1. The Italian Campaign

2. The “tide” of the war was turning in favour of the Allies:
After Dieppe, Canadians waited in GB for their next chance to go into battle
The “tide” of the war was turning in favour of the Allies:
The Battle of El Alamein (Oct-Nov. 1942) meant the end of German advances in North Africa
The Battle of Stalingrad (winter 1943) ended the German advance into the Soviet Union

4. In July 1943, two Canadian divisions joined the assault on Italy by invading the island of Sicily

5. British PM Winston Churchill
called Italy “the soft
underbelly of Europe”
Italian soldiers were surrendering in large numbers
The government of Benito Mussolini was overthrown and he was executed

6. The new Italian PM signed an armistice with the Allies
German troops flooded into northern Italy so the Allies decided to invade the mainland
Canadian, British and American troops began a slow advance up the Italian peninsula
Cdns took the town of Ortona – streets too narrow to use tanks
Would take almost two years to take all of Italy
Took Rome on June 4, 1944 but fighting in Italy would last into 1945