Figure 1.--This photograph was taken in during the fighting on Sicily during July 1943. An American corpman administers to a wounded soldier as a family looks on. Notice the black dresses of the Sicilian women and girls. |
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The Allied invasion of Sicily, Operation Huskey, was the next step in the Mediterranean campaign after the Axis surrender in Tunisia. Control of sicily would mean Allied control of most of the Mediterranean. The Allies had two other goals. Sicily would provide critical bases for an invasion of Italy. An Allied invasion of Italy in turn would maintain pressure on Germany and force it to divert forces from the Atlantic Wall in France and the Eastern Front in Russia. The invasion was Operation Husky and involved risks. Unlike the Torch invasions, the Axis had strong forces on Sicily that could be expected to vigorous contest the landings. The landing flotilla had to brought from England exposing it to U-boats nd Luftwaffe attacks. The island was defended by the Italian 6th Army, with over 200,000 men, and two German divisions, the 15th an 90th Panzer Grenadiers. The Italians had performed poorly in North Africa. It was unclear how they would fight on actual Italian ground.
After the British victory at El Alemain (September 1942) and the Allied Torch landings (November 1942), it was clear that the Axis would be defeated in North Africa, although several hard months of fishing remained. President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill along with the Combined Chiefs of Staff met in recently liberated Casablanca (January 1943). The Americans wanted to cross the Channel and invade France. It would ave been a terrible mistake. Not only were the Germans still too trong, but Americans commandrs were still not ready for such n ambitious undertaking. The British argued for using the forces in North Africa which were readily at had to invade Sicily. Tankfully the British won the argument, partky because of better staff wrk and partly because Churchill managed to persuse Roosevelt. [Atckinson, The Day ...] The next Allied target would be Sicily. They also announced the goal of "unconditional surrender", although Roosevelt made the announcement without discussing it with Churchill. Another major decesision was the commitment to a"round the clock" strategic bombing campaign against Germany.
The Allied invasion of Sicily, Operation Huskey, was the next step in the Mediterranean campaign after the Axis surrender in Tunisia. Control of sicily would mean Allied control of most of the Mediterranean. The Allies had two other goals. Sicily would provide critical bases for an invasion of Italy. An Allied invasion of Italy in turn would maintain pressure on Germany and force it to divert forces from the Atlantic Wall in France and the Eastern Front in Russia.
The invasion was Operation Husky and involved risks. Unlike the Torch invasions, the Axis had strong forces on Sicily that could be expected to vigorous contest the landings.
Amphibious landings are dangerous military operations. This is especially the case against an enemy force with strong mobile forces. The two German panzer divisions on Sicily in particular were a serious threat during the first few days when Allied forces were coming ashore and not yet present at full strength or with their heavy equipment. Thus deception efforts are of great importance. Here complelete deception need not be achieeved. Any reduction of the Axis force, failure to reinforce, or hesitation could be critically important to the success of the Allied landing. After the Axis surender in Tunisia (May 1943), Sicily was the obvious next step for the Allies. One might think thst it would have been very difficult to convince German planners that the Allies would next strike elsewhere. In fact, Allied intelligence was very effective in confusing the Germans. The Allied misinformation effort. One of the most notable was British Operation Mincemeat involving disguising a corpse as a military courier. Spanish authorities as the British anticipated, turned the corpse over to the Germans. The materials included in the courier's bag and pockets (including a love letter) were so well done that they helped conform other efforts to convince the Abhwehr that the Allies were targeting Sardinia and Greece. The deception appears to have been excepted at the highest level, including Gen. Alfred Jodl. [Holt}
The landing flotilla had to brought from England exposing it to U-boats nd Luftwaffe attacks.
The island was defended by the Italian 6th Army, with over 200,000 men, and two German divisions, the 15th an 90th Panzer Grenadiers. The Italians had performed poorly in North Africa. It was unclear how they would fight on actual Italian ground.
The Britishj 8th Army under Montgomery landed along the southeast coast. The newly created American 7th Army under Patton landed along the southwest coast. The landings did not go well. The task force encountered a storm at sea. British gliders plunged into the sea. Units landed on the wrong beach. Luckily the Germans and Italians were surprised. American Airborne troops played a key role in the success of the landings. Many units were spread all over the southern coast, well away from their targets. Even so they disrupted Axis communications and deflected attacks away from the all important beach landings. Within hours of the landings, German Panzers were moving toward the beaches. Here naval gunfire played a key role in holding off the Panzers. Infantry counterattacks and artillery being landed helped to establish the beachhead. [Atkinson, The Day ...] Two attempts to reinforce the beaches with Airborn troops (both parachute and glider-borne units) ended tragically. The Luftwaffe had launched some limited opposition to the landings and Allied antiaircraft batteries were concerned. They mistook the C-47s and gliders for enemy bombers.
The British were to drive north along the eastern coastal road and seize Messina. The Americans were assigned to seize and secure airfields and protect the British frank as they drove north. The Germans based their defense of the island on opposing the British drive on Messina along the coastal rode. The terraine was mountenaous, ideal for defensive action. Patton did not appreciate the supporting role he was given. General Sir Harold R. L. G. Alexander was in overall control as Allied ground commander. Historians vary on what occurred after the British attack north bogged down. Some reports suggest that Alexander ordered Patton to take Palermo at the northwestern tip of the island. Others say that Patton exceeded his orders in taking Palermo. Once in Palermo, Patton could open a new offensive on Messina, from the west, putting the Germans in a vice. Patton to avoid German strong points, used a series of limited amphibious operations aas he moved east along the northern coastal road. The Germans decided to evacuate Messina. The Americans and British finall entered Messina (August 17). They had Messina and bases for an upcoming invasion of Italy. They failed, unfortunately, to capture the German force defending the island.
Patton's conflict with Montgomery became increasingly apparent in Sicily. While the German's tied Montgomery's forces down by blocking the coast road to Messina, Patton drove west and seized Palermo and then beat Montgomery to Messina by hours. The German's managed to successfully evacuate their force. Patton was involved in incidents during the Sicilian campaign that almost ended his military career. Most famously, he slaped a soldier suffering battle fatigue in a medical station. Lest publicized was the shootoing of Italian POWs. The american soldirts involved claimed that Patton's firey statements enciouraged them to shoot the Italians. As a result, Patton was not chosen to command the American forces in the Italian campaign. [Porch] He was also for several months not brought to Britain and did niot play an important role in planning the D-Day invasion.
Patton with his amphibious operations hoped to cut off important German elements , but the strength and mobility of the Panzers made this impossible. Patton launched an amphibious landings, Operation Brolo, hoping to bag German armor units (August 11). The landing forced the Germans to withdraw, but failed to cut them off. The German commander, General Hube, on the same day began the full-scale evacuation of Sicily. Carefully layed minefields and blown bridges made it difficult to persue the retreating Germans closely. The final amphibious end run by a regiment of the 45th Division failed when they landed in the wrong place (August 16). Units of the American the American 3rd Infantry Division entered Messina (August 17) just hours after the last Axis troops had boarded reanshipsts to cross the narroiw Straints of Messina. Only a few hours later advanced units of the British 8th Army. This time, however, the Germans had escaped. Hitler uncharateristically had not opposed the withdrawl.
Sicily as part of Italy was part of the Axis. Yet the Sicilans greeted the Americans and British as liberators rather than conquerors. Most Sicilians were jubilant over the arival of the Allies. There were jubilant celebrations after the Allies reached village after village en route to Palermo and Messina. The arrival of Americans, especially Americans of Italian ancestry was a special treat. Many Sicilians had relatives in America. Many Siclians broke down in tears. Scoly had for centuries been a poor part of Italy with much of the land in the hands of big landowners. Mussolini's Fascist regime had done little to change this. Since the War, food had been rationed, further reducing already limited diets. Many were in desperate circumstances by the time the Allies arrived. Children and women scrambled for the food in army garbage. Some offered what liitle they had, from hazel nuts to grapes, to the advancing soldiers.
Sicily was the first piece of Axis territory to fall to Allies. It had an immediate impact on Italy where the War was increasingly unpopular, causing the removal of Mussolini. Possession of Sicily provided the Allies inportant bases for the upcoming invasion of the Italian mainland. It also was a training ground for the key Allied operation of the War--the D-Day landings in northern France. Midstakes were made in Sicily. Eisenhower allowed most of the Germans to escape. There would be no bagging of Germans as had been accomplished in Tunisia. It is the Germans, however, that had made the major mistake, although by this stage of the War they had few options. America in 1940 virtually did not have an Army. The Army that America began to build was full of novices with a very smll professinal core. This was apparaent with the amateur Torch landings and the brusing at Kaserine. [Atkinson, An Army ...] The key American commanders (Esenhower, Patton, Clark, Bradley and others) had no real experience in commanding large armies. Many others ptoved incompetent and had to be replaced. If they had been pitted against a major German force the results could have been disasterous. Rather they faced reltively small, poorly supplied German formations and they had support from the British. This they learned the basics of modern war from the Germans who did not have the capability of delivering a decisive blow. The importance of the early campaigns like Sicily was the creation of a competent American Army. The result was that the American Army that entered the Continent on D-Day was not the poorly trained and commanded force that began the War in North Africa.
Atkinson, Rick. An Army at Dawn.
Atkinson, Rick. The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944.
Holt, Thaddeus. The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War (Scribner, 2004), 1,148p.
Porch, Douglas. The Patth to Victory: The Mediterranean Theater in World War II (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2004).
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