[icarus]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

My Grandpa's brother who was killed in Ortona, Italy in December of 1943, is laid to rest in Canadian Military Graveyard near there.

And your brave relative brings up another important turning point, and one that Canada was engaged in.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

The Battle of Ortona (December 20, 1943 to December 27, 1943) was a small yet extremely fierce battle fought between German Fallschirmjäger (paratroops), and assaulting Canadian forces from the 1st Canadian Division. It was considered among Canada's greatest achievements during the war.

Taking place in the small Adriatic Sea town of Ortona, with its tiny peacetime population of 10 000, the battle was the site of what were perhaps the deadliest close quarter combat engagements of the entire war. Some dubbed this "Little Stalingrad".