Christmas in Hell: the battle of Ortona

Solitaire game (player takes the role of the Canadians) on the famous battle fought in the street of this small Italian city during late December 1943. The game uses an area map, platoon level units, machine guns, tanks, booby traps, minefield, and so on. Low to medium complexity. It is a print and play only game, with 2A4 map, more than 400 counters, 8 pages of rules and a turn record track. A board game on the famous battle of WWII, where Canadian troops were forced to fight a fierce battle inside the street of the small city of Ortona against a few very determined German paratroopers. For the Canadians, Ortona was the bloodiest battle of the Italian Campaign. The once picturesque ancient village on the Adriatic coast has been reduced to rubble. Canadian and German troops clash daily, in bitter, house-to-house fighting. Snipers, booby traps and land mines were a constant threat as every building gained brought about a terrible cost in blood. Matthew Halton of the CBC refers to Ortona as the "The courtyard of hell". The capture of Ortona, known to those who fought it as the "Italian Stalingrad", is considered among Canada's greatest victories during the war. While both sides agreed the town was of little strategic value, the world press transformed the battle into a matter prestige between the Allies and the Germans. "For some unknown reason, the Germans are waging a miniature Stalingrad in hapless Ortona" wrote one war correspondent. The game features two A4 full colour area maps of the battlefield, more than 400 full colour counters, 8 pages of rules and a sheet for recording the game turn and reinforcements.