In Desperate Battle: Normandy 1944 (V&H, pt. 4)

Bercuson seems to have much less trouble with this segment than Wise. Wise brings up something that seems to be in direct conflict with the report given by the McKennas. Where the McKenna version implies the use of conscripted soldiers , Wise clarifies that there WERE no conscripts in Normandy, because conscription didn't begin until after that battle was fought. Two very different accounts. It's interesting, though, that this segment seems to receive the least attention, since it is probably one of the best researched.

I would have to say I agree with Bercuson and Wise on the lack of historical significance of this segment. With all the information available on the Normandy campaign, it seems odd that the McKennas would make mistakes that can so easily be checked. I don't understand the repeated reference to "the true story of those battles has never really been told". Does that mean that Reginald Roy, Bill McAndrews, and various other authors were lying when they wrote their books on the summer of 1944 in Normandy? The McKenna brothers claim to be telling us the whole truth, but what is more valid, the truth of a historian, or the truth of a journalist? Journalists make a career out of sensationalizing their works. If the three parts of the series had not contained both dramatization and intrigue, the average viewer would not be able to sit through them.

There were a number of niggling little things about the movie that left a bad taste. One such thing was the comment they had by the young soldier who said he joined up because he needed the money, since the Depression still had a stranglehold on the country. That's nothing new, and has even been an underlying theme in many of the movies that have either dealt with, or spoofed, war throughout the years. Sometimes people join for money, sometimes for free education. But the McKenna brothers almost make it sound like some strange sort of government plot - "Keep them poor, and they'll join the army!" Something else they also didn't mention was why Canada's army had dwindled to such a small number of soldiers. It wasn't exactly allowed to run down - in pouring money into social programs during the Depression, the government had to take money from somewhere. Defense was the unlucky choice.

This segment fell into part of the same trap as "Death by Moonlight" -- using well-known actors. One of the faces frequently seen "speaking" the words of a long-lost soldier is a Canadian who pops up frequently in made-for-TV family movies. (I recognize his face, but can never remember his name.) It also doesn't help that it's extremely hard to hear the first few minutes of the movie, because "Amazing Grace" is playing extremely loudly on the bagpipes. Another well-known face in this segment is that of Nicholas Campbell's, the Canadian actor currently gracing the small screen in "DaVinci's Inquest".

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