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00:00Italia, 1944
00:04The Allies fight to wrest control of Italy from the Germans
00:08While the Germans turn every ridge and mountain into a fortress
00:12The Germans always had a hill higher than us
00:16They could see us coming
00:18Battle-hardened German troops set traps
00:22And wait for the Allied tanks to roll into them
00:25We would let them come close
00:27Then when they got very close, we would fire
00:31Canadian troops fight the Germans across rivers
00:38Through valleys
00:40And up mountain ridges
00:43They had Italy and they were doing their best not to give it up
00:46And we were doing our best to get them out of it
00:48It would be tank versus tank
00:51Canadian and German armor clash
00:56In the battle for Italy
01:00Italy today, beautiful, peaceful
01:21But for thousands of years, armies fought here
01:24The Carthaginian general Hannibal, Attila the Hun and Napoleon Bonaparte
01:30All struggled here to win supremacy over the Mediterranean Sea
01:34Italy is that great land bridge that connects three continents together
01:40So all of the great empires that exist around the rim of the Mediterranean Sea
01:46Have sought to control the Italian peninsula
01:48And never was the fighting more vicious or desperate than between the Allies and the Germans
01:54In the Second World War
01:56On July 10, 1943, thousands of Canadian troops storm ashore near Pequino
02:07On the southeast coast of the island of Sicily
02:10As part of the Allied invasion force
02:12In a mere six weeks, the Allies conquer Sicily
02:23And on the third of September, they launch the invasion of the Italian mainland
02:28Five days later, on September 8, 1943, Italy surrenders
02:33The collapse of the fascist government in Italy led to the removal of the Italian armed forces from the Second World War
02:40Forcing the Germans to backfill with their own naval forces, air forces and ground forces
02:45To defend the south coast of Europe
02:47In a dramatic turnaround, Italy's former ally, Nazi Germany, decides to fight for every inch of Italian soil
02:55They didn't just send 60 divisions to the south coast of Europe
03:00They sent 60 of the best divisions
03:02To stop the Allies from breaking through into the southern approaches to Germany itself
03:08And these well-trained, well-equipped German troops
03:12Quickly discover they have a crucial and formidable new ally
03:16The Italian landscape
03:19Running right down the spine of the Italian boot is a central mountain range, the Apennines
03:28Spurs of the Apennines reach out to both east and west coasts
03:33Creating a thousand-kilometer obstacle course of narrow coastal valleys
03:38Steep ridges and an endless series of streams and rivers
03:42And there were rivers everywhere, a nuisance
03:45Every three miles we had another river to get over
03:47A river every three miles is the worst possible tank country
03:54But what difference does it make?
03:56That's what we were, that's what we had to do
03:58Exploiting every twist in the terrain, the Germans build one defensive line after another
04:04Turning over 1,000 kilometers of mountain, river, crag and swamp into an unending battlefield
04:10The Germans have every advantage of terrain, there are very few avenues to advance northward in Italy
04:18It takes a relatively small number of Germans to block all of the paths successfully
04:24They're in a stationary position
04:29They're just waiting for you to come along
04:32The Canadians fight desperately for almost a year
04:39Including the vicious street battles in Ortona
04:42Combat in Italy has already cost the Canadians almost 10,000 casualties
04:50In May 1944, the Canadians finally smashed through the Gustav and Adolf Hitler lines in the Leary Valley
05:00Just 130 kilometers south of the Italian capital, Rome
05:05We were getting ready quite literally to take Rome, that was our end objective
05:11One of the last obstacles in the advance to Rome is the Milfa River
05:17Which cuts across the Leary Valley, 15 kilometers beyond the smashed Adolf Hitler line
05:24The Milfa River is a giant anti-tank ditch that bars the approaches to Rome
05:29By cutting across the Leary Valley at right angles
05:32The Canadians are ordered to seize the river crossings and open the road to the Eternal City
05:38For the assault on the Milfa, the Canadian 5th Armored Division mobilizes a striking force
05:44Of over 4,000 combat troops
05:47Two dozen light tanks
05:50And more than 160 Sherman medium tanks
05:55The Sherman is the backbone of the Canadian attack
06:02The Sherman 5 is armed with a low-velocity 75-millimeter gun
06:07And has 51 millimeters of frontal armor
06:11That is dangerously vulnerable to the powerful cannons on most of the German tanks
06:15And if the Sherman is hit, it has a deadly weakness
06:22They call them the Bunsen burner
06:24Because when they went on fire, it really went on fire
06:26Almost invariably, you'd lose all five men if the entire tank went on fire
06:31At the Milfa River, the Shermans and their crews will be put to a severe test
06:39The German High Command is desperate to defend the Milfa
06:45Its crossings are virtually the only escape route for the German soldiers
06:51Retreating north from the smashed Adolf Hitler line
06:54What we see in the Milfa River is a giant collision between
07:00The 26th Panzer Division that's rushing into the area to try to stabilize the German front
07:05And the Canadians that are trying to seize a crossing over the Milfa River
07:08Before the Germans have a chance to turn it into a new defense line
07:11To defend the river crossings, the Germans field 1,000 combat troops
07:17And more than 30 tanks and assault guns
07:21Including a dozen Panther tanks
07:24May 24th, 1944
07:29The assault on the Milfa begins
07:31The Shermans of the British Columbia Dragoons race towards the river crossings
07:36I was very apprehensive before we went into battle every day
07:41We used to try and cover up by telling funny stories and everybody would laugh
07:46You know, it's a tense moment before you go in
07:48But once I was in action, I was too busy fighting to get to be tense
07:52The infantry went in and fighting their way across
07:57And they couldn't get up the other side because of the machine guns
08:03And there were machine gun nests everywhere
08:04And there were tanks
08:08They were up the cliff
08:10And a couple of them were already down
08:13Giving the infantry a hard time
08:15Apart from the artillery, then we were the solution
08:21There was a 12-foot drop
08:26From the countryside
08:28Down to the river
08:30And we went down this 12-foot cliff
08:34To help them
08:35It was a hell of a drop
08:37And the Germans were trying their best to kill us
08:42Shells are coming in like raindrops
08:45Everybody's firing
08:47The dust goes up everywhere
08:49And it becomes a real mess
08:51They came down there
08:5712-foot cliffs
08:58And they met us on the beach
08:59It would be tank versus tank
09:04The Canadians at the MELFA are the first in the West
09:07To do combat with a deadly Panther
09:09The Panther weighs a formidable 45 tons
09:16And has sloped frontal armor 80 millimeters thick
09:19Its long-barreled, high-velocity 75-millimeter gun
09:24Can easily cut through a Sherman
09:26We had no intimation whatsoever
09:32That they had moved Panthers down into Italy
09:34The total shock to us
09:36The Panthers were much slower than we were
09:42But our shells just bounced off
09:44So they were real competition
09:48They would go on fire the same as we would
09:50If we hit them properly
09:51If you were lucky enough
09:55To be able to put your shell
09:57Right between the turret and the hull
09:59Where there was a hole
10:01You could get in there
10:02It's nice when the tank is firing at you
10:06And they were
10:07And you fire back
10:08And he blows up
10:09That's a very good feeling
10:13Except that there are plenty of other tanks around
10:16You don't sit around ignoring
10:17You're looking at the other tanks
10:18I saw a couple of tanks go
10:24But that was what you were there for
10:27At the end of the battle
10:30Virtually all the German tanks have been destroyed
10:33And the Canadians are across the Melpha
10:35The German reinforcements are decisively defeated
10:39In and around the Melpha River
10:41Making it impossible to defend Rome
10:43By June 1st
10:48The Canadians are almost in Rome
10:50The Eternal City
10:51And the grand prize of the campaign
10:53We were 26 miles away from Rome
10:57And we figured we were going to be in Rome
10:59In about an hour
11:01And we were told to stop
11:02We found out why
11:05Americans wanted to take Rome
11:07Except there was no particular glory
11:10Because the Germans didn't defend Rome
11:12Films taken by Italian anti-fascists
11:16Show the evacuation of Rome
11:18The streets were deserted
11:19As the Nazis left
11:20The Americans enter Rome on June 4th
11:26But their glory
11:28And the headlines
11:29Don't last long
11:30Two days later
11:32Is D-Day
11:32June 6th
11:341944
11:35As Allied troops land
11:38On the beaches in Normandy
11:39And the decisive battle
11:41For France and Western Europe begins
11:43Suddenly
11:43The Italian campaign
11:45Becomes
11:46A sideshow
11:47We had been
11:50In action
11:51For about 11 months
11:52Before D-Day
11:53So we thought
11:55It was kind of funny
11:56These guys
11:58Who are
11:58Just coming into battle now
12:00Slanking about it
12:01So we called ourselves
12:02The D-Day Dodgers
12:03We dodged the D-Day
12:06By fighting for 11 months before it
12:08But even as France is invaded
12:11The Germans redouble
12:12Their desperate fight for Italy
12:14And the Canadians
12:17Are now about to face
12:19Some of their bloodiest battles ever
12:21After crossing the Melfa River
12:30And with Rome in friendly hands
12:32Canadian and Allied forces
12:34Rush northward
12:35Up the Italian peninsula
12:37Heading towards the core
12:38Of Italy's industrial
12:40And agricultural power
12:41In the vanguard of the advance
12:44Are Canadian tank crews
12:45And their Sherman tanks
12:47It will not be a walkover
12:51The German armies are determined
12:53To defend northern Italy
12:54To the last
12:55North Italy is the breadbasket
12:59And industrial heartland
13:00Of Italy as a whole
13:02And that industrial heartland
13:05Has been integrated fully
13:06Into the German war economy
13:08It is essential
13:09If the Germans are going to
13:10Carry out their strategy
13:12For 1944 and 1945
13:13To maintain control
13:15Of that industrial
13:17And agricultural heartland
13:18In the summer of 1944
13:21The Germans are desperately
13:22Building a defensive line
13:24In the north
13:24To protect the Po Valley
13:26The supposedly
13:27Invincible Gothic line
13:29But the Gothic line
13:32Is not yet complete
13:33So the German high command
13:35Decides to delay the allies
13:36At the so-called
13:37Trasimane line
13:38The line lies 160 kilometers
13:43North of Rome
13:44And where it confronts
13:45The Canadians
13:46It extends across
13:47An eight kilometer gap
13:48Between Lake Trasimane
13:50And Lake Chiusi
13:51Between the two lakes
13:54The Germans have improvised
13:55A three kilometer deep
13:56Zigzagging swath
13:58Of dug-in strong points
13:59And machine gun posts
14:01The Germans choose
14:04The Lake Trasimane battlefield
14:06Because any allied drive
14:08That's going to reach
14:09The Po Valley
14:10Has to come through
14:11Those rolling foothills
14:12West of Lake Trasimane
14:14The rolling ridges
14:16And high ground
14:17Offer the Germans
14:18Ideal terrain
14:19For their cat and mouse
14:20Delaying action
14:21The Germans always
14:24Had a hill higher than us
14:25They could see us coming
14:28June 21st, 1944
14:31Canadian tanks
14:33Of the Ontario Regiment
14:34Go into action
14:35Against German Panzers
14:36He was in a sunken road
14:39And all I could see
14:41Was his turret
14:42And the gun
14:43Sticking away out there
14:44Him facing me
14:46With that gun
14:47Was really no contest
14:49It never is
14:50If he gets a direct shot
14:54On to you
14:54He can put a hole
14:56Through you
14:56Anyway
14:57He seemed to try
15:00To want to get up
15:01Out of that road
15:02Maybe get at me
15:03The gun was up here
15:10Like quite an angle
15:12It was just like
15:18Waving a chimney at you
15:20It looks so long
15:21He tried to get up
15:25But he couldn't make it
15:26If he got out of there
15:27I was facing that gun
15:29Head on
15:30I shot two or three shots
15:34At him
15:34I think I hit him
15:41The only chance I had
15:45Knocking him out
15:46Was getting broadside
15:47Their side armor
15:51Their side armor
15:51Wasn't as good
15:52As their front armor
15:53Their front armor
15:54Is very thick
15:55And well slanted
15:56He just about
16:01Disappeared about that time
16:02And he went into
16:03Some trees there
16:04And I didn't see him
16:06From then on
16:07After two days of fighting
16:16The tanks of the Ontario regiment
16:18Successfully smash through
16:19The German defenses
16:20And push ahead
16:22North along the shores
16:23Of Lake Trasimene
16:24Five kilometers to the west
16:27The tanks of the Three Rivers regiment
16:29Sit at their start line
16:30Waiting to enter the battle
16:32We were scheduled to start
16:37At seven o'clock
16:38In the morning
16:39They forgot to tell us
16:41The starting time
16:42Had been changed
16:42So we rolled out
16:44Of our tank park
16:45And up the road
16:47To take position
16:48And only to find
16:49It was behind
16:50The German lines
16:51So the Germans
16:56Closed in behind us
16:58And then they completely
16:59Cut us off
17:00As we move forward
17:03With Major Johnson
17:04We got a call
17:06On the radio
17:06From Captain Hunter
17:08Who said that
17:09He was being attacked
17:10From the rear
17:11And Johnson said
17:14That's impossible
17:16Well if it's impossible
17:17They just knocked out
17:18Seven tanks
17:19After Major Johnson
17:28Told Hunter
17:29That he couldn't understand
17:30Why he was getting hit
17:31From the rear
17:31His tank got hit
17:33Now surrounded by Germans
17:38And far beyond
17:39Infantry support
17:40The Canadian tankers
17:41Hunker down
17:42To prepare for a long fight
17:44We were being shelled
17:46And we hit a hole
17:47A bomb crater
17:48Went into the bomb
17:49Located into what you call
17:51A turret down position
17:52The land was fairly flat
17:59And we were on a mould
18:02And could see
18:03What was going on
18:04The crew commander
18:07East saw the panther
18:09It was around 500 yards away
18:17From us
18:17For a panther
18:19Or a tiger tank
18:20That was nothing
18:21They had the long barrel
18:24On it
18:24And they could
18:25Outrange us
18:26Well our tank
18:31Had an HE
18:31High explosive
18:33In the breach
18:34I said
18:38Leave it in
18:39I'll use it
18:40As a tracer
18:41As a marker
18:41My job was to
18:44My job was to make sure
18:45I picked up the target
18:46And fire at it
18:51And I was lucky enough
18:54To hit the panther tank
18:56We never knocked out a panther tank
19:04With a sherman
19:04We never knocked out a panther tank with a sherman
19:04He'd never do it
19:06But we had hit the turret ring
19:10Just below the turret
19:12Which prevented the tank from turning
19:17After immobilizing the panther
19:23The remaining tanks
19:24Of the Three Rivers Regiment
19:26Hold out
19:26Against repeated counterattacks
19:28For more than seven hours
19:30Until they are relieved
19:32You go into those things
19:36With the idea
19:36That you're invincible
19:38That regardless of what happens
19:40You
19:40They're not going to get you
19:42But the day
19:46Has been a costly one
19:47We lost
19:4813 of the 15 tanks
19:52That went into action that day
19:53Our regiment
19:59Never gave up an inch
20:00We didn't back up
20:02We stayed
20:02Held our position
20:03And we never
20:06Never gave up a position
20:07Once we took it
20:08The relatively unknown battle
20:13At Lake Trasimene
20:14Actually cost regiments
20:16And 1st Canadian Armored Brigade
20:17Some of their heaviest losses
20:19Of the war
20:19But 1st Canadian Armored Brigade
20:22Is considered to be
20:23The most effective
20:24Best trained tank brigade
20:26Of all the allied forces
20:27In Italy
20:28And it becomes essential
20:30To the fight
20:30For the rolling hills
20:31West of Lake Trasimene
20:33The Germans retreat northward
20:35Toward the formidable
20:36Gothic line
20:37The last German bastion
20:39Protecting the Po Valley
20:40And Italy's industrial heartland
20:43In one week
20:47The Canadians have vaulted
20:49Through the Trezimene line
20:50They're now considered shock troops
20:52The Canadians were central
20:55To all of the major allied assaults
20:57In the Italian campaign
20:59And for that reason
21:00The Germans understood
21:01Wherever the Canadians popped up
21:03That's where the point
21:04Of allied main effort would be
21:05Field Marshal Albert Kesselring
21:08Smiling Albert
21:09The German commander in Italy
21:11Is determined to know
21:13Where the Canadians are headed next
21:14If he knows where the Canadians are
21:17Kesselring can be almost certain
21:19That that is where the allies
21:21Intend to assault
21:22The Gothic line
21:23They figure where the first divs
21:26Is going to be
21:26That's where the
21:27That's where the
21:28Breakout's going to be
21:29And it usually was
21:31August 1944
21:39The Canadians know
21:41That their actions
21:42Are being anxiously watched
21:43By the Germans
21:44And so it is in secret
21:46That they transfer
21:46To the Adriatic front
21:48And prepare to attack
21:49The Gothic line
21:50Allied commanders
21:52Wanted to concentrate
21:53Their best troops
21:54Their most powerful
21:55Armored and artillery formations
21:57To the weakest part
21:58Of the Gothic line
21:59And so they transfer
22:00Our first Canadian corps
22:01Secretly across the Apennines
22:03To stage behind the Folia river
22:06To deliver the main assault
22:08On the Gothic line
22:08The Canadians move
22:11From their position
22:12Near Perugia
22:12Over 200 kilometers
22:14Through the mountains
22:14To their assembly point
22:16Just inland
22:17On the Adriatic coast
22:18The decision to move
22:22The Canadian corps
22:23Across the Apennines
22:25Was a tremendous
22:26Engineering
22:27And transport feat
22:28The 5th Canadian
22:30Armored divisional engineers
22:31Actually had to build
22:32A road for their
22:33Armored vehicles
22:34That is still
22:35A well used
22:37Truck road
22:38To this day
22:39Almost 11,000 vehicles
22:43Including 650 tanks
22:45Rumbled through the mountains
22:47For the assault
22:52On the Gothic line
22:53The Canadians have
22:5410,000 troops
22:55And over 260 Sherman tanks
22:59And they aim to exploit
23:02To the fullest
23:03The Sherman's greatest strength
23:05The biggest thing
23:07Was our maneuverability
23:08The Sherman tank
23:09Was a great tank
23:10As far as that part
23:12Is concerned
23:12But we needed
23:14The mobility
23:15For obvious reasons
23:17The Adriatic sector
23:20Of the Gothic line
23:20Consists of
23:21An anti-tank ditch
23:22River barriers
23:24That run at right angles
23:25Across the front
23:26Barbed wire entanglements
23:27Extensive minefields
23:29But what this section
23:32Of the line lacks
23:33Is enough German troops
23:34To properly defend it
23:36On the morning
23:38Of August 31st
23:39The German reinforcements
23:40Are being rushed in
23:41From other parts of Italy
23:42Now that the Germans
23:43Know where the main
23:45Allied effort is coming
23:46There's an awareness
23:48In Allied headquarters
23:49And Canadian headquarters
23:50That they've got to
23:51Get high into the hills
23:53And take the German
23:54Depth positions
23:55Before the German
23:56Reinforcements arrive
23:57The Canadians
23:59Will cross the Folia Valley
24:00Heading towards
24:01The heights of 0.204
24:03Near the town
24:05Of Tomba di Pesaro
24:06The Canadians understand
24:09That the key
24:10To their section
24:11Of the Gothic line
24:12Are the heights
24:12Around Tomba di Pesaro
24:14The British Columbia
24:16Dragoons are supposed
24:17To attack up
24:17On those heights
24:18With a supporting
24:19Battalion of infantry
24:19That battalion isn't ready
24:21So they make the decision
24:22To go alone
24:23It's a costly decision
24:25It means that they
24:26Have to drive through
24:27A German anti-tank gun screen
24:29And thick concentrations
24:30Of German artillery fire
24:31Even without reinforcements
24:34The Germans are ready
24:35For the Canadians
24:36The worst part
24:38Was the fact
24:38That they were
24:39Entrenched in there
24:41And were waiting for us
24:43On the neighboring ridges
24:49On both sides
24:49Of them
24:50German anti-tank guns
24:51Machine guns
24:52Mortars and artillery
24:53Are working to stop them
24:54And pick off
24:55A large number
24:56Of BCD Shermans
24:57Toppling some
25:00Down the ridge side
25:01And picking off others
25:02On the crest
25:03Of the ridge itself
25:04Before reaching
25:13The German lines
25:14The Shermans
25:15Must cross a minefield
25:16He lost one tank
25:19Hit one of his mines
25:21And poof
25:21What they would do
25:28Is knock off the track
25:30And of course
25:33It was no good
25:34After that
25:35The British Columbia dragoons
25:39Are attacking
25:39Up a ridge
25:41Towards point 204
25:42The dragoons
25:45Make rather skillful
25:46Use of the crest
25:47Of the ridge itself
25:48To expose themselves
25:50On the crest itself
25:51Means certain death
25:52So when at all possible
25:54They keep the vehicles
25:56On the right side
25:57Of the crest
25:57And shield themselves
25:59From the German anti-tank guns
26:00To the west
26:01Anti-tank guns
26:06Either side
26:07They were fine
26:09Some aren't able
26:13To do it
26:13At some points
26:14On the top
26:14Of that ridge
26:15It's impossible
26:16To stay
26:16On the right-hand side
26:17You have to expose
26:18Yourself across the peak
26:20And at those times
26:21Those tanks
26:22Are picked off
26:22By 88s
26:23That 88mm
26:26That was a
26:29Powerful
26:31Deadly thing
26:32A number of tanks
26:41Actually make it
26:42To point 204
26:43And that's when we saw
26:47The big panther tank
26:49Only hit we got
26:56Was just a glancing blow
26:57Off the side of the tank
26:59Wham!
27:02The noise inside
27:04Was quite loud
27:06It was facing us
27:10And when I saw us
27:12All three of us
27:13Coming out of them
27:14It started to turn
27:16But it didn't get very far
27:18Crew commander
27:20Said
27:20Fire at will
27:22So I'm slamming
27:23The shells in
27:24And the gun
27:26He's firing away
27:27In with another one
27:30Get it right side
27:33And in the turret
27:34Once the Canadians
27:39Carve out a toehold
27:41On point 204
27:42They've effectively
27:43Cracked their finger
27:44Into the door
27:45Of the Gothic line
27:46The Germans begin
27:47A massive withdrawal
27:48The supposedly
27:50Invincible Gothic line
27:52Has been smashed
27:53After their victory
27:57In the Gothic line
27:58The Canadians thought
27:59The war with Germany
28:00Just might be over
28:01They assumed that
28:03The Germans were
28:04Retreating from the
28:05Gothic line
28:05And were about to
28:06Abandon all of Italy
28:08In fact at that moment
28:11German reinforcements
28:12Were rushing to
28:12Restore the front
28:14And keep the allies
28:15From breaking into
28:16The Po Valley
28:16And setting up
28:18A new line of defense
28:19Around a place
28:20Called Coriano
28:20And the heaviest
28:23Of the fighting
28:24Was about to break out
28:25September 1944
28:33The allies are on the
28:35Verge of breaking
28:36Through into the
28:37Italian north
28:38They plan a massive
28:41Push along the
28:42Adriatic coastal plain
28:44But first they must
28:45Clear German positions
28:47That overlook the coast
28:48Near the hilltop town
28:49Of Coriano
28:50The town of Coriano
28:52Lies atop a ridge
28:54That bars the allied
28:55Approach northward
28:56To the Po Valley
28:57And the ridge itself
29:00Is an excellent place
29:02For a defensive position
29:03Allied command
29:06Believes the Coriano
29:07Ridge is vulnerable
29:08They thought it was
29:11Going to be a cakewalk
29:12Through Coriano
29:13But the Canadians
29:15Soon discover
29:15That Coriano
29:16Is anything but
29:17Lightly defended
29:18The Germans throw in
29:20Every available elite unit
29:22Including the Canadians
29:23Old foe from Ortona
29:25The first parachute division
29:27We found the parachute
29:29Divisions
29:30Were the worst ones
29:32Of all
29:32For us
29:34Because they
29:35They would never give up
29:36I had heard
29:41Some Canadian prisoners
29:42Say
29:42The Paras are very tough
29:47The Paras are very hard
29:49So
29:51They said
29:52We were very tough
29:53Very hard
29:54So we started
29:57Out in the valley
29:58And we knew
29:59Soon I got
29:59Got over the
30:00Bassanio ridge
30:01Than they started
30:02Well in hell
30:04Out of us
30:04I was the artillery observer
30:10For the 11th company
30:11Of the 1st parachute division
30:12And I had two radio operators
30:14With me
30:15All of a sudden
30:19We heard
30:20Tanks from the front
30:21So we looked
30:28And I counted
30:3150 tanks
30:32After we had given
30:41An order by radio
30:43It took about 10 minutes
30:46Until some artillery arrived
30:47The Canadian advance
30:54Is totally exposed
30:56To the fire
30:56Of German guns
30:58We were out there
31:01Bare naked
31:01And when the first ones
31:08Caught on fire
31:08The other ones
31:10Turned around
31:11Two B squadron tanks
31:17From the 8th husars
31:18Make a break
31:19For the bottom
31:19Of the hill
31:20When we got down there
31:23There's this tank
31:24And our tank
31:25Got there
31:26At the same time
31:27And we rubbed
31:32Against one another
31:33And we straddled
31:36This dry creek bed
31:38Well it was a natural
31:43Tank trap
31:44We couldn't get out of there
31:45The stranded B squadron tanks
31:53Are assisted
31:54By the tanks
31:55Of A squadron
31:56Positioned on the ridge
31:57Above them
31:58A squadron lays down
32:01A smokescreen
32:02Giving the men
32:03Of B squadron
32:04The cover they need
32:05To abandon their tanks
32:06And escape on foot
32:08By the grace of God
32:13We hit our lines
32:14So we got away
32:16With it
32:16None of our crew
32:18Got even got a scratch
32:20There
32:20I feel I was very lucky
32:24To get out of that thing
32:26The Germans successfully
32:28Repel the Canadian attack
32:30Of September the 4th
32:32We fought off those attacks
32:34They did not get through
32:35But the cost to the Germans
32:37Is great
32:38In spite of the huge loss
32:41Of men and equipment
32:42The Germans are ordered
32:43To hold
32:44We just did our duties
32:48And kept on believing
32:52That we would get out
32:53Of there okay
32:54September 13th
32:59The Germans face
33:00A second Canadian attack
33:02On Coriano ridge
33:03In the second battle
33:06For Coriano
33:0615 Hazar Shermans
33:08Penetrate into the center
33:09Of town
33:10Assuming that the Germans
33:11Have started to abandon
33:12Coriano ridge
33:13In fact they find
33:17That the Germans
33:18Are intent on clinging
33:19To Coriano
33:20At all costs
33:21Those 15 Hazar Shermans
33:30Reach the town square
33:31And meet an ambush force
33:32Of German Tigers
33:34Panzer IVs
33:35And infantry
33:35We would let them come close
33:44Without firing at them
33:46Then when they got very close
33:50We would fire
33:51And now the Shermans must face
33:59The most dreaded tank
34:00In the German arsenal
34:01The fearsome Tiger
34:03The 57 ton Tiger
34:06Is the jewel
34:07Of Germany's
34:07Panzer force
34:08At 100 millimeters
34:10Its frontal armor
34:11Is twice as thick
34:13As the Shermans
34:13And its 88 millimeter gun
34:16Is much more powerful
34:17Than the 75 millimeter cannon
34:19On the Sherman
34:19There was some kind of weapon
34:29There you think
34:30Shells just bounced off
34:42They engage in a violent
34:46Close quarter battle
34:47In the town square itself
34:49The number of Canadian tanks
34:56Are hit
34:56The Canadians
35:02Were very hard pressed
35:03Even though
35:08They outnumbered us
35:09By far
35:10And in order to escape
35:17The Hussars actually
35:18Have to tow their wrecks
35:19Out of the way
35:20Under heavy fire
35:22The Shermans retreat
35:23From Coriano
35:24For the remainder of the day
35:27Their tank guns
35:28Shell the Germans
35:29From the outskirts of town
35:30The next morning
35:34They mount another assault
35:36The whole of 5th Canadian Armored Division
35:39Regroups
35:40And goes back into Coriano
35:42By this point
35:48The German tanks inside Coriano
35:50Have been wrecked
35:50By Canadian artillery
35:51After a day and night
35:57Of vicious pitiless struggle
35:58Coriano and its ridge
36:00Are finally in Canadian hands
36:02Just on the horizon
36:07The Po Valley beckons
36:08The men call it
36:10The promised land
36:11After the battle for Coriano
36:17The Allies are finally
36:19On the edge
36:19Of the vast Po Valley
36:21Being flat
36:25The valley looks like
36:26Ideal tank country
36:27When the Canadians
36:31Finally broke in
36:32Into the Po Valley
36:32Many of them thought
36:34That for the first time
36:35In this war
36:36They were going to be able
36:37To fight a battle
36:37Without the Germans
36:38Looking down on them
36:39Tankers had been dreaming
36:43Of the day
36:44When they'd be able
36:45To use their tanks
36:46In a breakout role
36:47And chase the Germans
36:48Back to the Alps
36:49Unfortunately
36:50That was not going
36:51To be the case
36:51The desperate German
36:54Fight at Coriano
36:55Had a clear aim
36:56The Germans were waiting
36:58For the season to change
36:59Autumn weather and rain
37:02Will be the Germans
37:02Greatest ally
37:03In defending the Po Valley
37:05Po Valley is a tanker's
37:08Paradise in the summer
37:09Dry weather
37:10But because of all
37:11The rivers and irrigation
37:13Canals that cut across it
37:14Once the fall rains arrive
37:16It's a tanker's nightmare
37:17Once it starts to rain heavily
37:21In September and October
37:23In 1944
37:23The Po Valley
37:24Filled with water
37:25Any attempt to move off road
37:28Means that a 33 ton
37:30Sherman tank
37:30Is going to bog down
37:31To its axles
37:32Almost immediately
37:33Tanks become irrelevant
37:34You thought it was
37:38Going to be easy
37:39But it didn't turn out
37:41That easy
37:41Mud makes coordinated
37:46Cross-country tank attacks
37:47Almost impossible
37:48The Germans dig in
37:51And the Allied advance
37:52Slows to a crawl
37:53Both sides hunker down
37:57In the rain of the mud
37:58For almost two months
38:00The stalemate lasts
38:02It's not until the very end
38:05Of 1944
38:06That we see tanks
38:07Once again employed
38:09In an off-road role
38:11To play a leading part
38:12In any major battle
38:13Finally
38:15The Italian winter arrives
38:17The ground freezes up
38:18And tanks once more
38:20Become mobile
38:21The next task
38:22Is going to be
38:22To break out
38:23Across the Po Valley
38:24And chase what they think
38:26Is going to be
38:26A German evacuation
38:28From Italy
38:28But the Germans
38:30Have no intention
38:31Of evacuating Italy
38:32In fact
38:34They plan to fight
38:35For every inch
38:36Including a bulge
38:38In their line
38:38South of Lake Camacchio
38:40The German position
38:45Near the town
38:46Of St. Alberto
38:47On the south shore
38:48Of Lake Camacchio
38:49Is a mortal danger
38:50To the Allies
38:51Right flank
38:52The Canadians
38:54Prepare to eliminate
38:56That threat
38:56The Canadian mission
38:58At the Battle
38:59Of Lake Camacchio
38:59Is to destroy
39:01The German forces
39:01South of the lake
39:03And set the conditions
39:04For the final liberation
39:06Drive in the spring
39:06Of 1945
39:07January 2nd, 1945
39:10Canadian tanks
39:12Go into action
39:135th Canadian Armored Division
39:18Uses two
39:19Of its armored regiments
39:20They wait
39:21Until there's been
39:22Several successive nights
39:23Of frost
39:24To freeze the ground firm
39:26As they know
39:29That German
39:29Anti-tank defenses
39:30Are only set up
39:31To cover the roads
39:32Because for the last
39:33Three months
39:34No Allied tank
39:35Has been able
39:36To drive off road
39:36After a couple
39:38Of days of frost
39:39When the ground's
39:40Firm enough
39:40To carry the weight
39:41Of a Sherman
39:41These Canadian
39:43Shermans break out
39:44Across the frozen ground
39:45Frost hardened ground
39:47Is not their only ally
39:48The Shermans have been fitted
39:50With track grousers
39:52To aid the advance
39:53The track grouser
39:55Extends the width
39:56Of the Sherman track
39:57And enables it
39:57To travel on softer ground
39:59Additional pieces
40:03Attached to the sides
40:04Of the track links
40:05Grousers add more than
40:06Ten centimeters
40:07To the width
40:08Of the tank track
40:09Thus spreading
40:10The weight of the tank
40:11And making it
40:12Less likely
40:12It will sink
40:13Into soft ground
40:14Or break through
40:15The frost layer
40:16As the Canadians
40:21Advance across
40:22The frozen ground
40:23They come under fire
40:24From a German ambush
40:25A group of anti-tank guns
40:30And Panthers
40:31Begin to knock out
40:32The tanks
40:32Of the eight hussars
40:34Sergeant Daniel McCaskill
40:43Crew commander
40:43Of one of the Shermans
40:44Acts quickly
40:45He stops his tank
40:49And opens fire
40:50On the German position
40:51As he exchanges
40:56Shell fire
40:57With the Germans
40:57The rest of his squadron
40:58Continues to advance
41:00McCaskill's Sherman
41:03Single-handedly
41:04Knocks out
41:05Four anti-tank guns
41:06And a Panther
41:09While sustaining
41:11No damage himself
41:12With the Sherman
41:14With the Sherman
41:14Safely through
41:15The ambush zone
41:16They continue
41:17Their advance
41:18Towards Lake Camacchio
41:19Leaving the German
41:20Defenses in flames
41:22The Canadians
41:27The Canadians have penetrated
41:28Past any of the German
41:29Defenses that can stop them
41:30And race to Lake Camacchio
41:32When the Canadians
41:35When the Canadians enter
41:35San Alberto
41:36Completely sealing off the southern shore
41:38Of Lake Camacchio
41:39They have taken 600 enemy prisoners
41:42And counted at least 300 enemy dead
41:45Lake Camacchio constitutes the last big battle for Canada
41:50In the Italian campaign
41:51The Italian campaign is the longest fought by the Canadian army in the Second World War
41:57And it was tremendously successful at drawing in and tying down some of the best formations in the German army
42:04We really weren't expected to win the war
42:10Our job was to take the strength out of Europe
42:15And the view of the fact that there were from 30 to 40 divisions
42:19German divisions sent to fight in Italy
42:22We did a great job in taking strength away
42:24And of course we were causing tremendous casualties which they had to reinforce
42:28And they were using tanks and they were using ammunition
42:31So we were sapping a lot of strength out of Europe
42:35The Italian campaign saw some of the most famous armoured regiments in Canadian history
42:44Earn their spurs
42:46And prove their ability in the Italian landscape
42:48To win some of the most important Canadian tank victories of the Second World War
42:54Each Canadian victory was a step in the liberation of Italy
43:04And many Italians, like those who lived near what was once the Gothic line
43:10Still remember, even today
43:12The Italians in that area remember the Canadian victory at Point 204
43:19As a key point in the story of their liberation from German occupation
43:24The Italians built the monument at Point 204 in tribute to their Canadian liberators
43:31With their own money and their own labour
43:33It's a unique monument in Europe in that sense
43:38The memorial's inscription reads
43:41Here the heroic deeds of the First Canadian Corps breach the imposing German defences
43:48With the loss of over 1,000 lives
43:51For the freedom of Italy and peace in Europe
43:55In witness to and as a warning for future generations
44:01The Gothic line was just one battle in the 20 long months the Canadians fought to liberate Italy
44:11That success came at a heavy price in Canadian lives
44:1993,000 Canadians served in Italy
44:2193,000 Canadians served in Italy
44:23More than 20,000 were wounded
44:27Nearly 6,000 died
44:28Nearly 6,000 died.
44:33Those are brave men.
44:36We didn't think we were heroes.
44:39I was a lucky guy to survive.
44:42Each year I go to the memorial service
44:45for the 23 of my synagogue that got killed in action.
44:52I guess I'm lucky to be where I am.
44:55All my buddies in the regiment are all dead.
44:57And that's not a very nice thing to even think about.
45:04They're excellent people, excellent soldiers.
45:10We did what we had to do,
45:12and what we were trying to do
45:14was prevent the Germans from taking over the whole world,
45:17and we succeeded.
45:23It was read our baptism of the fire.
45:27It was read our canon,
45:30but it was not only for us,
45:32but it was brought to you alone.
45:33It was read
45:47and we had to wake up here.
45:49Gracias por ver el video.
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