In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Battle Lines: Eyewitness Accounts from Canada's Military History
  • James Wood
Battle Lines: Eyewitness Accounts from Canada's Military History. J.L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer. Toronto: Thomas Allen, 2004. Pp. 490, index, illus. $39.95

Battle Lines is the sixth collaborative work by historians J.L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer, who have now drawn upon their combined expertise to assemble a collection of first-hand accounts and personal reflections on the Canadian experience of war. The documents in Battle Lines include memoirs, journals, letters, and memoranda by persons ranging from generals and high-ranking officials to private soldiers, parents, and ordinary citizens. In their introduction, Granatstein, formerly of York University and more recently director of the Canadian War Museum, and Hillmer, a professor of history at Carleton University, make a compelling argument for armed conflict – at home and overseas – as a pervasive influence on the Canadian past. In their opening remarks, which are powerfully written and persuasive, they identify the [End Page 550] long-standing role of the military in this country. 'War made Canada,' the theme identified in the introductory essay of Battle Lines, is subsequently developed in the words of those Canadians who lived through it.

Editorial commentary is kept to a minimum in this collection, and there are no chapter divisions; each entry includes the name of the author, a brief notation of rank or position, the date it was written, and brief mention of the historical context where necessary. While there are instances where a more detailed note of explanation might be warranted, readers will nevertheless find a wide range of absorbing accounts. Source acknowledgements follow in the same chronological order as the documents and identify the newspaper, monograph, archive, or Internet source from which these documents are drawn.

While the collection is indexed for those seeking recollections of a specific event, when read in succession the documents in Battle Lines live up to Granatstein and Hillmer's promise to present a broad sweep of 'the military canvas' (5). Among the most heartbreaking entries are those from the mud of Passchendaele and Beaumont Hamel, the liberation of the concentration camp at Belsen, and the savage brutality inflicted upon Canadian prisoners-of-war by the Japanese Army. Vivid accounts of bloodshed, noise, filth, mud, lice, and misery will leave lasting impressions. So will the frustration of French-Canadian officers facing decidedly bleak chances of senior promotion in the Canadian Army of 1944. Interspersed throughout are glimpses of rather amusing events that seemed to emerge in even the most trying circumstances and frequently surfaced in the letters written to family and friends at home. By no means does the collection focus exclusively on front-line accounts; it includes 'the propaganda aimed to cow the enemy and bolster the morale of soldiers and citizens; the stultification of peacetime service, when planning for war is of little interest to anyone except the professionals; and, always, the close, frequently disagreeable encounters with civilians and politicians' (5). Again, this is a collection that aims to present the total experience of war in the words of participants, whose accounts present a full range of responses to Canadian triumphs and tragedies.

Anticipating objections that the collection does not give adequate voice to women, Granatstein and Hillmer explain that they 'have not sought to impose a false balance where none existed' (7). While the sources are generally left to speak for themselves, a sort of silent commentary is often evident in the selection of documents. Inadvertently or otherwise, critical views of well-known personalities are emphasized by selecting the accounts of their rivals, disgruntled subordinates, or unimpressed superiors, such as the unflattering account of Middleton's generalship in 1885 or Vincent Massey's blunt candour about General [End Page 551] Andy McNaughton in 1943. The editors' implicit approval, meanwhile, is expressed by allowing favoured participants to present their views and concerns in their own words. General Guy Simonds, for example, is provided with the opportunity to explain the strains of high command for himself rather than allowing Harry Crerar, his embittered superior, to comment on Simonds's handling of these pressures.

Granatstein and Hillmer bring their work to a close with a...

pdf

Share