REMEMBERING
Second World War veterans Ed Stafford, left, Donald Stewart and A.E “Al” Stapleton recall the Battle of Ortona,
Donald Stewart, who turned 94 this month, recalled the moment 75 years ago when he learned his compatriots in the Canadian army had won the Battle of Ortona.
Stewart, then still a teenager, was at the Canadian headquarters in the Italian coastal town after delivering supplies from the port. As news of the victory arrived, so too did word that two of his brothers had been killed in the fighting.
“I’ll never forget it,” he said. “In those days you had to take the good with the bad.”
Stewart was among the Second World War veterans who gathered at Sunnybrook hospital Sunday afternoon for a small event to mark the 75th anniversary of the Canadian victory in the Battle of Ortona, regarded as one of the toughest battles of the Canadian campaign in Italy.
A.E. “Al” Stapleton and Ed Stafford, 99 and 97 years old, respectively, were also in attendance.
Like Stewart, Stapleton and Stafford were at the Canadian headquarters during the battle and not involved in the actual fighting. “Which is, of course, one of the reasons why I’m still here,” Stapleton said.
As part of Sunday’s commemoration, the veterans drank from a bottle of red wine given to them five years ago by the mayor of Ortona to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Canadian victory and the town’s liberation.
The battle took place over eight days from Dec. 20 to 28, 1943, pitting the Canadian 1st Infantry Division against two battalions of elite German paratroopers.
Ortona’s position overlooking the Adriatic Sea was of strategic importance because it was one of the few deepwater ports on the east coast. German troops had been ordered to “fight for every last house and tree,” according to historian Mark Zuehlke.
Canadian casualties in Ortona totalled 650, including more than 200 killed. Since the town had not been evacuated before the fighting started, it’s estimated that more than 1,300 civilians were killed. The battle was fought in close quarters in the town’s rubble-filled streets, amid booby-trapped houses and the constant threat of exploding landmines.
The street fighting was so intense that the battle earned the nickname “Little Stalingrad” or “Italian Stalingrad” among those who fought in it.
To avoid walking through the streets, where they would be vulnerable to German fire, Canadian troops in Ortona developed a technique called “mouse-holing,” in which they would blast holes through adjoining houses to advance on German troops.
“The Battle of Ortona was an eight-day nightmare,” said Larry Rose, author of two books on Canada’s role in the Second World War. “It was one of the grimmest and most brutal battles of the war for the Canadian army.”
Rose, who also spoke at Sunday’s event, said Ortona was not one of the biggest battles of the war for Canadians and it did not shift the strategic balance of power. But the conditions in which it was fought made it remarkable.
“It’s remembered for the iron determination, the resolute will power and the shining character of the Canadian soldiers in the battle,” he said. “They simply would not quit in the face of dire adversity.”
In June 2016, a charity representing the Italian-Canadian community donated to the City of Toronto a bronze sculpture depicting a 3D topographical map of Ortona, illustrating the destruction of the town following the battle.
The sculpture, titled Peace Through Valour, commemorates all of the Canadian soldiers who fought in Italy in the Second World War. It is located outside City Hall, near the statue of Winston Churchill.