The Invasion of Sicily 1943 (Images of War)

With victory in North Africa complete, the Allies had a choice. The Americans wanted an early cross channel attack from Britain on North West Europe. Churchill favored invading the soft underbelly of Italy to weaken the Axis forces and gain Italian surrender. With Eisenhowers army and battle-hardened Eighth Army in North Africa, Churchill prevailed. The ambitious Operation HUSKY required meticulous planning. Montgomery's Eighth Army and Patton's Seventh landed successfully although the air landing proved costly. While the outcome was not in doubt the mountainous terrain acted in the defenders favor. The German presence was higher than expected and the vast bulk of the enemy were Italian. In little over a month, the first Americans reached Messina. The strategic plan was successful: the Italian capitulated, Hitler had to reinforce his Southern flank relieving pressure on the Soviets and valuable lessons were learned by Allied for D-Day. The decisive WWII campaign that brought Italy to its knees is vividly captured in this in-depth photographic history.With victory in North Africa complete, the Allies had a choice. The Americans wanted an early cross-channel attack from Britain on Northwest Europe. Churchill favored invading the soft underbelly of Italy to weaken the Axis forces and gain Italian surrender. With Eisenhower's army and battle-hardened Eighth Army in North Africa, Churchill prevailed.The ambitious Operation HUSKY required meticulous planning. While the outcome was never in doubt, the mountainous terrain acted in the defender's favor. While Montgomery's Eighth Army and Patton's Seventh landed successfully, the air landing proved costly. The German presence was higher than expected and the vast bulk of the enemy were Italian. The strategic plan was successful: the Italian capitulated, Hitler had to reinforce his Southern flank—relieving pressure on the Soviets—and valuable lessons were learned by Allied for D-Day. Op HUSKY was a vast and daring multi-national amphibious and air landing. The dramatic story is told in well-researched text and superb images true Images of War style.