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

Canadian Battle #3

by Mark Zuehlke

Stretching like an armor-toothed belt across Italy's upper thigh, the Gothic Line was the most fortified position the German army had yet thrown into the Allied forces' path. On August 25, 1944, it fell to Canadian troops to spearhead a major to rip through that fiercely defended line. This gripping chronicle tells, through the eyes of the soldiers who fought there, of the twenty-eight-day clash that ultimately ended in glory for the Canadians.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military Fiction, Italy, Canada, Military History

552 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

On January 1, 1981, Mark Zuehlke walked away from a journalism career to pursue magazine and book writing fulltime. He has never looked back. In 1992, Mark published his first book—Magazine Writing From the Boonies (co-authored with Louise Donnelly)—and now concentrates almost exclusively on writing of books.

Fascinated by Canada’s military heritage, Mark first set to writing about the role Canadians played in World War II after discussing the Battle of Ortona with several veterans in a Royal Canadian Legion following a Remembrance Day Ceremony in Kelowna, B.C. Discovering no book had been written on this pivotal battle, Mark decided to fill that gap. Ortona: Canada’s Epic World War II Battle was the result. The book’s success encouraged him to develop The Canadian Battle Series, which documents the Canadian World War II experience and has resulted in his being declared by Jack Granatstein as the nation’s leading popular military historian.

Mark is also an award winning mystery writer, whose popular Elias McCann series has garnered much critical praise. Set in storm-swept west coast Vancouver Island village of Tofino, the series follows the investigations of reluctant community coroner Elias McCann. Hands Like Clouds, the debut title in this series, won the Crime Writers of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award for the 2000 Best First Novel and the third instalment, Sweep Lotus, was nominated for the 2004 Arthur Ellis Best Novel.

When not writing, this Victoria, British Columbia resident can often be found tinkering around the Fernwood heritage house he shares with partner and fellow writer Frances Backhouse. He enjoys hiking, backpacking, cycling, kayaking, travelling, and cooking.

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fourth of Zuehlke's series on the Canadian armed forces' actions during WWII that I have read this year. His ability to construct captivating reccountings through strong use of personal accounts no doubt is the reason for my sheer enjoyment of this series. I cannot wait to start my fifth entry!

[Bernie Charbonneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe that I have reviewed the previous books in this series so this is an overall evaluation. This is by far the most detailed, researched set of books I believe I have read concerning the operation of the CEF in the Italian Campaign. If you want knowledge on how the Canadians manuvered itself along the Adriatic coast from positioning of its divisions all the way to its platoons, then this is the author for which I recommend reading. Yes, at times it may seem a challenge to trudge through pages of names and numbers but as you read, or I should state, I found myself looking to see what has developed with this particular company or individual.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in Chapters, saw this book, and I know Mark Zuehlkes books well. I flipped to the back to see if there was a chance my father would be mentioned and there were almost a dozen pages references. My wife found me about twenty minutes later, with tears in my eyes, reading my father's words.

R

[Tim Barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark is the best writer I have read in a long time that captures our Canadian WW2 experience in amazing detail, right down to unit actions. His whole series is a must read for all Canadians.

[Davina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Mark Zuehlke's works. I think he compares favorably with Stephen Ambrose for his style and clarity, and for the way he weaves together personal narratives to make a compelling story. I find his work to be a good front line view of these campaigns, but they aren't necessarily the overviews which cover all the political angles, and carefully described strategy and tactics. So, I won't read these without some background, else I would miss out on the fullness of these stories. Certainly left me wanting to walk the battlefields to better understand the geography. Not that he did a bad job of describing the challenges the geography presented, but, in many ways it sounds lovely, if it weren't for the carnage that went on, of course.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid Mark Zuehlke book. You are left with a good understanding of the ebb and flow of the battle, the human characters involved and perhaps most importantly a strong feeling of admiration and sadness for the tenacity and perseverance demonstrated and the death and suffering endured.

[Ben GS · Rating 4 out of 5]

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