Between 20 and 28 December 1943, the idyllic Adriatic resort town of Ortona, Italy was the scene of some of the most intense urban combat in the Mediterranean Theater. Soldiers of the First Canadian Infantry Division fought German Falschirmjager for control of the city, the eastern anchor of the Gustav Line. The Army University Films Team is proud to present, The Battle of Ortona, as told by Major Jayson Geroux of the Canadian Armed Forces.
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I thought this was a US channel. But us Canadians who know and remember that this battle happened thankyou for it. Not expected but welcome.
Jayson is awesome!
Great to see Jayson telling this story. I've been lucky enough to have him on my channel to talk about Ortona.
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Great job AUP
Well done! Very much enjoyed. The drone to diorama shots during the closing credits are sweet! As is the Christmas card and talent show clip post credits! Where is that diorama located? Thank you.
Very Good One of my uncle served in Sicily Italy and NW Europe .We need more of this kind of well done Canadian history Lest We Forget
AUP killed it! Excellent editing and production. Also shoutout drone footage it adds an incredible element!
Worthy of the fallen. Thank you
great job of telling history
28:34 : Dunno if it's intended, but since Ortona is the Italian Stalingrad, the tune is a callback to the Stalingrad episodes about the battle for the Martenovskii Shop and the campaign, as both used this tune heavily, and IIRC, hadn't been used since then until now.
Wooow. If most documentaries could even start to come near this quality 🤌🏼
One of the best battle stories I’ve heard in a long time. Definitely excerpting & sharing on twitter
This is such a brilliant documentary with the perfect narration by Maj Jayson Geroux. The details regarding the geostrategic location of Ortona, the terrain, tactical details of the battle and the nuances provides a comprehensive understanding.
the veterans I grew up around were there. The Hasty P's! They had a big fight at the gully. Thank you!
Canadians truly the best fighting force in WWII
Never braggarts
Excellent history lesson. Thanks AUP, and Maj. Geroux. I served with Jayson many years ago in 2 RCR, he has always been a fine story teller, and historian. Pro Patria.
Brilliant documentary. Really enjoyed hearing about the events after the fighting and the rebuilding/recovery of the Ortona – often those bits get left out of the narrative.
After reading Rick Atkinson's superb "The Day of Battle" it is funny to hear the Allied advance towards Rome being described as "methodical". Unless it is used a synonym for "slow".
Probably the best documentary I've seen on this battle. The AUP produces outstanding work.Thank you!
Super, but I wonder whether anything has been learned about the utility of drones on the batllefield.
My father was there in the artillery. Told me many stories.
Engaging and educational. Very well done.
I've read various references to the battle including Mark Zuehlke's exquisite 'Ortona' and studied Google earth and other sources but none have come close to putting me 'there' and understanding day by day what happened on a tactical level. This was truly brilliantly done and may be the best documentary I have seen on a battle. Others here have spoken of the models and drone shots and yes! Amazing! I also like the way it didn't pull punches either. It appears to be very balanced even to the admission of civilian casualties caused by Canadians and efforts to mend feelings afterwards… something I don't think I've ever heard other documentaries speak to. Well done and thank you for such a high quality doc!
The Americans jokes about the Canadians being nice and overly polite never saw how they fought in Europe.
My mate Bill landed on Sword beach as a young Royal marine commando and his stories of the Canadians made the Americans look like Boy Scouts.
The SS hated them, and apparently the feeling was as brutal from the Canadians.
Bill said, lovely blokes but don’t piss them of and Bill was a very hard man.
So thank you my Canadian friends.
My father was there outside of Ortona with the Saskatoon Light Infantry who were the divisional support with machine gun and mortar sections. He was RCEME (Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) attached as a mechanic and driver with the mortar section. The nature of the warfare in Ortona did not allow for use of the SLI in the combat. Afterwards my father had a chance meeting with his cousin who was a tanker in the tank regiment.
My uncle served in north Africa and Italy, it was there he and his buddies found an abandoned wine cellar. They stayed in it for 2 or 3 days, upon exhausting the contents of the cellar, he promptly stumbled over the edge of a ravine 😅. He received a welcome stay in a hospital and a medal 🏅 😮.
He recovered and re joined his unit fighting in europe. 🇨🇦
CBC is broadcasting what the Canadian will do. Beforehand.. They haven't changed there just as stupid today.
You will find that there is an Ortona Avenue, road or street in every town in Canada. We remember.
In some German memoirs, they admitted they know the 1st canadian division was not going to quit
at 13:29 thats my uncle robert sexton in the middle of the pic/vid with the number 4 enfield off the left hip and above the bren gunner…unfortunately he was KIA a couple of days later
Congratulations on one of the most informative and moving descriptions of a little known but pivotal battle.
I think it was the best documentary I have seen.
This was a hell of a fight,my hats off to the Canadians and Germans for a well fought ,messy tragic and scary fight,urban warfare is the worse you can fight folks, 7 days of continues fighting is a hell of a slug match,and at Christmas also,sad but such is war.Thank you for the history.
Dr Lee Enfield curing Nazies.
That's was Very Nice.
Excellent job on this video! Makes me proud to be a Canadian, and a veteran (not of WW2). I've read Zuehleke's outstanding account of the battle, as well as Farley Mowat's first hand account of the Italian Campaign. Incredible bravery and leadership, from the ground up and back.
Thank you. My grandfather was a Sergeant in the Seaforth Highlanders. (Many stories) he fought in both Sicily and Ortona. This documentery means a lot. Again, thank you. (He made it home safe)