Canadians in the Second World War

298 THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY claims philosophical anarchism as a basis for a school of painting in Quebec. Based on an official survey made for the Ontario Department of Education , the report by C. D. Gaitskell, Art Education in the Province of Ontario) is of interest to parents and teachers alike, and to all those who feel that art should not be taught as a dead formula in our public schools but rather as a method of developing imaginative and creative attitudes in the young. Much progress of this nature has been made in Ontario, but advances have been far from uniform, and Mr. Gaitskell gives recommendations for future reforms. CHECK-LIST OF TITLES BARBEAU (MARius). Cornelius Krieghoff (Canadian art series; Toronto, Ryerson, iv, 36 pp., $1.00 paper, $1.50 cloth). CoLGATE (WILLIAM), The bookplates of Leslie Victor Smith, illustrated with original prints in addition to a fuJI check-list and introduction (Weston, Ont., Old Rectory Press, 1947, 20 pp., $3.00). DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTs, The arts of French Canada, 1613-1870, the Detroit Institute of Arts et al. (Detroit, Mich., the Institute, 1946, 52 pp., $1.00). GAITSKE~L (C. D.), Art education in the province of Ontario (Ryerson educational monographs; Toronto, Ryerson, viii, 55 pp., $2.00). HooVER (DoRoTHY), J. W. Beatty (Canadian art series; Toronto, Ryerson, iv, 40 pp., $1.50). JARVIS (ALAN), Things we see: indoors and out (Penguin Books, 1947, 64 pp., $1.00). KEY (S. J.), John Constable: his life and work; with 55 illustrations including 4 colour plates (British painters series; London, Phoenix House; Toronto, Dent, 128 pp., $4.25). REFUS GLOBAL: Paul-Emile Borduas, Claude Gauvreau, Bruno Cormier, Fran~oise Sullivan, Fernand Leduc (Montreal, MithraMythe , 90 pp., 8 plates) . 5. Canadians in the Second World War H. N. MACLEAN With the publication of The Canadian Army, 1939~1945 by Colonel C.P. Stacey, the Department of National Defence has completed its schedule of interim reports and summaries on the Army's activities in the Second World War. There remains the official history itself, which it is hoped will appear in 1950. The present work deals briefly yet comprehensively with operations overseas, particularly those on the battlefield. The narrative is built up from three main sources: reports of the field historical sections which were attached to the fighting formations, regi~ mental war diaries compiled in action or immediately thereafter, and material from various German official sources, uncovered since the war's end. These enemy documents enable Colonel Stacey to give his readers a much clearer picture of the days immediately following the Normandy landings , and of the battles around Falaise, than would otherwise have been possible. Various events of the early war years are touched upon: the abortive movement to France of the First Brigade, after Dunkirk; the expedition to Spitzbergen; and the employment of Canadian engineers at Gibraltar are among these early exploits. An important and relatively detailed chapter discusses the Dieppe operation, its planning, execution, and significance. Admitting the raid's tactical failure, Colonel Stacey, here LETTERS IN CANADA: 1948 299 as nowhere else in the book, feels called upon to take public criticisms into account. Supporting his remarks with documented evidence, he defends the organization of the raid, emphasizes the courage of those taking part (quoting effectively from German sources on this point) , and underlines the "lessons learned," which were to affect in an important way the planning of the Normandy assault. Passing to less controversial and more central phases of the war, the author discusses the Canadian campaigns in Sicily, Italy, and North-West Europe; these operations are set forth with admirable clarity and restraint. While the scope of the volume necessitates discussion for the most part on the level of divisions or brigades, Colonel Stacey, where especially notable exploits are concerned, has warm praise for individual battalions. The grim struggle for Ortona, the holding attacks south of Caen, and the Rhineland fighting, for example, are discussed in this way; again, place is made for the recording of individual enterprise in the case of such men as Colonel Triquet or Major Tilston. Much more than mere reporting of cold fact, the volwne does manage now and...