The War in Italy 1943-1944: Husky, Salerno, and Ortona

History Does You

By May of 1943, the Allies had thrown out the German and Italian forces in North Africa, but what to do next. The Soviet Union was facing the bulk of the German army on the Eastern front and the political pressure to open up led to the decision to invade Sicily and mainland Italy. After fierce landings at Sicily and at Salerno, the Allies became bogged down along several German defensive lines. To break the stalemate, General Bernard Montgomery directed the 1st Canadian Infantry Division to take the island resort town of Ortona. What followed was some of the fiercest urban fighting of the war, eventually, the battle would earn the nickname, "mini-Stalingrad". To help explain the course of the battle and the previous events we interview Dr. Mark Zuehlke. He is an award-winning author generally considered to be Canada’s foremost military historian. His Canadian Battle Series is the most exhaustive recounting of the battles and campaigns fought by any nation during World War II to have been written by a single author. In recognition of his contribution to Canadian history, he was awarded the 2014 Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media: The Pierre Berton Award. In 2007, his book, For Honour’s Sake: The War of 1812 and the Brokering of an Uneasy Peace won the Canadian Author’s Association Lela Common Award for Canadian History. The Canadian Battle Series book, Holding Juno captured the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize in 2006.