Destruction in Italy 1944 Then and Now  

I climbed Monte La Difense when I was I Italy, the first place the FSSF fought in Italy! Sadly I had planned to film there but the weather was terrible so I wasn’t able to but I have a huge amount of respect and interest in the FSSF!

@@WW2Wayfinder Thank You so much. This means a lot to me since it has a personal effect on Me. I remember when My Grandfather passed away I wasn't able to make it to his funeral. I was on the other side of the Country at the time (Canada) it was very upsetting. I was in Alberta and he was in Nova Scotia. Now I'm back I make it a point every Remembrance Day to put a flag on his grave. He told me a few stories about being in The War when I was growing up & around the end he talked about it a little more. Thank you again and for all your efforts presenting this.

@@WW2Wayfinder Strange thing about that When they scaled Monte La Difensa The weather was horrendous. It's almost kind of eerie that you said the weather was bad when you went there and I don't mean that in a bad way. I remember some force veterans saying the Attack on La Difensa in the Movie takes place in the day and they said that didn't happen. They said they did it at Night in driving rain and it was freezing and muddy.

Thank you! Glad you’re enjoying them! Lots more longer Then and Now episodes also on the channel if you have time watch 😃

Incredible isn’t it!

@@WW2Wayfinder I realized my assumption and error. My apologies. The Tyber was near Rome and that is not one of the Bridges there. It's near Pontecorvo as you've shown.

@@WW2Wayfinder I was curious to know if you have anything about The Van Doo's in Italy ? There was a Captain Paul Triquet who was awarded The VC for a handful of his Men along with himself that held off an entire German Division at a place called Casa Baradi.

This is amazing

@@WW2Wayfinder Everything on your channel is incredible 🙏 👍

The photos I’ve been pouring over before my recent trip to Italy then comparing them to the how places appear now, it’s amazing just how devastated towns and villages were and how they recovered!

​@@WW2Wayfinderитальянцы выбрали сторону зла, за это поплатились, добро должны быть с кулаками.

@@WW2Wayfinder true. Italy was completely rebuilt. My father was born in Rome, after the war they moved to Lombardy. he told me how the Italian capital, and other cities, were destroyed and then rebuilt. Fred

​@@AVVAKUL-98Italians didn't choose Mussolini, Vittorio Emanuele III chose him because he feared that there would have been another communist revolution in Italy this time, Mussolini imprisoned who opposed him, so everyone decided to shut up and, since Mussolini was doing a good job to the economy of Italy, they didn't want to make a revolution, but they also didn't care much, there were many people at Mussolini's speeches not because they wanted, but because they were forced to by the the "squadraccie" they were few of the Italians that were fully convinced by Mussolini. Italians weren't really patriots or nationalists so the majority didn't care unlike in Germany where Hitler conquered Germans' hearts with all that "best race" bullshit. Italians realised that Mussolini wasn't a good leader when he brought a weak nation to war, but they couldn't say anything because they were sent to war even if they didn't want to fight and that's one of the reasons why Italy sucked in ww2, they had very few people who actually wanted to fight. In 1943 Italy signed the armistice so Germany invaded them killing every Italian who didn't want to side to the republic of Salò, basically every non fascist Italian, I had some parents who were sent to war and returned as partisans. This time Italians finally realised it was time to fight and the Italian patriotism was born. Today it faded and there are more "fascists" today than in Mussolini's time.

The destruction Italy suffered during the war is staggering sadly.

Pontecorvo

​@@WW2Wayfinder Did The Canadians fight at Pontecorvo ?

@@palmergriffiths1952 Yes battle of Liri Valley. More of a support role in this area specifically.

@@adamra187 Interesting you Mentioned The Liri Valley. I remember my Grandfather talking about it one time in his conversations about his Time in Italy during the War with The First Special Service Force.

@@adamra187 Am I correct ? The Canadians that Participated in The Battle of Ortona were there ?

I believe The Canadians were at Pontecorvo

@@palmergriffiths1952you right! There’s a monument for the Canadian troops near the city hall!

I have a few of them from the Czech Republic here on my channel.

@@WW2Wayfinder thx!!

Never heard of capillary refill I guess….

Danke!

Thank you!

The stories it would tell!!! Thank you for watching.

@@WW2Wayfinder gracias ATI por tu gran labor que ases siempre es un placer ver tus videos 👍

Abball agliu pont?

Thank you!

Pontecorvo

No it really wasnt

It’s a beautiful town!