On October 13, 1942, the SS Caribou sailed from Sydney harbour to its home part, Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. Lying in wait was the German submarine U-69, which unleashed a torpedo that sank the passenger ship and led to the demise of 136 men, women, and children. From 1942 to 1944, German submarines destroyed or severely damaged twenty-five ships, including four Canadian warships and a U.S. Army troop transport. It was the only battle of the twentieth century to take place within Canada’s boundaries, and the only one fought almost exclusively by Canadian forces under Canadian high command. And for more than forty years the battle was characterized as a Canadian defeat. But was it a defeat? Drawing on new material from wartime records, eminent historian Roger Sarty brings the forgotten battle to life for new generations of Canadians.

The History of Canada Series: War in the St. Lawrence: The Forgotten U-boat Battles On Canada's Shores

History

SARTY, Roger

Americas

Penguin Canada

From 1942 to 1944, fifteen German submarines destroyed or severely damaged twenty-seven ships, including three Canadian warships, a U.S. Army troop transport, and the Newfoundland ferry Caribou . More than 250 lives were lost. It was the only battle of the twentieth century to take place within Canada’s boundaries, and the only battle to be fought almost exclusively by Canadian forces under Canadian, rather than alliance, high command. And for more than forty years the battle was characterized as a Canadian defeat. But was it a defeat? Drawing on new material from wartime records—including ultra-top-secret Allied decryptions of German naval radio communications, Roger Sarty shows that Canada mounted a successful defence with far fewer resources and in the face of much greater challenges than previously known. He draws vivid pictures of the intense combat on Canada’s shores and the interplay of the St. Lawrence battle with war politics in Ottawa, Washington, and London. At the same time, he weaves a second story: how researchers reassembled the scattered war records in Canada, Britain, the United States, and Germany, and brought the long-forgotten battle to life for new generations of Canadians and international audiences.

Allen Lane.

Michael Hadley and Roger Sarty shed new light on Canadian and German history -- and on Canada's naval defences in particular -- by exploring the naval operations and politics of both nations between 1880 and 1918. Beginning with Canada's feeling of "Splendid Isolation" and Germany's imperial ambitions against North America, the authors' intriguing and graphic account takes us from the early turmoil of federal politics in Canada to the conflict of the Great War and the eventual mothballing of the Canadian fleet. Having conducted an exhaustive study of Canadian, German, American, and British sources -- many of which have not been examined before -- Hadley and Sarty evaluate such major issues as policies and practice; intelligence schemes and spy scares; naval bills and the Dreadnought crisis; U-boats, commercial submarines, undersea cruisers, and surface raiders; and coastal patrols and convoy protection. Many factors that were believed to have been responsible for shaping -- and misshaping -- the Canadian Navy of 1939-45 are shown to have been in play during the First World War. Tin-Pots and Pirate Ships reveals the Canadian tradition of building a fleet only when needed, dismantling it once the conflict is over, and ultimately accepting terms dictated by alliance partners.

Tin-Pots and Pirate Ships: Canadian Naval Forces and German Sea Raiders 1880-1918

Hadley, Michael L.

McGill-Queen's University Press

One of the great untold Canadian military stories revolves around the eastern seaport of Sydney, Nova Scotia. Guardian of the Gulf offers a vivid and long overdue account of Sydney harbour's role, and the importance of its coal deposits, in North Atlantic strategy and military operations from the Anglo-French wars in the eighteenth century to the end of the Cold War in the 1990s.More than two centuries of activity in and around Sydney harbour came to a head during the world wars, when Sydney became a major convoy port in the merchant-ship lifeline that sustained Britain with supplies from North America. Essential to the air and naval forces that pursued German submarines in the waters off the coast of Canada, Sydney was also an imporatant industrial centre that produced enormous quantities of critically important coal and steel. Exploring the roles of army, navy, air force, and merchant marine, Tennyson and Sarty offer richly detailed information on garrisons, fortifications, base development, and maritime warfare.Set against the Backdrop of national and alliance policymaking in London, Ottawa, and Washington, the story moves deftly between the larger and smaller pictures, making this a work of both colourful immediacy and broad interpretation.Winner of the 2000 Keith Matthews Award for Best Book, awarded by Canadian Nautical Research Society

Guardian of the Gulf: Sydney, Cape Breton, and the Atlantic Wars

Tennyson, Brian

University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division

University of Toronto Press

Saint John became a gateway to what is now Canada in the early 1600s, and Fort La Tour, built in 1632, was one of the three main forts of Acadie. In Saint John Fortifications, Roger Sarty and Doug Knight trace the history of the port's defences, from the earliest log palisades to the bunkers, gun emplacements, and communications stations built during World War II. Put to the test during the American Revolutionary War, Saint John has figured as one of Canada's most significant guardians. American independence effectively closed the shipping route between the mouth of the Richelieu River, on the St. Lawrence, and the mouth of the Hudson River, at New York City. Saint John took over some of this traffic, and so the 19th century wars and threatened wars between Canada and the United States resulted in bigger and better fortifications for the city. Each new defence system has incorporated the old, including the installations built as protection from German invasion during the two World Wars. Although the last of the modern installations on Partridge Island was disabled in 1956, many sites still contain substantial reminders of their past strength. Visitors today can trace the evidence of this great commercial port's military past. Saint John Fortifications, 1630-1956 is the first book in the New Brunswick Military Heritage Series published by Goose Lane Editions in collaboration with the New Brunswick Military Heritage Project.

Saint John Fortifications, 1630-1956 (New Brunswick Military Heritage)

Knight, Doug

Goose Lane Editions

The maritime defence of Canada

Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies

Published simultaneously in French under the title: Le Canada et la Bataille de l'Atlantique.

Canada and the Battle of the Atlantic

Vanwell

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by SARTY, Roger. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by SARTY, Roger

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by SARTY, Roger. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The History of Canada Series: War in the St. Lawrence: The Forgotten U-boat Battles On Canada's Shores

The History of Canada Series: War in the St. Lawrence: The Forgotten U-boat Battles On Canada's Shores

Tin-Pots and Pirate Ships: Canadian Naval Forces and German Sea Raiders 1880-1918

Guardian of the Gulf: Sydney, Cape Breton, and the Atlantic Wars

Guardian of the Gulf: Sydney, Cape Breton, and the Atlantic Wars

Saint John Fortifications, 1630-1956 (New Brunswick Military Heritage)

The maritime defence of Canada

Canada and the Battle of the Atlantic