On to Victory: The Canadian Liberation of the Netherlands, March 23 May 5, 1945

Mark Zuehlke

Aug 2010 · D & M Publishers

About this ebook

The eighth Canadian Battle Series volume is the little-told story of the tense final days of World War II, remembered in the Netherlands as “the sweetest of springs,” which saw the country’s liberation from German occupation.

The Liberation Campaign, a series of fierce, desperate battles during the last three months of the war, was bittersweet. A nation’s freedom was won and the war concluded, but these final hostilities cost Canada 6,298 casualties, including 1,482 dead.

With his trademark “you are there” style that draws upon official records, veteran memories, and a keen understanding of the combat experience, Mark Zuehlke brings to life this concluding chapter in the story of Canada in World War II.

May 4, 2010, will mark the 65th anniversary of the Netherlands’ liberation.

Ratings and reviews

Mark again demonstrates his ability to transplant ussually bland war diaries, military correspondence and first-hand accounts into a riveting story. He neither glorifies or condemns the people who take up both sides of this terrible conflict. Instead, he translates this final struggle into human terms that emphasise the peraonal defeats and triumphs that were fought over at the end of the Second World War. A fine addition for anyone interested in a humanizing account of war.

About the author

Mark Zuehlke is Canada's leading popular historian. On to Victory is the latest in Mark's bestselling series on Canada's major army campaigns and battles of World War II, which include Operation Husky, Ortona, The Liri Valley, The Gothic Line, Juno Beach, Holding Juno, and Terrible Victory. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed For Honour's Sake: The War of 1812 and the Brokering of an Uneasy Peace; The Gallant Cause: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939; and co-author of The Canadian Military Atlas: Four Centuries of Conflict from New France to Kosovo. When not writing history, he often turns to fiction and is the author of the award-winning Elias McCann mystery series. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia.