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We Stand on Guard: An Illustrated History of the Canadian Army
Book by Marteinson, John K.
511 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1992
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January 31, 2025
Insightful with flaws, however.
'We Stand On Guard: An Illustrated History of the Canadian Army' by John Marteinson details the history of Canada's fighting forces of the land army (or armies), starting with militias of the 17th and 18th centuries and followed by those of the War of 1812, before moving onto the Permanent Force and Militia (reserve) of the Victorian era, the World Wars, Cold War, and UN Peacekeeping, all the while covering management and recruitment BETWEEN the aforementioned eras. Marteinson did not hold back on writing probably one of the biggest Canadian military history books I have read to date, featuring incredible photographs and artwork of the Canadians in action.
Yet, there are two flaws that prevented me from giving it 5 stars. The first is its treatment of British military leadership during WWI, namely of Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig. Marteinson wrote of Haig as incompetent and uncaring of casualties, yet fails to emphasise failures of other leaders like Sir John French. Further, he failed to mention the consequences of some WW1 battles, like how Somme severely hurt the Germans (as their military histories say), but Marteinson instead wrote them off as 'waste of life/manpower/etc.' To be fair, this was written in 1993, likely before military historians concluded to vindicate Haig and refuse to write of WW1 as 'Lions Led by Donkeys.'
As for the second flaw, it would be inconsistent editing in regards to putting full stops at the end of picture captions. A small detail, but it can weaken the look of a book.
In conclusion, I have to hand it to Marteinson for writing a book this big. The research for it must have been a titanic effort for the time and I respect the author for it. If you are going to read it, just keep in mind the flaws and you should enjoy it.
'We Stand On Guard: An Illustrated History of the Canadian Army' by John Marteinson details the history of Canada's fighting forces of the land army (or armies), starting with militias of the 17th and 18th centuries and followed by those of the War of 1812, before moving onto the Permanent Force and Militia (reserve) of the Victorian era, the World Wars, Cold War, and UN Peacekeeping, all the while covering management and recruitment BETWEEN the aforementioned eras. Marteinson did not hold back on writing probably one of the biggest Canadian military history books I have read to date, featuring incredible photographs and artwork of the Canadians in action.
Yet, there are two flaws that prevented me from giving it 5 stars. The first is its treatment of British military leadership during WWI, namely of Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig. Marteinson wrote of Haig as incompetent and uncaring of casualties, yet fails to emphasise failures of other leaders like Sir John French. Further, he failed to mention the consequences of some WW1 battles, like how Somme severely hurt the Germans (as their military histories say), but Marteinson instead wrote them off as 'waste of life/manpower/etc.' To be fair, this was written in 1993, likely before military historians concluded to vindicate Haig and refuse to write of WW1 as 'Lions Led by Donkeys.'
As for the second flaw, it would be inconsistent editing in regards to putting full stops at the end of picture captions. A small detail, but it can weaken the look of a book.
In conclusion, I have to hand it to Marteinson for writing a book this big. The research for it must have been a titanic effort for the time and I respect the author for it. If you are going to read it, just keep in mind the flaws and you should enjoy it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review