SeaforLh Plghlanders of Canada

CrLona uecember 1943

A Speclal ChrlsLmas ulnner
Cn uecember 20, 1943 Lhe SeaforLh Plghlanders of Canada advanced lnLo CrLona, a Lown on lLaly's
Adrlauc coasL. Cver Lhe nexL elghL days Lhe reglmenL endured one of lLs hardesL baules and carved a
place ln hlsLory.
!"#$%&'() +,,&%#-(./0 1&'%/#
1he road LhaL led Lhe SeaforLhs lnevlLably Lo CrLona began wlLh an
amphlblous landlng ln Slclly on !uly 10, 1943. As parL of Cperauon
Pusky, 1sL Canadlan lnfanLry ulvlslon [olned Lhe renowned 8rlush
LlghLh Army.
!"#$%&'() 2#/3 ./ !.-.45
6#, %$ !.-.45
Poldlng Lhe army's
le ank, Lhe
Canadlans foughL
Lhelr way lnLo Lhe
hearLland of Slclly's
mounLalns.
!%43."& 3&./7./0 $&%8 -#/'""/
1he heaL was almosL unbearable. 1emperaLures rouunely cracked 40
degrees Celslus. lL Look LwenLy-elghL days of hard ghung agalnsL a
sLubborn foe" for Lhe SeaforLhs Lo march Lhe 193 kllomeLres of Lhe
campalgn.
9#'&%4 ./ +0.&#
8uL Lhe Canadlans prevalled and
Lhe lasL ma[or sLrongpolnLs,
lncludlng Lhe anclenL hlllLop
vlllage of Aglra, were wresLed
from Lhe Cerman grlp by Lhe end
of !uly.
9.," :#/3 +0.&#
1he road LhaL led Lhe SeaforLhs lnevlLably Lo
CrLona began wlLh an amphlblous landlng ln
Slclly on !uly 10, 1943. As parL of Cperauon
Pusky, 1sL Canadlan lnfanLry ulvlslon [olned
Lhe renowned 8rlush LlghLh Army.
!"#$%&'() %/ 3%-7 /";' '% 4#/3./0 -&#<
1he SeaforLhs dld noL remaln long ln Slclly aer Lhe campalgn ended
on AugusL 7. Cn SepLember 4, Lhey boarded landlng cra aL Messlna
and [olned Lhe lnvaslon of malnland lLaly.
6#, %$ ='#45
uurlng Lhelr
march from Lhe
Loe Lo
Campobasso, Lhey
faced llule hard
ghung.
!%43."&) 8#&-(./0
8uL Lhe mlles marched under a blazlng sun seemed endless. 1hey
were plagued wlLh dlsease and heaL exhausuon.
!%43."&) ./ 8>3 ?."@"3 '(&%>0( 8"'#4 ,4#'"
8y Lhe ume Lhe Canadlans Look over LlghLh Army's advance on
uecember 6 and assaulLed Lhe Moro 8lver, wlnLer had seuled down
upon lLaly. uusL gave way Lo mud. 1he raln was cold, LemperaLures
bluer.
6#, %$ 6%&%
Cn uecember 9,
Lhe SeaforLhs
forced a crosslng
of Lhe Moro 8lver
and enLered lnLo a
bluer baule
agalnsL Lhe 90Lh
anzer Crenadler
ulvlslon for
conLrol of Lhe
vlllage of San
Leonardo
A4%)" >, %$ )%43."& @.'( B(%8,)%/ #/3 9.#'C
Slclly had hardened Lhe SeaforLhs lnLo veLeran soldlers. Armed wlLh
laL Cuns, 1hompson machlneguns Lhey Look Lhe ghL Lo Lhe
Cermans.
D")'&%5"3 B.0"&
1helr Lank hunung Leams became adepL aL knocklng ouL Lhe heavy
Cerman armour wlLh Lhe clumsy anu-Lank weapon.
A4>)'"& %$ )%43."&)
1he ghung ground on as Lhe SeaforLhs and oLher reglmenLs of 1sL
ulvlslon bludgeoned Lhelr way across a rulned landscape Lowards
CrLona.
!(%' %$ &%#3 @.'( E#/-%>?"& ).0/
Cn uecember 13, aer elghL days of baule,
Lhe SeaforLhs were glven a brlef resplLe from
Lhe fronL llnes.
72 wounded
2 taken prisoner
33 killed
B#/7
Cn uecember 20, Lhe SeaforLhs, Loyal LdmonLon 8eglmenL, and
Shermans of Lhe 1hree 8lvers 8eglmenL Look over Lhe advance
Lowards CrLona.
=/$#/'&5 #3?#/-./0 ./'% 1&'%/#
1hey were soon problng Lhe ouLsklrLs of Lhls Lown of abouL 10,000
people.
B#/7 ./ $&%/' %$ -(>&-(
1he church of SanLa Marla dl
ConsLanunopoll ln Lhe Lown's
souLheasLern corner fell qulckly. lL became
Lhe reglmenL's headquarLers and
8eglmenLal Ald osL.
6#, %$ 1&'%/#
1o glve Lhe Lwo
lnfanLry
reglmenL's
elbow room,
Lhe SeaforLhs
hooked around
behlnd Lhe
Lddles and
advanced up
Lhe wesLern
slde of CrLona.
F#&&%@ &>GG4"3 )'&""'
1hey enLered a maze of narrow sLreeLs llned by Medleval bulldlngs,
many of whlch had been desLroyed by shelllng and Cerman
demolluons.
H?"/ /#&&%@"& )'&""' @.'( )%43."& ./ .'C
MosL of Lhese sLreeLs were only a donkey
carL wlde and so choked wlLh Lhe rubble
of collapsed bulldlngs LhaL Lanks were
unable Lo supporL Lhe SeaforLhs.
:>44"' &.334"3 G#/7C
1he ghL Lo conLrol a slngle bulldlng rouunely raged for hours,
leavlng lL pockmarked by hundreds of bulleLs. WlLh Lhe sLreeLs
Lransformed lnLo kllllng canals, Lhe SeaforLhs used exploslves Lo
blasL holes ln Lhe walls beLween ad[olnlng bulldlngs. 1he Lechnlque
was called mousehollng.
D"#3 I%&)" !J>#&" ,(%'% @.'( 3"#3 (%&)"
1he mornlng of ChrlsLmas Lve, Lhe SeaforLhs broke ouL lnLo uead
Porse Square-so named because a horse lay dead ln Lhe cenLre of
lL.
D"#3 I%&)" !J>#&" 9(%'% @.'( 8"3.-)C
llerce ghung for conLrol of Lhe church, Lhe school, hosplLal and
oLher large bulldlngs Lhere ensued. ln Lhe mldsL of Lhe sLruggle,
SeaforLh Ma[or !une 1homas ordered a 1hree 8lvers Lanker Lo knock
down Lhe church sLeeple whlch was belng used as a snlper posluon
by Lhe Cermans. 1hroughouL Lhe ghL, casualues mounLed
alarmlngly.
!"#$%&'( A(&.)'8#) D.//"& ,(%'%
ln Lhe mldsL of Lhe carnage of an ongolng sLreeL ghL, Lhe SeaforLhs
commander and quarLermasLer performed a mlracle. Cn uecember
23Lh one company aL a ume was quleLly wlLhdrawn from Lhe fronL
llnes and served a modesL ChrlsLmas ulnner.
!./0"&) ,(%'%
1he men en[oyed ChrlsLmas carols wlLh slgnaller LleuLenanL Wllf
Clldersleeve playlng Lhe church organ.
!%43."&) @.'( @./"
Soon aer Lhe lconlc ChrlsLmas ulnner phoLo was Laken, Canadlan
Army records mlsldenued lL as havlng been shoL durlng Lhls
ChrlsLmas ulnner aL dlvlslonal PC ln San vlLo, well Lo Lhe souLh and
ouL of Lhe llne of re.
!"#$%&'( A(&.)'8#) D.//"& 9(%'%
MosL SeaforLhs accepLed Lhls because Lhe phoLo clearly was noL
Laken lnslde Lhe church where Lhey had eaLen. lew of Lhe soldlers ln
Lhe phoLo were ldenuable as SeaforLhs. 1hey were uslng personal
mess uns, Lhere was no llnen, and only a handful of men were
drlnklng Lhe Lwo boules of beer LhaL each SeaforLh had been served.
H&/." :#0)'"3
PlsLory mlghL have resLed Lhere had lL noL been for veLeran SeaforLh
rlvaLe Lrnle 8agsLed, who had only arrlved as a relnforcemenL Lo
Lhe Lhe reglmenL on uecember 22.
K#&"/ !'%&@.-7
!olned by karen
SLorwlck, volunLeer
ulrecLor of Lhe Mural
of Ponour aL
Calgary's MlllLary
Museums, Lrnle
8agsLed soughL Lo
prove Lhe phoLo's
provenance. Pere,
Ms. SLorwlck ls
polnung Lo Lhe
palnung of Lhe
SeaforLh ChrlsLmas
ulnner LhaL appears
ln Lhe Mural on
Ponour.
D.//"& -.&-4"3 ("#3)C
Mr. 8agsLed
ldenued hlmself
smlllng aL Lhe camera
ln Lhe upper rlghL
hand corner. varlous
people also
recognlzed SergeanL
Ma[or !ock Clbson ln
Lhe upper le hand
corner. lamlly
members polnLed ouL
rlvaLe Wllllam
Challen ln Lhe lower
rlghL hand corner.
rlvaLe Challen was
kllled on !anuary 27,
1944.
A(>&-( #4-%?"
ln 2008, deLermlned Lo once and for all solve Lhe mysLery, karen
SLorwlck vlslLed CrLona. She learned from locals and by sLudylng Lhe
church exLerlor LhaL Lhe phoLo shows a parL of Lhe dlnner LhaL was
served ln lLs courLyard raLher Lhan lnslde. 1he ma[orlLy of SeaforLhs
aLe Lhelr dlnner wlLhln. 8uL some, such as rlvaLe 8agsLed, [olned
soldlers from oLher unlLs-lncludlng 1hree 8lvers 8eglmenL Lankers
-for a meal ouLslde.
!"#$%&'() @.'( )'&"'-("&
ChrlsLmas 1943 ended wlLh Lhe soldlers golng by companles
back lnLo Lhe helllsh baule. Many a SeaforLh was wounded or
kllled LhaL day.
:>&/./0 ?"(.-4")
1he baule raged ercely Lhrough 8oxlng
uay.
B#/7) ./ !'&""'
8uL as Lhe Canadlans broke ouL
lnLo Lhe larger squares of CrLona's
norLhern secLor, Lhe Lanks were
able Lo do Lhelr work more
eecuvely and Lhe ude of baule
Lurned.
L"&8#/) )>&&"/3"&./0
1he ellLe Lroops of 1sL arachuLe ulvlslon began surrenderlng.
!%43."&) #3?#/-./0 '%@#&3) &>./
And Lhe Canadlans were deLermlned Lo wresL vlcLory from Lhose
who foughL on ln Lhe rulns of whaL Lhe world medla was now calllng
Llule SLallngrad.
A#'("3&#4 D%8"
Cn uecember 27Lh, Lhe Canadlans capLured Lhe square domlnaLed
by Lhe rulns of Cauedrale san 1omasso. 1he ma[esuc dome of Lhe
caLhedral had been sllced ln half by Cerman demolluons on
uecember 21.
A.?.4.#/)M )%43."&) ./ &>./)
AL dawn on Lhe 28Lh, paLrols dlscovered Lhe paraLroopers had ed.
Le behlnd was a rulned Lown.
A("-7./0 -#)>#4'5 &%44)
lor Lhe SeaforLhs lL was ume Lo consulL Lhelr casualLy rolls. Many
men were shocked Lo see names of frlends llsLed as dead when Lhey
had LhoughL Lhem only wounded.
78 wounded
42 killed
150 wounded
2 taken prisoner
75 killed
9#3&" D>&/$%&3 adre 8oy uurnford sald Mass for Lhe reglmenL's dead who were
burled ouLslde CrLona ln a graveyard overlooklng Lhe Adrlauc.
9.," 6#N%& H))%/
lpe Ma[or Ldmond Lsson played Lhe lamenL for Lhe 73 SeaforLhs
who had sacrlced Lhelr llves ln Lhe uecember ghung.
A(>&-( '%3#5
lor Lhe SeaforLhs CrLona ls Lhelr mosL slgnlcanL baule honour.
94#J>" -%?"&"3 G5 A#/#3.#/ O#0
A facL recognlzed ln Lhe summer of 2013 when Lhe reglmenL
sponsored and unvelled a commemorauve plaque on Lhe ouLslde of
SanLa Marla dl ConsLanunopoll.
94#J>"
1he plaque recounLs Lhe
sLory of Lhe ChrlsLmas
ulnner and honours Lhe
memory of Lhe 1,373
Canadlan soldlers and more
Lhan 1,300 clvlllans who dled
ln Lhe 8aule for CrLona. As
Lhe plaque says of Lhe
SeaforLhs who auended:
1hose who survlved Lhe
baule and Lhe war never
forgoL Lhls dlnner. lor many
lL was Lhe hlghllghL of Lhelr
llfe because lL provlded a
brlef resplLe from Lhe kllllng
ln Lhe sLreeLs of CrLona."