The Price of Command

Lieutenant General Guy Granville Simonds was one of the Second World War's most dynamic strategists and commanded enormous respect from British generals such as Bernard Montgomery and Alan Brooke. Now, in The Price of Command, Dominick Graham tells the whole story for the first time, tracing Simonds's family origins and detailing his postwar career as Canada's top military man.
The focus, though, as it should be, is on Simonds's campaigns in World War II. Graham takes us from the rocky shores of Sicily to the fierce fighting in the Dutch polders, examining the military and political infighting that seemed to dog every hard- won mile of Simonds's successful march into the German Rhineland. To a large degree, the author presents Simonds's own views, using letters and other writings to put forward the general's thoughts on Dieppe, the invasions of Sicily, Italy, and Normandy, and the battles in the Low Countries and Germany.
Not everyone will concur with Graham's assessment of Simonds's struggles, both political and military, nor will everyone sympathize with his portrait of a general who, at times, seemed driven to succeed no matter what the personal and public cost. Often hamstrung by troop and equipment shortages and frequently hindered by the shortsightedness of his superiors, Simonds made many enemies, which undoubtedly led to the bureaucratic cold shoulder he initially received after the war. But just as he eventually prevailed even in the darkest moments under fire, Simonds triumphed once again and was appointed chief of the General Staff in 1951.
In the end, however, The Price of Command is not just a chronicle of one man's war; it is the story of a nation whose character was forged in combat