The Invasion of Sicily 1943

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.