As I write this post, I am in the air between Montreal and Rome. As I travel, I am grateful to Peter and Jennifer Madsen of Oyama Zipline for staging yet another successful Wounded Warriors Day in their park. Thanks to them and the more than $5,500 raised, more kids of those veterans and first … Continue reading The Battle of Ortona
World War 2
The Battle for the Moro River
By late 1943, the Allies' Italian campaign was progressing from its initial landings in Sicily. This campaign was never intended to win the war. As I have discussed in previous posts, the Allies real strategic objective in Italy was to remove Italian troops from the war, to reduce the strength of the German Army and … Continue reading The Battle for the Moro River
Allied Landings in Italy
The Allies had originally planned to cross from the island of Sicily into the "arch" area (Taranto) of the Italian mainland, envisioning a limited invasion of the Italian "boot". Anticipating a strong defence by both German and Italian forces, they would advance up the Adriatic Coast. The success of Op Husky as anticipated led to … Continue reading Allied Landings in Italy
Deception in the Mediterranean
Following the defeat of the German Afrika Corps the leading Allied powers looked ahead to the invasion of occupied Europe and the final defeat of Nazi Germany. At the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, the decision was made that the move would be against Italy. It was hoped that an Allied invasion of Italy would deliver three objectives: First, to remove … Continue reading Deception in the Mediterranean
Canada and the Italian Campaign – A Brief Synopsis
Often overshadowed by Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion and the operation to liberate the Netherlands, the liberation of Italy was Canada's longest military campaign during World War 2. In my posts leading up to BBR23 - Ortona 80, I will explore the Canadian involvement in the Italian Campaign from the landing of Allied Forces in … Continue reading Canada and the Italian Campaign – A Brief Synopsis
BBR20/21.1 – The Liberation of the Netherlands
In 2019, I completed my first Battlefield Bike Ride (BBR) with Wounded Warriors Canada (WWC). This was BBR19 - Operation Overlord. During the ride we travelled from Dieppe, France to Juno Beach in Normandy. This was the Canadian beach for Operation Overlord, better known as D-Day. We arrived on Juno Beach on 6 June 2019, … Continue reading BBR20/21.1 – The Liberation of the Netherlands
BBR23 - 80RTONA 