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  • Ortona

  • Canada's Epic World War II Battle
  • Written by: Mark Zuehlke
  • Narrated by: William Dufris
  • Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (105 ratings)

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Ortona cover art

Ortona

Written by: Mark Zuehlke
Narrated by: William Dufris
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Publisher's Summary

In one furious week of fighting in December 1943, the First Canadian Infantry Division took Ortona, Italy, from elite German paratroopers ordered to hold the medieval port at all costs. When the battle was over, the Canadians emerged victorious despite heavy losses. Over 2,500 Canadians died or were wounded there. Military historian Mark Zuehlke blends reminiscences of the Canadians, Germans, and Italians who were there together with a blow-by-blow account of the fighting to create a harrowing, ultimately hopeful rendering of one of World War II's defining moments.

©2004 Mark Zuehlke (P)2011 Audible, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Ortona

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I had no idea...

The author and narrator do a tremendous job of bringing us to the Italian campaign and Ortona. It is beyond incredible what these soliders had to do. The sacafice, courage and determination of the Canadian army is on full display. Author does a superb job of capturing the grit of the frontlines and the detached nature of the generals pulling the strings, sometimes very poorly. WW II was truly a different era. Well done, highly recommended.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A much needed Canadian account

Mark Zuehlke’s series on Canadians during WWII fills many gaps in our knowledge base, I knew and am related to some Veterans of the Italian campaign, but never knew just how intense their war was, before this series.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

May we NEVER forget the sacrifice of our Canadian war veterans.

Unbelievably poignant recounting of human tragedy / senseless loss - suffering and death. Well written and narrated ... focus is on the role Canadians had in fighting this terrible - but almost forgotten - battle in Italy. Lest we ever forget their sacrifice for our freedom.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Little-known piece of Canadian history...

This was a great book. As with any military oriented book, the names, titles, acronyms, weapon references, etc., can all get a little tiresome. But the story, and details, of what both the soldiers and civilians went through is more than interesting enough to carry the listener though the muck. The narrator repeatedly mispronounces many things (Canadian towns, and a famous Canadian writer) Canadians won't be able to ignore but at least he's consistent and I was able to get over it. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in military or Canadian history.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Unfortunately Underwhelming...

I Was Quite Excited Being Canadian To Read Of The Canadian Battle In Ortona... Unfortunately I Found The Audible Book Very Hard To Follow As It Seemed To Jump From Person To Person & You Were Never Able To Follow An Individual &/Or Regiment Throughout... Just Found It Quite Choppy...

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

As always he tells great individual stories. These are the stories of our uncles, fathers etc. He’s a great Canadian historian

it needs to be talked about and spoken of more often and not let be forgotten by Canadians. As important in many ways as Vimy as it defines a area of battle and Canada involvement in Italy

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent study.

A detailed reconstruction of battle. The formations, the terrain, the men, the commanders. Highly recommended.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Sam
  • 2022-05-14

Great Story of an Important Episode of the War

Great book with good detail, recommend having Google maps and an old campaign map to follow along with. Finally a detailed account of that terrible December when the Canadians of 1st Inf Div and 1st Arm Bde helped smash German resistance and move toward victory. 1st big fight in an Urban area in the mainland European campaign and what a fight it was.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Lousy narration and so so story

The only good thing about this book is that there aren’t many books written about Canadians at war. The narrator is so old school and boring. It’s almost as if it’s a high quality automated narration as opposed to a real narrator. He has about 5 or so ways to express a sentence and he reads the entire book with these voices. So painful.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A really solid book that bogs down in occassion

Well narrated, however sometimes it bogs down in its own details. if you're a casual military history fan like myself you may find yourself sometimes struggling to keep track of all of the different units and commanders in play as well as the topography of the battle and the different objectives. I found the latter third of the book to be its strongest. this was where the fighting took place inside the city itself, and featured some of the best stories from the entire book.

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