THE FORTYNINER - Alberta Genealogy Research "The Recents"

The Forty-Niner
tanker the Germans open up. Sniper, machine gun
and anti- tank fire slam into D Company as they
scramble into the doorways for cover.
A German anti- tank gun on the side of the piazza is
firing at the tanks and beginning to zero in on them.
Stone takes it upon himself to take it out. He runs
through intense fire across the piazza and drops a
grenade into the midst of the guns crew, throwing
himself against the outside of the gun’s blast shield
to protect him from the grenade. After, he runs back
and the house to house fighting commences again.
A common technique used in Ortona, since most
of the buildings are connected, was a technique
referred to as mouse holing. This consisted of using
the PIAT (Projector, Infantry Anti- Tank) to blow
holes in the walls of buildings, allowing the infantry
to go from building to building without going out
into the street. One man would carry the PIAT and
the other would have a Thompson sub machine
gun, grenades and extra PIAT bombs. The man with
the PIAT would blow a hole in the wall then the
other would throw a couple of grenades through
the hole before jumping through the hole shooting
off bursts from the Thompson.
The technique of mouse holing kept the men of D
Company safe from the deadly sniper fire in the
streets, but made for extremely close and gruesome
combat situations that caused a severe emotional
toll on the men fighting in the battle. Because of
these conditions, every man was a casualty in
Ortona, if not wounded then they suffered severe
physical and emotional exhaustion that made most
incapable of combat afterwards. And for those
lucky enough to survive, the horrors of the battle
stayed with them for the rest of their lives.
which McQuade quickly shot a burst through from
his Thompson and threw two grenades through.
McQuade then jumped through with the extra PIAT
bombs with Smitty running directly behind him.
McQuade ran into the room and stopped, looking
straight ahead at two Germans on the landing of
the staircase attempting to set up their MG-42
aimed in their direction. The German trying to load
the ammo belt was very young and was having
difficulty loading the belt. He looked up and locked
gazes with Pte McQuade. Smitty ran up behind
McQuade and instinctively readied the PIAT and
slammed the butt of it into the floor, McQuade,
still staring at the young German dropped the
bomb into the PIAT and it fired. The bomb hit the
landing dead on, cutting the young German in two.
As the upper torso of the young German flew into
the air his eyes remained fixed on Pte McQuade’s
eyes. Even sixty years after this occurred, some
nights when he would close his eyes to sleep, Pte
McQuade, my grandfather, could still see the young
Germans eyes staring at him.
The battle of Ortona ended on the 28 th day of
December, 1943, when the Germans quietly
retreated from the town. But, for the men who
fought there they would never completely escape
the battle of Ortona.
In one situation, Pte McQuade and another man
who they all called “Smitty” were mouse holing
through two buildings. Smitty was carrying the
PIAT and McQuade had the Thompson and extra
PIAT bombs. Smitty blew the hole through the wall,
15
Chris and his father (son of Private McQuade) at the Peace Memorial
in the Piazza of Ortona. Photo Chris Fitzpatrick