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De Canadezen
Aan de hand van 170 foto’s en illustraties, opgevoerde anekdotes en de boeiende verhaaltrant volgt de schrijver niet alleen de Canadezen op de Europese slagvelden, maar geeft het ook inzicht in de persoonlijkheden van de militaire hoofdrolspelers en hun onderlinge verhoudingen. Dit boek gaat over de uiterlijk zorgeloze, vlot geüniformeerde Canadese militairen, die ons land in 1945 bevrijdden. Ze vormden met hun zwierige baretten en ongecompliceerde omgangsvormen een ongekend contrast met de stijf geüniformeerde Duitsers, die in de voorbije vijf jaar het Nederlandse straatbeeld hadden bepaald.
De opmars op Nederlands grondgebied spitste zich in de laatste oorlogsweken toe op doelen in de provincie Drenthe en de bevrijding van de stad Groningen. De acties eindigden met Operatie Canada, de strijd om Pocket Delfzijl, die op 2 mei 1945 werd beslist. Een week later capituleerde het Duitse opperbevel: alle militaire eenheden onder Duits bevel legden hun wapens neer.
De opmars op Nederlands grondgebied spitste zich in de laatste oorlogsweken toe op doelen in de provincie Drenthe en de bevrijding van de stad Groningen. De acties eindigden met Operatie Canada, de strijd om Pocket Delfzijl, die op 2 mei 1945 werd beslist. Een week later capituleerde het Duitse opperbevel: alle militaire eenheden onder Duits bevel legden hun wapens neer.
152 pages, Hardcover
Published March 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 16, 2020
This book, which was recently released in Dutch, tells the story of the role that the Canadian army played during the liberation of the Netherlands.
It follows the army from its roots in history to the start of WWII. This is done in a kind of overview, which is important because it also explains its status in the eyes of the British Army. Next we get to see their first operations like Dieppe, Sicily and the landings in Italy. Again to show where the Canadians were fighting in WWII. Then we move to D-Day and the Canadian advance on the left flank of the main Allied advance. But this 'secondary' advance was important because this swept away the V1 and V2 launch sites and liberated coastal ports along the Channel.
With Antwerp as the next main aim, one expected that this left flank would be used to liberate the port and trap the German 15th Army. And then there was Operation Market-Garden...
After this operation went haywire, the Canadians were used to advance in the eastern parts of the Netherlands and move north. Here many small towns saw bitter fighting and a city like Groningen saw street-to-street combat with remnants of German units that were not laying down arms. This part of the war in northwestern Europe is mostly forgotten.
The book tells this part of the Allied advance in detail and covers actions that are hardly remembered. I would have liked to see more details of this, but overall enjoyed reading the book. A number of pictures used in the book were new to me.
It follows the army from its roots in history to the start of WWII. This is done in a kind of overview, which is important because it also explains its status in the eyes of the British Army. Next we get to see their first operations like Dieppe, Sicily and the landings in Italy. Again to show where the Canadians were fighting in WWII. Then we move to D-Day and the Canadian advance on the left flank of the main Allied advance. But this 'secondary' advance was important because this swept away the V1 and V2 launch sites and liberated coastal ports along the Channel.
With Antwerp as the next main aim, one expected that this left flank would be used to liberate the port and trap the German 15th Army. And then there was Operation Market-Garden...
After this operation went haywire, the Canadians were used to advance in the eastern parts of the Netherlands and move north. Here many small towns saw bitter fighting and a city like Groningen saw street-to-street combat with remnants of German units that were not laying down arms. This part of the war in northwestern Europe is mostly forgotten.
The book tells this part of the Allied advance in detail and covers actions that are hardly remembered. I would have liked to see more details of this, but overall enjoyed reading the book. A number of pictures used in the book were new to me.
Displaying 1 of 1 review