Ortona

[ErikH]

Here for photos and video.

<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">The Battle of Ortona</span>
"The Italian Stalingrad" December 21-27, 1943

It is the bloodiest battle of the Italian campaign. Ortona, once a picturesque ancient village on the Adriatic Sea, is being reduced to rubble. Canadian soldiers clash daily with desperate German troops in bitter, house-to-house fighting. Snipers, land mines and booby traps exact a terrible price for every building gained. As we hear in this Christmas Eve report from Matthew Halton, Ortona has become "the courtyard of hell."


<span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Above: Soldiers of The Loyal Edmonton Regiment rescue Lance Corporal Roy Boyd. The rubble created from a bomb blast pinned Boyd for three and a half days. Remarkably, he survived his ordeal, but others were not so lucky. In fact, the explosion that buried Boyd killed the rest of the platoon.</span>

Beginning December 21, 1943, troops from Canada fought a savage battle to oust German soldiers from the Italian coastal port of Ortona, on Italy's Adriatic coast.

The Battle of Ortona was a small yet extremely fierce battle fought between German Fallschirmjäger (1st Parachute Division), and assaulting Canadians forces from the 1st Canadian Division. It was considered among Canada's greatest achievement during the war.

The Cost
2,339 Canadian Casualties
1,374 Canadian Dead

The Battle
General Montgomery believed that the Germans would retreat north of Ortona, in an area where the terrain provided good natural defence positions; and that the coastal city would therefore be an easy prey. Things did not turn out that way… On December 20th, the 2nd Brigade arrived near Ortona; the following day the Loyal Edmonton Regiment got as far as Piazza Vittoria at the entrance of the town. In front of them, the corso Vittorio Emanuele leading to the Piazza Municipale, the heart of the city. Narrow side streets were blocked by barricades and rubble left by the Germans. The wide-open corso, the only street that tanks could use was booby-trapped. The Canadian infantry had to clear its way through houses on the side before moving forward, a dangerous and difficult task.

The Canadians were facing a unit from the 1st Parachute Division, well-rested, well-trained and well-equipped troops, and ideological fanatics. Fighting was fierce. The Germans had planted mines, time bombs, and other booby-traps throughout the abandoned houses and amid the rubble. Machine gun positions and antitank artillery were concealed behind walls and among the ruins. Canadian soldiers used their short-ranged 6-pounder guns to take down walls or roofs where paratroopers might be hiding. When shells could not pierce the thick stone walls, gunners aimed for the windows and the shells bouncing inside the houses caused terrible destruction.

Canadian infantrymen moved from house to house without ever showing up in the streets. Using pickaxes and explosives, they pierced the upstairs walls between buildings, dashing forward through smoke and dust, pouncing down on their opponents. Grenades thrown by the Germans would fall back on them before exploding. The tanks moved slowly along, providing ammunition and evacuating the wounded.

Why would the Germans defend with inordinate fierceness - matched only by the determination of the Canadians - a small coastal town of little strategic value? Throughout the world, the showdown made the headlines and Ortona became a household word: "This is Matthew Halton from the CBC, speaking from Italy… ". Canadian radio war correspondents made this bloody episode world-famous. Ortona became a symbol, as important as Rome. To capture the city or to keep it, it all became a matter of national prestige.

Fighting raged for days. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment and the Seaforth Highlanders Regiment were relentless and suffered heavy casualties. At Christmas, against all expectation, the Seaforth Highlanders fusiliers were treated to a real holiday dinner in the Church of Santa Maria di Constandinopoli.



Meanwhile, shells and machine gun fire could be heard not far from the church. Through dust and the acrid smell of cordite, the Loyal Edmonton soldiers were involved in one of the fiercest battle so far. They were relieved in small groups to go get some Christmas dinner. As to the Italians, for there were still civilians in town, mostly elderly people and children, the atmosphere was one of anxiety and fear.

On December 27th, the Princess Patricias were ordered to join in, together with a support squadron from the Régiment de Trois-Rivières. The battle for Ortona was already drawing to an end. German paratroopers could not keep on fighting without relief and on December 28th, they abandoned the city to the Canadians. The victory was a costly one.

Sources: Veterans Affairs Canada, Canadian War Museum, Juno Beach Center

[Gnomey]

Interesting stuff Erik, good post.

[Owen]

Hi Erik,
Very interesting that post.
Do you think Canada gets enough recognition of it's effort in WW2?
I don't think you do.
Thanks Canada.
If I wasn't a Brit I'd like to be a Cannuck.

[ErikH]

If it were a yes or no answer, my answer would be no.

Mostly our fault though... it's not like we do anything (such as make movies or games) showing that we were actually there, and we actually made a contribution.

[Owen]

It's your natural canadian modesty.
Just get on with the job and don't make a fuss.
Being a Commonwealth Nation I think the canadian contribution gets lumped together with the British war effort.

[spidge]

(Owen D @ Dec 19 2005, 08:41 AM) [post=43332]It's your natural canadian modesty.
Just get on with the job and don't make a fuss.
Being a Commonwealth Nation I think the canadian contribution gets lumped together with the British war effort.
[/b]

Hi Owen,

The commonwealth forces were numerically minor but integral participants of WW2 operations however their feats and contributions were overshadowed at times by those who did the reporting. This is sad but understandable due to the Colonial and/or Empire mindset that still existed in those dark days.

I hope that I have raised awareness of my countries (Australia) contribution as well as including New Zealand and Canada while at the same time realizing it was a contribution as a team. I do not know a great deal about the contributions of India, South Africa, Ghurkas etc however they would be welcome as this forum is not just based on discussion and debate but education.

My posts on Australian participation has "educated" UK & US members and I have been similarly educated to the events and fine print of the European operations.


Regards

Geoff

[Kiwiwriter]

Ortona was a horrific battle, and some have called it Canada's Stalingrad. It involved the 1st Canadian Division, whose battalions included the Permanent Force battalions and the first Militia Regiments to get called up...proud outfits like the Hasty Puds, the Royal 22nd, the RCR, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

Like most Canadian battles, it is in the shadows south of the 49th parallel. The only Canadian battle Americans know of -- if they know any -- would be Dieppe (and the 1972 hockey match with Russia), and possibly Monte La Difensa from "The Devil's Brigade."

However, the Canadians are well-remembered in Holland and Italy, where they shed a lot of blood to liberate a lot of people. Bill Mauldin noted in "Up Front" that US troops were far better paid than Canadians, and that had interesting results in Italy. Barbers seeking to make money would charge for haircuts, and their prices were cheap by American pay standards and dear by Canadian. The Americans would pay and tip well, while the Canadians would moan and groan about the price and not tip. The Italian barber became convinced that the American was a rich fool and the Canadian a penny-pincher...not realizing the pay differences.

I highly recommend Mark Zuehlke's "Ortona" on the subject (I recommend all of his books).

[Max (UK)]

Excellent post and thread - thanks.

If you go to Ortona, you can still see bullet holes and other scars of war on many of the buildings.

[mattgibbs]

Captain Paul Triquet of the Royal 22ième Régiment was awarded the Victoria Cross at Ortona in 1943 for capturing and holding Casa Berardi, a point of vital tactical importance. The achievement of the small band of Van Doos, under Captain Paul Triquet, and the four surviving tanks, commanded by Major H.A. Smith, is one of the most famous episodes in Canadian military history. Triquet’s leadership, epitomized by his battle-cry "Ils ne passeront pas", earned him the Victoria Cross.

With Casa Berardi as a base the rest of the ridge could be attacked systematically and eventually resistance broken.

http://www.legionmagazine.com/features/can...story/97-11.asp

Regards
MG

[spidge]

(Colonel Gubbins @ Dec 20 2005, 04:07 AM) [post=43385]Captain Paul Triquet of the Royal 22ième Régiment was awarded the Victoria Cross at Ortona in 1943 for capturing and holding Casa Berardi, a point of vital tactical importance. The achievement of the small band of Van Doos, under Captain Paul Triquet, and the four surviving tanks, commanded by Major H.A. Smith, is one of the most famous episodes in Canadian military history. Triquet’s leadership, epitomized by his battle-cry "Ils ne passeront pas", earned him the Victoria Cross.

With Casa Berardi as a base the rest of the ridge could be attacked systematically and eventually resistance broken.

http://www.legionmagazine.com/features/can...story/97-11.asp

Regards
MG
[/b]

"Ils ne passeront pas" (They shall not pass) was the famous cry by Petain at Verdun in WW1, yet it was tainted somewhat as the "Traitor of Vichy" jumped into bed with the Germans.

Captain Paul Triquet returned honour to the saying.