 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 . <unk> engineers and infantry had destroyed much of Ortona itself , turning the streets into a debris @-@ filled maze . Major streets were mined , with demolition charges throughout the main <unk> , and booby traps littered the town . German forces had also buried tanks in the rubble , leaving only the turrets exposed . 
