Bloody Victory: Canadians and the D-Day Campaign

Paul D. Dickson is a post-doctoral fellow in military history at the
Department of National Defence.

This book, originally released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of
D-Day, is probably the best short popular account of the Canadians’
role in the campaign in Normandy from June 6 to August 20, 1944.
Well-written, opinionated, sympathetic, and thorough, it successfully
integrates a front-line perspective with the strategic and operational
objectives of the senior command. It is also unapologetically and
justifiably proud of the Canadian accomplishment. Following a brief
summary of the context for the invasion of Normandy is the full account
of the army’s experiences, warts and all, from Juno Beach to the
struggle to close the Falaise Gap. In addition, 24 of the many Canadians
decorated during the campaign are profiled, and the Order of Battle of
the Canadian Army in Normandy is outlined.

Bloody Victory was well-received in 1984, and little has been altered
that would reverse that. The most significant addition is a passage that
takes aim at CBC TV’s “The Valour and the Horror,” which portrayed
Operation Spring (specifically the Black Watch’s tragic assault on
Verrieres Ridge on July 25) as symbolic of both the incompetence of the
Canadian senior army command and its casual disregard for the lives of
the men in the front lines. Granatstein and Morton not only successfully
defend the senior command (and especially Lieutenant-General Guy
Simonds, the General Officer Commanding, 2nd Canadian Corps), but also
point out that the1984 edition of Bloody Victory included a detailed
examination of the Verrieres Ridge battle, undermining further “The
Valour and the Horror”’s credibility by putting to rest the
assertion that the story was “untold” until the McKennas stumbled
upon it.

Some captions have been changed and the color plates of Canadian War
Museum paintings have been dropped in this worthwhile second edition.