Military history wins book prize

[Jim O]

It would be fair to say that Mark Zuehlke is passionate about the subject of the Canadian army during the Second World War.

The Victoria-based author has written five books on the topic. And he won the third annual City of Victoria Butler Book Prize last week for his latest effort, Holding Juno, which details the actions of Canadian soldiers in the six days that followed the invasion of Normandy in the Second Word War.

Zuehlke accepted the $5,000 award presented by Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe and sponsor Brian Butler at a ceremony at the Union Club on Oct. 18. Zuehlke was "very, very honoured" to receive the award.

"Nonfiction writers don't win awards that often so it's a great honour because the competition was incredibly keen. You've got the City of Victoria having the largest per capita of writers living in the country - and some very, very fine writers too," Zuehlke said. "So I felt very privileged that it ended up being me."

The history of the Canadian military in the Second World War seems to be gaining a stronger audience in recent years, he said.

"I don't think that was true 10 to 15 years ago," Zuehlke said. "World War II shaped an entire generation."

Canada's historically impressive track record in wartime is likely another factor contributing to an increased interest in books about the country's military history, he said.

Holding Juno focuses on the actions of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division, which included the Victoria-based Canadian Scottish Regiment, during the six days of fighting that followed D-Day.

The division was up against the German army's Panzer Lehr Division and the Waffen SS's 12th (Hitler Youth) SS Division, which consisted of fanatical Hitler Youth members in their late teens led by battle-hardened veterans of the Eastern Front.

The Canadians succeeded in preventing the two German divisions from moving onto Juno Beach. If the Germans had succeeded in that quest, they would have been in a position to attack the other beaches where the British and Americans landed at Normandy, Zuehlke said.

"(The Canadians) held out and won the day, or at least brought it to a bloody draw, and in doing so I think effectively saved the invasion," he argued.

Out of the five beaches where Allied forces landed on D-Day, Juno Beach received the second highest level of resistance from the German forces after Omaha Beach, where the Americans landed. The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division had suffered a huge number of casualties after the first day of the invasion on June 6, 1944.

"They were bloody worn out. Then they went into six days of hell," Zuehlke said.

Zuehlke wrote another book, Juno Beach, which details the landing of the 3rd Infantry Division on D-Day. He also wrote three books on the Canadian army's experience in Italy during the Second World War - Ortona: Canada's Epic World War II Battle; The Liri Valley: Canada's World War II Breakthrough to Rome; and The Gothic Line: Canada's Month of Hell in World War II.

Source: Victoria News