Library and Archives Canada ZK-954
Eighty Years Ago the Allied Armies invaded Italy, the so-called “soft underbelly” of Fortress Europe. What followed was twenty months of hard fighting. Canada’s Citizen Army participated in this fighting – and would go on to play a vital role in the liberation of Italy from fascism.
Historian Terry Copp examines Canada’s involvement in the Italian Campaign with a new website: Canada in Italy 1943-45 (canadainitaly.ca).
Like his work on Normandy and Northwest Europe, Terry’s work on Italy is informed by firsthand knowledge of the terrain:
As we explored the battlefields it became apparent that the terrain had shaped the campaign to an even greater extent than in Normandy. Individual battalions, working closely with combat engineers and armour, fought virtually separate battles. Artillery barrages, used in Normandy to shoot the infantry onto an objective were far less effective against small groups of enemy holding a hill town or mountain pass, never mind a well fortified defensive zone.
In addition to nine chapters, the site features links and resources including war art, maps, photographs, wartime reports and an extensive bibliography of further reading.
Visit canadainitaly.ca