December of 1943 was witness to the WW II's most critical clash in the Italian campaign when the Canadian regiment won the Battle of Ortona. For more details visit http://themaritimeexplorer.ca/2017/03/30/florence-much-needed-interlude-italian-liberation-tour/

1. The Epic Battle of Ortona
December of 1943 was witness to the WW II's most critical clash in the Italian
campaign when the Canadian regiment won the Battle of Ortona. As part of the
Winter Line defense system, Ortona was considered of high strategic importance as it
was needed for docking allied ships, thereby shortening the German army's lines of
supply. As the Allied offensive in Italy came to a standstill on the Western Front, the
British Eighth Army, inclusive of the 1st Canadian Division, kept advancing on the
Eastern Front. The Canadians received orders to go ahead and liberate the port town
of Ortona, now considered an important site to visit in the Liberation tours for
Canadian battlefields. The Battle of Ortona is known for the deadliness of its close-
quarters combat through the scattered rubble of the town and the several booby traps
used by both sides.
The Advent: The battle-hardened soldiers of the renowned German 1st Parachute
Division were ordered by Adolf Hitler to defend Ortona at any cost thus making the
town impenetrable to any attacking force. The hostile terrain plus the German
defense with concealed machine guns and anti-tank emplacements made any
movement with armor and infantry increasingly hard. From December 6 to
December 8, the Canadian regiments crossed the Moro River and just a few
kilometers away from the road to Ortona, encountered a huge gully running parallel
to the road where the units suffered extensive casualties in repeated attempts of
crossing it. However, on December 19 the capture of a strategic crossroads by the
Royal Canadian Regiment laid the way for the entry into Ortona.
The Attack: The Canadians first struck the town on 20th of December as the 2nd
Brigade took along some of their Seaforth Highlanders under command, and got
support from the tanks of the Régiment de Trois-Rivières. Meanwhile, in an attempt
to cut off the towns rear communications, the division's 3rd Infantry Brigade
launched a northerly attack towards the west of Ortona. The close combat fighting
was vicious, and the Canadians made use of "mouse-holing," a new tactic involving
weapons to breach the walls of a building. The method enabled the soldiers to pierce
through walls into adjoining rooms, catching the enemy troops by surprise. When
the Canadians finally took Ortona on December 28, the town of Ortona was in ruins
and was later dubbed "Little Stalingrad." After eight days, the depleted German
troops finally withdrew from Ortona. The Canadians suffered 1,375 casualties
during the Moro River battles, part of which was Ortona, representing almost a
quarter of all Canadians killed during the entire Italian Campaign. Canadian troops
left the Adriatic front at the end of April and moved south of Cassino in preparation
for the Liri Valley offensive.
Author Bio:
The author is a well-traveled historian and takes particular interest in the various
Canadian battlefields from the World War II era. He prefers taking the Liberation
tours to visit all the Canadian based military history tours in Europe.