Brigade: The Fifth Canadian Infantry Brigade in World War II

by Terry Copp

Battalion- and company-level account of the vital contributions of Canadian soldiers to victory in Europe in World War IIBased on war diaries, casualty reports, and after-action interviewsThe author is one of Canada's preeminent military historiansConsisting of the Calgary Highlanders, the Black Watch, and the French-speaking R�giment de Maisonneuve, the 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade landed in France in early July 1944 as part of British General Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group. That summer, the brigade participated in hellish battles in Normandy, including Caen and Verri�(c)res Ridge. The 5th went on to distinguish itself in Belgium, where it endured foul weather and fierce resistance near Antwerp in October 1944, and ended the war with bloody streetfighting in the towns of Holland.

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Dan McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book I grabbed when a friend got me interested in Flames of War, a table top WW2 miniatures game.

A concise history of the Fifth Canadian Infantry Brigade during WW2. Copp expands his research into two books looking at the entire Canadian Army in WW2 which I am looking forward to reading at some point. The chapters were interspersed with useful maps that detail the battle areas that I found continually thumbing back to while reading.

[Andrew Herbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terry Copp's "The Brigade: The Fifth Canadian Infantry Brigade in World War II" is one of the better unit histories I've had the pleasure of reading. The book focuses on the campaign in Northwest Europe (Normandy, The Netherlands) for this unit after a couple of chapters covering the recruiting, training and preparation of the three component battalions (the Calgary Highlanders, the Royal Highland Regiment of Canada [the Black Watch], and the Régiment de Maisonneuve). The coverage of the attacks around Caen are covered in great detail. The general details of the campaign are laid out then the 5th Brigade actions are described. The text comprises selected anecdotes from battle reports and the unit histories. The text is very readable, going from short sections highlighting the overall campaign and the Generals' view to the Brigade actions. These are given hour by hour, and with a nice balance of the Canadian and opposing German movements.

The book is well illustrated with full-page photos of officers and men of the brigade upon recruitment. Many of the photos are a bit washed out (low contrast) in the paperback edition of the book I have. The photos are new to me, and the captions are accurate as far as vehicles etc. with no misidentified tanks. The book is chock full of maps and contemporary aerial reconnaissance photos with the villages and objectives indicated very clearly. After Normandy, there are more maps covering the Brigade actions, but these are also very well done. The failing of many books is in a lack of sufficient maps, and I've often had to dig through other sources to keep track of unit movements. I found it easy to follow the actions given such thorough visuals. The maps range from campaign scale (Normandy, the race to the Seine, the Channel Ports, the Netherlands etc.) to the numerous excellent aerial photos and maps on a scale of a few kilometers to the inch. The aerial photos are extremely useful.

Overall the book is very well-written, flows nicely, and as I said earlier, ranks among the top unit histories I've read.

[Michael Dorosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique perspective; Canada has produced very few formation level histories. This one is good, if brief, and could have used better maps. The battle of Groningen was Canada's largest divisional level battle of the war - far bigger than Ortona - and gets brushed aside in a page or two, for example. Still, a workable history of the brigade and the three battalions in it - Black Watch, Calgary Highlanders, and the Maisonneuves.

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frequent misspellings and inaccurate captions detract from what is otherwise a thoroughly mediocre book.