Remembering Operation Husky

Photo: courtesy IWM (A17918)

79 years ago on the night of 9th/10th of July 1943, Operation Husky, the allied invasion of Sicily took place. Airdrops and 2,600 ships landed eight divisions within 24 hours (comparable to the forthcoming D-Day landings a year later). Thanks to Operation Mincemeat, deceptive tactics and the aerial bombing of Sardinia, the Axis forces were taken by surprise.

Montgomery’s 8th Army, comprising British and Canadian troops, landed on the south-eastern tip of the island, with Patton’s US 7th Army landing further up on the southern coast, guided in by Royal Navy submarines. The British 1st Airborne Division and US 82nd Airborne landed further inland but suffered with high winds causing many injuries to the paratroops, while the British glider force lost a significant proportion of their number due to insufficient flying training and early releases causing the gliders to crash into the sea.

Photo: courtesy IWM (NA5543)

Although surprised, Axis forces still numbered 300,000 and quickly moved to counterattack using Tiger tanks and paratroops stationed on the island. Heavy fighting ensued with the capital, Palermo falling to the Allies on the 22nd July. Strong opposition was continually encountered as the Allies advanced notably in the positions around Mount Etna. With dogged persistence and the use of small amphibious forces, the Allies managed to chip away at the Axis positions making them untenable and ultimately led to the full-scale withdrawal of Axis forces to the Italian mainland between 11 – 17 August, ending the Sicilian Campaign.

Apart from acting as a stepping-stone for the invasion of Italy, Operation Husky toppled the Italian Fascist leader Mussolini taking Italy out of the war and in consequence diverting German troops from the Eastern Front to backfill positions once held by Italian forces in Italy and the Balkans.

In total the 8th Army suffered 11,843 casualties of which, 2,062 were killed or missing. Canadian forces numbered 2,310 casualties with 2,226 killed or missing. The Royal Navy lost 314 killed or missing. The US 7th Army lost 8,781 with 2,237 killed or missing.

CWGC looks after more than 3,700 casualties on Sicily, predominantly from World War Two buried at  Agira Canadian War Cemetery, Catania War Cemetery, Syracuse War Cemetery and Syracuse Communal Cemetery. There are also a small number of World War One casualties, commemorated as scattered burials at local sites such as Messina Town Cemetery and Palermo British Cemetery

Photo: courtesy IWM (NA5845)