Ortona Read Online Free Page B

overseas by the war, made it sound as if he would have come home had it been possible. Although they went away without damaging anything, the soldiers had seemed angry. Usually the soldiers were courteous in their treatment of the civilian women, but after they discovered the American possessions they had spoken to her in a coarse, rough manner. 10
    By November, conditions had badly deteriorated. Food was scarce. The men could seldom work the fields, there were no fish, and no meat reached Ortona from the foothill pastures. Antonio D’Intino avoided the work parties by digging five small holes in various corners of the family farm. Often, when the Germans started rounding up workers, someone would ring the bells in one of the churches in a manner that the soldiers mistook for Italian custom but which actually served to warn everyone that a search was underway. In the fields, men whistled warnings to each other when they saw soldiers approaching. As soon as a warning was given, everybody scattered and hid. D’Intino hunkered in the nearest of his holes, staying there until the bells either rang the all-clear signal or the other farmers again whistled to indicate the German patrol had passed. D’Intino’s father was weakening with each passing day and he feared the old man would die if the Allies did not soon come, bringing food and medicine. His hope of impending liberation was pinned to the sound of the artillery in the far distance and the reports that there was fighting on the Sangro River. As the soft booming of the guns drew closer and sharpened, D’Intino dared to hope that the Germans would soon flee and the war would pass Ortona by. 11
    Such hopes were dashed suddenly at the end of November when the Germans issued an order for the immediate evacuation of all civilians from Ortona. Americo Casanova was taken by his grandmother and an aunt to Tollo, west of Ortona. His mother and the two older children defied the order, Angela fearful of leaving the apartment building unwatched. Signora Casanova was not the only citizen of Ortona who clandestinely refused to leave. The Germans had insufficient men to enforce the evacuation order. While Angela stayed naively in the hope of protecting her property, othersremained simply because they had nowhere else to go and were afraid to become refugees. 12 Many hid from the Germans in the rail tunnels under the town or in the vaults of the cemetery. During the times when the German presence in Ortona was minimal, they would return to their homes and continue life as usual.
    Perhaps because the Germans believed the town had been largely evacuated, they failed one day to post guards on a convoy of horsedrawn wagons left next to the train station. The wagons were filled with food. When the civilians realized the supply train was unguarded, they descended upon it like locusts. Within a matter of minutes every wagon was emptied. Antonio D’Intino was among the looters and was able to carry off several days’ worth of precious food. To everybody’s surprise, when the Germans discovered the wagons emptied of their stores they failed to exact punishment upon the community. Indeed, they seemed entirely preoccupied. It appeared that units of Germans were jostling with each other to go in opposing directions, some retreating, others rushing through Ortona on their way to a new front line established at the Moro River. Ortona itself remained largely unoccupied. 13
    In the meantime, Antonio Di Cesare’s mother stashed all the family’s best china, lace, and other valuables in the ceiling of their little home. She hoped this would save them from German looters. Then she and Antonio accompanied two uncles and their wives and children in fleeing to Villa Deo, a tiny hamlet outside the small village of Villa Grande, southwest of Ortona. 14
    The forced evacuation of Ortona was not the only sign that made Antonio D’Intino believe the Germans were planning a