Operation Husky

On July 10, 1943, two great Allied armadas of over 2,000 ships readied to invade Sicily. This was Operation Husky, the first step toward winning a toehold in fascist-occupied Europe. Among the invaders were 20,000 Canadian troops serving in the First Canadian Infantry Division and First Canadian Tank Brigade — in their first combat experience. Over the next 28 days, the Allied troops carved a path through the rugged land, despite fierce German opposition. Drawing on firsthand accounts of veterans and official military records, Operation Husky offers a gripping, meticulous account of this seminal operation and the young men who fought, died, and survived it.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In the second volume of his epic trilogy about the liberation of Europe in World War II, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson tells the harrowing story of the campaigns in Sicily and Italy In An Army at Dawn—winner of the Pulitzer Prize—Rick Atkinson provided a dramatic and authoritative history of the Allied triumph in North Africa. Now, in The Day of Battle, he follows the strengthening American and British armies as they invade Sicily in July 1943 and then, mile by bloody mile, fight their way north toward Rome. The Italian campaign's outcome was never certain; in fact, Roosevelt, Churchill, and their military advisers engaged in heated debate about whether an invasion of the so-called soft underbelly of Europe was even a good idea. But once under way, the commitment to liberate Italy from the Nazis never wavered, despite the agonizingly high price. The battles at Salerno, Anzio, and Monte Cassino were particularly difficult and lethal, yet as the months passed, the Allied forces continued to drive the Germans up the Italian peninsula. Led by Lieutenant General Mark Clark, one of the war's most complex and controversial commanders, American officers and soldiers became increasingly determined and proficient. And with the liberation of Rome in June 1944, ultimate victory at last began to seem inevitable. Drawing on a wide array of primary source material, written with great drama and flair, this is narrative history of the first rank. With The Day of Battle, Atkinson has once again given us the definitive account of one of history's most compelling military campaigns.

The Allied invasion of Sicily was the largest amphibious operation conducted in World War II with over seven assault divisions landing across Italian beaches. The planning and conduct of HUSKY was fraught with indecision, fragmented planning, poor coordination, and a lack of unity of effort. Husky proves to be an interesting case study of the operational level of war and provides several relevant lessons for today’s commanders and joint staff officers. This paper analyzes the Allied planning effort from the operational level of war only. Specifically, this paper analyzes the planning and conduct of HUSKY in regard to following seven operational functions: operational intelligence, operational command and control, operational movement and maneuver, operational command and control warfare, operational fires, operational protection, and operational logistics. The Allied invasion of Sicily was the largest amphibious operation conducted in World War II, with over seven assault divisions landing across Italian beaches. From 10 July to 17 Aug. 1943, Allied forces fought a determined opponent that effectively traded space for time and successfully evacuated a large force to the mainland of Italy. Operation HUSKY culminated in an Allied victory and proved to be the catalyst for the decision to invade the Italian mainland...HUSKY proves to be an interesting case study of the operational level of war and provides several relevant lessons for today’s commanders and joint staff officers.

Not only did the Sicily operation represent a watershed in tactical development of combined arms tactics, it was also an important test for future Allied joint operations. Senior British commanders left the North African theater with a jaundiced and dismissive view of the combat capabilities of the inexperienced US Army after the debacle at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia in February 1943. Sicily was a demonstration that the US Army had rapidly learned its lessons and was now capable of fighting as a co-equal of the British Army. The Sicily campaign contained a measure of high drama as Patton took the reins of the Seventh US Army and bent the rules of the theater commander in a bold race to take Palermo on the northern Sicilian coast. When stiff German resistance halted Montgomery's main assault to Messina through the mountains, Patton was posed to be the first to reach the key Sicilian port and end the campaign. The Sicily campaign contains a fair amount of controversy as well including the disastrous problems with early airborne assaults and the Allied failure to seal the straits of Messina, allowing the Germans to withdraw many of their best forces.

Codenamed Operation HUSKY, the Allied assault on Sicily on 10 July 1943 remains the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted in world history. Based on battlefield studies in Sicily and on new research the author offers a perspective on this major turning point in World War II

"An illuminating account, firmly grounded in archival research, showing the importance of logistics in a much neglected but hugely significant amphibious operation in World War Two." Sir Anthony Seldon Operation Husky, the amphibious invasion of Sicily in July 1943, was the largest and most complex logistical exercise attempted by the Allies up to that point in the war. An assault force of 176,000 soldiers embarked on 2,590 vessels from ports across the Middle East, North Africa, the UK and the US. Both the size of the initial Allied assault force and the frontage of the campaign would be larger than the Normandy invasion in June 1944. To further compound the monumental challenges facing the Allied logisticians, the preparatory period for Operation Husky was disjointed and chaotic. In April 1943, General Montgomery described the operational plan as a 'dog's breakfast'. Drawing extensively on new research, James Garvey tells the previously untold story of the British logisticians who triumphed against immense odds to deliver the task force to the beaches of Sicily and supply it successfully in the field. The lessons learned on the beaches of Sicily established the blueprint for Allied success at Normandy ten months later. Garvey further argues that the contribution of logisticians to in World War II has been consistently overlooked. What emerges is a dramatic re-evaluation of the role that they played in winning the war in Europe. Praise for Operation Husky: "A brilliant forensic examination of the key role that British logisticians played in the success of the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, preparing the ground for the D-Day landings a year later." Saul David James Garvey lives in London and studied the MA in Military History at the University of Buckingham. Operation Husky is his first book.

British, American and Commonwealth troops were issued with a copy of the ‘Soldier’s Guide to Sicily’. With a foreword written by the US Army’s General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the booklet was produced to help the Allies prepare for Operation Husky: the invasion of Sicily. Eisenhower was the Commander in Chief for the operation. He wrote: “The successful conclusion of these operations will NOT only strike closer to the heart of the Axis, but also will remove the last threat to the free sea lanes of the Mediterranean.” The guide warns troops about the hot, dry weather of the sirocco they were likely to encounter – and rightly so: the fierce heat combined with swampy conditions on parts of the island meant some combatants contract malaria. The book also contains advice with descriptions of the island, pictures of some towns and makes remarks about its people.