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THE SPAGHETTI LEAGUE

Italy Was Not Just Fighting

Some Canadians began jocularly referring to the Italian campaign as "The Spaghetti League."

It was not all fighting. The Canadian troops halted at the end of October and were given the opportunity to relax for a few weeks.

The Italian town of Campobasso was turned into a rest centre, where soldiers from the various units were trucked in a day at a time to enjoy a more normal environment. Recreational facilities were established, including movie theatres, and clubs for officers and non-commissioned ranks. A break in the war meant a return to "soldiering" - ceremonial guards were mounted in the town square. On the first occasion the pipe band of Toronto's 48th Highlanders played for the benefit of both Canadian soldiers and the Italian populace. The event was dampened when German shells kept falling and the populace remained in their cellars.

The Loyal Edmonton Regiment was quartered nearby at Baranello, and to help pass the time organised a "Donkey Derby" - races using mules and donkeys rather than horses. Much money and cigarettes changed hands in bets.

But like the rest after the conquest of Sicily, the stay at Campobasso was only a break in the fighting, not an end to it. And the intensity of battle was about to change. A little to the north Germans were waiting. And this time they were not delaying skirmishers, but part of the newly established defensive belts.