Brigadier Syd Thomson, who has died aged 94, led the Seaforth
Highlanders of Canada both in capturing the Adriatic port of Ortona
and in inventing town-clearing tactics which were adopted by the
British Army.  He took over command of the Seaforths on December 10
1943 when, together with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, they set about
evicting battle-hardened German paratroops from Ortona, where
roadblocks had been erected to force attackers into the few open
squares – many of which were ringed with machine guns to create
killing grounds.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/4437088/Brigadier-Syd-Thomson.html

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