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On 10 December , three Canadian battalions made their first attempt to cross The Gully . Although they succeeded in capturing Vino Ridge , directly south of The Gully , attempts to neutralise German positions in the ravine were unsuccessful . On 11 December , the three battalions made another attempt , with the Loyal ... |
On 12 December 1943 , General Vokes sent the three battalions of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade against German defences in The Gully . The assault started poorly , when Canadian artillery plans were captured by soldiers of the 90th Panzergrenadier Division 's 200th Regiment . When The West Nova Scotia Regiment atta... |
= = = Casa Berardi = = =
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By 14 December , Vokes had devised a new assault plan for taking The Gully . A small force from the Royal 22e Régiment would move to Casa Berardi , a small set of farmhouses west of The Gully , before outflanking German positions with infantry and armour , thereby forcing the 1st Parachute Division to withdraw . The a... |
= = Eighth Army reorganises to intensify the attack = =
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With the Indian Division committed , Montgomery decided to raise the stakes further by bringing the British 5th Infantry Division from the relatively tranquil XIII Corps front in the high mountains on the left wing of the 8th Army and insert them between the New Zealand and Indian Divisions . This would allow the Indi... |
To the left of the Canadian division , the Indian 21st Brigade had by 13 December established a solid bridgehead around the " Impossible Bridge " . That night , a second 8th Indian Division brigade — the 17th Indian Infantry Brigade — passed through and attacked towards Caldari . The 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers stor... |
Meanwhile , at 01 : 00 on 15 December , the New Zealand Division — electing not to make a further frontal assault on Orsogna — launched their 5th Brigade in Operation Florence , a new flanking attack to the right of the village . By that afternoon , 5th Brigade was well established on the Orsogna to Ortona lateral roa... |
However , the Germans launched a counterattack at 03 : 15 on 16 December , throwing in men from the 6th Parachute Regiment , sent by Herr to the 26th Panzer Division to relieve the exhausted 9th Panzergrenadier Regiment . These troops had arrived late that evening after a long journey . Supported by tanks , they attac... |
Operation Florence had come to an end . While the German line had been pushed back and they had sustained casualties they could ill afford , they still firmly held Orsogna . Furthermore , the New Zealand Division was , for the time being , fought out and needed a period of consolidation and reorganisation .
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By 16 December , the British 5th Division had completed its move into the line between the New Zealand and the Indian divisions . There followed a period of hostile patrolling and skirmishing on the XIII Corps front . The main burden of the fighting was therefore assumed by V Corps as the Canadians pushed for Ortona w... |
= = Taking The Gully = =
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In preparation for what he hoped would be the final attack on The Gully , Vokes shifted the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade to occupy positions formerly belonging to the 1st Brigade . Vokes planned for an attack by The Carleton and York Regiment to be the last of the frontal assaults against The Gully . Should this atta... |
At 07 : 30 on 15 December , two companies of the Carleton and York Regiment attacked . After little more than an hour of fighting , however , the Canadians were forced to call the attack off . In the afternoon , the two heavily depleted companies of the Royal 22e Régiment fought off a large German counterattack on Cas... |
On 18 December , Vokes planned what would be the largest assault on The Gully during the campaign . Beginning at 08 : 00 , Canadian artillery would bombard a 900 m ( 3 @,@ 000 ft ) front , to a depth of 300 m ( 980 ft ) . Every five minutes , the barrage would move 100 m ( 110 yd ) forward , continuing to pound German... |
On 20 December , Canadian forces tried again and The Royal Canadian Regiment attacked Cider Crossroads at noon . This time , Vokes was determined that the operation would be successful , with armoured forces of the Three Rivers Regiment moving to the start lines well before 07 : 00 . Due to shortages of fuel and poor ... |
= = Villa Grande = =
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In order to keep up pressure on the whole front , the 19th Indian Brigade was ordered to attack Villa Grande and exploit any gains as far as the Arielli river which ran from the mountains through Tollo to the Adriatic . The attack went in at 05 : 30 on 22 December but failed in desperate fighting . The 1 / 5th Battali... |
On 25 December , reinforcements in the form of 3rd Battalion , 8th Punjab Regiment were brought forward and after a softening up barrage were launched at the east side of Villa Grande . With four battalions now involved ( the 5th Battalion , Royal West Kents had by now been tasked on the south east side of the village... |
= = XIII Corps attacks Orsogna = =
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On 23 December , Lieutenant @-@ General Dempsey 's XIII Corps launched a new attack to push back the German line from Orsogna . In the afternoon , the British 5th Infantry Division attacked on the right wing of the Corps front toward the Arielli stream . Their objective was to secure the flank of the 2nd New Zealand D... |
After the British 5th Infantry Division had achieved its objectives , the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade attacked at 04 : 00 on 24 December . Despite intensive artillery support ( 272 guns on a 3 @,@ 500 yards ( 3 @,@ 200 m ) front ) , the tired and understrength New Zealand battalions struggled to make progress . B... |
= = Ortona = =
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Throughout the week of 11 – 18 December , the 1st Parachute Battalion from the German 1st Parachute Division — with supporting units — had prepared strong defences within the Italian coastal town of Ortona . Paratroop engineers and infantry had destroyed much of Ortona itself , turning the streets into a debris @-@ fi... |
On 20 December 1943 , the under @-@ strength Loyal Edmonton Regiment moved toward Ortona , with the Seaforth Highlanders covering their eastern flank . Throughout the day , they encountered heavy machine gun fire during their attempts to enter Ortona . By nightfall , both battalions held a toehold on the western edge ... |
Throughout the remainder of the week , the Battle of Ortona degenerated into a small @-@ scale version of the Battle of Stalingrad , with vicious house @-@ to @-@ house fighting through the narrow streets and debris of Ortona . Over the course of the battle , Canadian forces developed innovative " mouse @-@ holing " t... |
= = Aftermath = =
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With Ortona and Villa Grande captured , it looked as if it would require Eighth Army only to regather itself and strike one more concentrated blow at Orsogna to complete the breaching of the Gustav Line 's main Adriatic strongpoints . However , on 31 December , as V Corps probed along the coastal plain towards Pescara... |
In spite of this , three attempts during the winter of 1943 / 44 by Fifth Army to break through into the Liri valley at Cassino failed . As spring approached in 1944 , Alexander concentrated his forces in great secrecy by thinning out the Adriatic front and bringing the bulk of Eighth Army 's striking power to the Cas... |
= Berkley Bedell =
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Berkley Warren Bedell ( born March 5 , 1921 ) is a former U.S. Representative from Iowa . After starting a successful business in his youth , Berkley Fly Co . , he ran for the United States Congress in 1972 , but was defeated by incumbent Wiley Mayne . In 1974 , however , Bedell beat Wiley Mayne and was elected to Con... |
He was known for his support of representative democracy and his populist style . For example , he would hold town halls and let constituents vote on motions to decide what he would do in Congress on their behalf . These meetings helped Bedell understand the problems of his constituents ; as a result , he backed issue... |
He did not seek reelection in 1986 after contracting Lyme disease from a tick bite . Though he no longer serves in Congress , Bedell remains active in Iowa politics , strongly supporting Howard Dean in 2004 over John Kerry . In the 2008 presidential election , he met several times with Chris Dodd , but endorsed Barack... |
= = Early life = =
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Born in Spirit Lake , Iowa , Bedell was educated in Spirit Lake public schools . He graduated from Spirit Lake High School in 1939 , where he earned spending money with a business in the midst of the Great Depression . His business involved braiding dog hairs around fishhooks , the result of which could be sold as tro... |
After graduating from high school , he attended Iowa State University from 1940 to 1942 , where he met fellow ISU student Elinor Healy from Grand Marais , Minnesota . Berkley and Elinor married in Minneapolis on August 29 , 1943 and their son Kenneth was born in 1947 , Thomas in 1950 and daughter Joanne in 1952 . Berk... |
= = Political career = =
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= = = Running for Congress = = =
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By the early 1970s , Bedell had decided to run for political office . In 1972 , he ran against Wiley Mayne , a Republican incumbent in Iowa 's 6th congressional district . Mayne was a staunch supporter of Richard Nixon and secured victory along with the President in a year favorable to the Republicans . Mayne , howeve... |
During his time at Congress , Bedell took efforts to uphold representative democracy . He held town halls regularly with his constituents , and he would let them vote on motions to decide what he would do in Congress on their behalf . This type of communication told Bedell of the types of issues affecting his farming ... |
= = = Waterway usage fees = = =
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Bedell sponsored several bold initiatives during his tenure in the United States House of Representatives . One initiative , which came from his constituents ' problems with the barge industry , focused on waterway usage fees . He introduced legislation in 1977 that would require the barge industry to pay a fee for us... |
Congress eventually passed a watered @-@ down version of the original plan put forward by Bedell and Senator Pete Domenici . The compromise version enacted a tax on the gasoline barges used and put it into a " trust " for waterway projects . While other supporters of waterway usage fees , including Domenici , backed t... |
= = = Farming issues = = =
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In 1985 , Bedell put forward an agricultural plan that he thought would increase production controls for farmers , thus raising prices for crops . This plan , backed by labor unions and certain Democrats , passed the Agriculture Committee as an amendment to farm legislation . It mandated a referendum that would then b... |
On the other hand , opponents of the Bedell plan had a very different view of this legislation . Representatives such as Pat Roberts claimed that the referendum was redundant because the farmers already voted the politicians into office , and this bill was an example of the politicians not doing their jobs . The Reaga... |
= = = Investigations of large businesses = = =
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While in Congress , Berkley Bedell was Chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee , and he used this position to investigate underselling on the part of large oil companies . He also claimed that certain large oil companies underpaid their " windfall taxes " in certain cases and wanted to pass legislation to increase... |
In these investigations , Bedell quickly gained the support of small gasoline marketers and Congressman Bill Nelson . The chief target , ARCO , was accused of not paying all of its taxes on Alaskan crude oil . In the end , the government tried to make a case against ARCO , but it was eventually dropped in 1985 . Bedel... |
= = = Clash with Reagan = = =
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In late 1982 , Congress passed a law which forbade the United States from funding groups aiming to overthrow the Sandinista government of Nicaragua . Then , in 1983 , Bedell visited Nicaragua and Honduras along with Representative Robert G. Torricelli . During the trip , Bedell spoke with soldiers , generals , governm... |
Furthermore , Bedell was a sharp critic of Reagan 's agricultural policies , calling for John Block to resign after calling his agricultural plan a failure that was " dead on arrival " in both the House and the Senate . Reagan 's agricultural plan consisted primarily of a gradual reduction in farm subsidies . He also ... |
= = = Controversy = = =
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In 1981 , it was revealed in internal memos that Bedell may have known about potential customs violations that his company engaged in . It asserted that Bedell had gone to Taiwan in 1973 to discuss " prior violations of customs law " in regards to the sale of fishing rods from the company 's Taiwan subsidiary . Bedell... |
= = After politics = =
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Bedell decided not to seek reelection in 1986 after contracting Lyme Disease from a tick bite . Since then , he has founded a center for alternative medicine and is a noted advocate of health freedom . Due largely to his friendship with Tom Harkin , he remains an important political figure in Iowa , with politicians s... |
As an opponent of the Vietnam War , Bedell signed a petition urging against United States military intervention in Iraq . This petition was signed with the names of 70 former Congressmen from the 1970s and was presented in a press conference on March 15 , 2003 . Bedell said that it was unbelievable for the United Stat... |
In the 2004 presidential election , Bedell attacked John Kerry for voting for Newt Gingrich 's Freedom to Farm Act , which Bedell claims wrecked the farm program . Bedell would later officially endorse Howard Dean 's candidacy . For the 2008 election , Bedell met with Chris Dodd . However , in December 2007 , he annou... |
= Bart vs. Australia =
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" Bart vs. Australia " is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of The Simpsons . It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 19 , 1995 . In the episode , Bart is indicted for fraud in Australia , and the family travels to the country so Bart can apologize . The Australian Parliament de... |
The episode was written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein and directed by Wes Archer . It features cultural references to films such as Mad Max 2 and Crocodile Dundee . " Bart vs. Australia " acquired a Nielsen rating of 9 @.@ 1 and was the fourth highest rated show on the Fox network the week it aired . It received m... |
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