The battlefields of France have played an important role in the collective memory and imagination of generations of Canadians. From the great Vimy Pilgrimage of 1936 to the D-Day and VE Day anniversaries of recent times, Canadians have been drawn to the memorials and place names that are a vital part of our history.
This volume starts with the ill-fated Dieppe Raid of 19 August 1942, in which a large Canadian and British amphibious raiding force was decimated by German defenders. It explains why the raid was launched, what occurred, and why it ultimately ended in disaster for those who went ashore.
The book then picks up two years later, after the Normandy Campaign sent the German army in the West into full retreat. Canadian troops pursued the enemy towards the River Seine and the ancient city of Rouen, and then received orders to capture the Channel ports of Boulogne, Calais, Cap Griz Nez, and Dunkirk.
Readers can explore these battles and their legacy though contemporary and modern photographs and maps, including many rarely seen colour photos from the Second World War.
The Canadian Battlefields in Northern France: Dieppe and the Channel Ports is a companion to The Canadian Battlefields in Normandy and The Canadian Battlefields in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
Published by the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies and distributed by Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Mike Bechthold is the managing editor of Canadian Military History and the communications director of the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies. He teaches military history at Wilfrid Laurier University and has published numerous articles on Canada and the Second World War. He has led civilian and military groups on tours of the Canadian battlefields in Europe and has taken thousands of photographs of the battlefields.

Mike Bechthold's profile page

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