Casa Berardi

The small coastal city of Ortona, on the Adriatic Sea, was the place of a violent battle between the British 8th Army and the German 10.Armee. Canadians of the 1st Canadian Division had to capture a strategic crossroad codenamed "Cider", …

1943-12-14

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The small coastal city of Ortona, on the Adriatic Sea, was the place of a violent battle between the British 8th Army and the German 10.Armee. Canadians of the 1st Canadian Division had to capture a strategic crossroad codenamed "Cider", on the road Ortona-Orsogna. To reach the crossroad, It was necessary to cross a gully, under the machine guns fire of the German soldiers of the Panzer Grenadier Regiment .200, entrenched in Casa Berardi, a massive building which overlook the gully. "C" company of the 22nd Royal Regiment, under the command of Captain Paul Triquet, was ordered to capture Casa Berardi with the support of a tank squadron of the 11th Armoured Regiment. Led by Captain Triquet, Canadians crossed the gully and captured Casa Berardi in a furious combat. In spite of several German counter-attacks, Casa Berardi stayed in Canadian hands, but at the end of the battle only 19 soldiers were still able-bodied in the "C" coy.

Casa Berardi, Italy

The Battle of Ortona was a battle fought between two battalions of elite German Fallschirmjäger (paratroops) from the Germanist Parachute Division under Generalleutnant Richard Heidrich, and assaulting Canadian troops from the Canadianist Infantry Division under Major General Chris Vokes, most of whom were fresh recruits whose baptism of fire was during the Invasion of Sicily. It was the culmination of the fighting on the Adriatic front in Italy during "Bloody December". The battle was known to those who fought it as the "Italian Stalingrad," for the brutality of its close-quarters combat, which was only worsened by the chaotic rubble of the town and the many booby traps used by both sides. The battle took place in the small Adriatic Sea town of Ortona, with a peacetime population of 10,000.

Wikipedia: Battle of Ortona

German

Canadian

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Countryside

Website Access: Available