July – August 1943 Invasion of Sicily and Mainland Italy
The Allies determined that strategically it would be better to initiate the campaign to liberate Europe by first gaining control of the Italian island of Sicily. Once control of Sicily and the Straits of Messina were secure the Allies believed they could land a large scale landing force in Southern Italy much easier then landing in France were Hitler and his German troops had strong control of the territory. The Allies also realized that by taking Sicily and threatening the Italian mainland they could cause additional problems for Benito Mussolini and help facilitate the collapse of his control over the Italian Government. The name of the operation became “Operation Husky” and was initiated on July 17th and officially completed on August 17th, 1943.
Below is a map of Sicily and Straits of Messina
Below is a map of Sicily and Straits of Messina
The invasion of Sicily was designed to open the shipping lanes in the Mediterranean, eliminate the island as an Axis base, provide a secure landing zone to place Allied troops on mainland Europe and to encourage the fall of Mussolini’s government. The principal leaders of this invasion was General Dwight D. Eisenhower as the Commander in Chief of European forces, aided by General George S. Patton commander of the U.S. 7th Army and British Eighth Army under British General Bernard Montgomery.
The goal was to launch a two-prong attack against both the capital city of Palermo (Patton's objective) and the port city of Messina (Montgomery's objective). The landing forces consisted of the U.S. 7th Army which was to land on the southwest coast of Sicily and the British Eighth Army on the southeast with Airborne parachute troops landing in the interior of Sicily.
This accomplished two goals first it secured Sicily under Allied control and it provided a strategic port (Messina) to launch troops onto Italy’s mainland thus securing a hold for the first time in the European Theater.
The beginning of the operation suffered from a lack of communication and coordination between the two landing forces. The British Eighth Army was also slowed considerably by the terrain obstacles they faced.
Patton’s intention was to beat Montgomery first in obtaining his objective and then to Messina. The first step he took was to obtain permission from General Alexander to conduct reconnaissance missions toward the town of Agrigento then continue with extended “reconnaissance” missions until he reached Palermo. Alexander gave Patton permission to do so but soon modified the orders to have Patton move east and support the British Eight Army’s flank.
Patton and the 7th Army ignored that order claiming that the radio transmission was “garbled” and could not be understood. The results were better then Patton could have hope for. His push for Palermo was completed in less then 72 hours meeting little to no resistance; however Montgomery and the British troops met with tougher resistance on the eastern side of the island.
Patton had secured Palermo leaving only a token force in the city. He was ordered to head east to provide additional support to Montgomery’s push to the port city of Messina. Now it became a race between the U.S. troops and the British troops to reach Messina. Patton reached the city first and occupied just 50 minutes before Montgomery and the British arrived. The bulk of German and Italian troops crossed the Straits of Messina to the Italian mainland in a strategic retreat.
The invasion of Sicily consisted of an Allied armada of 2,590 vessels and approximately 500,000 Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen considered one of the largest combined operations of World War II and placed the Germans on the defensive in the European continent for the first time. Allied casualties were high approximately 16,000 men killed or captured however the cost to the Axis troops was much higher with approximately 164,000 men killed or captured. In addition the Allies confiscated the large quantities of ammunition and supplies left behind in Messina. The Allies had secured a path into Europe. Now the battle for the Italian mainland began.
The initial landing went fairly smoothly as the Allies crossed the Strait of Messina landing in the southern part of Italy.
Below is a short film showing the invasion of Sicily and a map that shows the areas that the Allied troops crossed in the Strait of Messena and the lines of fortification that the Allies had to overcome as they pursued the German troops north the the Italian capital of Rome.
The goal was to launch a two-prong attack against both the capital city of Palermo (Patton's objective) and the port city of Messina (Montgomery's objective). The landing forces consisted of the U.S. 7th Army which was to land on the southwest coast of Sicily and the British Eighth Army on the southeast with Airborne parachute troops landing in the interior of Sicily.
This accomplished two goals first it secured Sicily under Allied control and it provided a strategic port (Messina) to launch troops onto Italy’s mainland thus securing a hold for the first time in the European Theater.
The beginning of the operation suffered from a lack of communication and coordination between the two landing forces. The British Eighth Army was also slowed considerably by the terrain obstacles they faced.
Patton’s intention was to beat Montgomery first in obtaining his objective and then to Messina. The first step he took was to obtain permission from General Alexander to conduct reconnaissance missions toward the town of Agrigento then continue with extended “reconnaissance” missions until he reached Palermo. Alexander gave Patton permission to do so but soon modified the orders to have Patton move east and support the British Eight Army’s flank.
Patton and the 7th Army ignored that order claiming that the radio transmission was “garbled” and could not be understood. The results were better then Patton could have hope for. His push for Palermo was completed in less then 72 hours meeting little to no resistance; however Montgomery and the British troops met with tougher resistance on the eastern side of the island.
Patton had secured Palermo leaving only a token force in the city. He was ordered to head east to provide additional support to Montgomery’s push to the port city of Messina. Now it became a race between the U.S. troops and the British troops to reach Messina. Patton reached the city first and occupied just 50 minutes before Montgomery and the British arrived. The bulk of German and Italian troops crossed the Straits of Messina to the Italian mainland in a strategic retreat.
The invasion of Sicily consisted of an Allied armada of 2,590 vessels and approximately 500,000 Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen considered one of the largest combined operations of World War II and placed the Germans on the defensive in the European continent for the first time. Allied casualties were high approximately 16,000 men killed or captured however the cost to the Axis troops was much higher with approximately 164,000 men killed or captured. In addition the Allies confiscated the large quantities of ammunition and supplies left behind in Messina. The Allies had secured a path into Europe. Now the battle for the Italian mainland began.
The initial landing went fairly smoothly as the Allies crossed the Strait of Messina landing in the southern part of Italy.
Below is a short film showing the invasion of Sicily and a map that shows the areas that the Allied troops crossed in the Strait of Messena and the lines of fortification that the Allies had to overcome as they pursued the German troops north the the Italian capital of Rome.
The Germans began a campaign of delaying tactics by setting up defensive lines, fortifying them and while the Allied troops advanced dealing with resistance at one line of fortification the Germans would have part of their troops fall back to begin construction of another line of fortification.
Following the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943, American and British forces drove up the peninsula encountering resistance both at Salerno and then again north of Naples. Marching north headed towards Rome the Allied advance was stopped near a small mountain city named Monte Cassino where the Geraman had fortified their positions. The Allies were stopped by the Gustav (or Winter) line halting their advance.
Below are two short films that show how intense the fighting was as the Allied troops continued to move north. The first film describes the resistance that the Allied troops encounter near Salerno and Naples and the second film talks about the Battle of Monte Cassino.
In an attempt to go around this line of fortification Prime Minister Winston Churchill proposed Operation Shingle which called for landings behind the Winter Line at Anzio.
The plan called for an attack on the Winter Line to draw enemy forces south while troops landed at Anzio and drove northeast into the Alban Hills to threaten the German rear. It was thought that if the Germans responded to the landings it would sufficiently weaken the Winter Line to permit a breakthrough. If they did not respond, the Shingle troops would be in place to directly threaten Rome to the north.
Operation Shingle began on January 22, 1944; coming ashore Allied forces initially met little resistance and began moving inland. By midnight, 36,000 men had landed and secured a beachhead 2-3 miles deep.
The Germans in several days of heavy fighting in early February were able to drive the Allied forces (mostly British) back to their defenses at the beachhead or initial landing point.
Eventually after intense fighting the German line broke and the Allies once more could proceed north towards the Italian/German border but not without first enduring months of heavy and constant combat with Germans grudgingly giving ground and then taking it back or mounting a surprising strong defense such as at Monte Casino.
Below is attached a film that describes Operation Shingle and the landing at Anzio Beacch.
The plan called for an attack on the Winter Line to draw enemy forces south while troops landed at Anzio and drove northeast into the Alban Hills to threaten the German rear. It was thought that if the Germans responded to the landings it would sufficiently weaken the Winter Line to permit a breakthrough. If they did not respond, the Shingle troops would be in place to directly threaten Rome to the north.
Operation Shingle began on January 22, 1944; coming ashore Allied forces initially met little resistance and began moving inland. By midnight, 36,000 men had landed and secured a beachhead 2-3 miles deep.
The Germans in several days of heavy fighting in early February were able to drive the Allied forces (mostly British) back to their defenses at the beachhead or initial landing point.
Eventually after intense fighting the German line broke and the Allies once more could proceed north towards the Italian/German border but not without first enduring months of heavy and constant combat with Germans grudgingly giving ground and then taking it back or mounting a surprising strong defense such as at Monte Casino.
Below is attached a film that describes Operation Shingle and the landing at Anzio Beacch.
Though criticized, Churchill relentlessly defended the Anzio operation claiming that though it failed to achieve its tactical goals, it succeeded in holding German forces in Italy and preventing their redeployment to Northwest Europe on the eve of the Normandy invasion.
This final film is a comprehensive overview of the Italian invasion.
This final film is a comprehensive overview of the Italian invasion.