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July 1943: Canadian, American, and British troops landed in Sicily

First Canadian Division took part in the invasion The Allies left papers where they knew the

Germans would find them – the papers said the Allies were planning to invade Greece

Sicily falls after 38 days of fighting

Italians wanted to surrender, but Hitler sent German troops to keep fighting

Italians turn against Mussolini, and he is eventually executed

10,000 German troops occupied the mainland of Italy

The mountainous terrain made an offensive nearly impossible – easier to defend a position (Germany) rather than attack (Allies)

Allies forces fought they way northward

Ortona is an ancient city that consists of narrow streets and connected houses

December 1943: One of the fiercest battles of the campaign

The town fell two days after Christmas

First Canadian Division lost over 2000 soldiers, and another 16, 000 had to be evacuated

Following the fall of Ortona the Allies ground to a halt due to blizzards and drifting snow at the end of December

The Allied focus then turned to the western front where it was considered to have the best chance of a breakthrough towards Rome.

It took four major offensives between January and May 1944 before the Allies including British, US, French, Polish, and Canadian Corps broke through

Rome was declared an open city by the German army and the Allies took possession on June 4th.

Having the Germans occupied in Italy allowed the allies to move forward with their plan to open up the long awaited western front in Europe

The fight to liberate Italy was long, hard, and costly – about 30,000 Canadians were killed or wounded