Holding Juno : Canada's heroic defence of the D-Day beaches ; June 7-12, 1944

Following his national best-seller, __Juno Beach__, and with his usual verve and narrative skill, historian Mark Zuehlke chronicles the crucial six days when Canadians saved the vulnerable beachheads they had won during the D-Day landings. D-Day ended with the Canadians six miles inland — the deepest penetration achieved by Allied forces during this longest day in history. But for all the horror endured on June 6 every soldier knew the worst was yet to come. The Germans began probing the Canadian lines early in the morning of June 7 and shortly after dawn counter attacked in force. The ensuing six days of battle was to prove bloodier than D-Day itself. Although battered and bloody, the Canadians had held their ground and made it possible for the slow advance toward Germany and eventual Allied victory to begin. __Holding Juno__ recreates this pivotal battle through the eyes of the soldiers who fought it, with the same dramatic intensity and factual detail that made __Juno Beach__, in the words of __Quill & Quire__ reviewer Michael Clark, “the defining popular history of Canada’s D-Day battle.” A masterful retelling one of the major victories of Canadian troops over the German armys elite division during WWII. In one blood-soaked, furious week of fighting, from December 20 to December 27, 1943, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division took the town of Ortona, Italy, from elite German paratroopers ordered to hold the medieval port town at all costs. Infantrymen serving in the Loyal Edmonton Regiment and the Seaforth Highlanders, supported by tankers of the Three Rivers Regiment, moved from house to house in hand-to-hand combat amid heavy shelling and wrested the town from the grip of the fierce German defenders. Getting into Ortona had been a battle of its own. Ortona, the pearl of the Adriatic, stands on a promontory impregnable from three sides, with seacliffs on the north and east, and a deep ravine on the west. The Canadian infantrymen, drawn from virtually every corner of Canada, attacked from the south under the command of Major-General Chris Vokes, fighting across narrow gullies, mud-choked vineyards and olive groves, into the narrow streets of Ortona itself. When the vicious battle was over, 2605 Canadians were dead or wounded. But the town that had become known as "Little Stalingrad" was now in Allied hands. Following His National Best-seller, Juno Beach, And With His Usual Verve And Narrative Skill, Historian Mark Zuehlke Chronicles The Crucial Six Days When Canadians Saved The Vulnerable Beachheads They Had Won During The D-day Landings. D-day Ended With The Canadians Six Miles Inland {u2014} The Deepest Penetration Achieved By Allied Forces During This Longest Day In History. But For All The Horror Endured On June 6 Every Soldier Knew The Worst Was Yet To Come. The Germans Began Probing The Canadian Lines Early In The Morning Of June 7 And Shortly After Dawn Counter Attacked In Force. The Ensuing Six Days Of Battle Was To Prove Bloodier Than D-day Itself. Although Battered And Bloody, The Canadians Had Held Their Ground And Made It Possible For The Slow Advance Toward Germany And Eventual Allied Victory To Begin. Holding Juno Recreates This Pivotal Battle Through The Eyes Of The Soldiers Who Fought It, With The Same Dramatic Intensity And Factual Detail That Made Juno Beach, In The Words Of Quill & Quire Reviewer Michael Clark, ?the Defining Popular History Of Canada{u2019}s D-day Battle.? Mark Zuehlke. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 401-409) And Index. On June 6, 1944 the greatest armada in history stood off Normandy and the largest amphibious invasion ever began as 107,000 men aboard 6,000 ships pressed toward the coast. Among this number were 18,000 Canadians, who were to land on a five-mile long stretch of rocky ledges fronted by a wide expanse of sand. Code named Juno Beach. Here, sheltered inside concrete bunkers and deep trenches, hundreds of German soldiers waited to strike the first assault wave with some ninety 88-millimetre guns, fifty mortars, and four hundred machineguns. A four-foot-high sea wall ran across the breadth of the beach and extending from it into the surf itself were ranks of tangled barbed wire, tank and vessel obstacles, and a maze of mines.Of the five Allied forces landing that day, they were scheduled to be the last to reach the sand. Juno was also the most exposed beach, their day's objectives eleven miles inland were farther away than any others, and the opposition awaiting them was believed greater than that facing any other force. At battle's end one out of every six Canadians in the invasion force was either dead or wounded. Yet their grip on Juno Beach was firm.

Following his national best-seller, Juno Beach, and with his usual verve and narrative skill, historian Mark Zuehlke chronicles the crucial six days when Canadians saved the vulnerable beachheads they had won during the D-Day landings. D-Day ended with the Canadians six miles inland — the deepest penetration achieved by Allied forces during this longest day in history. But for all the horror endured on June 6 every soldier knew the worst was yet to come. The Germans began probing the Canadian lines early in the morning of June 7 and shortly after dawn counter attacked in force. The ensuing six days of battle was to prove bloodier than D-Day itself. Although battered and bloody, the Canadians had held their ground and made it possible for the slow advance toward Germany and eventual Allied victory to begin.

Holding Juno recreates this pivotal battle through the eyes of the soldiers who fought it, with the same dramatic intensity and factual detail that made Juno Beach, in the words of Quill & Quire reviewer Michael Clark, “the defining popular history of Canada’s D-Day battle.”

Following his national best-seller, Juno Beach , and with his usual verve and narrative skill, historian Mark Zuehlke chronicles the crucial six days when Canadians saved the vulnerable beachheads they had won during the D-Day landings. D-Day ended with the Canadians six miles inland — the deepest penetration achieved by Allied forces during this longest day in history. But for all the horror endured on June 6 every soldier knew the worst was yet to come. The Germans began probing the Canadian lines early in the morning of June 7 and shortly after dawn counter attacked in force. The ensuing six days of battle was to prove bloodier than D-Day itself. Although battered and bloody, the Canadians had held their ground and made it possible for the slow advance toward Germany and eventual Allied victory to begin. Holding Juno recreates this pivotal battle through the eyes of the soldiers who fought it, with the same dramatic intensity and factual detail that made Juno Beach , in the words of Quill & Quire reviewer Michael Clark, “the defining popular history of Canada’s D-Day battle.” BOOK FOUR in the Canadian Battle Series By dawn on June 6, 1944, the rough seas facing three small resort towns in Normandy bristled with an immense armada. More than 6,500 ships prepared to disembark Allied troops in a do-or-die effort: D-Day. The 14,500 Canadians among them were to take "Juno Beach," a five-mile-long stretch protected by a seawall, barbed wire, underwater obstacles, hundred of mines -- and heavily armed German forces inside concrete bunkers, fortified houses, and trenches. Acclaimed military historian Mark Zuehlke recreates this pivotal day of World War II, from planning through attack. Falling through a black night, praying to land on target were the newly trained Canadian para-troopers, among the first Allies on French soil. Canadian soldiers, most untested in battle, crossed the English Channel during a night storm and ran off landing craft into a deadly sea. Juno Beach is their story, shared at last in the rich detail their achievement deserves The second instalment in military historian Mark Zuehlke's compelling World War II tales of Canadians overcoming insurmountable odds in Italy.For the allied armies fighting their way up the Italian boot in early 1944, Rome was the prize that could only be won through one of the greatest offensives of the war. Following upon his book about the battle of Ortona, Mark Zuehlke returns to the Mediterranean theatre of World War II with this gripping tribute to the valiant Canadians who opened the way for the Allies to take Rome.The Liri Valley is testament to the bravery of these Canadians, like the badly wounded Captain Pierre Potvin, who survived more than thirty hours alone in the hell of no man's land. This book, like the battle it records, will live long in readers'memories. The second instalment in military historian Mark Zuehlkes compelling World War II tales of Canadians overcoming insurmountable odds in Italy. For the allied armies fighting their way up the Italian boot in early 1944, Rome was the prize that could only be won through one of the greatest offensives of the war. Following upon his book about the battle of Ortona, Mark Zuehlke returns to the Mediterranean theatre of World War II with this gripping tribute to the valiant Canadians who opened the way for the Allies to take Rome. The Liri Valley is testament to the bravery of these Canadians, like the badly wounded Captain Pierre Potvin, who survived more than thirty hours alone in the hell of no mans land. This book, like the battle it records, will live long in readers memories. In this third volume of his critically acclaimed trilogy tracing Canada's involvement in World War II's Italian campaign, Mark Zuehlke vividly recounts the Battle of the Gothic Line. The line was meant to be impregnable -- a final fortified position that would enable the battered German divisions to bring the Allied advance up Italy's boot to a decisive halt. On August 25, 1944, it fell to the soldiers of I Canadian Corps to spearhead the British Eighth Army's attempt to rip a hole in the line. For the next 28 days, the Canadians slugged their way through a rugged killing ground in the most costly battle of their campaign. The Gothic Line portrays the horror, the fear, the courage, and ultimately the glory that Canadians won on this remote battlefield.--Cover

in One Furious Week Of Fighting In December 1943, The First Canadian Infantry Division Took Ortona, Italy, From Elite German Paratroopers Ordered To Hold The Medieval Port At All Costs. When The Battle Was Over, The Canadians Emerged Victorious Despite Heavy Losses. Over 2,500 Canadians Died Or Were Wounded There. Military Historian Mark Zuehlke Blends Reminiscences Of The Canadians, Germans, And Italians Who Were There Together With A Blow-by-blow Account Of The Fighting To Create A Harrowing, Ultimately Hopeful Rendering Of One Of World War Ii's Defining Moments.

for The Allied Armies Fighting Their Way Up The Italian Boot In Early 1944, Rome Was The Prize That Could Only Be Won Through A Massive Offensive. Military Historian Mark Zuehlke Returns To The Mediterranean Theater Of World War Ii With This Gripping Tribute To The Canadians Who Opened The Way For The Allies To Take Rome. The Book Is A Fitting Testament To The Bravery Of Soldiers Like The Badly Wounded Captain Pierre Potvin, Who Survived More Than 30 Hours Alone On The Battlefield.

Stretching like an armor-toothed belt across Italy's upper thigh, the Gothic Line was the most fiercely defended position of Hitler's army, but a bloody 28-day offensive led by Canada's first Infantry Division ruptured the German defenses and opened the way for an Allied advance. Through the vivid stories of the soldiers who fought there, this dramatic book recounts a forgotten part of Canadian history and captures the horror and glory Canadians found on the remote battlefield of a far-off land Stretching like an armor-toothed belt across Italy's upper thigh, the Gothic Line was the most fortified position the German army had yet thrown into the Allied forces' path. On August 25, 1944, it fell to Canadian troops to spearhead a major to rip through that fiercely defended line. This gripping chronicle tells, through the eyes of the soldiers who fought there, of the twenty-eight-day clash that ultimately ended in glory for the Canadians. Canada’s Heroic Defence of the D-Day Beaches: June 7–12, 1944 HIS027100 RIDICULOUS that a piece of paper should leave him feeling so uneasy.