The Canadian Battlefields Foundation
2003 Battlefield Study Tour
Sicily and Italy

10-24 May 2003

Itinerary

Day 1

Arrived in Milan and continued to Catania, Sicily. LCol David Patterson, the Study Tour Director, met the group in Catania. The drive to the hotel in Syracuse was brief and the day was free to explore this fascinating city and get over the jet lag. Met back at the hotel for dinner and an introduction to Operation Husky.

Day 2

The first stop was the Commonwealth Military Cemetery in Syracuse, then the landing beaches near Pachino. The group followed 1st Canadian Infantry Division’s centreline to Ragusa, Caltagirone, Piazza-Armerina and Valguarnera.

Day 3

The Canadian battlefields at Leonforte, Assoro and Agira was explored. Next was the visit to the new parco urbana at the top of Assoro, a future site for a CBF-sponsored plaque on the battle.

Day 4

 The day began at the Canadian Military Cemetery at Regalbuto. Students presented a brief account of the life of one of the men from their part of Canada buried here. The group then drove east to Messina to cross to the mainland and continued north to the Salerno area.

Days 5, 6, 7

Two days were set aside to explore the battlefields of the Liri Valley and Monte Cassino.

Days 8-9

We crossed the Italian peninsula to the Adriatic coast to begin the study of the battles of December 1943 at the Moro River and Ortona.

Days 10-12

We travelled  north to examine 1st Canadian Corps operations at the Gothic Line and beyond.

Day 13

We returned to Milan for a farewell dinner and a summing up.

Day 14

Returned to Canada.

Click here for a series of photographs of the 2003 Normandy Study Tour