Hasting's book on Bomber Command is absolute drivel!
I threw it out years ago. Filled with incredible errors pertaining to tactics and strategy. As a result his conclusions one takes with a grain of salt.
Hastings draws his conclusions on Canadians in Europe from Montgomery who had low regard for them. However, an excellent read is "Montgomery in Europe" by Richard Lamb. There's a whole chapter dedicated to the Canadian effort called Canadians on the Coast. Lamb details Monty's clash with Crerar. Lamb is quite supportive of the Canadian cause. During the Canadian assault on the Scheldt, they were starved for supplies while Monty squandered it all on the Arnhem debacle. Meanwhile the Germans dug in on the approaches to Antwerp.
For crying out loud people, he's a friggen newspaper editor with no university education in Military History. He left Oxford after a year! Read between the lines! He failed out!
Sorry but when you've read some really good, critical history, and then you run up against newspaper journalism gussied up as history, it turns one's stomach.
Jim
Last edited by JDCAVE; 09-03-08 at 17:51.
Reason: Edited for grammer and clarity
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