Allied invasion of Sicily
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{{Infobox Military Conflict
|conflict=Sicilian Campaign
|partof=[[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]] of [[World War II]]
|image=[[Image:SC180476.jpg|300px]]
|caption=The U.S. [[Liberty ship]] {{SS|Robert Rowan}} explodes after being hit by a German bomber off of Gela, Sicily, [[11 July]] [[1943]]
|date=[[July 9]], [[1943]]–[[August 17]], [[1943]]
|place=[[Sicily]]
|casus=
|territory=
|result=Strategic Allied victory
|combatant1={{flag|Australia}}<br>{{flag|Canada|1921}}<br>{{flag|Free French}}<br>{{flag|South Africa|1928}}<br>{{flag|United Kingdom}}<br>{{flag|United States|1912}}
|combatant2={{flagicon|Italy|1861-state}} [[Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)|Italy]]<br> {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Nazi Germany|Germany]]
|commander1={{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]<br>{{flagicon|UK}} [[Harold Alexander]]<br>{{flagicon|UK}} [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Bernard Montgomery]]<br>{{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[George S. Patton]]
|commander2={{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Albert Kesselring]]<br>{{flagicon|Italy|1861-state}} [[Alfredo Guzzoni]]<br>{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin]]
|strength1=160,000 personnel<br>14,000 vehicles<br>600 tanks<br>1,800 guns
|strength2=275,000 Italian personnel<br>75,000 German personnel<br>260 Tanks<br>1,400 aircraft <ref>Dickson(2001) pg. 201</ref>
|casualties1='''U.S.''':<br>2,237 killed <br>6,544 wounded<br>'''British''':<br>2,721 killed<br>10,122 wounded<br>'''Canada''':<br>562 killed<br> 1,848 wounded<br> '''Australia''':?<br>'''South Africa''':?<br>'''France''': ?<br>'''Total''': +24,034 casualties
|casualties2='''Germany''':<br>4,300 killed<br>? wounded<br>'''Italy''':<br>4,700 killed<br>? wounded<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>'''Total''':29,000 Casualties <br> 140,000 POWs (mostly Italian)<ref>Atkinson (2007), p. 173.</ref>
}}
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{{Campaignbox Mediterranean Campaign}}
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{{Campaignbox Italy}}
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The '''Allied invasion of Sicily''', codenamed Operation ''Husky'', was a major [[World War II]] campaign, in which the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] took [[Sicily]] from the Axis ([[Italy]] and [[Nazi Germany]]). It was a large scale [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] and [[airborne]] operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]].
''Husky'' began on the night of [[July 9]], [[1943]], and ended [[August 17]]. It was the largest amphibious operation of the war in terms of men landed on the beaches and of frontage. Strategically, ''Husky'' achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners. The Allies drove [[Axis Powers|Axis]] air and naval forces from the island; the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]]'s [[sea lane]]s were opened and Italian dictator [[Benito Mussolini]] was toppled from power. It opened the way to the [[Allied invasion of Italy]].
== Background ==
=== Participants ===
{{main|Operation Husky Order of Battle}}
The Allied land forces were mainly from the [[United States|American]], [[United Kingdom|British]], and [[Canada|Canadian]] armies. Other countries also contributed to the air and naval forces for the invasion. The U.S. troops were in the [[Seventh United States Army]]. The [[British 8th Army]] was bolstered by the addition of the [[1st Canadian Infantry Division]], which was detached from the [[Canadian 1st Army]] based in England. [[General|Gen.]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] was in overall command, with Gen. [[Harold Alexander]] as commander of the land forces, designated the [[15th Army Group]]. Under 15th AG were the British 8th Army, under Gen. [[Bernard Montgomery]], and the U.S. 7th Army under Gen. [[George S. Patton]].
The island was defended by the Italian 6th Army under Gen. [[Alfredo Guzzoni]]. 6th Army included the [[Italian XII Corps|XII]] and [[Italian XVI Corps|XVI]] Corps, made up of coastal defence units, four front line divisions and miscellaneous units under army command, and the [[German XIV Panzer Corps]]. The total Axis force was about 190,000 Italian and 40,000 German troops, with at least 147 tanks and about 220 artillery pieces. The Italians reinforced the garrison with 52,000 reinforcements and 127 tanks.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
=== Planning ===
In the early part of 1943, Allied leaders concluded that a successful invasion of [[France]] would be impossible that year{{Fact|date=May 2008}}. So they decided to invade the [[Italy|Italian]] island of Sicily, using troops from the [[North African Campaign]], which the Allies would soon win. The strategic goals were to remove Axis naval and air forces from Sicily, allowing free passage to Allied ships in the Mediterranean Sea, and to put pressure on Mussolini's regime and perhaps drive Italy out of the war. Taking Sicily might also lead to the invasion of Italy, although the Allies had not decided on this at the time of the invasion. The Americans in particular resisted committing to any operation which might delay the invasion of France.
Allied planners considered two strategies. One proposal was to land the two armies at separate locations in the eastern and western ends of Sicily, and then move to encircle the Axis forces. The Axis forces would be not just defeated but destroyed. This was considered risky because the two armies would be unable to support each other, and might be defeated in detail. The "encirclement" plan would probably fail.
The other proposed strategy was to land the two armies side by side in southern Sicily, and advance directly across the island. This was much less risky than separate landings, but did not offer an opportunity for encirclement. The Allied planners chose this strategy rather than risk a defeat.
7th Army was assigned to land in the Gulf of [[Gela]], in south-central Sicily, with 3rd Division and 2nd Armored Division to the west at [[Licata]], 1st Division in the center at Gela, and 45th Division to the east at [[Scoglitti]]. The U.S. [[82nd Airborne Division]] was assigned to drop behind the defenses at Gela and Scoglitti. 7th Army's beach-front stretched over 50 kilometers.
8th Army was assigned to land in southeastern Sicily. 30th Corps would land on either side of [[Cape Passero]], at the very southeastern corner of Sicily, while 13th Corps would land in the Gulf of [[Noto]], around [[Avola]], off to the north. 8th Army's beach front also stretched 50 kilometers, and there was a gap of some 40 kilometers between the two armies.
Once ashore, the armies would link up and secure a large beachhead area. Then 8th Army would drive north, along the east coast of Sicily, to Messina. 7th Army would cover 8th Army's left flank and clear the rest of the island.
==== Deception ====
To distract the Axis, and if possible divert some of their forces to other areas, the Allies engaged in several deception operations. The most famous and successful of these was [[Operation Mincemeat|Operation ''Mincemeat'']]. A corpse disguised as a British officer was allowed to drift ashore in [[Spain]], carrying a briefcase containing fake secret documents. These documents revealed that the Allies were planning to invade [[Greece]], and had no plans to invade Sicily. The documents were accepted as genuine by German intelligence, and as a result much German defensive effort was diverted from Sicily to Greece. The Germans had soldiers on Sicily because they had been withdrawn from North Africa and had not been reassigned to the Eastern Front. However, there were still a large number of German and Italian soldiers on Sicily when the invasion started.
==== Canadian participation ====
The [[1st Canadian Infantry Division]] was included at the insistence of Canadian Military Headquarters in the UK. This request was granted by the British, displacing the veteran [[British 3rd Infantry Division]]. The change was not finalized until [[27 April]], when Gen. [[Andrew McNaughton]], the 1st Canadian Army Commander, deemed ''Husky'' to be a viable military undertaking and agreed to the detachment of both 1st Canadian Infantry Division and [[1st Canadian Tank Brigade]]
[[Image:Canadians Sicily1.jpg|thumb|left|Canadians in Sicily: Troops of The Loyal Edmonton Regiment entered Modica marching in a relaxed manner, but rifles are close to hand and bayonets are fixed, ready for sudden action.]]
The Canadian forces were initially commanded by Maj. Gen. [[H. L. N. Salmon]], who died in an airplane accident in the early days of planning, and was succeeded by Maj. Gen. [[Guy Simonds]]. Though the Canadians had served in the United Kingdom for a number of years, they had, with some exceptions (like the [[Dieppe raid]] by the [[2nd Canadian Infantry Division]]), not served under fire. Also, the Canadians, unlike the rest of 15th Army Group, had not served in the Mediterranean, and were not acclimated to its searing temperatures. That reality, combined with a shortage of transport caused by losses at sea, resulted in 1st CID and its tank brigade being halted just days into the operation, for a much needed rest.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
[[Image:Map operation husky landing.jpg|thumb|right|Map of the Allied landings in Sicily on [[10 July]] [[1943]]]]
== Battle ==
=== Allied landings ===
The landings took place in extremely strong wind, which made the landings difficult but also ensured the element of surprise. Landings were made on the southern and eastern coasts of the island, with British forces in the east and Americans towards the west. The British walked virtually unopposed into the port of Syracuse, but Canadian troops met increasing resistance by determined Italian troops from the 206th Coastal Division in the hills. Canadian war correspondent Ross Munro recorded his experiences of the first few days of the attack on the Italian 122 Infantry Regiment north of Pachino in a newspaper article printed on July 12:
''Stubborn resistance has been put up by the Italians north and west of Pachino, and along other [Canadian] sectors of the front there were heated engagements. Big battles will probably come before long, but meanwhile large numbers of prisoners are being captured.'' (The Toronto Globe & Mail, 12 July, 1943)
Attacks by [[airborne forces]] were carried out just after midnight on the night of the [[9 July]]-[[10 July]], as part of the invasion — two British and two American. The American [[paratroopers]] consisted largely of the [[505th Parachute Infantry Regiment]] of the [[82nd Airborne Division (United States)|82nd Airborne]], making their first combat drop and the British [[glider]]-borne troops were from [[1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|British 1st Airborne Division]].<ref>Hoyt (2007), p. 12</ref> Strong winds of up to {{convert|45|mph|km/h}}<ref>Hoyt (2007), p. 21</ref> scattered aircraft widely off course, and half the U.S. paratroopers failed to reach their rallying points. The British [[glider]]-landed troops fared little better, with only one out of 12 gliders landing on target and many crashing at sea. Nevertheless, the scattered airborne troops maximized their opportunities, attacking patrols and creating confusion wherever possible. A company of British parachute soldiers had a desperate battle to hold on to Ponto Grande Bridge against what was incorrectly reported as German counter-attacks on [[10 July]]<ref>[http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=ZTmD7VuFuykC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=Ponte+Grande+Bridge+germans+attacked&source=web&ots=mnkwXyHVPa&sig=4ccT91q93bWLC5e7bBkmWUkzLe0&hl=en Ferguson & Lyles (1984), p. 12]</ref>.With approximately 90 men, the British force held out till about 1500 hours until forced to surrender to Colonel Francesco Ronco's 75th Infantry Regiment, 54th "Napoli" Division.<ref>[http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=-pfHDCuYzfIC&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=Ponte+Grande+Bridge+napoli+division&source=web&ots=00xOmDmjTv&sig=yQSYTE_EjE0qQ3brRUVyVL_cG0g&hl=en Mitcham & von Stauffenberg (2007), p. 75]</ref>
[[Image:SC180455t.jpg|thumb|left|A U.S. crew checks their [[M4 Sherman|Sherman tank]] after landing at Red Beach 2, Sicily on [[10 July]]]]
Despite the weather, the beach landings (three hours after the airborne drops) met only moderate opposition from Italian units stationed on the shoreline, because the defenders had been weakened by naval bombardments. However, the Italian Navy and Italian Air Force made several attacks against the invasion fleet with airplanes, warships, and submarines, sinking and damaging several [[warships]], transport vessels and landing craft, at the cost of few of their own vessels and aircraft.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bauer, Eddy|coauthors=Kilpi, Mikko|title=Toinen maailmansota : Suomalaisen laitoksen toimituskunta: Keijo Mikola, Vilho Tervasmäki, Helge Seppälä. 4|publisher=Werner Söderström|location=Helsinki|language=Finnish|date=1975|ISBN= 951-0-05844-0}}</ref> Italian [[SM.79]] torpedo-bomber squadrons coordinated their attacks with the German [[Ju-87]] and [[Ju-88]] bomber units, and Rome reported as follows on [[July 12]]:<ref name="NYT2">''The New York Times'' (Tuesday, 13 July, 1943): page 2</ref>{{cquote|Italian planes torpedoed three cruisers and one smaller unit and three steamers. Two of them of 8,000 tons each sank. Enemy craft concentrations were attacked by Italian and German formations. Five steamers and several landing craft are reported sunk. Hit and set on fire were more than forty merchantmen and transports of various types. Axis fighters shot down more than thirty enemy planes. Eight more crashed after they were hit by anti-aircraft fire. From operations of the last two days thirteen of our planes and ten of the Germans failed to return.}}
As a result of the adverse weather, many troops landed in the wrong place, in the wrong order and as much as six hours behind schedule.<ref>Carver, p31</ref> The British walked lightly opposed into the port of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], but by [[13 July]] British armour and infantry met increasing resistance from R 35 tanks and then infantry from General Giulio Porcinari's "Napoli" Infantry Division.<ref>{{cite book|title=The D.L.I. at War: The History of the Durham Light Infantry, 1939-1945| first=David| last=Rissik| date=1953| publisher=Durham Light Infantry| pages= p. 123}}</ref> Porcinari and his staff were captured , however, by elements of [[4th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|4th Armoured Brigade]] on the 13th.<ref>{{cite book| first=R.M.P.| last=Carver| title=History of 4th Armoured Brigade| authorlink=Michael Carver, Baron Carver | url=http://www.warlinks.com/armour/4th_armoured/index.html| chapter=[http://www.warlinks.com/armour/4th_armoured/chapter_4.html Chapter 4: Sicily, Italy and Home - June 1943 to June 1944]| date=1945}}</ref>
In the American centre there was a substantial Italian division-sized counterattack at exactly the point where the airborne were supposed to have been. The German Tiger tanks of the [[Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring|Hermann Göring Panzer Division]] which had been due to advance with the "Livorno" Division had failed to turn up.<ref>Follain (2005), p. 130</ref> Nevertheless on Highways 115 and 117 during during [[July 10]] Italian tanks of the "Niscemi" Armoured Combat Group and "Livorno" infantry pressed home their attack on the city of [[Gela]], but guns from the destroyer [[USS Shubrick (DD-639)|USS ''Shubrick'']] and the cruiser [[USS Boise (CL-47)|USS ''Boise]] destroyed several tanks and dispersed the attacking infantry battalion. The 3rd Battalion, 34th Regiment, "Livorno" Infantry Division, composed mainly of conscripts, is recorded by its Commanding Officer as having made a valiant but ultimately equally unsuccessful daylight attack in the Gela Beachhead two days later alongside infantry and armour of the Hermann Göring Panzer Division.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.comandosupremo.com/Flesh.html| title=Flesh vs. Iron: 3rd Battalion, 34th Regiment, "Livorno" Infantry Division in the Gela Beachhead Counterattack: Sicily, July 11th-12th, 1943.| publisher=Comando Supremo, Italy at War website| accessdate=2008-05-30| last= Gazzi| first=Alessandro}}</ref>
On [[11 July]], Patton ordered his reserve parachute troops from the 504th PIR of the 82nd Airborne to drop and reinforce the center. It seems that not every Allied unit had received warning of the drop, and the 144 [[C-47 Skytrain|C-47]] transports, which arrived shortly after an Axis air raid, were fired on by the ships of the Allied landing fleet; 23 were shot down and 37 damaged, resulting in 229 casualties to "[[friendly fire]]."<ref>Hoyt (2007), p. 29</ref>
=== Landing battle ===
The plans for the post-invasion battle had not been worked out; Army Group Cmdr. [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Harold Alexander]] never developed a plan. This left each Army to fight its own campaign with little coordination. Boundaries between the two armies were fixed, as was normal procedure. In the first two days progress was rapid, capturing [[Vizzini]] in the west and [[Augusta, Italy|Augusta]] in the east.
Then resistance in the British sector stiffened. Gen. [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Bernard Montgomery]] persuaded Alexander to shift the inter-Army boundaries so the British could bypass resistance and retain the key role of capturing [[Messina]], while the Americans were given the role of protecting and supporting their flank. Historian [[Carlo D'Este]] has called this the worst strategic blunder of the campaign. It necessitated having the [[45th Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 45th Infantry Division]] break contact, move back to the beaches at Gela and thence northwest, and allowed the German XIVth ''Panzer'' Corps to escape likely encirclement. This episode was the origin of what would become greater conflicts between Montgomery and the [[II Corps (United States)|II Corps]] commander [[Omar Bradley]]. Patton, however, did not contest the decision.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
In the western coast of Sicily the Italians managed to slow down the American advance on the Castrofilippo-Napo area; the 35th Bersaglieri Battalion, who were a recently rebuilt battalion, showed enormous courage and tenacity, but were eventually overwhelmed by sheer weight of fire. On the Naro River the 73rd Bersaglieri Battalion and the remnants of the 35th and 160th Coastal Artillery Battalions held out grimly. General Enrico Francisci, commander of the Blackshirts in Sicily and liaison officer of the Sicilian command was among the Italian dead on 11 July. It was clear that not all of the Italian forces had lost the will to fight.<ref>Mitcham & von Stauffenberg (2007), [http://books.google.com/books?id=-pfHDCuYzfIC&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=bersaglieri+battalion+commander+sicily&source=web&ots=00wNoIhmUt&sig=tdDcrOQvkD3mgI0RVn5_4qGfTvg#PPA194,M1 p. 194]</ref>
The 10th Bersaglieri Regiment under Colonel Fabrizio Storti similarly forced Colonel William Darby's 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions to fight its way into Agrigento, a city of 34,000. Resistance was stiff enough to require house-to-house combat fighting,<ref>Tomblin (2004), [http://books.google.com/books?id=XDqBUqnrFLYC&pg=PA207&dq=agrigento+operation+husky&sig=ZIXXWN8Fp10V4UbgvanyNrVoIT8#PPA206,M1 p. 206]</ref>but by late afternoon on 16 July, the city was in American hands.
After a week's fighting, Patton sought a greater role for his army and decided to try to capture the capital, [[Palermo]]. After dispatching a [[reconnaissance]] toward the town of [[Agrigento]] which succeeded in capturing it, he formed a provisional corps and persuaded Alexander to allow him to continue to advance. Alexander changed his mind and countermanded his orders, but Patton claimed the countermand was "garbled in transmission", and by the time the position had been clarified Patton was at the gates of Palermo. Although there was little tactical value in taking the city, the rapid advance was an important demonstration of the [[United States Army|U.S. Army's]] mobility when U.S. forces were still recovering from the [[Battle of the Kasserine Pass]].
The fall of Palermo showed the Italian and German defenders that Sicily was lost. Axis commanders immediately retreated to Messina to be withdrawn to Italy. This however, didn't dampen Italian hopes of victory. Most Allied commanders were shocked because they thought the loss of Sicily and the Italian colonies would drive Italy from the war.
After Patton's capture of Palermo, with the British still bogged down south of Messina, Alexander ordered a two-pronged attack on the city. On [[24 July]], Montgomery suggested to Patton that the Seventh U.S. Army take Messina, since they were in a better position to do so. The Axis had prepared a strong defensive line, the "[[Etna Line]]" around Messina, which would enable them to make a progressive retreat while evacuating large parts of the army to the mainland.
Patton launched the [[Battle of Troina]] on [[31 July]], but it was a linchpin of the defense and stubbornly held by the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division. The remnants of the 28th "Aosta" Division had also been pulled back to Troina to assist in the defensive preparations.<ref>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-pfHDCuYzfIC&pg=PA263&lpg=PA263&dq=troina+italians&source=web&ots=00xNpDihTp&sig=dbpX_5rRQGT0zk1dzPRgYTYEnes&hl=en#PPA261,M1 Mitcham & von Stauffenberg (2007), p. 261]</ref> For six days the Italians and Germans stubbornly defended the position inflicting and taking heavy casualties. During the battle they launched twenty-four medium-scale counterattacks and countless smaller local ones, in one of which Lieutenant-Colonel Gianquinto's 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment of the 'Aosta' managed to take 40 American prisoners.<ref>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-pfHDCuYzfIC&pg=PA263&lpg=PA263&dq=troina+italians&source=web&ots=00xNpDihTp&sig=dbpX_5rRQGT0zk1dzPRgYTYEnes&hl=en#PPA261,M1 Mitcham & von Stauffenberg (2007), p. 263]</ref> But by [[7 August]] the U.S. 18th Infantry Regiment had captured Mount Pellegrino which overlooked the Troina defenses allowing accurate direction of Allied artillery. The defenders' left flank was also becoming exposed as the adjacent Hermann Goering Division was pushed back by XXX Corps and they were, as a result, ordered to withdraw that night in phases to the defensive positions of the Tortorici Line.<ref>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-pfHDCuYzfIC&pg=PA263&lpg=PA263&dq=troina+italians&source=web&ots=00xNpDihTp&sig=dbpX_5rRQGT0zk1dzPRgYTYEnes&hl=en#PPA261,M1 Mitcham & von Stauffenberg (2007), p. 264]</ref>
Despite three end run amphibious landings the Germans and Italians in the form of their 15th Panzer Division and 26th "Assietta" Division<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Toronto Globe & Mail| url=http://collections.civilisations.ca/warclip/objects/common/webmedia.php?irn=5100969| issue=[[4 August]], [[1943]]| last=Bracker| first=Milton|title=Canadians Seize Key Defense Town, Yanks Pass Troina| accessdate=2008-05-28}}</ref>
managed to keep the bulk of their forces beyond reach of capture and maintain their evacuation plans. After all the soldiers not defending the line withdrew, the defenders raced for transport ships under the cover of night. The Allies weren't watching the Axis troops, so they escaped from Messina and reached Italy. Elements of the [[3rd Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 3rd Infantry Division]] entered Messina just hours after the last Axis troops boarded ship for Italy. However, Patton had won his race to enter Messina first. Operation Baytown was planned to land troops near the tip of [[Calabria]] (the "toe" of Italy) in connection with the invasion of Italy, and to not prevent an Axis escape from Sicily was a major strategic blunder. Instead of a major Axis defeat, it started a long and bloody campaign.
== Aftermath ==
[[Image:SicilyAirplane.jpg|250px|thumb|right|U.S. soldiers looking at a dead German pilot and his wrecked aircraft near Gela, Sicily on [[12 July]] [[1943]]]]The casualties on the Axis side totaled 29,000, with 140,000 (mostly Italians) captured. The U.S. lost 2,237 killed and 6,544 wounded and captured; the British suffered 2,721 dead, and 10,122 wounded and captured; the Canadians suffered 2,410 casualties including 562 killed and 1,848 wounded and captured. For many of the American forces and for the entire Canadian contingent, this was their first time in combat. The Axis successfully evacuated the entire garrison in Messina. Rescuing such a large number of troops from the threat of capture represented a major success for the Axis. In the face of Allied naval and air superiority, this evacuation was a major Allied failure.
The Allied command was forced to improve interservice coordination, particularly with regard to use of [[airborne forces]]. After several misdrops and the deadly "friendly fire" incident, increased training and some tactical changes kept the paratroopers in the war. Indeed, a few months later, Montgomery's initial assessment of the [[Operation Overlord]] plan included a request for four airborne divisions.
American soldiers killed 74 Italian and two German [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] during two separate massacres at [[Biscari massacre|Biscari airfield]]. Two soldiers were charged for this [[war crime]]; one was convicted and sentenced to life in prison (later commuted) and another was acquitted.
=== Constituent operations ===
*[[Operation Barclay]]/[[Operation Mincemeat]]: Deception operations aimed at misleading Axis forces as to the actual date and location of the Allied landings.
*[[Operation Chestnut]]: Advanced air drop by 2 SAS to disrupt communications on [[12 July]] [[1943]].
*[[Operation Corkscrew]]: Allied invasion of the Italian island [[Pantelleria]] on [[10 June]] [[1943]].
*[[Operation Fustian]]: Airborne landing at Primasole Bridge ahead on [[13 July]] - [[14 July]] [[1943]].
*[[Operation Ladbroke]]: Glider landing at Syracuse on [[9 July]] [[1943]].
*[[Operation Narcissus]]: Commando raid on a lighthouse near the main landings on [[10 July]] [[1943]].
== See also ==
*[[Biscari massacre]]
*[[Patton (film)]]
== References ==
*{{cite book|last=Alexander| first=Harold | title=The Conquest of Sicily from 10th July 1943 to 17th August 1943| series=Alexander's Despatches| date=12 February, 1948}} published in {{LondonGazette |issue=38205 |date=10 February, 1948|startpage=1009 |endpage=1025 |supp=2nd Supplement |accessdaymonth= |accessyear=}}
*{{cite book| first=Rick| last=Atkinson| title=Volume II: The Day of Battle, The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 | series=The Liberation Trilogy| isbn=978-0805062892 |date=2007| location= New York| publisher=Henry Holt| pages=816 pages}}
*{{cite book | last=Bimberg| first=Edward L.| url=http://www.zenithpress.com/Store/ProductDetails_36956.ncm| title=The Moroccan Goums | publisher=Greenwood Publishing|location=Westport, Conn.| year=1999| | isbn=0313309132}}
*{{cite book | author=Birtle, Andrew J.| title=[http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures/72-16/72-16.htm CMH Online bookshelves: WWII Campaigns, Sicily 1943] | publisher=US Army Center of Military History|location=Washington| year=| id=CMH Pub 72-16}}
*{{cite book | authorlink=Michael Carver, Baron Carver| first=Field Marshal Lord| last=Carver| title=The Imperial War Museum Book of the War in Italy 1943-1945| publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson|location=London | year=2001 | isbn=0330482300}}
*{{cite book| last=Ferguson| first=Gregor| coauthors=Lyles, Kevin| title=The Paras 1940-1984: British airborne forces 1940-1984| url=http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=ZTmD7VuFuykC&dq=Ponte+Grande+Bridge+germans+attacked&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0| publisher=Osprey| location=Oxford| date=1984| isbn=0850455731}}
*{{cite book | author=Follain, John | title=Mussolini's Island: The Invasion of Sicily Through The Eyes Of Those Who Witnessed The Campaign | publisher=Hodder & Stoughton | year=2005}}
*{{cite book | author=Grigg, John | title=1943: The Victory that Never Was | publisher=Kensington Pub Corp | year=1982 | id=ISBN 0-8217-1596-8}}
*{{cite book|first=Edwin P.| last=Hoyt| title=Backwater War: The Allied Campaign in Italy, 1943-45| publisher=Stackpole Books| location=Mechanicsburg, PA| date=2007| origdate=2002| isbn=978 0 8117 9982 3}}
*{{cite book| last=Jowett| first=Philip S.| coauthors=Andrew, Stephen| title=The Italian Army 1940-45| publisher=Osprey Publishing| location=Oxford| date=2001| isbn=1855328666| origdate=}}
*{{cite book| last=Mitcham| first=Samuel W.| coauthors=von Stauffenberg, Friedrich| title=The Battle of Sicily: How the Allies Lost Their Chance for Total Victory | publisher=Stackpole Books| location=Mechanicsberg, PA| date=2007| isbn=081173403X| origdate=1991}}
*{{cite book | author=Newark, Tim| title=[http://www.zenithpress.com/Store/ProductDetails_36956.ncm Mafia Allies: The True Story of America's Secret Alliance with the Mob in World War II] | publisher=Zenith Press|location=St. Paul| year=2007| | id=ISBN 0-7603-2457-3}}
*{{cite book | last=Tomblin| first=Barbara|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=XDqBUqnrFLYC&dq=agrigento+operation+husky&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 | title=With Utmost Spirit: Allied Naval Operations in the Mediterranean, 1942-1945 | publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington | year=2004| isbn=0813123380}}
*{{cite book | author=Dickson, Keith| title=World War II for Dummies| location=New York, New York| year=2001}}
== External links ==
*[http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=176#more-176 Describes Operation Mincemeat]
*[http://www.comandosupremo.com/Flesh.html Italian 3rd Battalion, 34th Regiment, "Livorno" Infantry Division in the Gela Beachhead Counterattack]
*[http://www.american-divisions.com/doc.asp?documentid=108&pagenumber=1 Husky Operations Plan Sicily]
*[http://www.liberationtrilogy.com/day_of_battle_excerpt.htm Excerpt from The Day Of Battle by Rick Atkinson]
*[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,802867,00.html March From The Beaches], Time, July 26, 1943
*[http://wwii.ca/page25.html Canadians in Sicily, 1943] Canadians in Sicily: Photos, battle info, video footage and newspaper archives.
*[http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures/72-16/72-16.htm US Army account of the battle]
*[http://warmuseum.ca/cwm/newspapers/operations/sicilianitalian_e.html World War Two Online Newspaper Archives - The Sicilian and Italian Campaigns, 1943-1945]
*[http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/husky/default.aspx Operation Husky: The Allied Invasion of Sicily, 1943] by Thomas E. Nutter
*[http://www.remuseum.org.uk/corpshistory/rem_corps_part16.htm Royal Engineers Museum] Royal Engineers and Second World War (Sicily)
*[http://www.bestofsicily.com/ww2.htm 2nd World War Best of Sicily] History of the Allied Campaign and its social context
*[http://www.ww2-airborne.us/division/82_overview.html The 82nd Airborne during World War II]
*[http://www.provincia.ct.it/Il_Territorio/La_Rete_Museale/Museo_dello_sbarco_in_Sicilia/indexEng.asp Historical Museum of the Military Invasion of Sicily, 1943] [http://www.turismo.catania.it/aptctnew/Musei/Musei_catania/Ciminiere/museo_sbarco/museo_sbarco.htm#SALA%20III (Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943)] Dedicated to the historical event which culminated in the liberation of Sicily and Italy from the German occupation.
*[http://www.volksbund.de/kgs/stadt.asp?stadt=38 German Soldiers' Cemetery, Motta S. Anastasia, Sicily (in German)]
*[http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=2006200&mode=1 Commonwealth War Cemetery, Catania, Sicily]
*[http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=2000407&mode=1 Syracuse War Cemetery, Sicily]
*[http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=feature/italy99/backgrounders/agira Agira Canadian War Cemetery, Sicily]
*[http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/sr.php Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial]
*[http://www.american-divisions.com/doc.asp?documentid=139&pagenumber=1 COHQ bulletin Y6 digest of reports on Operation 'Husky']
*[http://www.american-divisions.com/doc.asp?documentid=137&pagenumber=1 COHQ bulletin Y1 notes on the planning and assault phase of the Sicilian operation]
*[http://www.american-divisions.com/doc.asp?documentid=111 45th Infantry Division in the Sicilian Campaign]
== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}
{{World War II}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sicily, Allied Invasion of}}
[[Category:1943 in Italy]]
[[Category:Allied invasion of Sicily]]
[[Category:Battles involving Canada]]
[[Category:Battles involving Germany]]
[[Category:Battles involving Italy]]
[[Category:Battles involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Battles involving the United States]]
[[Category:History of Sicily]]
[[Category:Italian Campaign]]
[[Category:Naval battles and operations of World War II (European theatre)]]
[[Category:World War II operations and battles of the Italian Campaign]]
[[ca:Invasió aliada de Sicília]]
[[cs:Invaze na Sicílii]]
[[de:Operation Husky]]
[[es:Operación Husky]]
[[fr:Opération Husky]]
[[hr:Saveznička invazija Sicilije]]
[[it:Operazione Husky]]
[[he:פלישת בעלות הברית לסיציליה]]
[[nl:Landing op Sicilië]]
[[ja:ハスキー作戦]]
[[no:Operasjon Husky]]
[[pl:Operacja Husky]]
[[ru:Высадка союзных войск в Сицилии]]
[[scn:Secunna guerra munniali (Opirazzioni Husky)]]
[[fi:Operaatio Husky]]
[[sv:Operation Husky]]
[[zh:西西里島登陸戰役]]