanders examines how five strikingly dissimilar British and Canadian generals fought battles and fit into the British Empire armies of the Second World War. The three Canadians controlled British formations and served under British army commanders, and the two Britons worked for and led Canadians as well. Such inter-army adjustments were fairly simple because all Anglo-Canadian commanders and staffs spoke the military language of the Camberley and Quetta staff colleges. Gunners from Montreal understood guardsmen from London – no small advantage when coordinating coalition battles involving thousands of troops. Delaney’s book offers invaluable insight into interoperability and how men animate armies in war.

Genres: World War II

408 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Thor Toms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good study of five Corps commanders during the Second World War and how the common British system enabled general officers to move between British and Canadian formations.

[Edgar Raines · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant study of corps command by three Canadian officers and two British officers who commanded corps in the 1st Canadian Army. Delaney offers brilliant insights not only into five very different individuals but also in the nature of the interwar Canadian Permanent Force and the wartime Canadian and to a lesser extent British Armies. That said this is very much a work for someone already read into at the very least operations in Western Europe and/or the Canadian Army.

[Ryan Wulfsohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, I would recommend it for anyone interested in the operations and higher command of the British and Canadian Armies in WW2.