Canadian 1st Army landing Normandy, June 44

[rzafran]

Hello, I am trying to find anything about the Canadian Forces, Canadian 1st Army 2 nd Armored Brigade landing at "Juno" Beach, Normandy, June 1944. I am helping a Canadian Army Normandy Landing vet with his history.

Bob

 

[Michael Dorosh]

The Canadian First Army was not activated until August 1944. Canadian troops landing in Normandy in June were part of the British 2nd Army IIRC.

A visit to your local library will do wonders for you - they have wonderful things called books.

Start with C.P. Stacey and "The Victory Campaign" or "The Canadian Army 1939-1945". Check out "Bloody Victory" by J.L. Granatstein and Desmond Morton also.

 

[rceme_rat]

Now, now - a little patience is in order. He‘s writing from California. How much interest do you think the local library there is going to have in Canadian history? He‘ll probably have to order books in on this topic - which will take access to www.indigo.ca. Then again, being in California, they might have moved beyond books in the assumption that everything is silicon now.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Whoops - should have noted the address, good call.

A decent university library should still have Canadian books - we have many volumes of American official history in our university libraries here.

If not, I am afraid Stacey is out of print, but Granatstein and Morton‘s book is still in print.

Also try John English who wrote a book on Canadians in Normandy whose title escapes me. (1944: Canadian Summer??)

Also Terry Copp has written many books that are still in print, though not necessarily specific to the landings themselves.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1895555566/qid=1019673349/sr=1-37/ref=sr_1_37/002-8363709-2780018

Looks like Bloody Victory is out of print now, too.

If you have specific questions, we can try and answer them here, or feel free to visit my forum at http://www.canadiansoldiers.com

Were you interested in specific dates, battles, units? There is some info no order of battle, etc., at my site but not too terribly much at the moment.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Were you interested in specific dates, battles, units? There is some info no order of battle, etc., at my site but not too terribly much at the moment.

I can give you the order of battle of 3rd Canadian Division if you like; I have detailed info on artillery batteries that participated, and have a fairly full bibliography of regimental histories of infantry and armoured units that landed on D-Day.

There is also a page on commanding generals of the Third Division on my site, if that is of any interest.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Directorate of History and Heritage has placed some historical documents online:

http://www.dnd.ca/hr/dhh/history_archives/engraph/online_e.asp?cat=4

Choose "CMHQ Reports, 1940-1948". #147, and perhaps #131, may be of specific interest. You will need Acrobat Reader if you haven‘t already downloaded it (free).