Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting The Great War 1917-18

After a blitz reading (because its so good) I'm ready to do my review of Tim Cook's newest book, Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting the Great War 1917-1918.

Unlike Volume 1, At the Sharp End, this book does not cover a lot of the social history of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Strategy and the momentousness battles (Vimy, Hill 70, Passchendaele, Hundred Days) are the main focus in this edition. As Shock Troops covers the most important battles Canadians fought in the First World War, I'm glad Cook had concentrated on that. I was also glad to see an in depth overview on the Hundred Days campaign (rightly called Canada's Hundred Days) During this period of time Canada was the spear point of the retreat and eventual defeat of the German Empire. During this time the CEF suffered 46,000 casualties.

To the British, French, Americans and even the Germans, the men of the CEF were regarded as an elite Corps of soldiers and I am glad that Tim Cook's book does the distinction justice. It was Canada's successes on the battlefield that enabled the country to forge its own separate identity from Britain.