Book Reviews the Last Lion. Winston Spencer Churchill – Defender of The

BOOK REVIEWS of the utilization of their storytelling skills to intricately weave and ‘don’t do stuff.’ This beautifully told story outstrips the standard webs of intrigue and deception; to make things appear that were of many Second World War books I have perused recently, and it not really there, and to make things disappear, all in an attempt to constitutes the right blend of unusual subject and solid research, deceive the enemy and to give the Allies some mixed with plain good old fashioned intel- advantages. Imagine having a film set the size ligent writing. Stroud describes the colour of the Western Desert, flat and almost feature- and the chaos of war in the desert as our less, ‘bookended’ by the Mediterranean Sea heroes wander in and out of the war zone and the Qattara Depression, upon which to in a succession of battered vehicles. They create your illusions. The unit’s primary 1942 build amazing things out bits of junk, just project became a crucial battlefield weapon like in an episode of MacGyver – these guys for General Bernard Montgomery, when he were geniuses. Their spirit of improvisation ordered them to come up with a scheme to and artistry was immense, and the stakes cloak and conceal all the preparations under- were enormously high. Having to do all this way for the Second Battle of Alamein. while battle raged and armies swung to and fro across the desert must have constituted Operation Bertram at El Alamein was a nightmare. the largest visual deception campaign. It was a monumental misdirection in history, Exulting in El Alamein, the first great and it is the core of this tale. So, what did British victory of the Second World War these soldier-artist-modellers-camouflagers won without the assistance of American actually do? How did they ‘hoodwink’ the forces, Winston Churchill told the House German Desert Fox, aka Erwin Rommel? of Commons on 11 November 1942: “By a The answers constitute the best moments in marvellous system of camouflage, complete the book. In general, I believe it would be tactical surprise was achieved in the desert.” fair to say that they used two approaches in their work. First, they made key weaponry As I read and reread this book it led me disappear—not by vanishing, but by disguising it as something back to an oft-quoted Sun Tzu mantra. The great military philoso- else, as a less threatening, innocuous entity. Tanks were made to pher, when referring to wartime deception, advised: “When able look like trucks. Field artillery was concealed in other phony forms. to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must And food, fuel, and other supplies were covered up and stacked to seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe look like harmless transport vehicles. Second, at other times, for that we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe other purposes, they did exactly the opposite. Making clever use we are near.” I do not know of a better way to describe what these of the simplest materials, they constructed trompe l’oeil dummies Allied tricksters did than the words embodied in this centuries (tanks, artillery, support vehicles) to create an illusory build-up, old quote, as valid in Sun Tzu’s time as it was during the Second to ‘reveal’ things that were never there – optical illusions. As a World War, and as it is today in the 21st Century… result, they made the enemy think that Allied forces were being amassed at times and places that differed critically from the real Lieutenant-Colonel Deborah Miller, OMM, CD, is currently situation. The Second Battle of El Alamein, in which these methods the Senior Staff Officer Strategic Planning at the Canadian Defence were employed, was the war’s first substantial land victory for the Academy in Kingston. She holds a Master of Arts in History, and Allies. In part, Rommel had been hoodwinked by an army made a Master of Defence Studies from the Canadian Forces College. of nothing but string, straw, and bits of wood. The epic nature of the deception tactics utilized in Operation Bertram, and its role in the Battle of El Alamein, is beautifully told by Rick Stroud. The British, some like to tell you, are not inventive The Last Lion. Winston Spencer This is a remarkable book. It is the final installment of William Churchill – Defender of the Realm, Manchester’s amazing three-volume biography of Sir Winston Churchill. Manchester completed his research and began writing 1940-1965 in 1988, and in the next 10 years, he completed approximately by William Manchester and Paul Reid 100 pages. In declining health, he passed the torch to award winning New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2012 journalist Paul Reid to complete the volume in 2003. William 1,232 pages (32 pp of B/W photographs, 8 maps) Manchester died the following year. Nonetheless, Paul Reid Cloth, $C44.00 ably finished the task to the same high standard as Manchester’s ISBN 978-0-316-54770-37 previous volumes. Reviewed by Bernd Horn Although a biography, it expertly captures the essence of the time period, namely, the Second World War and the start of the Cold War. In many ways, it is a window into the strategic Vol. 14, No. 1, Winter 2013 • Canadian Military Journal 71 BOOK REVIEWS decision-making of Britain and the Allied cause. The book helps correspondence, letters, and diaries, as well as interviews with frame decisions, events, and personalities. It never fails to seize those close to Churchill, are all woven together expertly with the reader’s immediate interest. the end effect that the reader feels they are sharing Churchill’s personal confidence. The book starts with a personal profile of Churchill, which is very detailed and Not surprisingly, the book focuses provides an unblemished portrayal of the primarily upon the Second World War. man. Through personal anecdotes, relation- In fact, 930 pages of the approximate ships, and the observations of others, a very 1,053 pages of narrative are devoted to the accurate picture is developed, which sets conflict. The remaining pages deal with the context for the remainder of the book. the onset of the Cold War and Churchill’s The author’s ability to capture Churchill’s twilight years. This is in no way a criticism personality in such a complete and personal as the insights into the policy /strategic level manner is brilliant, and it helps the reader of war are simply invaluable. contextualize all else that follows. The book also contains eight excellent The work then follows Churchill from detailed maps and 32 pages of black-and- his ascendency to the ‘prime ministership,’ white photos that capture key actors, to his seemingly-personal crusade against some key events, but, most importantly, Hitler, to his twilight years in the post-war Churchill’s personality. Additionally, the era. The writing is crisp and fast flowing volume contains extensive notes, and a very throughout. The outstanding use of language detailed and accurate index. In the end, and narrative style makes this chronological this book should be read by all historians, biography read like a story that is so engag- military officers, and anyone with an interest ing that it is hard to put down. Following in the Second World War, military history, the progress of the war, starting with the or strategic-level military civilian relations invasion of Western Europe, and through and decision making. the perspective of Churchill as British War Lord, is simply remarkable. The insights Colonel Bernd Horn, OMM, MSM, with respect to the Fall of France, the Blitz, obtaining American CD, PhD, retired from the CAF Regular Force in 2013. He is support, the troubles with coalition partners, determining strategy, now the Director of the CANSOFCOM Professional Development balancing political and military imperatives, to name just a few, Centre. He is also an Adjunct Professor of History at the Royal generates a greater understanding of the conflict, its participants, Military College of Canada and Norwich University. and the decisions made. Moreover, the use of personal and official Iron Man: Rudolf Berthold: editor. A prolific writer, he is the author of 15 books dealing with Germany’s Indomitable Fighter aviation history, with a concentration upon the Imperial German Air Service, and he has received numerous awards for his outstand- Ace of World War I ing research. Peter is also a recipient of the Order of Merit of the by Peter Kilduff Federal Republic of Germany. His credentials and his credibility London: Grub Street, 2012 are therefore immaculate. In terms of academic rigour, this book, 192 pages, US$26.47 with its extensive endnotes, providing as they do not only source ISBN-978-1-908117-37-3 credits but extensive additional details, will satisfy even the most Reviewed by David L. Bashow critical scrutiny. Grit and valour on the military battlefield is a theme that transcends Back to Rudolph Berthold… Born in 1891, he commenced his rd national boundaries and time. Rudolph Berthold, a forester’s son, military career as a foot soldier with the 3 Brandenberg Infantry was the 6th highest scoring German First World War flying ace regiment in 1910, and then learned to fly at his own expense in with 44 accredited victories in aerial combat. 1913, officially qualifying as a pilot that same year. When war broke out in August 1914, Berthold transferred to the German Air American author Peter Kilduff has been researching military Service and began flying reconnaissance missions, initially as an aviation history for more than 50 years.

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