Dam Busters – Review
One of the most daring and creative events of the Second World War was the Dam Buster raid, also known as Operation Chastise. This was not to be your average bombing raid but something that would require new skills and new technology.
Numerous books have been written on this raid but Dam Busters: Canadian Airmen and the Secret Raid Against Nazi Germany by Ted Barris is unique in that it focuses on the Canadian contribution to this attack.
One of the things that I enjoy about Ted Barris is that he does not just rely on the official facts or the reports by the top commanders. He digs into the stories of the people who were actually involved in it. He makes us care about the people and we feel it when they are killed during the attack.
I also appreciated that Barris takes the time to reflect on the long-term value of the raid. The dams were quickly rebuilt by the Germans and so were these deaths just a waste? Barris shows that the Germans had to take valuable effort and resources from building the Atlantic Wall in order to build the defences to protect the dams. This meant by the time D-Day took place, the coast was not near ready for the invasion.
I really enjoyed Dam Busters and I’m reminded of why Ted Barris is one of my favourite military historians.
