Italian Campaign - July 10, 1943
In this battle, after landing in Sicily, Canadians first task was to capture Reggio, and they did as there were little German defense. Canadians were then instructed to push into the central mountain range, which is where they fought their first fight against Germany, and captured Campobasso. Canadians continued to push further into Italy and battled any Germans they encountered. Canadians, in December 1943, went "mouse-holing" and smashed their way into every house in the city of Ortona, clearing the Germans out one by one. Battles continued, and at the end of the Italian Campaign, on May 8, 1945, a total of 25.264 Canadian casualties and 5,900 deaths had occurred.
Significance: I ranked the Italian Campaign as 6 out of 8, therefore not being very significant to Canada's growing independence. |