The Valour and the Horror
Encyclopedia
The Valour and the Horror was a Canadian
television documentary
miniseries, which aired on CBC Television
in 1992. It was a co-production between the CBC. the National Film Board of Canada
(NFB) and Galafilm Inc. The films were also broadcast by Radio-Canada
, the French network of the CBC. The films were directed by Brian McKenna
, an award winning journalist and founding producer of the fifth estate
. The films were written by Brian and his brother, Terence McKenna. The series investigated three significant Canadian battles from World War II
.
was "knowingly sent into a war zone without adequate training." The episode first aired on 12 January 1992. This episode was the least controversial:
, alleging that "The true story of those battles has never really been told." The show first aired on 26 January 1992.
. "In Desperate Battle" alleged significant incompetence on the part of Canadian military command, and claimed that Canadian soldiers had committed significant, but unprosecuted, war crime
s against German soldiers. Death by Moonlight alleged that Bomber Command, unable to hit military targets with any precision, ultimately turned their attention to German cities and killed more than 600,000 German civilians, mostly old men, women and children, using high explosives and an early version of napalm. They died not as a result of collateral damage, but as part of a deliberate campaign. The producers claimed that the directives remained top secret throughout the war. The films also claimed that Bomber crews, flying at night, were for the most part, kept in the dark about their true mission. As noted below in the CBC Ombudsman’s report many of these assertions were not adequately supported by documentary evidence.
The series became the subject of an inquiry by the Senate of Canada. The NFB's Commissioner at the time, Joan Pennefather
, did appear before the committee to defend the production. Pierre Berton
, Margaret Atwood
and Shirley Douglas
, as well as PEN
, the Writer's Union, the Guild, the Producer's Association, and many others defended the series. The Senate sub-committee ultimately sided with the veterans' complaints against the filmmakers. The films were also investigated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which sided with the filmmakers. A group of air force veterans formed the Bomber Harris Trust. Claiming they had been slandered, they sued the film and the filmmakers for $500 million. The class action suit was dismissed by Ontario justice Mr. Robert Montgomery
, himself a WWII veteran. The Bomber Command Veterans appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, but were dismissed at every level.
The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the veterans did not have standing for a class action suit and that “The broadcast was aimed not at the plaintiffs or any other Canadian involved in the bombings, but at the British High Command which ordered the bombing and particularly at its overall commander.” It was further noted “It is possible to criticize, even strenuously to criticize, the misplaced emphases, the caricaturish portrayals of some of the strategies, the inaccuracy of some of the detail, and the omission of some of the countervailing considerations in the film.” In addition Mr. Justice Grange wrote that, “There can be nothing wrong with the air crew obeying lawful orders and participating in acts of war that were neither war crimes nor crimes against humanity as defined in our courts” This comment is significant given the allegations against Bomber Command by the producers of the series. The merits of the veterans’ claims were never presented in court and the courts never ruled on them.
In the opinion of one social historian, the controversy regarding The Valour and the Horror might have been avoided if the producers had involved a broader spectrum of Canadian military historians and eyewitnesses during the research and scripting phase. They could have alerted the producers to weaknesses in their evidence base, and the assumptions that would be challenged.
For the first and only time in history, the French versions of the films received similar honours at the Prix Gemaux. -- awarded the prizes for best documentary and best direction.
In 1993, the films were broadcast by Channel Four in Great Britain
. The Queen Mother
, honorary Colonel of Bomber Command, tried to stop the broadcast, but was unsuccessful. As in Canada, the films stirred a fierce historical debate.
and Merrily Weisbord
accompanied the original series. Military historians David Bercuson
and S. F. Wise later published The Valour and the Horror Revisited, a book examining the historical accuracy of the films. When the official history of the Air Force was finally published, the main points of the Bomber Command episode were supported, prompting Maclean's magazine to write that the film and the filmmakers were "totally vindicated." Historian Jack Granatstein
, in a book review in Quill and Quire, sarcastically called it "The Valour and Horror with footnotes." Granatstein severely criticized The Valour and the Horror in his book, Who Killed Canadian History?
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
television documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
miniseries, which aired on CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
in 1992. It was a co-production between the CBC. the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
(NFB) and Galafilm Inc. The films were also broadcast by Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...
, the French network of the CBC. The films were directed by Brian McKenna
Brian McKenna
Brian McKenna is an award winning Canadian documentary filmmaker.He has been a frequent collaborator with his brother Terence McKenna, also an award winning filmmaker, in particular on The Valour and the Horror, a film about strategic bombing during World War 2.-References:...
, an award winning journalist and founding producer of the fifth estate
The fifth estate
the fifth estate is a Canadian television newsmagazine, which airs on the English language CBC Television network. The name is a play on the fact that the media are sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate, and was chosen to highlight the program's determination to go beyond everyday news into...
. The films were written by Brian and his brother, Terence McKenna. The series investigated three significant Canadian battles from World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The series
The series consisted of three two-hour films: "Savage Christmas: Hong Kong 1941", "Death by Moonlight: Bomber Command" and "In Desperate Battle: Normandy 1944". The series were broadcast to critical acclaim. Almost three million people, in English and French, viewed each prime time broadcast.Savage Christmas
The central theme of this program was that the force of soldiers sent to fight in the Battle of Hong KongBattle of Hong Kong
The Battle of Hong Kong took place during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It began on 8 December 1941 and ended on 25 December 1941 with Hong Kong, then a Crown colony, surrendering to the Empire of Japan.-Background:...
was "knowingly sent into a war zone without adequate training." The episode first aired on 12 January 1992. This episode was the least controversial:
- This program was the one least criticized by veterans and historians; indeed, except for three minutes of a 104-minute presentation, "Savage Christmas" showed nothing to which any reasonable person could object.
Death by Moonlight
The central themes of the second program in the series are that Bomber Command "deliberately hid the truth" about RAF bomber crew survival rates, concealed plans about deliberately annihilating civilians, and betrayed the trust of Canadian military airmen. The episode first aired on 19 January 1992.In Desperate Battle
The central theme of the third and final presentation in the series concern the training and leadership of the Canadian Army in the Battle of NormandyBattle of Normandy
The Invasion of Normandy was the invasion and establishment of Allied forces in Normandy, France, during Operation Overlord in World War II. It was the largest amphibious operation in history...
, alleging that "The true story of those battles has never really been told." The show first aired on 26 January 1992.
Controversy
Canadian veterans' groups and some prominent historians attacked the films for allegedly presenting a biased and inaccurate portrait of Canadian military actions. The films were defended by a range of the world's top military historians, including John KeeganJohn Keegan
Sir John Keegan OBE FRSL is a British military historian, lecturer, writer and journalist. He has published many works on the nature of combat between the 14th and 21st centuries concerning land, air, maritime, and intelligence warfare, as well as the psychology of battle.-Life and career:John...
. "In Desperate Battle" alleged significant incompetence on the part of Canadian military command, and claimed that Canadian soldiers had committed significant, but unprosecuted, war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s against German soldiers. Death by Moonlight alleged that Bomber Command, unable to hit military targets with any precision, ultimately turned their attention to German cities and killed more than 600,000 German civilians, mostly old men, women and children, using high explosives and an early version of napalm. They died not as a result of collateral damage, but as part of a deliberate campaign. The producers claimed that the directives remained top secret throughout the war. The films also claimed that Bomber crews, flying at night, were for the most part, kept in the dark about their true mission. As noted below in the CBC Ombudsman’s report many of these assertions were not adequately supported by documentary evidence.
The series became the subject of an inquiry by the Senate of Canada. The NFB's Commissioner at the time, Joan Pennefather
Joan Pennefather
Joan Pennefather is a Canadian film and cultural executive. She was the first woman to be the Commissioner of the National Film Board of Canada ....
, did appear before the committee to defend the production. Pierre Berton
Pierre Berton
Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist....
, Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
and Shirley Douglas
Shirley Douglas
Shirley Jean Douglas, OC is a Canadian television, film and stage actress and activist. Her acting career combined with her family name has made her recognisable in Canadian film, television and politics.-Personal life:...
, as well as PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
, the Writer's Union, the Guild, the Producer's Association, and many others defended the series. The Senate sub-committee ultimately sided with the veterans' complaints against the filmmakers. The films were also investigated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which sided with the filmmakers. A group of air force veterans formed the Bomber Harris Trust. Claiming they had been slandered, they sued the film and the filmmakers for $500 million. The class action suit was dismissed by Ontario justice Mr. Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery
-Public officials and clergymen:*Robert Montgomery , or Robert Montgomerie, Archbishop of Glasgow, 1581–1585*Sir Robert Montgomery , Irish-born British Colonial official in India...
, himself a WWII veteran. The Bomber Command Veterans appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, but were dismissed at every level.
The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the veterans did not have standing for a class action suit and that “The broadcast was aimed not at the plaintiffs or any other Canadian involved in the bombings, but at the British High Command which ordered the bombing and particularly at its overall commander.” It was further noted “It is possible to criticize, even strenuously to criticize, the misplaced emphases, the caricaturish portrayals of some of the strategies, the inaccuracy of some of the detail, and the omission of some of the countervailing considerations in the film.” In addition Mr. Justice Grange wrote that, “There can be nothing wrong with the air crew obeying lawful orders and participating in acts of war that were neither war crimes nor crimes against humanity as defined in our courts” This comment is significant given the allegations against Bomber Command by the producers of the series. The merits of the veterans’ claims were never presented in court and the courts never ruled on them.
In the opinion of one social historian, the controversy regarding The Valour and the Horror might have been avoided if the producers had involved a broader spectrum of Canadian military historians and eyewitnesses during the research and scripting phase. They could have alerted the producers to weaknesses in their evidence base, and the assumptions that would be challenged.
Honours
The films were honoured three times at the 1993 Gemini Awards, the highest honour for Canadian film and television. The awards were:- Best Direction In An Information Or Documentary Program Or Series (Brian McKenna)
- Best Writing In An Information/Documentary Program Or Series (Brian and Terence McKenna)
- Best Documentary Series.
For the first and only time in history, the French versions of the films received similar honours at the Prix Gemaux. -- awarded the prizes for best documentary and best direction.
In 1993, the films were broadcast by Channel Four in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. The Queen Mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
, honorary Colonel of Bomber Command, tried to stop the broadcast, but was unsuccessful. As in Canada, the films stirred a fierce historical debate.
Investigation
The CBC Ombudsman’s office investigated the series and had historian S.F. Wise prepare a report on it. Among the findings of his report were that some of the claims were untrue, material was presented out of context so that it was misleading, information differing from the producers’ views were ignored, and that the series can’t be considered history rather, at best, editorializing. The CBC Ombudsman William Morgan then issued a report noting that The Valour and the Horror has serious problems with accuracy in particular “various interpretations and assertions which the producers were unable adequately to support with documentary evidence and which were questioned or challenged by the historians consulted, including those recommended by the program makers themselves.” The report further noted that The Valour and the Horror “is flawed and fails to measure up to the CBC’s demanding policies and procedures.”Related books
A book by Merilyn SimondsMerilyn Simonds
Merilyn Simonds is a Canadian writer.- Biography :Merilyn Simonds spent her childhood in Brazil, and returned to Canada as a teenager, where she was educated at the University of Western Ontario. She subsequently worked as a freelance writer, and was an editor of Harrowsmith.Her most famous book...
and Merrily Weisbord
Merrily Weisbord
Merrily Weisbord is a Canadian non-fiction writer, best known for her 2010 book The Love Queen of Malabar, a memoir of her longtime friendship with the late Indian writer Kamala Das...
accompanied the original series. Military historians David Bercuson
David Bercuson
David Jay Bercuson, OC, FRSC is a Canadian labour, military, and political historian.Born in Montreal, he attended Sir George Williams University and graduated from there in 1965 with a BA in History and was awarded the Lieutenant-Governor's Silver Medal for the highest standing in history...
and S. F. Wise later published The Valour and the Horror Revisited, a book examining the historical accuracy of the films. When the official history of the Air Force was finally published, the main points of the Bomber Command episode were supported, prompting Maclean's magazine to write that the film and the filmmakers were "totally vindicated." Historian Jack Granatstein
Jack Granatstein
Jack Lawrence Granatstein, OC, FRSC is a Canadian historian who specializes in political and military history.-Education:Born in Toronto, Ontario, Granatstein received a graduation diploma from Le College militaire royal de Saint-Jean in 1959, his BA from the Royal Military College of Canada in...
, in a book review in Quill and Quire, sarcastically called it "The Valour and Horror with footnotes." Granatstein severely criticized The Valour and the Horror in his book, Who Killed Canadian History?