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History General

Fields of Fire

The Canadians in Normandy: Second Edition

by (author) Terry Copp

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Apr 2014
Category
General, Canada, World War II
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780802037800
    Publish Date
    Jul 2004
    List Price
    $40.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802037305
    Publish Date
    Jun 2003
    List Price
    $56.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442690509
    Publish Date
    Jul 2004
    List Price
    $36.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442674875
    Publish Date
    Nov 2005
    List Price
    $63
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781442626553
    Publish Date
    Apr 2014
    List Price
    $48.95

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Description

With Fields of Fire, Terry Copp challenges the conventional view that the Canadian contribution to the Battle of Normandy was a “failure” – that the allies won only through the use of brute force, and that the Canadian soldiers and commanding officers were essentially incompetent. His detailed and impeccably researched analysis of what actually happened on the battlefield portrays a flexible, innovative army that made a major, and successful, contribution to the defeat of the German forces in just seventy-six days.

Challenging both existing interpretations of the campaign and current approaches to military history, Copp examines the Battle of Normandy, tracking the soldiers over the battlefield terrain and providing an account of each operation carried out by the Canadian army. In so doing, he illustrates the valour, skill, and commitment of the Allied citizen-soldier in the face of a well-entrenched and well-equipped enemy army.

This new edition of Copp’s best-selling, award-winning history includes a new introduction that examines the strategic background of the Battle of Normandy.

About the author

Terry Copp is the director of the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies and a professor emeritus at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is the author or co-author of fourteen books and many articles on the Canadian role in the Second World War, including travel guides to the Canadian battlefields. Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy won the 2004 Distinguished Book Award for non-US history from the American Society for Military History.

Matt Symes is a PhD candidate at Wilfrid Laurier University. He works as the publications manager for the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies and as the online editor for canadianmilitaryhistory.ca. With Eric McGeer, Matt has published three Battlefield Guides on the Italian Campaign in the Second World War.

Nick Lachance is a mature student finishing his BA in Honours History at Wilfrid Laurier University. As a research assistant at LCMSDS he manages the digitization of the 300,000 Second World War aerial reconnaissance photographs the center has in its possession. A freelance photographer and photojournalist, many of Lachance’s photos appear in this and other LCMSDS publications.

Terry Copp's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Fields of Fire is a history that sets the standard for Canadian Second World War scholarship.”

International Journal

“Copp has done a great service to Canadian military historians.”

The Globe and Mail

“Essential, stimulating, and rewarding reading.”

War in History

“A must read for those interested in the Second World War or military history in general.”

The Canadian Historical Review