More Fighting for Canada: Five Battles, 1760–1944

Serge Durflinger is an assistant professor of history at the University
of Ottawa. His latest book is Lest We Forget: A History of the Last Post
Fund, 1909-1999.

This is the second in a series of in-depth battle reconstructions edited
by Donald Graves. Each presentation uses the same formula: a detailed
tactical account of the battle followed by a description of the
battlefield as it appears today. Very helpful Orders of Battle for all
participants appear as appendixes. Because the disparate battles
described span two centuries, Graves provides skeletal “interlude”
history to fill in the chronological gaps. The authors are all serving
or former army officers, a fact reflected in the narrative style.

Ian McCulloch’s excellent account of the underexplored Battle of
Ste-Foy in 1760 (which he insists on terming the Battle of Sillery)
shows that New France still had some punch following its defeat at the
Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Ultimately, though, no amount of
tactical success and battlefield prowess could overturn Britain’s
strategic mastery in North America. Robert Caldwell’s fascinating and
well-researched piece on the 1885 action at Cut-Knife Hill during the
Northwest Campaign borrows heavily from participants’ long-neglected
accounts. His provision of a coherent First Nations perspective is
probably of greater historical impact than his minutely detailed battle
narrative. Like others before him, Caldwell cannot precisely identify
Colonel William Otter’s motivations for seeking to engage the Cree in
the first place.

Brian Reid’s article on the 1900 Battle of Paardeberg, during the
South African War, offers nothing new. Michael McNorgan provides a solid
contribution with his vivid retelling of the Battle of Iwuy in
1918—the only World War I engagement pitting Canadian troops against
German tanks, and one that featured the last Canadian cavalry charge.
John Grodzinski’s celebratory account of the Battle for the Melfa
Crossing in Italy in 1944 is interesting and emotively presented. His
detailed description of the organization of a Canadian armoured division
is especially noteworthy.

The commonality in these accounts is perhaps that all battles are
inherently confusing, battlefield decision-making is extremely
difficult, and the nature of the terrain powerfully influences all
engagements’ occurrences and outcomes. The numerous maps, diagrams,
and illustrations by Christopher Johnson are simply terrific. Although
it does not always introduce new information, the book remains a welcome
addition to the literature.