Italians Remember
- Thread starter SkyRider
- Start date
A fantastic documentary about Canadian soldiers in Ortona in WW2. An incredibly vicious hand to hand battle between Canadian and German Infantry in Christmas 1943 in Italy.
55 years later, Canadian and German soldiers meet face to face for the first time in a reconciliation of emotions of sorts
http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/return-to-ortona
55 years later, Canadian and German soldiers meet face to face for the first time in a reconciliation of emotions of sorts
http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/return-to-ortona
General Mark Clarke called the Battle for Rome, the Somme of WW II. It was the bloodiest battle that non-Russian Allies fought against the Nazis. I've been to Monte Cassino many times, the mountianside War Cemetery takes your breath away when you approach it for the first time. Over 350,000 casualties was the outcome of bitter fighting in the Central Valley.
https://www.amazon.ca/Monte-Cassino-Hardest-Fought-Battle/dp/1400033756
https://www.amazon.ca/Monte-Cassino-Hardest-Fought-Battle/dp/1400033756
"At age eighteen, Rowland Frazee went to work as a clerk at his father's branch but following the outbreak of World War II he enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1941 serving overseas with the Carleton and York Regiment, First Canadian Infantry Division, with whom he participated in the July, 1943 allied landings in Sicily. Wounded on three separate occasions, Frazee distinguished himself in the Italian campaign and in northwest Europe. At the time of his decommissioning in 1945 he held the rank of Major."
When asked about the challenges of being Chairman of the Royal Bank, he said it was child's play compared to the battles in Italy.
"In a concurrent action, American General Mark Clark was ordered to break out of the stagnant position at Anzio and cash-in on the opportunity to cut off and destroy a large part of the German 10th Armyretreating from the Gustav Line between them and the Canadians. But this opportunity was lost on the brink of success, when General Clark disobeyed his orders and sent his U.S. Forces to enter the vacant Rome instead.[SUP][28][/SUP] Rome had been declared an open city by the German Army so no resistance was encountered.
"The American forces took possession of Rome on 4 June 1944.[SUP][29][/SUP] The German Tenth Army were allowed to get away and, in the next few weeks, were responsible for doubling the Allied casualties in the next few months.[SUP][citation needed][/SUP] General Clark was hailed as a hero in the United States. The Canadians were sent through the City without stopping at 3:00AM the next morning.[SUP]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Campaign_(World_War_II)
The Battle for Rome was won with Canadian blood but American General Mark Clark marched into Rome instead of engaging the German 10th Army
allowing them to escape.[/SUP]
When asked about the challenges of being Chairman of the Royal Bank, he said it was child's play compared to the battles in Italy.
"In a concurrent action, American General Mark Clark was ordered to break out of the stagnant position at Anzio and cash-in on the opportunity to cut off and destroy a large part of the German 10th Armyretreating from the Gustav Line between them and the Canadians. But this opportunity was lost on the brink of success, when General Clark disobeyed his orders and sent his U.S. Forces to enter the vacant Rome instead.[SUP][28][/SUP] Rome had been declared an open city by the German Army so no resistance was encountered.
"The American forces took possession of Rome on 4 June 1944.[SUP][29][/SUP] The German Tenth Army were allowed to get away and, in the next few weeks, were responsible for doubling the Allied casualties in the next few months.[SUP][citation needed][/SUP] General Clark was hailed as a hero in the United States. The Canadians were sent through the City without stopping at 3:00AM the next morning.[SUP]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Campaign_(World_War_II)
The Battle for Rome was won with Canadian blood but American General Mark Clark marched into Rome instead of engaging the German 10th Army
allowing them to escape.[/SUP]
One of these dudes took part in the Anzio landing. if I'd been a German soldier it would suck to have two of these dudes bearing down on me. The other I would laugh at.
So who's the Anzio Veteran?
So who's the Anzio Veteran?
Very hard fighting, and very sad.
________________________________
A very good friend of my mother's lost her husband at Anzio. She never remarried.
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A very good friend of my mother's lost her husband at Anzio. She never remarried.
Let's not forget the contribution of Sikh soldiers in winning the battle for Italy.
http://www.sikhnet.com/news/contribution-sikhs-italian-campaign-1943-1945
http://www.sikhnet.com/news/contribution-sikhs-italian-campaign-1943-1945
Japanese American soldiers in the U.S. Army were not sent to the Pacific Theatre (for obvious reasons). Instead they fought bravely in Italy and Europe.
https://www.quora.com/Did-any-Japanese-Americans-fight-in-the-Pacific-Theater-during-WWII
https://www.quora.com/Did-any-Japanese-Americans-fight-in-the-Pacific-Theater-during-WWII
Absolutely, the Indian Army played a huge role in the Italian campaign.
This is reflected in Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient and the movie adapted from it.
Although it was much further north in Italy and much later in the war: April 1945, another well known veteran of the Italian Campaign was U.S. Senator and Presidential Candidate Robert Dole who was desperately wounded while serving as a junior officer in the U.S. 10th Mountain Division. If you ever met him, he always extended his left hand and kept his right arm clasped close by his side, having suffered horrific machine gun damage to his right shoulder.
Thanks Aardie, didn't know that Bob Dole fought at the Gustav Line. Burt Lancaster took part in the amphibious assault on Anzio.
U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, likewise desperately wounded in April 1945 in Tuscany, Italy lost his right arm and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, quite rightly (when you read what he did) upgraded 55 years later to the Medal of Honor.
That's a myth just like Ben Affleck's Argo.
The restoration of The Abbey took almost 20 years to complete. Most of the money came from the Italian Government and wealthy Romans and emigres, most notably Enrico Fermi. he's from the region. Unfortunately the precious mosaics within the basilica were lost forever.
The only item the Americans and Brits managed was to return La Cosa Nostra to it's former position of power. Throughout the first half of his dictatorship Mussolini managed to them down to size with an internal war. The mafiosi who didn't escape to America were summarily executed. Il Douchebag wanted no one before him.
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