The Italian Campaign

1. The Italian Campaign

2. Italy The geography of Italy made it extremely difficult for the invading Allied forces to move quickly northwards.

3. Sicily fell quickly to the Allies, creating a base for an invasion of the mainland and bases that secured most of the Mediterranean for ships and aircraft. The collapse of the Italian army in Italy also fuelled unrest and the government of Benito Mussolini fell just two weeks later on July 25. • The Germans then began changing their role from ally to occupier. • On Sept. 3, 1943, the Allied landing force left the Sicilian ports of Catania, Augusta and Syracuse for landing beaches between Taormina and Messina. The British Eighth Army consisted of the First Canadian Division, the Fifth British Division and the First Canadian Tank Brigade Using Your Map Follow Along

4. The Canadians' objective was Reggio, Calabria, where they met little resistance because the Germans were pulling back to a series of fortified defensive positions to block the Allied advance. • Later that day, the government that succeeded Mussolini surrendered and Italy turned to do what it could to support the Allies. • A week later, the Canadians were in Catanzaro, 120 kilometres from the beaches. • But another landing, this time at Salerno by the U.S. Fifth Army (actually a joint force with two British and two American divisions under the command of lieutenant general. Mark Clark) ran into trouble as it met stiff German resistance. The Canadians were ordered to make a hurried assault on Potenza, an important crossroads and railway junction east of Salerno to relieve pressure on the Fifth Army.

5. Then, as the Fifth Army moved north toward Naples, the Canadians turned east through the rugged Appenine Mountains and then north along the east coast toward Foggia. On October 1 and 2, 1943, the Canadians were involved in their first major battle against the Germans in Italy at a corkscrew highway through the town of Motta. The Royal Canadian Regiment and the Calgary Tank Regiment attacked Motta, while the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment went after the Monte Mianoa, on a ridge dominating the countryside. • Two weeks later, the Canadians captured the town of Campobasso, then ran into into heavy resistance from the Germans at Vinchiaturo, but routed them in a one-day battle. • At this point, the Allied advance ran into a heavily fortified and defended German line running across Italy from Ortona in the east to Cassino in the west, blocking all roads to Rome. • The Canadians fought a series of running battles with the Germans along the Biferno River.

6. At the same time, the army was reinforced with the Fifth Canadian Armoured Division, creating the First Canadian Corps, commanded by lieutenant general. H. D. G. Crerar. • As the first snows of winter began to fall, the Canadians reached the German defensive line north of the Sangro River. And after fierce fighting alongside troops from New Zealand and India, the Canadians forced the Germans back to a second defensive line in the Moro Valley. To the west, meanwhile, the U.S. Fifth Army was held up again on the road to Rome near Cassino. • The Canadians attacked the Germans along a road to the town of San Leonardo, but not on the main highway as the enemy was expecting. The Canadian advance took the lightly garrisoned town by surprise, just as the Fifth Army achieved a breakout from the Salerno beachhead. The Germans were able to counterattack and the Moro Valley saw some of the bitterest and fiercest fighting of the Second World War including artillery exchanges and hand to hand combat.

7. After a battle lasting ten days, the Canadian soldiers had pushed the Germans back to the ancient town of Ortona overlooking the Adriatic. Artillery from both sides pounded Ortona and the Germans also used mortars fired from nearby hills to try and slow the Canadian advance. Ortona - Background

8. Canada played a major role in the Allied invasion of mainland Italy during the Second World War • Mostly as part of the British Eighth Army and sometimes fighting independently. • At the height of the battle against the Germans, there were 76,000 Canadian soldiers fighting in Italy. Key Facts

9. Canada suffered 25,264 casualties including, 5,900 killed. • The invasion of the island of Sicily on July 10, 1943, set the stage for the coming campaign to take the Italian mainland from the Germans. At the time, almost a year before the Normandy invasion, it was largest amphibious invasion in history, using more than 3,000 ships and landing craft. More key facts

10. "It wasn't hell. It was the courtyard of hell. It was a maelstrom of noise and hot, splitting steel...the rattling of machine guns never stops ... wounded men refuse to leave, and the men don't want to be relieved after seven days and seven nights... the battlefield is still an appalling thing to see, in its mud, ruin, dead, and its blight and desolation." - Matthew Halton, Canadian war correspondent

11. Part of the Italian campaign: the general advance of General Montgomery's Eighth Army up the Italian Adriatic coast. Context

12. The German 1st Parachute Division under Generalleutnant Richard Heidrich, Vs. • Assaulting Canadian forces from the 1st Canadian Infantry Division under Major General Chris Vokes (under General Montgomery). Military forces

13. Chris Vokes – brigade commander who replaced Guy Simonds in November. Received much credit for the outstanding performance of 2nd Cdn. Infantry Brigade in Sicily. Took leading role in the assault on Dieppe in August 1942 before being dispatched to the Italian theatre. • Richard Heidrich – high decorated German paratrooper. In June 1940 led 3rd Parachute Regiment with great success in the Battle of Crete. In November 1942 given command of the 1st Parachute Division. Participants

14. Ortona was one of the many battles fought in the Italian peninsula. The German retreat allowed the Allied forces to continue advancing across central Italy. • No intrinsic military value to Ortona in particular, simply part of the larger Italian campaign. Strategic Importance

15. Mouseholing: Since the Battle of Ortona was fought chiefly within the walls of the city itself whenever the Canadian infantry tried to advance through the rubble and narrow streets of Ortona they faced crossfire from the hidden German defenders. • As a result Captain Bill Longhurst developed the technique of ‘mouseholing.’ • What is Mouseholing? Key tactics

16. Mouseholing

17. Canadian infantrymen - picaxes, 6 pounder guns. Germans - mines, timebombs, and other booby troops throughout the city. Germans also had tanks, machine guns, and antitank artillery. Who would your money be on? Why were the Canadians so Underequipped early on? Key technology

18. Time Line 20 Dec: 2 Canadian Infantry Brigade forces through German defences to take up positions on the outskirts of Ortona. The advance is made possible with the support of 1 Canadian Armour Brigade and a heavy artillery barrage covering the advancing Canadians’ flanks with smoke screen.21 Dec: The Loyal Edmonton Regiment along with the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, supported by armour begin the advance into the town of Ortona to dislodge the occupying German defenders.22 Dec: Canadian commanders divide Ortona into sectors and assign each fighting battalion a sector to clear of enemies. In a move to reduce pressure on the Canadians in Ortona, 1 Canadian Infantry Brigade moves into position northwest of Ortona to cut of key German supply routes. Timeline 1 of 2

19. 23/24 Dec: Canadian reinforcements begin to arrive at Ortona to relieve exhausted troops and shore up units still embroiled in the bitterly slow and brutal advance into the town.24 Dec: Two days into the advance on Ortona, Canadian soldiers are fighting a yard-by-yard battle to take the town. The Loyal Eddies and the Seaforths fight house-to-house battles, and even room-to-room battles against the occupying German garrison forces.26 Dec: Canadian commanders in the field begin to report to their superiors that two-thirds of the battered town are now under Canadian control. However the battle continues27 Dec: The German forces begin their withdrawal from Ortona.28 Dec: Canadian forces take full control of Ortona. Timeline 2 of 2