Road to Messina - Europe 1943


Churchill speaks to U.S. Congress May 19, from ILN, 1943/06/12

VP Wallace and Speaker Rayburn listen, from ILN, 1943/06/12

TRIDENT conference

June 2 - FDR sent Stalin Trident communique, but Stalin angry over 2nd Front delay

June 5-11 - Pantelleria

Mediterranean map from ILN 1941/04/19 - mid bott

HUSKY

July 10 to Aug. 17, 1943 - the invasion of Sicily - only 90 miles from Africa - "greatest amphibious operation in history" - 38 day campaign - see images

Landing craft LST and LCT and LCA, from ILN 1944/02/05 - more landing craft images

from ILN 1943/05/15 - big

objective = Messina on NE coast, only 3 mi from Italy, vital communication center - Mt. Etna

U.S. 7th Army under Patton landed on south coast with objective to take Palermo (150 mi west of Messina)

German 88mm gun captured in Sicily, from ILN 1943/08/14

Brit. 8th Army under Monty landed on east coast with objective to take Syracuse (80 mi south of Messina)

shortage of landing craft delayed campaign

German 88mm gun captured in Sicily, from ILN 1943/08/14

82nd Airborne Division - Gen. Matthew Ridgeway

July 10 - lucky bomb hit on HQ of Italian Gen Guzzoni - no communication for 24 hrs

July 10-12 - US struggled against elite Livorno Division and Hermann Goring Panzer Division

July 11 - 144 allied transport planes fired on by US Navy ships

Sicily invasion map
from Newsweek 1943/09/06

July 13 - Brit. take Augusta

July 22 - US 3rd Division took Palermo

Aug. 11 - German retreat began

Aug. 15 night - patrols from 3rd Division reached Messina 1st - Monty 12 mi. away

Aug. 16 - Truscott ready to accept surrender, but had to wait 2 hours for Patton

7000 U.S. casualties but took 100,000 prisoners - British lost 12,000 casualties

significance of Sicily:

July 11 - Edward R. Murrow radio report on CBS World News Today

July 26 - fall of Mussolini



Victor Emmanuel, from ILN 1943/07/31
Badoglio, from ILN 1943/07/31
Hitler and Mussolini in Munich, from ILN 1943/07/31
Hitler and Mussolini, from ILN 1943/07/31
Mussolini, from ILN 1943/07/31


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