Editing Bernhardt Line (section)

===Moro offensive===
{{Main|Moro River Campaign}}
Montgomery now rested the tired 78th Division, which had been leading the V Corps advance since the [[Volturno Line]] offensive, and swapped with the [[1st Canadian Division|1st Canadian Infantry Division]] from the relatively quiet XIII Corps sector. The Canadians, with the 8th Indian Infantry Division on their left, led the [[Moro River Campaign|main thrust across the Moro]] on 8 December aiming for [[Ortona]]. By 20 December, after a stubborn resistance first from elements of the German 90th Panzergrenadier Division<ref>Carver, p. 94</ref> and then elements of the 1st Parachute Division, which had relieved the Panzergrenadier Division, the Canadians had patrols on the outskirts of the town. However, the [[Battle of Ortona]] took another week of fierce house-to-house fighting as the German 3rd Parachute Regiment tenaciously held on before it withdrew to the other side of the Riccio River on 28 December.<ref>Hoyt (2007), p. 116</ref>

Meanwhile, inland V Corps, [[Orsogna]] had suffered three successive assaults, but XIII Corps spearheaded by the 2nd New Zealand Division, could not get past the defending 26th ''Panzer'' Division. After advancing a total of only 18 miles (29&nbsp;km) and sustaining 6,500 casualties,<ref>Lloyd Clark, p53</ref> blizzards, drifting snow and zero visibility in late December, jagged terrain caused Eighth Army's offensive on the Adriatic front to grind to a halt. As the New Year approached, it became clear that with no prospect of better weather until the spring since the Eighth Army did not have the strength to force its way to [[Pescara]]. Alexander called a halt to the offensive and instructed Montgomery to maintain sufficient activity to pin LXXVI Panzer Corps and to prevent troops from being sent across to reinforce XIV Corps facing the [[Fifth United States Army|Fifth Army]].<ref>Carver, p. 103</ref><ref>Phillips (1957), [https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Ita-c7-1.html#n149 p. 149]</ref>

The rest of the winter on the Adriatic front was spent in bitterly uncomfortable conditions with the opposing sides often in close proximity and engaged in night-time patrolling and vicious skirmishing.