Battle of Ortona

Battle of Ortona
Part of the Moro River Campaign in the Italian Campaign during World War II

Canadian Armour Passing Through Ortona, by Charles Comfort. Canadian War Museum (CN 12245).
Date20–28 December 1943[1]
Location
Ortona, Italy
42°21′11″N 14°24′13″E / 42.35306°N 14.40361°E / 42.35306; 14.40361
Result Canadian victory
Belligerents
 Canada  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Canada Christopher Vokes Nazi Germany Richard Heidrich
Strength
1st Infantry Division 1st Parachute Division
Casualties and losses
1,375 killed (including Moro River battles)
964 wounded[nb 1]		 867 killed, wounded or captured.[5]
1,314 civilians dead[3]: 375 

The Battle of Ortona (20–28 December 1943)[1] was fought between two battalions of elite German Fallschirmjäger (paratroops) from the German 1st Parachute Division under Generalleutnant Richard Heidrich, and assaulting Canadian troops from the 1st Canadian Infantry Division under Major General Christopher Vokes. It was the culmination of the fighting on the Adriatic front in Italy during "Bloody December". The battle was known to those who fought it as the "Italian Stalingrad,"[3]: 289 [6] and as "Little Stalingrad",[7][8] for the brutality of its close-quarters combat,[9] which was only worsened by the chaotic rubble of the town and the many booby traps used by both sides. The battle took place in the small Adriatic Sea town of Ortona (Abruzzo), with a peacetime population of 10,000.

  1. ^ a b "Canada at War website: Battle of Ortona". Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2006.
  2. ^ Landry, Pierre (2003). Beauregard, Marc (ed.). "Juno Beach Center: The Capture of Ortona". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  3. ^ a b c Zuehlke (1999)
  4. ^ "Canadiansoldiers.com: Ortona". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  5. ^ Fabio Toncelli. Sd Cinematografica (ed.). "ORTONA 1943: UN NATALE DI SANGUE, Page 10" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  6. ^ Atkinson, p. 305
  7. ^ Six, Ronald (6 December 2016). "Little Stalingrad: The Struggle for Ortona". Warfare History Network. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  8. ^ Spencer, John; Geroux, Jayson (26 February 2022). "Urban Warfare Project Case Study #5: Battle of Ortona". Modern War Institute. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  9. ^ Spencer, John; Geroux, Jayson (26 February 2022). "Urban Warfare Project Case Study #5: Battle of Ortona". Modern War Institute. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.


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