good books on the CEF

[matthew14]

I am reading Tim Cook's at the sharp end, and shock troops. At the sharp end follows the CEF from 1914-1916. Shock troops follows the CEF from 1917-1918. They don't just follow the battles, they cover soldiers culture, leave,and they make you want to look up, and wipe the mud of Flanders off your hands. These two books are an amazing read, I highly recommend them.

[David Ridgus]

I am reading Tim Cook's at the sharp end, and shock troops. At the sharp end follows the CEF from 1914-1916. Shock troops follows the CEF from 1917-1918. They don't just follow the battles, they cover soldiers culture, leave,and they make you want to look up, and wipe the mud of Flanders off your hands. These two books are an amazing read, I highly recommend them.

Thank you. I really don't know enough about the CEF so will look out for these

David

[matthew14]

That's good, glad I helped!

[SWorrall]

Also see:

Norm Christie's series on the battles of the CEF in the Great War

Copp, Symes & Lachance 'Canadian Battlefields: 1915 - 1918'

Tim Cook 'No place to run: The Canadian Corps and gas warfare in the First World War'

Jeffery Williams 'Byng of Vimy'

A. M.J. Hyatt 'General Sir Arthur Currie'

Daniel Dancocks 'Sir Arthur Currie'

Daniel Dancocks 'Legacy of valour: the Canadians at Passchendaele'

Daniel Dancocks 'Spearhead to victory: Canada and the Great War'

Shane Schreiber 'Shock army of the British Empire: the Canadian Corps in the last 100 days of the Great War'

Tim Cook 'Clio's Warriors: Canadian historians and the writing of the World Wars'

Simon.

[rolt968]

The official history of the CEF, first volume by Aitken/Beaverbrook is downloadable from the archive site. I have read bits of it.

I would be interested in anyone's opinion of it.

Roger.

[matthew14]

The official history of the CEF, first volume by Aitken/Beaverbrook is downloadable from the archive site. I have read bits of it.

I would be interested in anyone's opinion of it.

Roger.

I skimmed through the beggining, it is pretty well written for an official history. I recommend it,espicialy since it is free.

[kenora]

Frank Iriam's book ' In the trenches' is a very good first hand account of almost the whole war by a CEF private, written in the mid 1930s

[matthew14]

I found another book here: http://www.amazon.ca/The-suicide-battalion-James-McWilliams/dp/0888301529

It is about the 46th battalion, CEF. They were deployed in 1916 with 14 officers and 300 other ranks. By the end of the war, they suffered: 1,433 killed and 3,484 wounded. I will get this book soon, and I will post my thoughts on it.

[nigelcave]

The Beaverbrook volumes are not really official. If you can get hold of it and your interest is in the early years (up to the formation of the Corps), then the original official history is that of Col Fortescue Duguid. Alas, only Vol 1 and a large appendices volume, plus maps in a folder at the back, were written before (a) WWII broke out - the first volume was published in 1938. Then Duguid died and the project was never taken up again on the same scale, though Nicholson's single volume history of the CEF is a masterpiece, when one considers that it is a one volume history of such a very substantial contribution to the victory of allied arms. Of all the dominions, Canada was least well served by its post war governments when it came to producing a comprehensive official account (though the government of India was not any better).

[matthew14]

Sorry, my bad. I was thinking of the Nicholson volume.