The Allies Fight Back Flashcards
After achieving victory in North Africa, the allies quickly begin planning the invasion of Italy
Why Italy?
Churchill calls it “the soft underbelly of the crocodile.”
Easy to invade and the Italian Army is weak
Operation husky
July 10, 1943 – Operation Husky
Canadian troops conduct an amphibious landing in Sicily
Invasion was joined by British and American troops
Italian army rapidly declines (more are surrendering than the Canadians can handle)
German troops rush to defend positions that the Italians are giving up
where was the Canadians biggest battle in Sicily
and what do the Germans refer to it as
When did the Germans evacuate Siciily
how many Canadians are killed
Canadians biggest battle in Sicily is at Valguarnera, a mountainous town that they successfully take
Germans refer to the Canadians in this battle as “Mountain Boys”
By August 1943 – the Germans had evacuated Sicily
Canadians marched 210km and suffered over 2,300 casualties
562 Canadians are killed
What happense after the capture of Sicily
When was the invasion of italy
What do the Germans do in defense
Naturally, after the capture of Sicily, the allies make plans to invade mainland Italy
Canadians participate in the invasion of Italy on September 3, 1943 when they land in Calabria
Canadians quickly start moving north up the boot of Italy
Meanwhile the Germans begin creating a huge defensive line south of Rome called the Gustav Line
What was the biggest battle Canada fought in italy and when was it fought between and what strategies were made throughout it
Battle of Ortona
Fought between December 20-28, 1943
When the streets became impassable – the Canadians had to innovate so they created at tactic called “Mouse-holing”
what was “Mouse-holing” BATTLE OF ORTANA
HOW MANY CANADAINS KILLED IN BATTLE OF ORTANA
With open streets being too risky to advance Canadians moved from building to building by blasting a hole through adjoining walls, clearing the building of enemy troops and moving on to the next one
By December 28, the Germans had quietly pulled out of the town surrendering it to the Canadians
More than 500 Canadian soldiers were killed in the battle
all in ORTANA
What did the Canadians eventually do after BATTLE OF ORTANA
when was the Gustov line broken threw
where did the Germans retreat to after the gustav line broke
Next stop – the Canadians had to break through the Gustav Line
This was a defensive line that the Germans had built that had bunkers, and concrete fortifications
After the Canadians broke through the Gustav Line, the Germans retreated to the Hitler Line
By May, 1944, the Canadians had successfully broken through the Hitler Line
operation torch and date
United States invades French Morocco and Algeria so they helped the british because now The Italian-German forces are faced with the British to the East and Americans to the west instead of Britain fighting the Italian-German forces alone
NOV 8, 1942
