Just as the Chinese warned the Germans: Allied forces landed in Sicily.
Britain and the United States decided to hold a summit meeting in Casablanca in January 1943 to discuss the next strategic plan for the Mediterranean theater. Before the summit meeting between the two countries, the military leaders of the two countries first held discussions. The British side advocated that Sicily and Sardinia should be held.
Or Greece, Italy can land on the Apennine Peninsula, open up a battlefield against Germany in southern Europe, contain and weaken the German army, and force Italy to withdraw from the war. It can also draw Turkey into the anti-fascist camp. Of course, Britain also has another purpose, which is to use the power of the United States.
, to restore its traditional sphere of influence in Southeast Europe.
The United States expressed strong opposition to this proposition. The United States believed that it should concentrate its forces and directly open a second battlefield in northern France. The operations in southern Europe would inevitably affect the landing plan in northern France. The United States was even more worried that the entry of the main Allied forces had nothing to do with the interests of the United States.
However, areas closely related to British interests have been dragged into complex disputes among European countries by Britain. This is the so-called "naive Americans being taken advantage of by cunning British".
In this regard, Marshal Alan Brooke, the British Chief of General Staff, pointed out that Germany can gather at least 44 divisions in northern France, but the Allies do not yet have the troops and landing ships to fight against 44 divisions, and from Gallibeau in World War I
The lessons of the two landing battles in Li and Dieppe in August 1942 fully demonstrated the arduousness of the landing operation. The Allies were not prepared for the landing in northern France in all aspects, but they should not do nothing in 1943. In the end,
The best plan is to use the existing forces to carry out limited operations to disperse, contain and weaken the German army, and at the same time prepare for the landing in northern France.
The Mediterranean region is the most ideal area to implement this plan, because the Allied forces have assembled a strong force in the Mediterranean theater and have mastered air and sea control in the area. They can choose any landing location along the northern coast of the Mediterranean, from Greece to
The Mediterranean coast of southern France is an extremely sensitive but fragile area for the Axis powers. In addition, Italy has inconvenient transportation due to the natural obstacles of the Alps. It can only transport one division to Italy in two weeks, while Central and Western Europe have convenient transportation.
It can transport 7 divisions at the same time! Therefore, the possibility of successful landing in the Mediterranean is much greater than that in northern France. Once the landing is successful, it is possible to force Italy to withdraw from the war and prompt Turkey to join the Allies. It can be said that it kills multiple birds with one stone.
have to.
Marshal Allen Brooke's speech was so wonderful that even two heavyweight figures, Admiral King, Chief of Naval Operations, and Admiral Arnold, Commander of Army Aviation, turned to agree with the British plan. General Marshall, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
The general had to agree to attack Sicily first in 1943. However, he was worried that if he continued to attack the Italian Apennine Peninsula, it would affect the landing in northern France, so he requested that the attack be limited to Sicily. Britain also made concessions and agreed to only land in Sicily.
On January 23, 1943, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of the United Kingdom and the United States submitted the "1943 Operational Guidelines" to U.S. President Pitt and British Prime Minister Churchill, which clearly stipulated that the capture of Sicily should be launched no later than July 1943.
In February, the Allied forces established a special staff in Algiers and began to formulate a combat plan for landing in Sicily. Since the combat radius of Allied fighter jets taking off from Tunisia and Malta could only reach Syracuse and Trapani,
In the southern region, according to the principle that the landing site must be within the combat radius of fighter jets, the Allied forces could only land in the Cape Barçaro and Castelvetra areas. After seizing the airports in the Gela and Castelvetra areas,
After Allied fighter jets stationed at the above-mentioned airport, they then attacked Messina and annihilated the German and Italian troops on the island. However, the biggest difficulty was that Sicily was too close to the Italian mainland, and the Allied forces did not have a large port to use in the early stage of landing.
Then the German and Italian reinforcements must be faster than the Allied reinforcements. This problem even almost made Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the Mediterranean theater, give up the landing plan.
On March 13, the leaders of the Allied Forces in the Mediterranean, Supreme Commander Eisenhower, Army Commander Alexander, Navy Commander Cunningham, and Air Force Commander Tedder, unanimously approved the initial plan to attack Sicily.
The Allied staff who formulated the combat plan worked overtime and revised the original plan. The final landing time was determined to be July 10, because it was a full moon and the airborne troops could land by moonlight. It was also a high tide, which was conducive to landing craft landing on the beach. Operation
The project was codenamed "Eskimo".
The commander-in-chief of the campaign was US Army General Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Mediterranean Theater. The deputy commander-in-chief and commander of the Army was British Army General Alexander. The Navy Commander was British Admiral Cunningham. The Air Force Commander was Air Marshal Ted.
On the island of Malta!
The ground forces are the 15th Army Group, under which Alexander is concurrently commander, and under the jurisdiction of the U.S. 7th Army Group commanded by Lieutenant General Patton, etc., with a total of 10 infantry divisions, 1 armored division, 2 airborne divisions and 3 militia brigades. The total ground forces are
It has approximately 478,000 troops, 600 tanks and 1,800 artillery pieces.
The British army, with a strength of 3 divisions and 1 brigade, landed as the first echelon on an area about 70 kilometers wide on the southeast front of Sicily; the 1st Airborne Division airborne in the area south of Syracuse to seize nearby bridges and roads.
, to ensure the main advance; the British 78th Infantry Division was the reserve force. The US 7th Army used 3 divisions as the first echelon to land in a section about 64 kilometers wide in southern Sicily; the 82nd Airborne Division airborne in the northeastern area of Gela
Control the road leading to Gela to block German reinforcements; the 2nd Armored Division and the 18th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division serve as a ship reserve, ready to go ashore for reinforcements; the 9th Infantry Division serves as a group army reserve.
The navy has 3,237 participating warships and landing ships, organized into three fleets, the Eastern Task Force, the Western Task Force and the Sea Covering Fleet. The commander of the Eastern Fleet, British Vice Admiral Ramsay, is responsible for transporting British troops and is divided into four special fleets.
Mixed formations, formation a transports the 5th British Infantry Division, 50th Division and 3rd Landing Assault Team, formation n transports the 231st Infantry Brigade of the British Army, formation b transports the 51st British Infantry Division, formation v transports the Canadian infantry
The 1st Division and the British 40th and 41st Landing Assault Teams. Vice Admiral Hewitt, commander of Task Force West, was responsible for transporting the US 7th Army, which was divided into four task force formations. The 80th Task Force transported the 7th
The group army headquarters and the 18th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division of the US Army and two assault groups of the 2nd Armored Division serve as reserves. The formation also includes a cover group aircraft carrier, 4 battleships, 3 cruisers and 19 destroyers.
The reserve cover group includes 2 battleships, 2 cruisers and 6 destroyers. The 81st Task Force transports the 1st U.S. Infantry Division, the 85th Task Force transports the 45th U.S. Infantry Division, and the 86th Task Force transports the 3rd U.S. Infantry Division.
An assault group of the 2nd Armored Division. The sea cover fleet was commanded by British Vice Admiral Willis. It consisted of 2 aircraft carriers, 6 battleships, 6 light cruisers and 24 destroyers. It was responsible for covering the passage of the eastern and western landing fleets.
Safety.
There are three parts of the aviation force participating in the war. One is the U.S. Northwest African Strategic Air Force commanded by U.S. Army Major General Doolittle, which is responsible for attacking important airports, ports and transportation hubs in the enemy's strategic depth; the second is the British Northwest African Air Force commanded by Major General Conhanning.
The tactical air force is responsible for the direct air support and cover of landing operations; the third is the US-based northwest African shore-based aviation commanded by Major General Lloyd of the British Air Force, which is responsible for covering the assembly and ferry safety of landing forces, and monitoring the Italian Navy
activity.
The Allied forces committed about 478,000 ground troops, 3,680 combat aircraft, 1,500 transport aircraft, more than 500 combat ships, landing craft and about 2,700 transport ships.
The participating troops completed all pre-war preparations in early July.
Sicily is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. It faces the mainland of Italy across the Strait of Messina to the north. The Strait of Messina is very narrow, with the narrowest point only 3219 meters. To the south, it faces Tunisia across the Strait of Tunis, which is about 170 kilometers wide. It is Italy.
An important barrier in the south.
The island is about 300 kilometers wide from east to west and about 200 kilometers long from north to south, forming an irregular triangle with an area of about 25,000 square kilometers. The island is mountainous, with a plateau in the northeast. The terrain gradually decreases from northeast to southwest, with an average altitude of 450 meters.
There are two railways that circle the island and run diagonally through the northwest and southeast of the island, as well as criss-crossing highways, with convenient transportation. The ports include Syracuse, Augusta, and Catania on the east coast, and Gela on the west coast, and the capital
Palermo and Messina. There are 10 airports and 4 seaplane airports on the island.
In the spring of 1943, the total strength of the Italian army was 82 divisions and 8 brigades, 263 naval combat ships, and 825 combat aircraft. Among them, 44 divisions and 26 divisions were responsible for defense in Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and the mainland.
6 brigades, 163 ships and 600 aircraft. The German army deployed 7 divisions and 2 brigades, more than 60 ships and 500 aircraft in Italy, under the unified command of Marshal Kesselring, commander-in-chief of the Southern Front.
While the Allies were actively preparing for landing operations, the German and Italian forces were also stepping up preparations to resist landings. The Italian Navy had been retaining its best ships to deal with the Allied landings. However, because the Axis powers had never been able to
It is difficult to find out the specific and accurate time and place where the Allied forces are about to launch a landing, so targeted deployment cannot be made.
Due to the lack of effective air cover, the Italian Navy prohibited the fleet from operating in the waters near Sicily within the radius of Allied combat aircraft. In this way, Sicily's defense mainly relied on ground troops and aviation.
In July 1943, the garrison in Sicily was the Italian 6th Army. Its commander was Lieutenant General Guzzoni. It had 2 armies, 4 field divisions, 6 coastal defense divisions and 2 coastal defense brigades, a total of about 25 troops.
Ten thousand people, among which only the Livorno Division is a motorized division with certain combat effectiveness. The other troops were forcibly recruited from the local people in Sicily. There is a strong war-weary and anti-war sentiment. They believe that if the Allied forces land, the resistance will be
The more intense the attack, the greater the damage to their hometown, so they are unwilling to resist. There are also two German divisions on the island, the 15th Motorized Division and the SS Hermann Goering Armored Division, with a total of about 40,000 people.
, these two divisions are elite troops of the German army. They were originally planned to go to Tunisia for reinforcements. However, due to the tight Allied naval and air blockade, Tunisia quickly failed, and they were stranded in Sicily.
Nominally it belongs to the 6th Italian Army, but in fact it takes orders directly from Marshal Kesselring, the commander-in-chief of the German Southern Front. Among them, the Hermann Goering Armored Division is equipped with the most advanced "Tiger" heavy tanks of the German army, which have extremely powerful
of attack power.
In terms of defense deployment, there are only 2 coastal defense divisions deployed along the 200 kilometers of coastline on the south coast. Each division has a front defense of more than 100 kilometers, and only a small number of fortifications have been built. These two divisions are only equipped with light weapons and do not have enough motor vehicles.
, the combat effectiveness and mobility are very limited. The main force of the defenders is located in the northwest of the island, preparing to launch a counterattack when the Allies are on land, and drive the Allied forces into the sea. If the counterattack fails, they will rely on deep mountains to carry out a protracted battle. The Axis Army was originally there
There were more than 1,400 combat aircraft deployed in Sicily, but under the fierce Allied attack, most of them withdrew to the Italian mainland, leaving only more than 500 aircraft to provide air cover for the defenders.
The biggest difficulty in preparing for the anti-landing was the conflict between Germany and Italy. Lieutenant General Guzzoni, commander of the Italian 6th Army, judged that the Allies were likely to land on the line from Syracuse to Gela, so he planned to move the Italian army's Liwo
That division and two German divisions were deployed in the southwest of the island, but Kesselring was worried that the Allied landings in Palermo would cut off the retreat back to the Italian mainland, so he transferred the 15th Motorized Division to the Italian mainland despite Guzzoni's objections.
Palermo, and privately instructed the commanders of the two German divisions to immediately launch a counterattack once the Allied forces landed, without waiting for orders from the Italian army.
This behavior not only dispersed the counterattack force of the Axis powers, but also destroyed the command system. It also affected the already very weak defense.
The service is even worse.
On May 13, the day the Tunisian Axis Forces surrendered, Allied aviation in North Africa began to carry out attacks on airports, ports, transportation hubs, troop assembly areas and radar stations in mainland Italy, Sicily, Sardinia and Greece.
They launched extensive and fierce air strikes to eliminate them, suppress the German and Italian aviation, and prevent the movement of their troops. The German and Italian forces originally had more than 1,400 combat aircraft in the area, including more than 800 German aircraft, which were dispersed in Sicily, Salvador
Under fierce Allied air attacks on the islands of Din Island, Corsica and the Italian mainland, the Italian Air Force Commander General Fogier and the German 2nd Air Force Commander Lieutenant General von Richthofen decided on June 22 that the generals would
Some aircraft were withdrawn to the European continent, leaving only a small number of fighters and bombers in Sicily and Sardinia, with a total of no more than 500 aircraft.
In order to expand the combat range of fighter jets, the Allied forces captured Panterella Island, 110 kilometers southwest of Sicily, on June 11 and built an airport on Gozo Island near Malta Island. Allied fighter units immediately stationed on these two islands.
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In addition to carrying out violent attacks on the Axis airports, the Allies also carried out continuous surveillance of the ports from Spain to Corfu, and provided air cover for all Allied escort transport convoys passing through Gibraltar. On June 26
, an Allied fleet was attacked by more than a hundred German aircraft in the waters near Cape Bon, but the Allied shore-based aviation fighter jets had been providing air cover, effectively suppressing the attack of the German attack aircraft group, and the fleet suffered no losses.
.In addition, Allied aviation also provided effective cover for ground troops conducting combat training in various parts of North Africa.
Starting from July 2, the Allied air force carried out concentrated bombing of airports in Sicily, Sardinia and southern Italy, with special focus on all airports in Sicily. Only in Gerbini and Cata
1,500 tons of bombs were dropped on airports such as Niya.
On July 3, four of the five train ferries in the Strait of Messina were sunk by the Allies, making the connection between Sicily and the Italian mainland even more difficult.
On July 9, the day before the landing, the Allied forces' attacks on Sicily's airports reached their climax, with as many as twenty-one rounds of bombings being carried out in one day. The airfields used to attack Taomina Airport were
There are 411 bombers and 168 fighter jets; as many as 800 aircraft have been deployed to the island's main airports Syracuse, Catania and Palazzolo!
Under the heavy bombing by the Allied forces, only one airstrip on Sicily was still barely usable, and two airports were available for emergency landings. The other airports were useless.
The Allies also used 78 fighter jets to specifically attack enemy radar stations. The German and Italian aviation forces on Sicily made every effort to counterattack. Italian fighter jets dispatched 690 sorties and German fighter jets dispatched 500 sorties. Although the Allies suffered certain losses, they were really powerful.
The disparity was too great to protect the airport in Sicily. In addition, the Allied aviation bombed the German and Italian aviation headquarters in Taomina, Sicily.
Through the above-mentioned air assault, the Allied forces have greatly weakened the Axis power's air force in the area and basically seized the air supremacy in the theater. In order to clear the obstacles to the landing operation, the Allied forces carried out the attack on Banterre in June 1943.
The attack on Leah Island was codenamed "Bottle Cork Drill".
Banterella Island is a port left over from the Carthage era. The island has been eroded by the sea for thousands of years, and its coastline is extremely steep. The island's harbor can only accommodate small boats. The island is defended by about 12,000 people.
Under the unified command of Rear Admiral Pavesi of the Italian Navy, it is equipped with 7 coastal guns and 15 anti-aircraft guns. These guns are old equipment and have backward performance. It was not until November 1942, after the war situation in North Africa began to deteriorate, that the island's defense began to be strengthened.
But it is only slightly strengthened
For such a weakly defended island, the Allies could have ignored it and landed directly on Sicily.
However, the Allies overestimated the role of the island, so they decided to capture Panterella before landing in Sicily.
The Allied attack began with a heavy air strike.
Panterella Island has neither aviation troops stationed on the island nor air support. Facing the Allied air strikes, it can only be at the mercy of others!