Library

Books, references, and publications of interest to the Canadian soldier.

Listings marked with the icon at left are on the Canadian Army Reading List, which itself is listed on this page. Some may not be the preferred version per the List, but the versions on this page are free and immediately available.

Title and Author Description	Available Formats
The 36 Strategies Cunning, devious, subtle, and ruthless - this collection of strategies, dating back many hundreds of years, can be applied to any conflict situation.
Anabasis by Xenophon The campaign of The Ten Thousand, a Greek force raised to fight in Persia for Cyrus against Artaxerxes in 401 BC, and who had to fight their way home again after Artaxerxes' victory.
Aerodrome of Democracy: Canada and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan 1939-1945 by F. J. Hatch How Canada produced over 130,000 trained airmen for the Allies during World War II.
The Art of War by Baron de Jomini A manual on how to fight a Napoleonic-style war, written by a Swiss soldier who served as a colonel in Napoleon's army. Jomini's book was first published seven years after Clausewitz's "On War", but the latter work eventually won the mindshare battle among military theorists.
The Art of War by Sun Tzu Written about 2500 years ago, this is the oldest known book on how to wage war - and one of the best.
Battle Studies by Colonel Ardant du Picq "Battle is the final objective of armies and man is the fundamental instrument in battle. Nothing can wisely be prescribed in an army...without exact knowledge of the fundamental instrument, man, and his state of mind, his morale, at the instant of combat."
A Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi Written by Japan's greatest samurai, this guide to strategy can be applied to conflicts ranging from single combat to ten-thousand-a-side battles, in the war room and the boardroom.
Canada's Army in Korea A short official account of the Canadian Army's part in the Korean Conflict. Originally published in five instalments in the Canadian Army Journal.
The Canadian Army Reading List This reading list, maintained by the Army Doctrine and Training Bulletin, is intended as an aid to professional development.
Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919 by Colonel G.W.L. Nicholson, CD The official history of the Canadian Army in the First World War.
Canadian Forces Orders, Directives and Instructions
Queen's Regulations and Orders (QR&O's)
Compensation and Benefit Instructions (CBI's) Policy and administrative information about pay, allowances, benefits, and reimbursement for travel and other expenses arising out of military service. For convenience, they retain the same numbering system as the portions of Queen's Regulations and Orders which they replace.
Canadian Forces Administrative Orders (CFAO's) These orders amplify Queen's Regulations and Orders. They are numbered according to the Queen's Regulations and Orders to which they relate. They are in the process of being replaced by the Defence Administrative Orders and Directives.
Defence Administrative Orders and Directives (DAOD's) These orders and directives supersede the Canadian Forces Administrative Orders. They use a totally new numbering system unrelated to that of Queen's Regulations and Orders. The alphabetical index, and the "Find" function of your web browser, will prove invaluable for publication searches.
Canadian Military Heritage by René Chartrand A comprehensive military history of Canada in three volumes. Note - each volume is a 30 MB download!
Volume I, 1000-1754
Volume II, 1755-1871
Volume III, 1872-2000
Canadian Military History Since the 17th Century Proceedings of the Canadian Military History Conference, Ottawa, 5-9 May 2000.
The Commentaries by Julius Caesar Caesar's accounts of his campaigns, written in the third person.
The African Wars
The Alexandrian Wars
The Civil Wars
The Gallic Wars
The Spanish Wars
The Defence of Duffer's Drift by Capt (later Maj Gen) E.D. Swinton, DSO, RE Written in 1903, this is a six-part fable about a fictional small-unit action during the Boer War. Field Marshal Wavell said of it in his forward to a 1949 edition, "If after studying this little work, an officer decides that he has learned nothing, I can only recommend him to apply for employment in an Administrative branch of the War Office, for he will certainly be a danger to his troops in the field."
A Guide to the Conduct of Junior Officers This updated version of an older text was issued to each officer and Chief Warrant Officer in Saskatchewan District in 1992.
The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides A chronicle of the war that ended Athenian power, as told by a commander on the losing side.
The Honours, Flags and Heritage Structure of the Canadian Forces (A-AD-200-000/AG-000) This reference, hard to find in online form, is the authority for such matters as individual and unit honours, individual and unit precedence, flags, and guidons. The PDF is a reasonable 2.85 MB download.
Introduction to the Study of Military History for Canadian Students edited by Colonel C.P. Stacey, OC, OBE, CD An introduction to the study of military history, using Canadian military history for its examples. Originally prepared as a guidebook for junior officer exams.
The King of Prussia's Military Instructions to His Generals by Frederick the Great Both a military and social innovator, Frederick turned Prussia into one of the leading nations of Europe. The Military Instructions helped guide his armies as they fought the Grand Alliance of Russia, France and Austria to a standstill in the Seven Years War.
The March of the Prairie Men by LCol (ret'd) G.B. Buchanan The South Saskatchewan Regiment shares a common ancestry with The Saskatchewan Dragoons. This on-line edition of its history is maintained by the Estevan Community Access Project.
The National Defence Act and Associated Regulations At the Canadian Legal Information Institute web site.
The National Defence Act
National Defence Act Regulations
On War by Carl von Clausewitz This landmark work, written by a Prussian general who lived during the Napoleonic era, has enjoyed a renaissance during the last half-century. Studied at war colleges everywhere, it serves as a major underpinning of modern military doctrine. Note - the e-text listed here is Volume I only.
Peacekeeping 1815 to Today Proceedings of the XXI st Colloquium of the International Commission of Military History, Quebec City, 20-26 August 1995.
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane A classic novel of the American Civil War.
Tank: The Canadian Army's Four-Letter Word by Major Lee J. Hammond, CD This important paper, written by an artillery officer, and originally published in The Army Doctrine and Training Bulletin, examines "the utility of the tank as a crucial weapon system that is needed now and in the future".

Reports and Studies

At the Conference of Defence Associations web site

The aim of the CDA ... is to contribute to beneficial defence policy and effective armed forces.

• A Nation At Risk: The Decline of the Canadian Forces is their latest study

At the Fraser Commisson web site

The Fraser Commission is the Minister of Defence's Monitoring Committee, established by the Honourable Art Eggleton in October 1997.

• In Phase I of its mandate, the Committee "monitored the implementation of some 350 recommendations accepted by the Government from several reports".
  
  
  • First Interim Report, November 1998
  • Second Interim Report, June 1999
  • Final Report, December 1999
  
  
  
• In Phase II of its mandate, the Committee "was asked to continue monitoring reforms in the areas of leadership, including education and professional development, and the Reserves." Its final report is to be released in 2002. However, in the fall of 1999, the Minister asked the Chairman of the MMC to provide him with advice on the Land Force Reserve Restructure (LFRR) initiative.
  
  
  • In Service of the Nation: Canada's Citizen Soldiers for the 21st Century, 09 May 2000
    ("The Fraser Report")
  
  
  
• The committee's current mandate is to monitor the implementation of the Government's Policy Statement of October 2000 on Land Force Reserve Restructure.
  
  
  • First Quarterly Report, 17 Jan 2001
    
    
  • Progress Report I - LFRR, February 2002
  • Progress Report II - LFRR and PD, Education and Leadership, June 2003
  
  
  
• Related Report on the Fraser Commission Site
  
  
  The Jeffery Report (in PDF format)

At the Special Commission on the Restructuring of the Reserves Web Site

• Report of the Special Commission on the Restructuring of the Reserves, 30 October 1995

At the Office of The Auditor General of Canada web site

• Recruitment and Retention of Military Personnel, Chapter 5 of the April 2002 Report.

Parliamentary Committee reports at the Parliament of Canada web site

• The Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs
  
  
  • Report 2, Plans and Priorities (Tabled in the House 12 June 2001)
    
    
  • Report 3, State of Readiness of the Canadian Forces: Response to the Terrorist Threat (Tabled in the House 7 November 2001)
    
    
  • Report 4, Facing Our Responsibilities: The State of Readiness of the Canadian Forces, May 2002
    
    
    • The Government response to this report, released 25 October 2002
    
    
  • Report 5, Long-Term Care For Veterans: The West Coast Crisis, June 2002
    
    
    • The Government response to this report
    
    
  
  
• The Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence
  
  
  • Canadian Security and Military Preparedness, February 2002
    
    
  • Defence of North America: A Canadian Responsibility, September 2002
    
    
  • For an Extra $130 Bucks…Update on Canada's Military Financial Crisis, A View from the Bottom UP, 12 November 2002
    
    
  • The Myth of Security at Canada's Airports, 21 January 2003
    
    
  • Fixing the Canadian Forces' Method of Dealing with Death or Dismemberment, 10 April 2003
    
    

Links from this site should not be interpreted as endorsements of the web sites linked to.

Last updated 16 October 2005

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