 Beginning on 4 December , four infantry divisions — one British , one Canadian , one Indian and one New Zealand ( which included an armoured brigade ) — and two armoured brigades ( one British and one Canadian ) of V Corps and XIII Corps attacked heavily defended German positions along the Moro River , achieving several <unk> <unk> by 8 December . Throughout the next week , nearly continuous combat operations by both sides — designed to keep one another pinned down — created <unk> defensive positions near Orsogna and a narrow pit known as " The Gully " . After being held at the Gully for 10 days , the Canadians succeeded in outflanking German defences , and forcing a German withdrawal to the Ortona – Orsogna Line . On 20 December , the line was attacked by both corps . 
