The Italian Campaign

Background German and Russian Troops German troops faced disaster in Russia. They were unable to handle the freezing Russian weather. The German army surrendered in 1943. The Russians took numerous German prisoners. The Russian forces now turned their attention towards Germany. They had suffered starvation, torture and atrocities at the hands of the German troops and wanted revenge. After failing in Russia, Hitler sent his forces to Italy.

Background The American Troops The Americans recovered quickly after Pearl Harbor. They repaired most of their sunken ships. The American aircraft carriers defeated the Japanese navy island by island, moving closer to Japan. In 1942, British and American troops drove back the Italian and German forces in North Africa, who were there under Hitler’s direction in order to take over the oil reserves. The British and American troops then moved to Italy where the German troops had moved.

The Liberation of Italy The Italian campaign was long and tough. The Germans put up a wall of defenses from Rome to Ortona. The American, British and Canadian forces followed the German’s through Italy. They had to trek through the rugged mountains and were often attacked by German snipers hidden in the mountains. It was a city-by-city takeover. More than 30, 000 soldiers were wounded or killed.

The Invasion of Sicily

The Invasion of Sicily Canadian soldiers had not seen any action since the disastrous raid on Dieppe. In July 1943, Canadians were sent to Italy to aid in the invasion of Sicily. This battle was fought in the hot Italian summer and lasted 38 days. Mussolini’s dream of a new Roman Empire was shattered and his own people rebelled and threw him out of power in 1943. Hitler swiftly moved German troops into Italy; he would not let Italy’s surrender hold him back.

The Battle of Ortona

The Battle of Ortona It was a house-by-house takeover. Canadians became experts at street fighting. They developed the mouse-holing technique. They used explosives to blast a hole from the attic of one house through the adjoining wall into another house; the soldiers would jump through the hole with their ammunition. They cleared the house of Germans before moving to the next house.

The Battle of Ortona 1,375 Canadian soldiers lost their lives. On June 4, 1944, the Allied armies entered Rome to the cheers of the Italian people. These soldiers, in February 1945 were transferred to join the Canadian army fighting to free Holland from German control.