Table of Contents for Through the Hitler Line: Memoirs of an Infantry Chaplain by Lawrence F. Wilmot, MC List of Photographs List of Maps Foreword Acknowledgemnets Introduction Chapter 1. Treading Cautiously into the Unknown Chapter 2. Ministry on the Arielli Front Chapter 3. Taking Up God's Armour Chapter 4. Breaking the Hitler Line Chapter 5. A Tourist in Wartime Chapter 6. Preparing for the Attack Chapter 7. Tragedy at Foglia River Chapter 8. Fierce Fighting and Close Call Chapter 9. A Time of Stress and a Moment of Rest Chapter 10. Roman Holiday, Russi Road Chapter 11. Prayers for the Fallen Chapter 12. Liberating Holland Chapter 13. The Guns Fall Silent Glossary
Laurence F. Wilmot, M.C. , was Warden Emeritus of St. Johnâs College, Winnipeg, Manitoba. During a pre-engineering year at university, he decided to train for the ministry. He served as a chaplain in the Canadian army from 1942-45, and was in Italy during the 1944-45 campaign. He was awarded the Military Cross in August 1944 and has received honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from Trinity College, Toronto, and St. Johnâs College, Winnipeg. Laurence Wilmot passed away in December 2003 at the age of 96.
"This book will become a classic on conflict from the perspective
of a chaplain....Padre Wilmot's story provides...personalities that
bring this story to life, where other histories provide only dry
statistics and commentary....For padres and other support
professionals, this book is thought provoking, as the essence of
the challenges and coping strategies remain the same sixty years
later. If nothing else, this book should serve as a catalyst to
discussions on the roles of these professionals and the
relationships with the chain of command at all levels." -- Captain
R.D. Tesselaar -- Canadian Army Journal, Volume 8.3, 200606
"This is a rather good military memoir. The late Canon Laurence
Wilmot's book provides rare insights into frontline combat
conditions through the eyes of a World War II army chaplain.... His
compassionate depiction of the courage and self-sacrifice displayed
by the so-called ordinary Canadians--while neither glorifying war
nor belittling warriors--documents the price of the freedom we
enjoy to this day. Wilmot's description of infantry fighting in
Italy is as good as it gets. He is particularly vivid when
describing a little-known battle at the Arielli. He served in the
thick of things there, working as a frontline stretcher-bearer,
helping to bring in scores of wounded men while under heavy enemy
fire himself. He conveys his compassion and devotion to the
soldiers without a flicker of self-aggrandizement. The book-jacket
blurb is the only way you would know he was awarded the Military
Cross for bravery in 1944." -- Sidney Allinson -- Canadian Book
Review Annual, 2006
"A remarkable and unique view of war from a non-combatant." --
Wesley C. Gustavson, University of Western Ontario -- Canadian
Historical Review, 85:3, 200409
"In his book Through the Hitler Line: Memoirs of an Infantry
Chaplain, Laurence Wilmot admitted a chaplain's role could
sometimes be confusing. At first he felt `the military considered
clergy...an unnecessary nusiance and interference' in the middle of
battle. The padres, he said, proclaimed the peace of God to men
sworn to war. Like most padres, Wilmot created a role for himself
assisting the medics, retrieving casualties on stretchers from the
battlefields, caring for the dead and their personal effects,
writing to families, providing comfort and aid to soldiers
regardless of their faith. Wilmot was one of many padres decorated
for bravery." -- Valerie Hill -- The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo),
200511
"Provides a comprehensive answer to the question, 'What does a
chaplain do in a war zone?' [as well as offering] some insights on
and vignettes of the men in the West Nova Scotia Regiment who
played their small, but heroic, part in defeating the Axis forces
in Europe." -- Wallace G. Mills, St. Mary's University -- Histoire
social/Social History, 200507
"The late Laurence Wilmot's memoirs rarely touch on abstract
theological issues, but he was an acute observer an ddevout
Anglican priest whose service with the Canadian army in Italy
during World War II tested his faith, courage, and physical
strength to the limit....Readers will be rewarded with provocative
insights into what is called the ministry of presence, as well as
how Wilmot sustained this ministry in extraordinarily brutal times.
His book will provide cause for reflection and insight for all who
minister, civilian or military." -- Duff Crerar -- Toronto Journal
of Theology, Volume 21, number 2, Fall 2005
"If you need to be persuaded that we have to find another and a
better way of settling international disputes than war, then read
Wilmot's wartime journal and be convinced." -- Frank Morgan -- The
Record
"Through the Hitler Line is a concise history of the West Nova
Scotia Regiment's campaign in Italy...it should be read in the
schools, so that a generation becoming more and more separated from
the reality of World War II may know the anatomy of sacrifice, and
be convinced that war is not just a video game." -- Glen Hancock --
The Regional Magazine
"Wilmot's memoir is a story of remarkable faith, discipline, and
determination....[which] allows us a detailed and honest view into
regimental life...[and] also [provides] a valuable study in
military leadership....In the end this work is a powerful testament
of faith. In our more secular world, it seems jarring to read how
Wilmot, amid the carnage, continued his daily ritual of prayer,
meditation, and Bible study. But his clear, honest prose reflects a
moral certainty that is very moving. Few wartime memoirs are
better." -- Geoffrey Hayes -- University of Toronto
Quarterly--Letters in Canada 2003
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