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No Holding Back
- Landmark study of the Canadians' first major operation in Normandy - New revelations on the death of German panzer ace Michael Wittmann - Handsomely illustrated with maps, photos, and diagrams On August 8, 1944, the Canadian Army launched Operation Totalize, a massive armored and mechanized infantry attack that aimed to break through enemy defenses south of Caen and trap the German Army in Normandy by linking up with Patton's Third Army.
- GenresMilitary History
512 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 18, 2024
I wish I could give this book five stars – I wanted to, but the reservations I have are serious. Let’s start with the positives. No Holding Back is an excellent technical account of a multi-day battle that took place during the Battle for Normandy. I had a personal interest in doing a deep dive into the battle, as my Dad and his Lancaster bomber crew took part in the bombing in Phase One. As I began reading, I was impressed with the clarity and insight of the writing, as well as the meticulous research the author undertook, which included walking the ground of the battle. The maps and illustrations are outstanding, and I was delighted to find a map that pinpointed the actual aiming point that my Dad and his comrades hit that night 80 years ago.
Now to the reservations. Any serious history book has to try and be impartial to some degree: if it isn’t, than it ends up just being propaganda. To truly understand history, you have to understand where the other side is coming from, and a good historian does that. However, when it comes to dealing with the Allied fight against Nazi Germany, I don’t think any of the dozens of books I have read are as dispassionate as this one. Mr. Reid takes academic impartiality to the extreme: the Allies in Normandy were battling the fanatical forces of a bestially evil regime, but Reid’s tone is of someone relating the back and forth in a hockey game, one in which he has no favourite team.
Let’s take Col. Kurt Meyer for a start. This reprehensible Nazi was convicted of war crimes by a Canadian court at the end of the war. He and his gang of SS thugs murdered dozens of unarmed Canadian POW’s during the Normandy campaign, and had committed similar atrocities previously in Poland and Russia. All Mr. Reid will say about the murder of Canadians is that it was “unfortunate”, and even this weak judgment is in a footnote – otherwise he almost seems to admire the man. He even suggests at one point that Canadian officers should have considered “what Kurt Meyer would have done” when thinking of tactics. Oh, I don’t know, massacred a village of French civilians perhaps? Executed a bunch of unarmed POW’s? I was just shocked that a Canadian author (and a Canadian Army veteran to boot!) would take such a neutral tone in discussing the Waffen SS and men like Meyer and Wittman, both devoted Nazis. I suppose no one could question their bravery or skill as soldiers, but this does not make them the moral equals of the Allied soldiers battling them.
There were other, less emotionally charged reservations I had. I think that the air power component of the battle deserved more space – I would have much rather seen time and space taken up with first hand accounts of the airmen who took part in battle than with the pages and pages devoted to a dissection of the events around the death of one German tanker, Michael Wittman. When the USAAF bombing in Phase Two went sideways and ended up bombing Allied forces in error, there is zero discussion or explanation of why. I found this frustrating. The exploits of the tactical fighter-bombers are given short shrift as well, relegated to an appendix.
The author also lacks balance when discussing German equipment and morale. Yes, the Tiger was a beast, but it takes more than size and thickness of armour to make a great, effective tank. I have read that the fighter pilots of the Tactical Air Force joked that the best way to destroy a Tiger was to fly over and passed it, to where its support vehicles were....the soft sided fuel tankers, ammunition trucks and repair/maintenance vehicles were easy to kill, and without them the Tiger was a hulking, over-engineered lawn ornament. The Shermans, Churchills and Fireflies of the Allied forces were fine, effective vehicles that gave a good account of themselves. When discussing the high morale of German troops the author states the Nazi regime offered a “program of social welfare, full employment and elimination of class barriers which reflected the party’s socialist roots”, although perhaps he just meant that the front line soldiers believed that. I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
I am glad I read No Holding Back, it really is a skilful account of this important battle. But, oh my gosh, I wish the author had picked a team to root for.
Now to the reservations. Any serious history book has to try and be impartial to some degree: if it isn’t, than it ends up just being propaganda. To truly understand history, you have to understand where the other side is coming from, and a good historian does that. However, when it comes to dealing with the Allied fight against Nazi Germany, I don’t think any of the dozens of books I have read are as dispassionate as this one. Mr. Reid takes academic impartiality to the extreme: the Allies in Normandy were battling the fanatical forces of a bestially evil regime, but Reid’s tone is of someone relating the back and forth in a hockey game, one in which he has no favourite team.
Let’s take Col. Kurt Meyer for a start. This reprehensible Nazi was convicted of war crimes by a Canadian court at the end of the war. He and his gang of SS thugs murdered dozens of unarmed Canadian POW’s during the Normandy campaign, and had committed similar atrocities previously in Poland and Russia. All Mr. Reid will say about the murder of Canadians is that it was “unfortunate”, and even this weak judgment is in a footnote – otherwise he almost seems to admire the man. He even suggests at one point that Canadian officers should have considered “what Kurt Meyer would have done” when thinking of tactics. Oh, I don’t know, massacred a village of French civilians perhaps? Executed a bunch of unarmed POW’s? I was just shocked that a Canadian author (and a Canadian Army veteran to boot!) would take such a neutral tone in discussing the Waffen SS and men like Meyer and Wittman, both devoted Nazis. I suppose no one could question their bravery or skill as soldiers, but this does not make them the moral equals of the Allied soldiers battling them.
There were other, less emotionally charged reservations I had. I think that the air power component of the battle deserved more space – I would have much rather seen time and space taken up with first hand accounts of the airmen who took part in battle than with the pages and pages devoted to a dissection of the events around the death of one German tanker, Michael Wittman. When the USAAF bombing in Phase Two went sideways and ended up bombing Allied forces in error, there is zero discussion or explanation of why. I found this frustrating. The exploits of the tactical fighter-bombers are given short shrift as well, relegated to an appendix.
The author also lacks balance when discussing German equipment and morale. Yes, the Tiger was a beast, but it takes more than size and thickness of armour to make a great, effective tank. I have read that the fighter pilots of the Tactical Air Force joked that the best way to destroy a Tiger was to fly over and passed it, to where its support vehicles were....the soft sided fuel tankers, ammunition trucks and repair/maintenance vehicles were easy to kill, and without them the Tiger was a hulking, over-engineered lawn ornament. The Shermans, Churchills and Fireflies of the Allied forces were fine, effective vehicles that gave a good account of themselves. When discussing the high morale of German troops the author states the Nazi regime offered a “program of social welfare, full employment and elimination of class barriers which reflected the party’s socialist roots”, although perhaps he just meant that the front line soldiers believed that. I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
I am glad I read No Holding Back, it really is a skilful account of this important battle. But, oh my gosh, I wish the author had picked a team to root for.
March 21, 2022
Nice book
This book has a detailed explaining. I can know that the author had looked into the operation totalize. Also maps and pictures are good too
This book has a detailed explaining. I can know that the author had looked into the operation totalize. Also maps and pictures are good too
July 31, 2011
Robin Brass, and LCol Reid, have once again raised the bar. While the history of the South Alberta Regiment (and the newest title about the South Alberta Light Horse, both by Donald Graves) had raised the standard for Regimental histories, this book does the same for Operational studies.
This book is an in-depth examination of OPERATION TOTALIZE, one of many operations launched by the Canadian Army in Normandy, this one in the second week of August 1944. TOTALIZE, like many other operations (Spring, Atlantic, et al) has been much written about, and subject to much controversy. Reid takes a very fresh approach to the subject and dissects the planning and execution of this action very skillfully.
Reid is nothing like Zuehlke - while the latter simply poured out a trilogy of recycled secondary sources, Reid has dug deep to seriously question our current understanding of why this operation took place, and why it evolved as it did.
Reid starts at the beginning - with an impressive look at the training and employment of staff officers in the Canadian Army (following on in Granatstein's footsteps, who first broached the subject for public consumption with THE GENERALS), a look at how the Canadian Army developed in peace, and in war. It may seem to be an apologist approach, but I think it is necessary to appreciate the capabilities of the Canadian Army in Normandy, and adds to fuller understanding.
Every chapter is rich in detail - from identifying who drove the first Kangaroo APCs to a detailed analysis of Simond's written appreciation and outline plan, as submitted to General Crerar.
TOTALIZE was unique in that it was a large armoured attack launched at night (not common in doctrine at that time, though not untried, either), with the first use of a fully tracked and armoured APC to move the troops forward, as well as heavy bombing used tactically. Reid looks at all this in detail.
The maps in this volume are among the best ever published in support of an operational history. Chris Johnson has once again also worked his magic with many line drawings of the armour and vehicles used in the campaign, both Canadian and German. Many good photos also complement the text.
There is even a well developed chapter about "who got Wittman" - with not just a map, but a topographical map showing elevations. Great fodder for tactical game scenario designers. Other appendices include a complete history of 1 Polish Armoured Division (with order of battle and even rank structure) as well as a treatise on airpower and a breakdown of German and Allied order of battle.
Overall one of the best operational studies yet written about the Canadian Army in Normandy. May have benefitted from aerial photography, but hard to fault the book in any other way. Can't recommend this highly enough not just for an understanding of TOTALIZE, but for anyone interested in the debate about just how good the Canadian Army was in the Second World War.
This book is an in-depth examination of OPERATION TOTALIZE, one of many operations launched by the Canadian Army in Normandy, this one in the second week of August 1944. TOTALIZE, like many other operations (Spring, Atlantic, et al) has been much written about, and subject to much controversy. Reid takes a very fresh approach to the subject and dissects the planning and execution of this action very skillfully.
Reid is nothing like Zuehlke - while the latter simply poured out a trilogy of recycled secondary sources, Reid has dug deep to seriously question our current understanding of why this operation took place, and why it evolved as it did.
Reid starts at the beginning - with an impressive look at the training and employment of staff officers in the Canadian Army (following on in Granatstein's footsteps, who first broached the subject for public consumption with THE GENERALS), a look at how the Canadian Army developed in peace, and in war. It may seem to be an apologist approach, but I think it is necessary to appreciate the capabilities of the Canadian Army in Normandy, and adds to fuller understanding.
Every chapter is rich in detail - from identifying who drove the first Kangaroo APCs to a detailed analysis of Simond's written appreciation and outline plan, as submitted to General Crerar.
TOTALIZE was unique in that it was a large armoured attack launched at night (not common in doctrine at that time, though not untried, either), with the first use of a fully tracked and armoured APC to move the troops forward, as well as heavy bombing used tactically. Reid looks at all this in detail.
The maps in this volume are among the best ever published in support of an operational history. Chris Johnson has once again also worked his magic with many line drawings of the armour and vehicles used in the campaign, both Canadian and German. Many good photos also complement the text.
There is even a well developed chapter about "who got Wittman" - with not just a map, but a topographical map showing elevations. Great fodder for tactical game scenario designers. Other appendices include a complete history of 1 Polish Armoured Division (with order of battle and even rank structure) as well as a treatise on airpower and a breakdown of German and Allied order of battle.
Overall one of the best operational studies yet written about the Canadian Army in Normandy. May have benefitted from aerial photography, but hard to fault the book in any other way. Can't recommend this highly enough not just for an understanding of TOTALIZE, but for anyone interested in the debate about just how good the Canadian Army was in the Second World War.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews