Allied invasion of Sicily

Sicilian Campaign
Part of the Italian Campaign of World War II
The U.S. Liberty ship Robert Rowan explodes after being hit by a German bomber off Gela, Sicily, 11 July 1943
Date 9 July – 17 August 1943 Location Sicily, Italy Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Allies: United Kingdom British India United States Canada Free France supported by Australia South Afica	Axis: Italy Germany
Commanders and leaders
Dwight Eisenhower Harold Alexander Bernard Montgomery George S. Patton Arthur Tedder Andrew Cunningham	Albert Kesselring Alfredo Guzzoni Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin Hans-Valentin Hube
Strength
Initial Strength: 160,000 personnel 14,000 vehicles 600 tanks 1,800 guns Peak Strength: 467,000 personnel	230,000 Italian personnel 40,000 - 60,000 German personnel 260 tanks 1,400 aircraft
Casualties and losses
24,850 casualties (5,837 killed or missing, 15,683 wounded, 3,330 captured)	Germany: ~20,000 casualties Italy: 131,359-147,000 killed, wounded and captured (mainly POWs)

The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major battle of World War II in which Allies captured Sicily from the Axis Powers (Italy and Nazi Germany).

The large sea and air operation was followed by six weeks of land fighting and started the Italian Campaign. It was followed by the Allied invasion of Italy.

Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943 and ended on 17 August. It achieved the goals of the Allies. The Allies removed Axis air, land, and naval forces from the island.

As well, the Mediterranean's sea lanes were opened to the Allies, and the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, was briefly removed from power.

Background

Allies

The plan for Operation Husky called for the sea attack of the island by two armies. One would land on the southeastern coast. Another would land on the central southern coast. The attack would be helped by naval gunfire and bombing, and its commander was US General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The Allied land forces were from the American, British, and Canadian Armies and were put into two groups. The Eastern Task Force was led by General Bernard Montgomery. The Western Task Force was commanded by Lieutenant General George S. Patton. In addition to the sea landings, airborne troops were to be flown in to capture bridges and high ground.

The Allied naval forces were put into two groups to transport the invading armies.

Axis

The island was defended by the two corps of Italian 6th Army under General Alfredo Guzzoni. In early July, the total Axis force in Sicily was about 200,000 Italian and 32,000 German troops, and 30,000 Luftwaffe ground staff. By late July, there were 70,000 German troops.

Planning

Map of the Allied landings in Sicily on 10 July 1943

The attack plan was made on 17 May. At the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, American and British political and military leaders met to discuss future plans. The British wanted an invasion of Sicily. General Eisenhower was made Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces.

Preparatory operations

Once the Axis forces had been defeated in the North African Campaign, Allied bombers attacked airfields of Sardinia, Sicily, and the rest of southern Italy. They also bombed industrial targets in southern Italy and the ports of Naples, Messina, Palermo, and Cagliari.

Deception

To distract the Axis, the Allies did several trick operations. The most famous was Operation Mincemeat. The British allowed a corpse, disguised as a British officer carrying a briefcase with fake secret documents, to drift ashore in Spain.

They stated that the Allies were planning to invade Greece and Sardinia and had no plans to invade Sicily. The Germans thought that the documents were real and so they moved many of their defences from Sicily to Greece. That is a major reason for the Allies' success in Sicily.

Battle

Map of allied movements on Sicily during the month of July.

Two British and two American attacks by airborne forces were carried out on the night of 9–10 July. They wanted to capture the bridge over the River Anape, but strong wind made them land in the wrong places. Airborne troops attacked patrols. A platoon captured the bridge and fought off counterattacks for a few hours.

The strong winds made the sea landings hard. Landings were made on 10 July on 26 main beaches. By the evening of 10 July, the seven Allied divisions had landed, and the port of Syracuse had been captured. Alexander's plan was to establish his forces on a line between Licata and Catania. He wanted to capture ports.

The battles were successful and the remaining German and Italian forces evacuated to mainland Italy in the middle of August.