Why Does The Battle Of Ortona Remain The Bloodiest In Canadian History

The battle of Ortona has been repeatedly cited as one among the most momentous battles in Canada’s military history. More than a thousand Canadian soldiers lost their lives - almost one-third of the Canadians who were killed during the Italian (WWII) campaign. Here’s why the battle is remarkable:

- It was a fight they won house by house:

The German troops stationed in Ortona were asked to defend this tiny sea-town by every means possible. ‘Fight for every last house and tree – were the orders. And fight valiantly, they did. But the Canadians fought with equal bravery. The Germans hid their machine guns and hand grenades in buildings lined across the city’s narrow alleys that criss-cross the main streets. The soldiers had to literally fight a house to house battle, clearing enemy hideouts one by one.

- The mouse-holing strategy:

It was here that the Canadians devised the now-famous ‘mouse-holing’ strategy. The Canadian forces couldn’t move through the narrow streets because of the enemy soldiers dropping their magnetic grenades at anything that moved. That’s when Captain Bill Longhurst suggested a technique called mouse-holing. Rather than moving through the streets, soldiers moved across homes – a soldier would put a charge of plastic explosives on a wall and blow a huge hole in it. The men would follow to clear every floor in the building, and then move on to another house.  This tactic became well known and was used in military strategizing classes around the world.

- It was the grand finale of the Bloody December:

Having conquered Sicily and other areas, and pursuing the Germans further north, the Canadian forces were tasked to clear the way for the Allied Forces to liberate Rome. They broke through the Moro River Valley heading towards Ortona. The battle of Ortona marks the end of the period often called Bloody December, wherein the Canadian troops fought brutally. In fact, it was so bloody; some call it the Italian Stalingrad. Besides, the Canadian and German casualties were the locals who refused to leave the town despite warning from German forces. They stayed hidden in underground cellars and emerged only after the combat ended. A major event during the battle of Ortona was the killing of 24 troops in a supposedly safe building, but which was rigged with German explosives. The Canadians, of course, took revenge and an equal number of Germans were lured in a building that was later detonated.

The Author is a history buff who has painstakingly pieced together different pieces of Canada’s Second World War army campaign in Italy, especially, the Battle of Ortona. Visit this website for more info.