Terrible Victory
First Canadian Army and the Scheldt Estuary Campaign, September 13–November 6, 1944
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Terrible Victory
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Narrated by:
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James Conlan
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By:
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Mark Zuehlke
About this listen
On September 4, 1944, Antwerp, Europe’s largest port, fell to the Second British Army and it seemed the war would soon be won. But Antwerp was of little value unless the West Scheldt Estuary linking it to the North Sea was also in Allied hands. In his greatest blunder of the war, Field Marshal Montgomery turned his back on the port, leaving the First Canadian Army to fight its way up the long coastal flank. By the time the Canadians and others serving with them reached the area, it had been transformed into a fortress manned by troops ordered to fight to the death. Crushing the Nazi defenders required all of the Canadians’ courage, endurance and skill. The battle that raged until November was Canada’s bloodiest of World War II, costing more than 6,000 casualties.
©2007 Mark Zuehlke (P)2013 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 30
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
So said Brigadier S. James Hill, commanding officer of the British 3rd Parachute Brigade, in an address to his troops shortly before the launching of Operation Overlord - the D-Day invasion of Normandy. No more prophetic words were ever spoken, for chaos indeed reigned on that day, and many more that followed.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Allied Airborne in Normandy
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 114
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great intro to Korea
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D-Day
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- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 631
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 457
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 458
Renowned historian Antony Beevor, the man who "single-handedly transformed the reputation of military history" (The Guardian) presents the first major account in more than 20 years of the Normandy invasion and the liberation of Paris. This is the first book to describe not only the experiences of the American, British, Canadian, and German soldiers, but also the terrible suffering of the French caught up in the fighting.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A commendable book
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Editorial reviews
Between September and November 1944, Canadian troops fought for control of the Scheldt Estuary, which would give Allied troops throughout Europe access to much-needed supplies. Military historian Mark Zuehlke’s Terrible Victory pays tribute to these soldiers who fought this bloody campaign that proved crucial to the allied campaign.
Mixing first-person accounts with military records, Zuehlke offers a detailed account that not only sheds light onto the strategic importance of this lengthy battle but the extraordinary physical demands placed on Canadian soldiers.
James Conlan brings a crisp intensity to the book’s battle sequences and pronounces the many German and French words with pleasing fluency.
What listeners say about Terrible Victory
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Neil Amoore
- 09-11-13
Detailed and entertaining...
Would you consider the audio edition of Terrible Victory to be better than the print version?
Haven't read the print version.
What did you like best about this story?
The personal narratives enliven an, at times, dreary recounting of a fascinating and under-reported campaign.
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
The narrator is NOT familiar with military terms ("coy" is company, for example) and basic mispronunciations of other words grated.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Up Scheldt Creek without a paddle!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- brian Ferguson
- 07-11-17
narrator needs work
the narrator was good but very annoying to hear him pronounce Regina wrong, and on every occasion. It's not pronounced
"Re-jean-na" . It's "Reg-eye-na". not complicated. and a little disheartening to when telling stories about the brave men who died in the Regina Rifles.
however the book was good as are all of the the writers other books
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Andrew Frantz
- 10-04-19
A recording that does not do this work justice
Another great installment in Zuehlke’s series (though hard to digest without a map handy), but poorly brought to audio format by the narrator. Odd inflection and emphasis throughout (not quite monotone, but close) and repeated mispronunciation of names, Roman numerals, abbreviations, and even common English words (for instance, “Hamilton,” the letters “HLI,” “short lived,” and “behemoth” should not be difficult for a professional narrator). I had high hopes for this recording but was disappointed.
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