Allied invasion of Sicily
The Casablanca Conference in January 1943 brought together political leaders and military Chiefs of Staff from the United States and Britain to discuss strategy. The British Chiefs of Staff favored an invasion of Sicily or Sardinia, arguing it would force Germany to disperse its forces. They believed this move might knock Italy out of the war and encourage Turkey to join the Allies. At first, American officials opposed the plan as opportunistic and irrelevant. They were eventually persuaded by arguments regarding great savings to Allied shipping that would result from opening the Mediterranean. This decision removed Axis air and naval forces from the island, allowing merchant ships to pass freely for the first time since 1941.
High-level planning lacked direction because commanders Alexander, Montgomery, and Patton remained fully occupied in Tunisia. Effort was wasted presenting plans that General Bernard Montgomery disliked due to the dispersion of forces involved. He articulated his objections on the 24th of April and put forward alternative proposals. Tedder and Cunningham opposed Montgomery's plan because it would leave thirteen landing grounds in Axis hands. Eisenhower called a meeting for the 2nd of May with Montgomery, Cunningham, and Tedder to resolve these differences. Montgomery made new proposals to concentrate the Allied effort on the southeast corner of Sicily. After Alexander joined the meeting on the 3rd of May, Montgomery's proposals were finally accepted.
American General Dwight D. Eisenhower served as Commander-in-Chief of all Allied forces in North Africa during Operation Husky. British General Sir Harold Alexander acted as his second-in-command and commanded the 15th Army Group. The American Major General Walter Bedell Smith was appointed as Eisenhower's Chief of Staff. The overall Naval Force Commander was the British Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham. The Allied land forces came from the American, British, and Canadian armies and were structured into two task forces.
The Eastern Task Force, also known as Task Force 545, was led by General Sir Bernard Montgomery. It consisted of the British Eighth Army which included the 1st Canadian Infantry Division. The Western Task Force, or Task Force 343, was commanded by Lieutenant General George S. Patton. This force comprised the American Seventh Army. The U.S. Seventh Army initially consisted of three infantry divisions organized under II Corps. Lieutenant General Omar Bradley commanded this corps. The 1st and 3rd Infantry Divisions sailed from ports in Tunisia while the 45th Infantry Division sailed from the United States via Oran in Algeria. The 2nd Armored Division sailed from Oran to serve as a floating reserve.
To distract Axis forces, the Allies engaged in several deception operations including Operation Mincemeat. Naval intelligence officer Ewen Montagu and RAF Squadron Leader Charles Cholmondeley conceived this famous campaign. They allowed a corpse disguised as a British Royal Marines officer to drift ashore in Spain carrying fake secret documents. These documents purported to reveal that the Allies planned an invasion of Greece rather than Sicily. German intelligence accepted the authenticity of the documents and diverted much defensive effort away from Sicily until June.
Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel was sent to Greece to assume command after the deception took hold. The Germans transferred a group of R boats from Sicily and laid three additional minefields off the Greek coast. They also moved three panzer divisions to Greece, one from France and two from the Eastern Front. This reduced German combat strength in the Kursk salient. Meanwhile, Allied strategic bomber forces commenced attacks on principal airfields of Sardinia, Sicily, and southern Italy. From the 3rd of July, bombing concentrated on Sicilian airfields while beach defenses were left alone to preserve surprise. By the 10th of July, only two airfields in Sicily remained fully operational.
Landings began in the early hours of the 10th of July from 2:45 am across twenty-six main beaches along the southern and eastern coasts. Troops landed between Licata where the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division under Major General Lucian Truscott arrived at Torre di Gaffe, and Cassibile in the east with British and Canadian forces. This constituted the largest amphibious operation of World War II in terms of size of the landing zone. Strong winds complicated paratrooper operations but ensured surprise as many defenders assumed no one would attempt a landing in such poor conditions.
More trouble came from difficult weather conditions and unexpected hidden offshore sandbars than from coastal divisions. Some troops landed in the wrong place or order and up to six hours behind schedule. The Italian defensive plan did not contemplate a pitched battle on the beaches so landings were somewhat anticlimactic. Nevertheless, several Italian coastal units fought well including the 429th Coastal Battalion which lost 45 percent of its men defending Gela. By evening of the 10th of July, seven Allied assault divisions were well established ashore and fears of an Axis air onslaught proved unfounded.
Alexander planned to first establish forces on a line between Licata in the west and Catania in the east before reducing the rest of the island. Montgomery's Eighth Army was tasked with capturing Pachino Airfield on Cape Passero and the port of Syracuse. Patton's Seventh Army aimed to capture the port of Licata and airfields at Ponte Olivo, Biscari, and Comiso. On the 13th of July, elements of the British 5th Division entered Augusta after being delayed by strong opposition. Their left flank saw the 51st Highland Division move directly north to take Palazzolo and Vizzini.
During the last week of July, Montgomery gathered forces to renew attacks on the 1st of August. His immediate objective was Adrano which would split German forces on either side of Mount Etna. On the 2nd of August, heavy fighting against the Hermann Göring Division cleared defenders from Centuripe. This town proved critical as growing threats to Adrano made positions covering Catania untenable. The Battle of Troina commenced on the 31st of July when the 1st Division reached this important position held by the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division. For six days Germans and Italians conducted costly defense launching twenty-four counter-attacks.
By the 27th of July Axis commanders realized evacuation from Messina was inevitable. Kesselring reported to Hitler on the 29th of July that an evacuation could be accomplished in three days. Initial written plans were formulated dated the 1st of August. Hube suggested transferring superfluous men and equipment starting the 4th of August but Guzzoni refused sanction without approval from Comando Supremo. Nevertheless, Germans went ahead transferring over 12,000 men, 4,500 vehicles, and 5,000 tons of equipment between 1 and the 10th of August.
Full-scale withdrawal codenamed Operation Lehrgang began on the 11th of August and continued until the 17th of August. During this period Hube ordered successive withdrawals each night keeping following Allied units at arm's length with mines and demolitions. As the peninsula narrowed he withdrew units for evacuation. Allies attempted to counter this by launching brigade-sized amphibious assaults on the 15th of August but these operations hit air due to speed of Axis withdrawal. The narrow straits were protected by 120 heavy and 112 light anti-aircraft guns making daylight air attacks highly hazardous.
The U.S. Seventh Army lost 8,781 men including 2,237 killed or missing and 5,946 wounded. British Eighth Army suffered 11,843 casualties comprising 2,062 killed or missing and 7,137 wounded. Canadian forces had suffered 2,310 casualties including 562 killed and 1,664 wounded. German units lost about 20,000 men who were either killed, wounded, or captured according to Samuel W. Mitcham and Friederich von Stauffenberg in 2007.
Immediately after landings instances occurred where American troops killed civilians including a massacre at Vittoria where twelve civilians died. On the 14th of July American troops of the 180th Infantry Regiment summarily executed seventy-three Axis prisoners of war in the Biscari massacre. Sergeant Horace T. West led a detachment that separated eight or nine prisoners for questioning before executing remaining thirty-seven POWs. The next day bodies were spotted by military chaplain Lieutenant-Colonel William E. King who reported incident to superiors. West was convicted and sentenced to life in prison but released back to active service in November 1944.
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Common questions
When did the Allied invasion of Sicily begin?
Landings began in the early hours of the 10th of July from 2:45 am across twenty-six main beaches along the southern and eastern coasts. Troops landed between Licata where the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division under Major General Lucian Truscott arrived at Torre di Gaffe, and Cassibile in the east with British and Canadian forces.
Who commanded the Eastern Task Force during the Allied invasion of Sicily?
The Eastern Task Force, also known as Task Force 545, was led by General Sir Bernard Montgomery. It consisted of the British Eighth Army which included the 1st Canadian Infantry Division.
What deception operation distracted Axis forces before the Allied invasion of Sicily?
To distract Axis forces, the Allies engaged in several deception operations including Operation Mincemeat. Naval intelligence officer Ewen Montagu and RAF Squadron Leader Charles Cholmondeley conceived this famous campaign to make German intelligence believe an invasion of Greece was planned rather than Sicily.
How many casualties did American troops suffer during the Allied invasion of Sicily?
The U.S. Seventh Army lost 8,781 men including 2,237 killed or missing and 5,946 wounded. This figure represents the total losses for American forces involved in the campaign.
When did full-scale withdrawal codenamed Operation Lehrgang begin during the Allied invasion of Sicily?
Full-scale withdrawal codenamed Operation Lehrgang began on the 11th of August and continued until the 17th of August. During this period Hube ordered successive withdrawals each night keeping following Allied units at arm's length with mines and demolitions.