Doing this would give the Allies access to the Mediterranean Sea for their own ships. By May 1943, the US Army had acquired hard-won experience and tasted success in North Africa as Axis forces composed of more than 250,000 German and Italian troops surrendered at Tunisia. Museum friend and battlefield guide, Roland Gaul of Luxembourg, recounts Thanksgiving 1944 and how it is remembered today. Lieutenant General George S. Patton landed with the US Seventh Army at Gela, while the British, under General Bernard Montgomery, led the Eighth Army to the east. This article, by Senior Director of Research and History Keith Huxen, PhD, first appeared in the summer 2013 issue of V-Mail, the Museum’s quarterly Member newsletter. In an elaborate espionage operation know as Mincemeat, designed to divert German defenses, British intelligence dressed a suicide victim as a Royal Marine, planted false papers on the corpse, and deposited the package off the coast of Spain for the Germans to find and interpret. On July 10, 1943, the Allies launched Operation Husky before sunrise, a massive amphibious assault on the southern shores of the island. 504-528-1944, Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, Native Americans in the 45th Infantry Division, Curator's Choice: Nuremberg Trial Visitor, "The Grave Responsibility of Justice": Justice Robert H. Jackson's Opening Statement at Nuremberg, Understanding the 'Other Side': My Visit to Futa Pass Cemetery, "Straw" Vote Gives FDR the Lager: The 1944 POW Vote. The invasion of Sicily, code-named Operation Husky, began before dawn on July 10, 1943, with combined air and sea landings involving 150,000 troops, 3,000 ships and … In 38 days, the Allies had taken the first major step along that continental road with the liberation of Sicily. Meanwhile, Patton’s forces were charged with protecting Montgomery’s flank and moving to the northwest toward Palermo. In the immediate aftermath of the Allied landings, German General Albert Kesselring judged that the Italian fighting forces were so weak that the Germans were virtually on their own in the fight. The Executive Director of the 45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City shares insights about Native Americans in the “Thunderbird Division.”. For the next three days it involved more than 3,000 ships landing over 150,000 ground troops, covered by more than 4,000 aircraft. A storm interfered with the ability of the Allies to land paratroopers behind enemy lines and nearly delayed the launch, but the weather conditions also convinced the Axis powers that an offensive operation against them would not occur, providing the Allies with an element of surprise. The first international war crimes tribunal in history revealed the true extent of German atrocities and held some of the most prominent Nazis accountable for their crimes. Operation Husky: The Allied Invasion of Sicily. These routes had been closed to the Allied ships during the early years of the war. Seeing the cemetery for the German war dead at Futa Pass was a stark reminder of the human cost of defeating fascism. All Rights Reserved. These were then followed up with land battles lasting around six weeks. Even while held as POWs by the Germans in the POW camp Stalag Luft IV, American servicemen exercised their civic duty and made their voices heard, at least to each other, when they held a straw vote for the 1944 presidential election. info@nationalww2museum.org Operation Husky was the code name given to the Allied invasion of the island of Sicily in World War II, which took place in the summer of 1943. By May 1943, the US Army had acquired hard-won experience and tasted success in North Africa as Axis forces composed of more than 250,000 German and Italian troops surrendered at Tunisia. Although there would be further twists and turns in the liberation of the Italian nation, through Sicily the Allies had successfully delivered a devastating blow against the first fascist government in world history when they toppled Mussolini’s regime. Nonetheless, the die was cast for a German withdrawal from Sicily. 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