By: Allysha, Jen, Jordanna, Hala Battle of Ortona By: Allysha, Jen, Jordanna, Hala

CAUSES OF THE BATTLE OF ORTONA

General Benard Montgomery Italian Campaign 1. Capture of Sicily 2. Pescara  3. Rome  General Benard Montgomery 

Moro river Germans withdrew to the Moro river December 5-6 Only the Princess Patricias Canadian Light infantry (PPCLI) made headway They won the Villa Rogattie December 9th 

The Gully Narrow, minor gab south of Ortona Narrow gully, the Germans used to protect themselves from artillery fire Canadian advanced through tangled vineyards and olive groves 

Citations Zuehlke, Mark. "Battle of Ortona." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2017. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of- ortona/>. "Causes." Battle of Ortona. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2017. <http://battleofortona.weebly.com/causes.html>.

COMPONENTS OF THE BATTLE IN ORTONA

Germans takeover Ortona Germans withdrew from the Gully and unexpectedly came as far as the Adriatic coastal city in Italy known as Ortona on December 12th 1943  Germans began strategically defending their stay at Ortona (usage of booby traps, mines planted undergrounds of Ortona, and other explosives *grenades* )  Mines and explosives resulted into a debris filled coastal city by December 19th of 1943 Explosives/Mines turned Ortona into This 

BATTLE STARTS BETWEEN THE CANADIAN DIVISIONS AND THE GERMANS IN ORTONA December 20th 1943, Loyal Edmonton Regiment's D Company was cut apart just trying to fight their way into Ortona 60 men turned into 17 within minutes The 17 Survivors gained foothold on outskirts of Ortona, minimal amount of soldiers left, SO reinforced with Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, which led the seaforths to capture the Santa Maria Di Constantinopoli Church. Led to the The Three Rivers Regiment to bring defense such as their tanks which led to their advancement to Piazza Vittoria on the 21st of December. The Canadians attacked with the first hit, goal for the attack was to cut off Ortona’s communication with the Germans This led to the ongoing streetwar between the Germans and Canadians, using their new mouseholing war tactic to their advantage they moved their way roughly into 2/3 way of the city reaching  Piazza Municipali on December 22nd 1943.

BATTLE MAP of ortona Red represents the Seaforth Highlanders Blue represents the Loyal Edmonton Regiment

WAR TACTICS   Idea came up by a Canadian Captain named Bill Longhurst from the Loyal Edmonton Regiment. Idea was to attach explosives to 2 connecting walls of the buildings in the city of Ortona, by doing so the impact of the explosive allowed for an opening to target the enemies on the opposite side of the wall especially the very skilled German 1st parachute division snipers. This also provided transportation around the city instead of using the explosive streets.

END OF THE BATTLE IN ortona Ongoing street battles where Canadians used their own war tactics to get around in order to have the city of Ortona in their possession.  Germans used their own tactics such as their tunnels On December 27th  Naval gunfire was used for the first time in support of the Canadian troops controlled by the Allied forces,where there allied warships were coming off the coast, this led to the crumble of the German’s withdraw from the city of Ortona on December 28th As they lacked Reinforcements they were then unable to fight and defend themselves, a successful victory by the Canadians and Allied Forces put an end to this deadly 8 day long battle.

Citations "Go to Bing homepage." Map On Battle of Ortona - Bing images. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2017. Zuehlke, Mark. "Battle of Ortona." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2017. < http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-ortona/>. Www.canadiansoldiers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2017. < http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/battlehonours/italiancampaign/ortona.htm>. Rileylancaster. "The Battle Of Ortona." What happened during the battle of Ortona? N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 04 June 2017. < http://ortonabattle.blogspot.ca/2013/01/what-happened-during-battle-of-ortona_3283.html>. "Mouseholing -11." DeviantArt. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2017. < http://andrielisilien.deviantart.com/art/Mouseholing-11-256273049>. https://friends-amis.org/index.php/en/document-repository/english/supplements/154-battle-of-ortona/file

Consequences of the Battle

Consequences of the Battle The Battle lasted 8 days (A Short Battle) Around 1,375 Canadian soldiers were injured or passed away When Ortona was captured, The Allies had access to dock allied ships to bring supplies and move support if and when needed. The Allies moved on to take the port. There was a Winter Defence system set up and ordered by Hitler to defend the port at all costs. The Allies captured Sicily and Southern Italy and the East Coast.  Poland and the capture of Rome lead Italy to ask for a truce against the allies. Ortona War Museum

Citations The Battle of Ortona. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2017. Rileylancaster. "The Battle Of Ortona." Outcome and effect. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 05 June 2017.

Canada’s Role in the Battle

Canada’s Role in The battle The Canadian land forces marched up Italy’s boot while pushing Germany’s forces back. The battle of Ortona made many Canadian’s apparent to the struggle of street fighting since they did not have a lot of training in that area.

Canada’s Role in The battle There were two Canadian forces which had a significant part in the battle. The two battles were the “Loyal Edmonton Regiment’s “D” Company and “The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada” It was first just the Edmonton Regiment which was trying to fight its way into Ortona, but soon the Seaforth Highlanders came to help because the Edmonton’s were struggling severely.

Canada’s role in the battle Since the battle started just before Christmas when the day finally did arrive the Seaforths quartermaster and headquarters created a dinner where troops were taken out of battle for a period of time and given food. Finally on December the 28 it is actually the Edmonton Regiment that discovers that the Germans had pulled out of Ortona quietly during the night and in result Ortona was surrendered to Canada. Ortona then served as the Canadian forces rest area.

Citations "Canada in the Second World War." Juno Beach Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2017. <http://www.junobeach.org/canada-in-wwii/events/roads-to-victory/>. Stacey, C.P. "Second World War (WWII)." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2017. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/second- world-war-wwii/#h3_jump_2>. Zuehlke, Mark. "Battle of Ortona." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2017. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of- ortona/>.

Primary Sources Video http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/video-gallery/video/7311 Picture http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.disp layItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3226036

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