1

"UP THE TOE OF ITALY"

From The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Song O'er The Hills Of Sicily
Sung To The Tune Of Waltzing Matilda

The Invasion Of Italy Goes Easily At First

The Allies invaded the Italian mainland on September 3, 1943. All went well at first. The Canadians shipped from Sicily across the Straits of Messina and landed unopposed at Reggio. There was scant opposition as they moved inland.

The Italian government swiftly arranged an armistice with the Allies.

If there was any uncertainty whether the Germans would withdraw from Italy or stay and fight, the answer came on September 9 when a combined British and American force landed higher up Italy's west coast at Salerno. They met bloody resistance.

Later in September the Italian royal family and key government figures escaped from German occupied Rome and fled to safety from the Adriatic sea port of Ortona, not then heavily occupied by Tedeschi.

Initially as the Canadians moved east along the toe of Italy and then swung northwards to move up along the east coast they encountered delaying actions rather than any serious attempt to stop the advancing forces. German troops would defend a position vigorously, then withdraw unexpectedly before their opponents could pin them for the kill.

These tactics slowed the advance. The Germans were doing was buying time. Further to the north more powerful forces were establishing a strong defensive belt across the width of Italy south of Rome: the Bernhard Line in the east, the Gustaf Line in the west.

The rugged coastal mountain terrain favoured the defenders. Even so, the advance was relatively inexpensive. There was even a short break in the advance at the town of Potenza, where a sports day was organised. The meet featured unexpected activity in the stands as messengers pulled out senior officers picked suddenly for higher combat leadership roles. Soon afterwards the advance resumed.

By the end of October The Loyal Edmonton Regiment had lost only another 11 men.