Leading up to the Battle
The United States and Britain, the leading Allied powers, defeated Italy and Germany in the North African Campaign on May 13, 1943. Immediately after, the Allies looked to another invasion of occupied Europe in order to defeat Germany once and for all. The Allies hoped that if they attacked Italy, the fascist regime would be removed from the war, Germany would be distracted from its divisions in the northwest coast of France (where the Allies were planning a future attack), and the central Mediterranean would be secured by the Allies. The battle lasted 38 days, and as a result, the Allies drove the Axis powers from Sicily, and the Allies advanced to take over Italy's mainland.
Operation Husky
The troops targeted the
southern shores of Sicily.
The invasion was code-named Operation Husky and began on July 10, 1943. The Allies attacked the southern shores of Sicily with 150,000 troops, 3,000 ships, and 4,000 aircraft. Adolf Hitler, the German dictator, was expecting the attack in Sardinia or Corsica, even several days into the attack because he thought it was a diversion. Thus, he only left two German divisions in Sicily to fend off the Allies. As the Allies reached more and more victories, they moved farther up the island.
What was gained
Benito Mussolini
Because of this invasion, as the Allies had hoped, the Italian fascist regime fell. The prime minister of Italy, Benito Mussolini, was arrested on July 24, 1943. The new Italian leader, Marshal Pietro Badoglio, opposed Italy's alliance with Germany, and he began to plan an armistice with the Allies in secret. Because Hitler demanded the troop to keep fighting, the Allies eventually cornered the forces into the northeast part of the island.