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D-Day Dodgers: Canadians in Italy
excellent book on the history of the Canadian troops and their campaign through Sicily and into Italy, a great read.
- GenresMilitary Fiction
508 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 29, 2022
I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to. Dancocks’s background is journalism. I have a love-hate relationship with the current crop of journalists, at least the ones that I am exposed to as part of my daily life with a newspaper (how archaic), television (really?) and online sources (risky). Journalists seem to write better than academics or historians however they can be weak on their research and superficial, or even wrong, on their history. In this book, Dancocks has deployed all his journalistic skills. Additionally, he has done his research and covered his history well. This has resulted in a well written, easy to read book that covers all the major stories of Canada’s participation in the Italian theatre and gives the reader lots of human interest at all levels: Officer, NCO, and Other Ranks to set the stories. Reading this book, it is useful to be able to distinguish between an army and an Army.
This book, written in 1991, can be compared in some ways with books on this topic written by Mark Zuelhke a decade or two later. Zuelhke’s books are much more detailed than Dancock’s book. They are written primarily at the Company level with a lot of quotes and anecdotes covering NCOs and Other Ranks more than Officers. He personally interviewed a lot of veterans as he wanted to tell the soldiers’ stories. While Dancocks’ interest was primarily the big picture, at the Brigade and Division level, he freely admits that due to the nature of the terrain in Italy, most of the battles were fought at the Battalion level. Companies, Battalions and Brigades are where things happened. There is room for both types of book if you are a keener. If you are looking for one book that might provide big picture lessons still applicable today, I would go with Dancocks’s “The D-Day Dodgers.”
There is some discussion in this book regarding the division of the Canadian army into more than one force. This would necessarily allow portions of the Canadian army to be led, used, and possibly frittered away separately non-Canadians (British) wherever needed. This discussion contributes to useful thought on the needs and training of the Canadian army. There is also some discussion on the conscription controversy that adds little to the topic. Significant value is added by Dancock’s chapter on the elite Canadian-American First Special Service Force. Information on this group is always difficult to find. The information in this book is more than I have found in total in all the previous books I have read. The groups role in the Italian campaign is included where appropriate.
This book is almost entirely about what happened on the battlefields of Italy. It is about what the Canadian Platoons, Companies, Battalions, Brigades, and Divisions did on the battlefields of Italy. Every battle is named and described and every Battalion is named along with its favourite nickname. All the heroic and all the awarded actions are described; the three actions resulting in Victoria Crosses are described in more detail along with their winners. The terrain and weather of each battle is described along with any impact they might have had on the battle.
If you read nothing else, you should find this book and read the Epilogue (15 pages). I CDN Corps was moved from Italy to North-West Europe in 1945 late in the war. These troops may have been among the best in the Allied Armies according to a number of British officers. The 1st CDN Tank Brigade was loaned to British divisions in Sicily and never returned until the Canadians were moved to NW Europe despite numerous requests. Also the 417th RCAF Spitfire Squadron achieved remarkable successes during its time in Italy. Of the entire I CDN Corps and the 417th RCAF Squadron Dandocks quoted “The unique combination of unique military professionalism and teamwork without undue application or presence of unduly stringent and impractical rules, regulations, and formalities always proved to be refreshing and added to the great esprit de corps.” They acted like, and thought of themselves as, the 8th British Army they were really a part of. They took full advantage of its more casual treatment especially when it came to dress and weaponry during battle. It is hard to overstate the importance of morale.
There are things to learn. At more than one place in the book Dancocks cites quotes that Canada has an extremely strong army, trained well up to Company / Battalion level. We do not have enough resources to train as well at the Brigade or Division levels. Corps or Army levels are simply beyond the pale. Dancocks also states that Canada had the most inefficient Army amongst the Allies while we had our Corps in Italy. We were too concerned about our troops being treated exactly the same and having access to the same services in the same way and same timeframes regardless of which Army they fought in. As a result, we essentially duplicated our Army HQ in London into Italy so we could ensure this treatment. It did not work in any case as the I CDN Corps was proud of its association with the storied 8th Army which they emulated. This secondary “headquarters” could have been a source of manpower to ameliorate the reinforcement needs that ultimately resulted in the conscription controversy.
After reading this book during the Russian war on Ukraine, I came away with a bit of insight. The probability of a major war may be low because it is likely to go nuclear. This is why we need to be part of Ballistic Missile Defense. However, the world is likely to continue to see battlefields involving failed states like Afghanistan as well as major wars like Ukraine. Canada needs to have a clear, stable, long-term direction for a foreign policy, always remembering countries don’t have friends they have interests. We will always need armed forces to protect Canada’s interests either directly or by helping other democracies under threat. Among the questions our military needs to answer is “Do we need to train to support an Army?” or “Do we train to support a Corps?” I would never have thought of these questions without reading this book. Some of these issues may be understood better if the structural mandates of 1 CDN Corps developed and fought by General Currie in 1918 are better understood.
Very good book; informative but not pedantic. Everybody who has an interest in how I CDN Corps fought in Italy and lessons learned should read this book. Four stars
This book, written in 1991, can be compared in some ways with books on this topic written by Mark Zuelhke a decade or two later. Zuelhke’s books are much more detailed than Dancock’s book. They are written primarily at the Company level with a lot of quotes and anecdotes covering NCOs and Other Ranks more than Officers. He personally interviewed a lot of veterans as he wanted to tell the soldiers’ stories. While Dancocks’ interest was primarily the big picture, at the Brigade and Division level, he freely admits that due to the nature of the terrain in Italy, most of the battles were fought at the Battalion level. Companies, Battalions and Brigades are where things happened. There is room for both types of book if you are a keener. If you are looking for one book that might provide big picture lessons still applicable today, I would go with Dancocks’s “The D-Day Dodgers.”
There is some discussion in this book regarding the division of the Canadian army into more than one force. This would necessarily allow portions of the Canadian army to be led, used, and possibly frittered away separately non-Canadians (British) wherever needed. This discussion contributes to useful thought on the needs and training of the Canadian army. There is also some discussion on the conscription controversy that adds little to the topic. Significant value is added by Dancock’s chapter on the elite Canadian-American First Special Service Force. Information on this group is always difficult to find. The information in this book is more than I have found in total in all the previous books I have read. The groups role in the Italian campaign is included where appropriate.
This book is almost entirely about what happened on the battlefields of Italy. It is about what the Canadian Platoons, Companies, Battalions, Brigades, and Divisions did on the battlefields of Italy. Every battle is named and described and every Battalion is named along with its favourite nickname. All the heroic and all the awarded actions are described; the three actions resulting in Victoria Crosses are described in more detail along with their winners. The terrain and weather of each battle is described along with any impact they might have had on the battle.
If you read nothing else, you should find this book and read the Epilogue (15 pages). I CDN Corps was moved from Italy to North-West Europe in 1945 late in the war. These troops may have been among the best in the Allied Armies according to a number of British officers. The 1st CDN Tank Brigade was loaned to British divisions in Sicily and never returned until the Canadians were moved to NW Europe despite numerous requests. Also the 417th RCAF Spitfire Squadron achieved remarkable successes during its time in Italy. Of the entire I CDN Corps and the 417th RCAF Squadron Dandocks quoted “The unique combination of unique military professionalism and teamwork without undue application or presence of unduly stringent and impractical rules, regulations, and formalities always proved to be refreshing and added to the great esprit de corps.” They acted like, and thought of themselves as, the 8th British Army they were really a part of. They took full advantage of its more casual treatment especially when it came to dress and weaponry during battle. It is hard to overstate the importance of morale.
There are things to learn. At more than one place in the book Dancocks cites quotes that Canada has an extremely strong army, trained well up to Company / Battalion level. We do not have enough resources to train as well at the Brigade or Division levels. Corps or Army levels are simply beyond the pale. Dancocks also states that Canada had the most inefficient Army amongst the Allies while we had our Corps in Italy. We were too concerned about our troops being treated exactly the same and having access to the same services in the same way and same timeframes regardless of which Army they fought in. As a result, we essentially duplicated our Army HQ in London into Italy so we could ensure this treatment. It did not work in any case as the I CDN Corps was proud of its association with the storied 8th Army which they emulated. This secondary “headquarters” could have been a source of manpower to ameliorate the reinforcement needs that ultimately resulted in the conscription controversy.
After reading this book during the Russian war on Ukraine, I came away with a bit of insight. The probability of a major war may be low because it is likely to go nuclear. This is why we need to be part of Ballistic Missile Defense. However, the world is likely to continue to see battlefields involving failed states like Afghanistan as well as major wars like Ukraine. Canada needs to have a clear, stable, long-term direction for a foreign policy, always remembering countries don’t have friends they have interests. We will always need armed forces to protect Canada’s interests either directly or by helping other democracies under threat. Among the questions our military needs to answer is “Do we need to train to support an Army?” or “Do we train to support a Corps?” I would never have thought of these questions without reading this book. Some of these issues may be understood better if the structural mandates of 1 CDN Corps developed and fought by General Currie in 1918 are better understood.
Very good book; informative but not pedantic. Everybody who has an interest in how I CDN Corps fought in Italy and lessons learned should read this book. Four stars
February 22, 2025
Everything you need to know about Canada in the Italian Campaign.
'The D-Day Dodgers: The Canadians in Italy, 1943–1945' Daniel G. Dancocks describes the Canadian experience in the Italian Campaign of WWII, starting with the Invasion of Sicily in July 1943 and ending with a retrospective on the venture, both from a historical and strategic perspective.
Numbering 438 pages (excluding appendices, index, and footnotes), a reader can learn a lot from the many battles the Canadians fought, like Ortona in December 1943, the regiments and other units including the B.C Dragoons and Seaforth Highlanders, the talks and debates between politicians and strategists like Bernard Montgomery and Albert Kesselring, the various weapons and vehicles, struggles on both sides during the two years of fighting, and the overall legacy of the front.
This being said, I would have appreciated a breakdown of what constituted a platoon, company, battalion, brigade, division, corps, army, and army group on all sides, as what some War of 1812 books do. Two or three pages could have sufficed for this endeavour.
In conclusion, Dancocks wrote a treasure of a work on the topic. I recommend it to all Canadian military history and WWII buffs.
'The D-Day Dodgers: The Canadians in Italy, 1943–1945' Daniel G. Dancocks describes the Canadian experience in the Italian Campaign of WWII, starting with the Invasion of Sicily in July 1943 and ending with a retrospective on the venture, both from a historical and strategic perspective.
Numbering 438 pages (excluding appendices, index, and footnotes), a reader can learn a lot from the many battles the Canadians fought, like Ortona in December 1943, the regiments and other units including the B.C Dragoons and Seaforth Highlanders, the talks and debates between politicians and strategists like Bernard Montgomery and Albert Kesselring, the various weapons and vehicles, struggles on both sides during the two years of fighting, and the overall legacy of the front.
This being said, I would have appreciated a breakdown of what constituted a platoon, company, battalion, brigade, division, corps, army, and army group on all sides, as what some War of 1812 books do. Two or three pages could have sufficed for this endeavour.
In conclusion, Dancocks wrote a treasure of a work on the topic. I recommend it to all Canadian military history and WWII buffs.
November 8, 2025
This was originally my grandfather's book. He was among the D-Day Dodgers. I decided to read it one day and I really enjoyed it. It's a very comprehensive and well-written account of the Italian campaign and you really get a sense of what it was like for those who fought there. The engineers played a critical role, not something that often gets a lot of attention. It's truly sad that the author died so young and that this was his last book. Thanks to it, I will mark Remembrance Day with a greatly increased appreciation of what my grandfather and others did during WWII.
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