Publications, What We Publish, Our Books

The Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies has an extensive publications program, specializing in books and reports on various aspects of Canada's military history, guidebooks to the Canadian battlefields across Europe, and work on contemporary strategic questions. We are always on the look out for unpublished manuscripts for consideration.  

Our new Laurier Military History Series is will include edited diaries and memoirs, reports created during wars involving Canadian Forces, as well as shorter original monographs. We hope to provide a new opportunity for graduate students and faculty to publish works of greater than article length in a peer-reviewed series which will be attractively designed and reasonably priced.  

The Military Operational Research Series will present a number of operational research reports that will be of particular interest to students of military history. Operational research began in RAF Fighter Command in response to challenges in integrating all sources of information, including radar about Luftwaffe raids on Great Britain. RAF Coastal Command, Bomber Command and the Royal Navy were subsequently involved in a wide range of scientific studies relating to equipment and doctrine. The British Army, and after 1943 the Canadian Army created Operational Research Groups to examine many aspects of training and war fighting. The series will upon the rich resources of the Ronnie Shephard Operational Research Archives.

For further information please contact matt.symes@symplicity.ca

Order Your Copy  http://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/press/Catalog/mcgeer-gothic.shtml

Inspired by the popular LCMSDS guides to the battlefields of Normandy and Northwest Europe, The Canadian Battlefields in Italy leads readers -- and potential travellers -- along the path trodden by Canadian soldiers in their longest land campaign of the Second World War. Guides retracing the Canadian path through Sicily and Southern Italy, and Ortona and the Liri Valley, have already appeared; with this guide the journey continues through the Gothic Line, Canada's greatest battle of the Italian Campaign, and on to Ravenna, where Canadian soldiers fought doggedly against the enemy and the elements in a forgotten corner of the war.

The guidebook offers a broad introduction to the campaigns, concise summaries of each stage of the fighting, and itineraries allowing Canadian visitors to explore the battles from the most important perspective -- the physical setting itself. Three-dimensional maps familiarise readers with the landscape and features that affected the course of the battles, while a combination of contemporary photos and war art recaptures the scene as contemporaries saw it. Every effort has been madeto publish rare or unused material so that readers of all backgrounds will find something new.

The efforts and sacrifice of nearly 100,000 Canadians have become part of the rich historical tapestry of Italy. To the countless attractions of this ancient land, The Canadian Battlefields in Italy: The Gothic Line and the Battle of the Rivers adds one more reason for Canadians to explore a country where a proud and moving chapter of our own history was written.

Online Resources

Video & Audio clips

CBC

Canada Declares War on Italy, June 1940 CBC Radio Clip

Guy Simonds on the characteristics of the Canadian regiments in Italy CBC Video Clip

On Leave in Rome CBC Video Clip

Peter Stursberg recalls "Lili Marlene" (the tune of the D-day Dodgers was sung to this) CBC Radio Clip

The Forgotten Army: The Canadians in Italy Dec 1944 CBC Radio Clip 

"Smokey's" Victoria Cross CBC Radio Clip

Ernest "Smokey" Smith returns to Italy CBC Video Clip

Testaments of Honour

Padre Wilmot recalls the Gothic Line  - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Other

The D-Day Dodgers of Canada

Web links

Canada At War - The Gothic Line

Canada At War - Lamone Crossing

Gothic Line - Linea Gotica

Veterans Affairs Canada Remembers (1999)

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemeteries and Monuments in Italy (audio & .pdf files)

Allied Official History Online

New Zealand Official History

The Tiger Triumphs - The Indian Divisions in Italy (the little green dots beside the chapter headings lead to the history of each battle)

Hotels in Urbino (Gothic Line Battles)

Hotel Raffaello ***

Albergo Italia ***

Hotel Bonconte ****

Albergo San Domenico ****

Hotels in Ravenna

Hotel Mosaico ****

Hotel Ravenna ***

Hotel Diana ***

Hotel Centrale Byron ***

Best Western Hotel Bisanzio **

This multi-volume series in seven parts is the first English-language translation of Der Weltkrieg, the German official history of the First World War. Originally produced between 1925 and 1944 using classified archival records that were destroyed in the aftermath of the Second World War, Der Weltkrieg is the untold story of Germany’s experience on the Western front, in the words of its official historians, making it vital to the study of the war and official memory in Weimar and Nazi Germany. Although exciting new sources have recently been uncovered in former Soviet archives, this work remains the basis of future scholarship. It is essential reading for any scholar, graduate student, or enthusiast of the Great War.

This volume, the first of the series to appear in print, focuses on 1915, the first year of trench warfare. For the first time in the history of warfare, poison gas was used against French and Canadian troops at Ypres. Meanwhile, conflict raged in the German High Command over the political and military direction of the war. The year 1915 also set the stage for the bloodbath at Verdun and sealed the fate of the German Supreme Commander, Erich von Falkenhayn. This is the official version of that story.

“For over ninety years, the German forces in the Great War have been obscured on the other side of a historical No Man’s Land. But now, in this monumentally important work, expertly translated and edited, English-speaking military historians will better understand those forces against which the British, Canadian, and other allied armies fought and died in the trenches on the Western Front. Germany’s Western Front, and the volumes that will follow, will be required reading for historians of the Great War.” - Tim Cook, Canadian War Museum

To order please visit http://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/press/Catalog/humphries-maker.shtml

Cyprus 1974: “This Ain’t No Picnic, It’s War” is the edited personal diary of Alain Gaudet, a twenty-two-year-old paratrooper with the Canadian Forces in a peacekeeping role in Nicosia, Cyprus. The diary is a fascinating look at daily life from the soldier’s viewpoint. It gives the reader insight into the challenges and frustrations of a solider in combat, how he deals with the loss of friends and compatriots, and the extremes of emotions on display in a war zone. 

This series of military history booklets, published by the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, will include edited diaries and memoirs, reports created during wars involving Canadian Forces, as well as shorter original monographs. We hope to provide a new opportunity for graduate students and faculty to publish works of greater than article length in a peer-reviewed series which will be attractively designed and reasonably priced. 

To order please visit http://nestor.wlu.ca/press/Catalog/kielstra.shtml

This volume presents the original text of a groundbreaking study on professional education for the Canadian officer corps. The Report of the Officer Development Board, from 1969, is commonly called the Rowley Report after its primary author, Maj. Gen. Roger Rowley, and its analysis and recommendations have been used extensively over the last forty years to help define learning needs and education strategies for officers of the Canadian Forces. Also included are three new essays that provide context for the report.

The Rowley Report begins by describing the complex state of international relations and global trends, and then lays out the cognitive competencies and knowledge requirements as well as the ethos needed by officers to perform effectively. The supplementary essays examine the lasting impact of the report and the development of intellectual ideas, more commonly referred to as “doctrine,” within the Canadian Army. The final essay is an account by Rowley himself in which he discusses the challenges he faced in producing the report.

The Rowley Report has been lauded by leaders from other militaries and by civilian educators in Canada. With the addition of these essays, this volume offers unique cultural and pedagogical insights to Canada’s military leadership.

To order please visit http://www.wlu.ca/press/Catalog/wakelam.shtml

The role of the Canadian Forces in asserting sovereignty is often tied to the maxim that possession is nine-tenths of the law. Surveillance capability and boots on the ground are often tightly bound to Canada’s credibility in defending its sovereignty. As talk of a polar race intensifies, and new concerns arise over the continental shelf, boundaries, pollution, melting ice, and that tiny piece of rock called Hans Island, a more robust Canadian Forces presence is perceived as essential to Canada’s using or losing its Arctic. But where is the justification to validate this accepted wisdom? How does a military presence play into demonstrating effective occupation? Does a military presence really strengthen Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic?

The Canadian Forces and Arctic Sovereignty: Debating Roles, Interests, and Requirements, 1968–1974, introduces the debate about the Canadian Forces’ role, mission, and contributions to Arctic sovereignty during these pivotal years. Policy analysts grappled with many of the same issues facing decision makers today, and recently declassified documents (published in this volume for the first time) yield insights into what Canadians should reasonably expect from their military as the country develops and implements an Arctic strategy in the twenty-first century.

To order please visit http://www.wlu.ca/press/Catalog/lackenbauer.shtml

The foundation of this photo diary was a scrapbook created by Marion Swinton, from Hamilton, Ontario. Although Marion passed away several years ago, a caring neighbour kept her well-preserved scrapbook of photographic and written memories. It was given to the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS), and that gift has resulted in this publication.

The scrapbook chronicles Marion Swinton’s time in the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS) during the Second World War. Marion compiled her scrapbook using photos, memorabilia, letters, and stories from her time as a Wren, as members of the WRCNS were called.

The photographs and captions paint a picture of the joy, the fears, and the anticipation of a young woman living out a great adventure. It documents in meticulous detail the events that shaped Marions early twenties and in many ways the rest of her life.

To order please visit: http://nestor.wlu.ca/press/Catalog/fowler.shtml

In Sierra Leone in 2000, British commandos intervened to prevent a bloody coup as UN forces faced collapse at the hands of the Revolutionary United Front. Sanctions were imposed on the rebel group and its key backer, the government of Charles Taylor of Liberia. Disarmament of over 70,000 militia fighters followed, and in 2002 Sierra Leone conducted successful democratic elections. The country was officially declared at peace, but it remains decidedly fragile.

Contributors examine Sierra Leones transition from war to peaceful democratic rule, arguing that while progress in the country has been remarkable, its development partners must remain fully engaged for many more years in order for the progress to be sustained.

To order please visit http://www.wlu.ca/press/Catalog/gberie.shtml

This book transports the reader to Sicily, where Canadian soldiers fought in the summer of 1943. With remarkable new three-dimensional satellite maps, this book is sure to be enjoyable reading for anyone with an interest in Canada’s Second World War experience.

To order please see http://www.wlu.ca/press/Catalog/mcgeer-sicily.shtml

This Italian translation of The Canadian Battlefields in Italy: Ortona and the Liri Valley features specialized three-dimensional maps that show the terrain and towns as they have never been seen before. This book is an excellent companion for an Italian vacation.

To order please visit http://www.wlu.ca/press/Catalog/mcgeer-arnone.shtml