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list price: $36.95
edition:Hardcover
also available: eBook Paperback Paperback
category: History
published: Oct 2011
ISBN:9781553653257
publisher: Douglas & McIntyre

Breakout from Juno

First Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign, July 4-August 21, 1944

by Mark Zuehlke

tagged: canada, world war ii
Description

The ninth book in the Canadian Battle Series, Breakout from Juno, is the first dramatic chronicling of Canada's pivotal role throughout the entire Normandy Campaign following the D-Day landings.

On July 4, 1944, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division won the village of Carpiquet but not the adjacent airfield. Instead of a speedy victory, the men faced a bloody fight. The Canadians advanced relentlessly against Hitler's finest armoured divisions, at a great cost in bloodshed. Initially, only the 3rd Division was involved, but in a couple of weeks two other Canadian divisions -- 2nd Infantry and 4th Armoured -- along with a Polish division and several British divisions came together as First Canadian Army.

While their generals wrangled and planned, the soldiers fought within a narrow landscape extending a mere 21 miles from Caen to Falaise. The Canadians won a two-day battle for Verri�res Ridge starting on July 21, costing them 1,500 casualties. More bloody battles followed, until finally, on August 21, the narrowing gap that had been developing at Falaise closed when American and Canadian troops shook hands. The German army in Normandy had been destroyed, only 18,000 of about 400,000 men escaping. The Allies suffered 206,000 casualties, of which 18,444 were Canadians.

Breakout from Juno is a story of uncommon heroism, endurance and sacrifice by Canada's World War II volunteer army and pays tribute to Canada's veterans at a time when many Canadians, young and old, are actively engaged in acts of remembrance.

About the Author

Mark Zuehlke is the author of the critically acclaimed Canadian Battle Series and many other books. He has worked as a journalist, been educated as a historian and written award-winning fiction. The Canadian Battle Series is the most detailed accounting of any army during World War II ever written by a single author. In recognition of his work, Mark Zuehlke was awarded the 2014 Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Popular Media (Pierre Berton Award). Zuehlke lives in Victoria, BC.

Awards
  • Short-listed, City of Victoria Butler Book Prize
  • Short-listed, City of Victoria Butler Book Prize
Editorial Reviews

"[Breakout from Juno] is excellent and on par with Zuehlke's other Canadian Battle Series books which strive to present the war through the eyes of the individuals who were there."

— Rocky Mountain Outlook

"Breakout from Juno is the first account of Canada's important role during the Normandy campaign after the D-Day landings...[It's] a story of heroism, endurance and sacrifice by Canada's volunteer army."

— Globe & Mail

"Zuehlke eloquently narrates the intensity of each battle from a Canadian perspective..."

— The Toronto Quarterly

"This is a monumental series of books, each of which presents the events of a particular battle in amazing detail...Zuehlke's research for all his books is meticulous, making use of regimental histories, interviews with veterans and the masses of paper reports that the army produced during the war...In Breakout from Juno he uses this material to recreate each engagement, his writing style effectively capturing the confusion and chaos of warfare...As it stands the book is a fine memorial for these young men, most of whom would otherwise be forgotten."

— Winnipeg Free Press

"a fast-paced, highly readable account of one of Canada's major Second World War campaigns."

— Chronicle Herald
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