Ortona is a coastal town and comune of Chieti province in the Italian region of Abruzzo, 42°21N 14°24E, 72 m (236 ft) above sea-level, with 22,700 inhabitants as of the 2003 census. In Italy, the commune (comune, plural comuni) is the basic administrative unit of both provinces and regions, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township. ... Chieti (It. ... Abruzzo, (also known as Abruzzi, an older obsolete plural denomination) is a region of southern Italy, formerly a part of the Abruzzi e Molise region (with Molise). ... 2003(MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Ortona was the site of extremely fierce fighting between German and Canadian forces during the Italian campaign in World War II. Canadians earned the reputation as elite street fighters because of their amazing battle tactic they invented while fighting in Ortona known as Mouse Holing. The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the globe...
References
Christie, N. M. Hard-won victory : the Canadians at Ortona 1943. Ottawa : CEF Books, 2001.
Zuehlke, Mark. Ortona : Canada's epic World War II battle. Toronto : Stoddard, 1999. Pbk ed. Vancouver : Douglas & McIntyre, 2003.
External Links
How the Enemy Defended the Town of Ortona (U.S. intelligence report)
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.
Throughout the world, the showdown made the headlines and Ortona became a household word: "This is Matthew Halton from the CBC, speaking from Italy… ".
Ortona was a Battle Honour granted to Canadian units participating in actions to liberate the city of Ortona in Dec 1943 as part of The Sangro Campaign during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War.
Like Stalingrad, the fighting in Ortona was very demanding and took place largely between small groups of men, often one house or one room at a time and booby traps, on-call demolitions and tunnels all played a role in the skillful German defence.
After Ortona, the entire 1st Division went into winter positions on the south side of the Arielli River Valley, and a three month programme of patrolling began, as reinforcements were absorbed and the armies on both sides waited for spring, and campaigning weather.
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