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Invasion of Sicily and Italy's Surrender

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseUpon victory in North Africa, Allied forces used ports in North Africa as staging points northwards toward the underbelly of Europe. The first target chosen by the Allied commanders was Sicily after concluding an amphibious operation against Vichy France would be impossible. Allied occupation of Sicily would also safeguard Allied shipping in the Mediterranean, as well as relieve Malta from the constant Axis air raids.

ww2dbaseThe Landings

10 Jul 1943

ww2dbaseOn 10 Jul 1943, Operation Husky called for 2,590 Allied ships to land 180,000 troops, 600 tanks, and 14,000 mechanized vehicles on the Italian island in three days at multiple sites, forming the second largest amphibious operation in the European theater. A large gamble the Allies took on was that the landing took place at several locations; a failure in any of the many locations could negatively affect outcome of another landing site. When the actual landings took place, harsh weather conditions (very strong winds) surprised the Axis defenders, while support fire from ample naval power ensured successful landing operations by the Allied 15th Army Group. The army group, consisted of the U.S. 7th Army and the British 8th Army, benefited greatly from the newly developed DUKW ("duck") landing craft. The landing forces were protected by six battleships, 10 cruisers, and two aircraft carriers. Four airborne operations were also conducted. Eventually, 180,000 soldiers would set foot on the island.

ww2dbaseThe island was defended by 230,000 Italian troops consisting of weak coastal defense units. It was generally thought that the best Italian units were lost in Africa, although Dwight Eisenhower was unwilling to discount the quality of Italian troops as the psychology of defending their own homeland could make a world of difference in their ferocity. The Italian troops were augmented by two German divisions under the command of General Hans Hube, which commandeered much attention by Eisenhower's intelligence staff. Initial resistance was fierce from Italian XII and XVI Corps and German XIV Panzer Corps, combined at the strength of 400,000, but under the pressure of Eisenhower's troops they soon buckled; Syracuse was taken on the first day of the invasion nearly uncontested, Palermo on 22 Jul, and Catania on 5 Aug.

ww2dbaseThe air defense on Sicily was comparatively stronger. Stukas and ME-110s strafed the invasion fleet whenever opportunity presented itself, not causing serious damage but sparred up enough panic to serious endanger the success of subsequent operations. For example, when Allied C-47 transports carrying airborne troops flied across the invasion fleet, the naval gunners nervously fired their anti-aircraft weapons at the friendly planes in total panic. "Hundreds of men were lost, entire sticks of paratroopers jumping early when their pilots in all the confusion hit the green light, and the heavily laden men came down in the ocean and disappeared."

ww2dbaseMount Etna

17 Jul 1943

ww2dbaseFrom 17 Jul on, Bernard Montgomery's British Eighth Army secured the Catania region on the eastern coastline of Sicily. To the north of them was Mount Etna where a strong garrison stood. Plagued by malaria, the British troops divided into two columns, each marching north on either side of Mount Etna. The westward-flanking column was conducted by surprise to both the defenders and Montgomery's American allies alike. This move actually cut off part of the American advance across the center of the island, which enraged George Patton. Patton reinforced the British western column near Randazzo as ordered, but he wanted to protest the British general's move into his turf.

ww2dbaseBattle of Troina

2-6 Aug 1943

ww2dbaseThe Battle of Troina characterized the fierce, though few, inland fighting on the island of Sicily. The American Seventh Army's First Division and two Canadian regiments fought off 24 separate counterattacks during the battle while behind the line artillery shelled German positions in the rocky hillsides. Several days after the capture of Troina, Americans were surprised to find a small valley filled with hundreds of German dead. "They were victims of American artillery fire," said Eisenhower; if the frontline infantrymen did not appreciate artillery support, they did now.

ww2dbaseThe Axis Evacuation

11-17 Aug 1943

ww2dbaseOn 11 Aug, Axis forces started to evacuate the island in a nevertheless impression fashion. A perfect coordination between Italian and German navies, under the command of Admiral Barone and Captain von Liebenstein, respectively, they withdrew 117,000 troops to Italian mainland within days before American forces pushed the remaining Germans to Messina, located at the northern tip of the island. For Montgomery blocking American advance near Etna, Patton ordered his troops to advance into target areas designated for the British. As an excuse, Patton claimed that the communications were disrupted, while he marched forth. "This is a horse race in which the prestige of the US Army is at stake", he later wrote about his personal crusade to out-shine the British.

ww2dbaseAllied forces secured the island on 17 Aug as the remaining German forces evacuated from Sicily that day, with the US Third Infantry Division entering Messina hours after the last Axis troops left the island. Patton had won his race.

ww2dbaseAt the end of this campaign, Axis casualties totaled 29,000, and the greatest loss came when 140,000 men (mostly Italian but some German) were captured as prisoners of war. On the Allied side, the Americans suffered 9,530 casualties (2,572 killed, 5,946 wounded, and 1,012 missing or captured), the British 12,843 (2,721 killed and 10,122 wounded, missing, or captured), and the Canadians 2,410 (562 killed, 1,848 wounded, missing, or captured).

ww2dbaseA blemish shrouded the Allies when it was discovered that American troops killed 73 Axis prisoners of war.

ww2dbaseThe Surrender of Italy

3 Sep 1943

ww2dbaseThe fall of Palermo on 22 Jul damaged the Italian morale tremendously, giving those in Italy who opposed Mussolini's pursue of war an opportunity to seek an armistice. However, it was not an easy task as the Italian ranks were infiltrated by German spies. An airborne operation was planned in cooperation with certain Italian groups to seize Rome, but it was called off by the Italians at the last minute due to German movements nearby. General Maxwell Taylor later made a secret trip to Rome to negotiate with the Italians, assuring that an Italian surrender would guarantee Allied protection against German retribution. He promised that the Allies would land up to three divisions in Italy, but the Italians wanted 15.

ww2dbaseThe fall of Sicily in Aug 1943 affected the Italians so tremendously that a coup d'etat materialized. Italian leader Benito Mussolini was deposed from power, and the new government under Marshal Pietro Badoglio accepted a "Short Military Armistice" with the Allied powers on 3 Sep. "By this act," said Badoglio, "all ties with the dreadful past are broken and my government will be proud to march with you on to the inevitable victory." Eisenhower publicly announced that bombing raids against Italy would be ceased due to the Italian surrender, although in actuality Eisenhower's true intentions were to use the bombers to transport vital supplies to the front, therefore some argue that the gesture was not completely out of a merciful nature. In response to the Italian surrender, Adolf Hitler ordered for the removal the elite First SS Panzer Division from Russia to Italy. Most of the Italian fleet escaped to Malta, though the Luftwaffe was able to sink several Italian ships before they were surrendered to the Allies, including the battleship Roma which was sunk by the newly developed Fx-1400 armor-piercing radio-controlled gliding bombs.

ww2dbaseMussolini was later rescued by a daring airborne commando mission and installed by Hitler as a puppet leader in northern Italy.

ww2dbaseSources: Crusade in Europe, the Fall of Berlin, Honor Untarnished, the Second World War, Wikipedia.

Last Major Update: Aug 2007

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