Deadlock In Korea. Canadians At War, 1950-1953

by Ted Barris

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0771575912
• ISBN13: 9780771575914
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Macmillan Canada
• Length: 326 Pages
• Weight: 1.54 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Book Long Overdue

The Canadian troops in Korea may have been few in number, but they had their share of challenges and hardships. Canada's Korea experience largely coincided with the relatively static and nasty trench warfare period of 1951-53. Through no fault of these troops, history ascribes to them no major combat laurels. But their long-overlooked story is no less compelling than that of other U.N. contingents in the Korean War. Barris has done a commendable job of presenting a complete and balanced history without hyperbole. Accordingly, the reader is given an appreciation of 1950 recruiting and (in many ways comical) training; the horrific train accident in transporting troops westward through the Canadaian Rockies; the Pacific crossing and deployment in Korea, and the combat histories of the regiments that rotated through over a three-year period. The passage about the Canadians' role in guarding communist POWs gives insight rarely found elsewhere. Anecdotal information from individual interviews is what gives the book its real depth. These passages give interesting details about bivouac experiences, uniform and weapons selection, and connectivity with other allied armies. Another unique provision recounts how these young soldiers came face-to-face with their enemies just hours after the armistice. The saga of the Canadian troops would be incomplete without some recognition of individual's post-war adjustments. Barris has covered all of these very well. The vintage photos are poor in resolution but informative nevertheless. The maps are great and are indispensible for a text like this. In all, this very readable book on a subject that has been chronically overlooked until now.