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European Tensions |
War |
Mobilization | Poland -
France | Battle of
Britain | Dieppe |
North Atlantic |
Training the Empire |
The Pacific |
Quebec Conference |
Hong Kong |
Home Front |
Sicily |
Italy
| Conscription |
Normandy |
France |
Netherlands |
Germany
With the Battle of North Africa over the
allies had to decided upon their next area of attack.
There was tremendous pressure to attack across the
channel and land in France but the allies did not feel
that they were prepared and that a failure in 1943 might
prolong the war by several years. Churchill proposed
that the allies land in Sicily and then Italy and take
the Italian out of the war. His description was that it
would be like attacking the "soft underbelly" of Europe.
Although Sicily was a tough but relatively brief
campaign, the Italian campaign was gruelling.
Canadian sailors,
airmen and army units participated in both invasions and
campaigns and Canada troops ended up fighting their way
up the boot of Italy over some rough and defensiveable
terrain. The Battle of Ortona was an example of this
bloody campaign which cost Canada 1372 dead and
consisted of foot by foot, house to house fighting for
against hardened German troops.
Soaking wet, in a morass of mud, against an enemy
fighting harder then he's fought before, the Canadians
attack, attack and attack. The enemy is now
fighting like the devil to hold us. He brings in more
and more guns, more and more troops. The hillsides and
farmlands and orchards are a ghastly brew of fire and
our roads (6 kilometres) behind enemy lines are under
heavy shelling. The Canadians at War - Readers
Digest 1969 p. 362
The advance continued with flanking
invasions at Salarno and Anzio on the west coast of
Italy and the taking of Rome on June 4th, 1944. This was
a significant military event and a pivotal political
landmark because it meant that one of the two Axis power
capitals was in allied hands. Two days later the war
took another huge step towards an allied victory with
the invasion of Normandy by Canadian, American, and
British forces. Italy became a backwater but the battles
continued and the fighting did not end until the spring
of 1945 when Germany surrendered.
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