Not All of Us Were Brave [Paperback]

When you read this first person account of what was like as a member of the Perth Regiment in WW2, you really get a sense of what the ordinary man was subjected to. This is not a book full of strategy and what the Commanders or Generals of the Armies in Italy had to say about the conflicts of the Italian campaign, it is the man on the ground, what he saw. And how Stan and his friends reacted to all the situations of war. Good times and bad.

A great reading book with a nice introduction by G. Watt. I reccomend it to anyone who is interested in history or first hand accounts of war. A must read for any Canadian.

Great account of one man and his Canadian unit's experience during the Italian campaign in WWII. The author is very candid about his feelings, fears and humorous thoughts... Well written and easy to read with alot of old Canadian slang which makes it quite enjoyable. His storytelling ability puts you right onto the battlefield and you can really feel the serious effects of battle and death.... Any one that served in Italy or has relatives that served may want to read this... The Author has an extensive collection of personal recollections of serious as well as humorous times.. He could not have picked a more perfect title for his book.... If you are tired of reading about all headline heros of WWII, try this one, he brings you into the trenches with the real heros...

"Not all of Us were Brave" by Stanley Scislowski is perhaps the best written account of the Canadian drive through Italy. The book is substantially longer than the average memoir at 368 pages and is full of maps and excellent photographs of key battlefields. It provides a fully comprehensive look at the British 8th Army's Italian campaign during the critical year of 1944, mixing meticulously detailed history with the author's unique voice and memory of the ordeal. I found this book to live up to its' title regarding the honesty of recollection; the author spares no expense to provide a look at war that is unflinching, brutal and painful.

Scislowski was drafted into the Canadian Army in 1943 and sent overseas to join the 5th Armored Division's Perth regiment in England. The reader is drawn into the story by the stark reality of army life; he makes no effort to cover up his qualms with the harsh conditions, terrible food and everyday drudgery that is military routine. This sets the tone for the book, but is not dwelt on in a self-pitying way-it is simply one soldier's honest memory of service. The suffocating routine is lightened somewhat by the author's memories of his comrades in arms in 18 platoon of Dog Company. Like many other veterans, the time with his fellow soldiers left an indelible impression upon his mind, which certainly alleviated much of the pressure of army life by spreading the burden to all ranks.

After training together in England the division is shipped out to Italy at the end of 1943. After several weeks of training south of the Gustav line, Stan and the Perths received their battle baptism at the Riccio River in January. The assault, like every other along the line during early 1944 was destroyed, leaving the remnants of Dog Company straggling back through Ortona on the Adriatic coast. Stan and his comrade's were somewhat ashamed of their initial performance, and suffered petty harassment at the hands of the more experienced 1st Canadian Infantry, but would more than redeem themselves in the months ahead.

After a long stretch in the Adriatic sector of static trench warfare, constant shelling and dueling patrols, the 5th is moved into the rocky Cassino sector for a few weeks before being taken off the line in early spring. As the Allies begin their spring offensive in the Liri Valley, the 5th takes part in the assault, but is just behind the 1st Division. The valley is filled with mines and German batteries which make the advance quite costly. After the Hitler line is broken, and the US 5th Army takes Rome, Stan's unit is pulled off the line for a two month rest. At the end of August, following a grueling march approaching the Gothic line, the Perth's fight valiantly in the Foglia river valley, breaking through the German lines. Scislowski's account of this battle is incredibly vivid at his company engages two German hilltop positions with head on assaults. In the second attack, Stan is wounded by a grenade fragment and sent to the hospital for two weeks.

By the time off his return, the 8th army's advance has broken into the Po plains, and the fighting is from canal to canal. After a month off the lines, the Perth's renew their assault in December. By this time, Scislowski is showing the signs of battle fatigue after his stint in the hospital and return to the front. His accounts of enemy shelling and the constant advance of the Candian corps is almost as punishing on his unit as it is on the Germans. Sensing a break in the German fighting spirit, the Allies commanders were adamant upon a vigorous pursuit of the fleeing enemy. The Canadian units were chosen to spearhead this assault, which slowed somewhat as they approached the coastal city of Ravenna. They chose to bypass a direct route up the coast, and instead move off to the northwest, cutting off any German retreat from the city. The 5th is once again at the sharp end of the advance, but this time the enemy shows increasing resistance, and the progress of Allied forces begins to slow.

Stan's mental balance is slowly beginning to tip by this point; there are two episodes where he gets "separated" from his platoon, once during an attack patrol along the Lemone dike, and once during an assault at the Munio River under horrendous fire from several directions over the flat fields. There is no direct admission of desertion (he was questioned by his commanding officer), but the events were preceded by Stan experiencing shell shock following the mutilation of one of friends by a mortar shell. He broke ranks and sprinted for a farm house, hiding under a bed. His honesty about these incidents is quite brave and the episodes are even written with a self deprecation that can only be seen in hindsight. Stan's account is a testament to the fact that nearly every soldier has a breaking point;a time when each man can take no more punishment. Stan had been in Italy for a year, fighting at the front, living in muddy, frozen foxholes, subsisting on horrendous food, while the threat of death was an ever present specter that haunted the land. Under such conditions, men can only muster bravery for so long.

During the first days of January, Stan's unit is finally pulled of the line as the Canadian corps was to leave Italy and join the other Canadian Divisions fighting the remnants of the Nazis in Holland. The night before they were pulled of the lines, Stan is "volunteered" for a patrol by his sergeant, investigating an observation post that was ambushed by the Germans. They find no Germans, only wounded Canadians, one of which Stan and his mates haul back to the company hospital (not the first time that Stan bravely put himself at risk to save injured comrades). On this journey Stan says that he damaged his right knee, and had bad swelling, earning him a trip to the field hospital once again. However, he stays there for nearly six months, a length of time unusual for a slightly injured knee. This episode ends the book rather abruptly, as if the memories of the event are unpleasant to say the least. He admits at the end that he was suffering from combat exhaustion, a form of post traumatic stress disorder, which in all likelihood prevented him from finishing out the war with his unit. This gives the title an obvious honestly, as Scislowski bears witness to the fact that every man has a breaking point. He ends by saying his memories were bittersweet-he was proud of his contributions to the regiment, especially at the Gothic line breakthrough, and mournful of the sacrifices and miseries he and his friends endured. His tale is one of the most moving and honest accounts of war, showing that most men who served were not superhuman heroes, nor were they cowards, but somewhere between the two.

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