Invasion of Italy 1943-1945 (Full Documentary) | Animated History

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youtube censorship demonetization and view suppression support me and the history community by using our code fight back for half off of your first month hi i'm griffin johnson the armchair historian today's video is on the amphibious invasion of sicily when the plan was first proposed by prime minister winston churchill and the british chiefs of staff it was met with astonishment this was the first large-scale offensive operation aimed at the european mainland since the fall of france in 1940 and despite the axis losing hundreds of thousands of troops in its last stand in north africa they were far from beaten supplies in the mediterranean theater were scarce and the idea of a new large-scale offensive seemed ludicrous to many american generals naturally argued that an invasion of italy at this time would draw resources away from cross-channel operations into france something that the soviets had been demanding for months debate raged throughout the two-week conference at casablanca with churchill's stirring rhetoric about italy being the soft underbelly of europe eventually persuading the americans to consider his proposal thus operation husky was born a large-scale amphibious invasion from north africa to the island of sicily which could be used as a springboard for a subsequent attack on mainland italy general dwight d eisenhower was appointed supreme commander of operation husky but planning remained primarily in the hands of british general harold alexander general alexander's plan of attack was simple land on the southern tip of sicily and capture the large port of syracuse then drive north to cut off an axis retreat at messina which was also a logistical staging point for any future invasion of italy the british would take center stage in the assault with the american forces operating in a supporting role something they weren't particularly happy about to reach syracuse the allies would need to cross the ponte grande bridge over the river anako but given its strategic importance the italians undoubtedly prepared to destroy the bridge at first sign of invasion left with no other options general alexander authorized a risky airborne operation to capture the bridge ahead of the main invasion on the night of july 9th 1943 a large formation of gliders and transport planes entered axis airspace over the isle of sicily but with winds gusting at over 45 miles or 72 kilometers an hour the ambitious airborne assault quickly turned into a confused mess anti-aircraft batteries and searchlights added to the chaos leading to 65 of the 147 gliders being released prematurely by their towing aircraft many of which plunged straight into the ocean of the remainder only 12 landed near their objectives and the rest were scattered far and wide across the sicilian countryside had the axis forces been better prepared operation husky might now be considered one of the biggest disasters of the second world war but many factors transpired to give the allies an easier time than they arguably deserved sicily was defended by the entire italian sixth army backed up by several german divisions amounting to over 300 000 men accompanied by several hundred tanks and over a thousand aircraft but italian morale was at an all-time low following the loss of north africa and the bulk of the sixth army was made up of coastal and support divisions that had minimal combat experience and little incentive to stand and fight furthermore senior italian general alfredo guzani and german field marshal albert kesselring were constantly at odds over every detail of the defense thanks to this bickering and the loss of north africa the remaining german soldiers in sicily had grown to despise their italian counterparts and now refused to coordinate with them the tentative nature of the axis hold on sicily was plainly illustrated when a ragged group of 50 british paratroopers made their way to ponte grande bridge after scrounging up a meager handful of supplies with no expectations of success the men fired off a few half-hearted volleys at the entrenched defenders only to watch in astonishment as the terrified italians leapt from their bunkers and vanished into the night scenes like this were repeated across the island with paratroopers causing havoc by cutting telephone wires intercepting message couriers and attacking isolated coastal batteries as the next day dawned a fleet of transport ships made a daring rush through high seas towards the sicilian coastline lining their decks were the men of the us seventh army under george patton and the british 8th army under bernard montgomery once again the treacherous winds and natural obstacles such as offshore sand bars were as dangerous as enemy fire with several landing ships running aground or finding themselves blown helplessly off course however as previously stated enemy resistance was remarkably light with no significant force awaiting the allies on the beaches with no tanks or mobile infantry divisions to contest the landings the static defenses proved only temporary inconveniences when the confused and dispirited italian forces finally began to mobilize for a counter-attack on the beachheads they were easily repulsed by naval gunfire with approximately 53 000 men put ashore in the first wave the allies began their advance inland although puente grande bridge had already been recaptured by the italians the paratroopers held it long enough to delay the axis forces to destroy it and syracuse fell within a day by the 12th much of southern sicily was in allied hands the luftwaffe was being suppressed by strategic bombing raids and many allied officers were already preparing to celebrate a swift victory but then disaster almost struck when the british attempted a second major airborne operation to capture a bridge over the river cemento which blocked their northern advance towards the city of catania while the initial attack was successful the bridge was deep behind enemy lines and the isolated paratroopers had to hold out for three whole days before ground units could relieve them even after the bridge was secured fierce italian resistance stalled the advance into the northern half of the island for another week sicily would not be an easy victory after all with delays mounting friction developed between the two halves of the invasion force the american seventh army had been intended to provide support from the flanks but was otherwise expected to hang back while the british eighth army did most of the fighting to say this situation was not to general patton's liking would be a vast understatement so he began badgering general alexander for permission to break out to the western side of the island unable to endure patton's pestering alexander reluctantly mumbled that patton could conduct a limited reconnaissance mission naturally patton interpreted this as permission to charge the entire seventh army west at breakneck speed leaving montgomery to continue trudging north in the face of increasingly stiff enemy resistance while patton was busy crushing the remnants of the italian army stationed in western sicily field marshal kesselring was preparing his final defensive line in the mountainous terrain south of messina this was known as the aetna line as it included the giant volcano mount aetna as one of its key defensive components both sides knew that whoever controlled the mountain slopes could decide the course of the battle and fighting in the area was intense montgomery planned to capture the town of adrano which linked the two halves of the aetna line together around the base of the volcano but adreno was still well behind enemy lines and to get there the allies had to battle their way through some of the harshest terrain since the deserts of north africa the first major clash on the road to mount aetna occurred at the town of chen turipe situated atop a line of extremely steep hills that gave a commanding view of the surrounding countryside and provided a nearly impregnable defensive position for the elite german falsehood or paratrooper regiment stationed there on august 2nd a heavy artillery barrage managed to destroy or dislodge the defenders from several of their hilltop fortifications but chen to repay itself remained defiant left with no other choice the men of the british 78th infantry division pushed forwards across broken rocky terrain constantly being hit by mortar fire and german snipers entering the town the battered infantrymen found themselves confronted by a pair of panzer 3s that had been hidden in the narrow streets with no armored support of their own the men of the 78th played hide and seek with these deadly opponents finally surrounding and destroying them with piatt anti-tank weapons yet even without their tanks the outnumbered falsehoods held out for two whole days as the british were sweating up the steep hills around shen turipe general patton had finished rolling up the western half of sicily and was now assaulting the town of tronia which was also part of the aetna line once again the extreme terrain made for a difficult advance with extensive minefields making the unsteady ground even more treacherous to patton's great annoyance his forces were unable to achieve any easy breakthroughs and had to settle into an arduous routine of slowly prying the enemy off their fortified hilltops one by one the german and italian forces were not content to simply hold the line either launching numerous counter-attacks that often managed to regain ground and re-occupy old positions the assault ontrania lasted until august 6th and just like chen turipe the allies were unable to prevent the germans from making an orderly withdrawal that same day adreno was occupied by the 78th division and just like that the aetna line was finally broken and the end of the campaign was in sight in fact axis forces were already in the process of evacuating from sicily castle ring was under no illusions about his chances of holding the island for much longer and had little reason to stand and fight after the loss of catania and its airfields on the fifth beginning on august 11th a massive fleet of transport ships assembled at the port of messina right at the northern tip of sicily with rear guard units delaying the allied advance more than 100 000 german and italian soldiers were able to cross the straits of messina and escape into italy despite the fierce fighting the battle for sicily had been a remarkably bloodless affair of the nearly 500 000 allied soldiers involved only one percent were killed in action the germans lost about 26 000 men with 10 000 taken captive and the rest killed or wounded almost the entire italian sixth army surrendered and one hundred thousand men became prisoners of war the invasion also convinced italy's grand council of fascism to capitulate and by the middle of july they voted mussolini out of power and began seeking terms of surrender for an instant it seemed as if churchill had been correct and the soft underbelly of europe was about to be laid open with a single decisive strike but instead the allies had unknowingly committed themselves to an agonizing slog up the italian peninsula where thousands of lives would be wasted in pursuit of a quick victory that would never materialize join us next time when we take a look at this final campaign in italy which lasted right up until the final axis surrender in may of 1945 it is late january 1944 and just south of monty casino the men of the 36th infantry division are attempting to secure a bridgehead over the gauri river enemy fire is intense with german artillery saturating the area in a relentless deafening barrage despite enormous losses two regiments have made the crossing but now they are trapped their landing craft reduced to splinters by this ceaseless bombardment back on the opposite shore major general fred walker watches the disaster unfold through his binoculars a veteran of the great war he knows an impossible situation when he sees one glancing backwards at the one remaining regiment under his command he debates ordering them forward but after a moment he dismisses the idea even if a miracle happens and this river is taken the cycle will just repeat at the next one sighing to himself he wonders how anyone could have been foolish enough to envision italy as the soft underbelly of europe hi i'm griffin johnson the armchair historian in today's video we'll be continuing our look at the italian campaign in the second world war last time we covered the invasion of sicily which gave the allies a springboard to launch an attack on the mainland in the wake of defeat morale plummeted and the italian fascist party was in an uproar over mussolini's inability to deal with the situation on the 24th of july 1943 just 15 days after the landings in sicily the party undertook its first and only democratic vote to depose its leader disband the party and sue for peace this vote passed 19 to 8 and a loudly protesting mussolini was promptly carted off to prison aware that germany would never allow it to peacefully surrender the new italian government dramatically announced that it had every intention of fighting to the bitter end before immediately opening secret negotiations with the allies with this game of chess between italy and the allies seemingly coming to a conclusion after the abrupt realization that mussolini only really knew how to play checkers a single handshake would end the game before it reached the italian countryside but no such handshake would happen as 16 new german divisions crossed the alps into northern italy spoiling for a rematch but the allies were not deterred as far in the east joseph stalin remained insistent that the allies maintain pressure on the western front and divert as many axis forces as possible away from the soviet union thus the second match began on september 3rd when soldiers of the british 8th army dashed across the straits of messina this was intended as a diversion from the real landings scheduled to take place a week later but albert kesselring the general in charge of the german troops stationed in italy was no fool and simply ordered the men stationed in the area to retreat and consolidate their positions further north denied battle the frustrated british advanced at a snail's pace delayed by minefields roadblocks and collapsed bridges a few days later a second british operation took place this time aimed at taking the report of taranto and establishing a supply base for the eighth army again the initial landings went unopposed as british forces established control over the south of the country news of the italian surrender was made public and the situation promptly took a turn for the worse on hitler's orders german forces undertook operation aksa quickly disarming the remainder of the italian military while a few divisions chose to resist the majority either meekly surrendered or agreed to fight alongside their new occupiers the new italian government fled rome which was occupied on the 10th and mussolini found himself thrust back into the international spotlight at the head of a new puppet state the italian socialist republic with italy controlled by nazi germany there was no hope of a swift victory and the stage was set for the prolonged bloody conflict that would follow despite this setback many allied planners remained optimistic holding on to the dream of a lightning campaign to liberate the peninsula the minimal resistance encountered by the british led to the belief that the germans were still preoccupied dealing with the italian army and lack either the will or the manpower to defend territory south of rome so on the 9th of september the allies commenced operation avalanche with a total of 9 divisions from the us fifth army launching from staging points on sicily and heading straight for a roughly 35 mile or 56 kilometer stretch of italian coastline near the port of salerno at this point in time the fifth army was a combined force of both british and american troops the former were to land in the north near salerno itself while the latter were directed further south from the start the landings were severely mismanaged with historians arguing to this day over who deserves the most blame for the ensuing fiasco despite strenuous protests from the leader of the naval task force admiral kent hewitt the american landing zones were not subjected to a preliminary bombardment this was due to the mistaken assumption that the operation had the element of surprise despite sightings of luftwaffe reconnaissance planes over the task force as it crossed from sicily predictably kessel ring had guessed the american plan of action and positioned his troops to contest the landings left with no alternative the men of the fifth army waded ashore under intense bombardment from machine guns field artillery and panzers the beaches quickly turned into a slaughterhouse and for a brief moment the fate of the entire campaign hung in the balance then the guns of the naval task force finally opened up blasting gaps in the temporary german fortifications and opening the way for the beleaguered troops to rush through and establish a beachhead [Music] but this was by no means an end to the carnage as the entire 16th panzer division then thundered down from the hills to continue the onslaught during the frantic fighting that ensued naval gunfire again proved decisive with the cruiser and destroyer escorts engaging a minimum of 130 shore bound targets during the first day alone further north the british divisions had faced somewhat lighter resistance and had only gone ashore after their escort ships had spent 15 minutes softening up the german defenses after pushing inland they were able to capture a vital airfield and a force of sas commandos and us army rangers entered salerno itself and drove out the defenders after a brief bout of street fighting but the situation was still dire and german counter-attacks were relentless the luftwaffe also conducted many sorties against both the beachheads and the naval task force sinking approximately 100 landing craft of various sizes and damaging various warships after another six days kesselring was forced to retreat on direct orders from high command hitler had conferred with erwin rommel and both men had agreed it was pointless to try and defend southern italy although they had very nearly succeeded in throwing the fifth army back into the sea german losses had been heavy especially among the precious panzer divisions but these losses were not crippling and the rough italian countryside presented many opportunities for the germans to make life hell for the allies as they pushed up the peninsula having been battered almost to the point of breaking the weary men of the fifth army were reluctant to drive north after their retreating enemies morale was extremely low and as a result the decision was made to delay the push on rome until october in the meantime allied forces concentrated on consolidating their hold on southern italy and capturing the airfields located on the companion planes while this was ongoing the civilian population of naples rose in an unexpected revolt creating enough chaos for the allies to force a german retreat from the area on october 3rd the sas conducted a daring amphibious assault on the city of tirmoli part of the first defensive line south of rome this was known as the voltorno line and ran parallel to two large rivers the raid was a remarkable success with the commando team seizing the city and holding it until being reinforced by the commonwealth faith army however the river crossings were delayed by the need to build bridges capable of withstanding the weight of allied tanks as the engineers got to work the 16th panzer division struck again further impeding construction efforts and inflicting significant casualties but the two allied armies pressed on reaching the second line of german defenses in late october known as the barbara line once again the rough terrain proved as big an obstacle as enemy fire and it was only on the 9th of november that a significant breakthrough was finally made by this point about three months had passed since combat operations started in italy and all hopes for a lightning campaign to liberate the peninsula had been dashed miles of barbed wire fortified machine gun pits camouflaged bunkers and extensive minefields now lay in wait for the two advancing armies all located in some of mainland europe's roughest terrain with winter rapidly closing in the allies had little time to prepare for their assaults on kesselring's masterpiece an innovator in both military tactics and apparently chess the gambit we've named after the german general includes distracting your opponent and quickly switching out all of your pawns for castles on the 1st of december the first probing attacks began in the west made against a large bulge in the german defenses known as the beren heart line conditions were terrible with freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall making for an agonizing trek for the soldiers as they struggled their way through hostile terrain after several weeks of intermittent engagements the allies were only able to wrestle a number of small villages away from enemy control in the end it was the germans who decided to withdraw falling back to the more tenable gustav line in early january of 1944 while the fifth army was busy dying in the snow the eighth army also found itself preoccupied with well dying in the snow the 8th had attacked the gustav line on the 4th of december and made significant headway but then the germans made a strategic withdrawal through a deep gully which funneled the commonwealth forces into a carefully prepared killing ground any unit entering the guli was brutally mauled and allied progress was completely stalled until german forces withdrew to a new position on the 20th the next set of battles for the gustav line took place at the towns of ortona and orsonia the former proved an absolute nightmare for the canadian units assigned to capture it as they were forced to engage in some of the bloodiest street fighting on the western front the german parachute battalion defending the town had dug in deep and had to be fought from building to building in a protracted struggle that resulted in roughly 4 500 casualties altogether decimating both the first canadian division as well as the civilian population or sonia meanwhile resisted every attack holding out until a massive blizzard struck the adriatic coastline and forced the british to halt their offensive but even this could not end the bloodshed for long and on january 14th the two allied armies launched yet another series of attacks on the line starting the notorious battle for monty casino the first assault was conducted by the british and resulted in little more than three days of pointless slaughter two more attacks failed due to either terrain or a lack of armored support and a fourth ended with minor gains that were promptly abandoned due to the lack of supplies after these repeated failures the allies authorized operation avenger which fixated on the monty casino abbey as the linchpin of german defenses in the area on february 15th a huge bomber raid reduced the abbey to a smoldering pile of rubble unfortunately the raid was badly coordinated and was not followed up by a ground assault so in the end little was accomplished while this was ongoing the allies had also conducted a naval landing near the city of ancio to outflank the gustav line but after landing relatively unopposed general john p lucas made the inexplicable decision to dig in and fortify his position rather than push inland kessel ring promptly wheeled his reserves about and smashed into the beachhead beginning a long battle of attrition that would last until may meanwhile the third battle for casino began on march 15th with a creeping barrage that disordered the german line but this ray of hope was quickly snuffed out by heavy rains giving the germans time to prepare however by now it was clear that the axis was losing the battle of attrition and the final breakthrough came on may 11th when both the eighth and fifth armies attacked at once aided by the french expeditionary corps and even some polish forces this last tremendous push finally fractured the gustav line which held for nearly six months but although the main line of axis defenses had been breached there was still much to be done and the push north continued a breakout was also staged at ancio with the help of an artillery bombardment and close air support in danger of becoming encircled kesselring received orders to fall back but right at the pivotal moment general mark clark decided to ignore orders to pursue the german army and instead drove towards rome unable to believe his luck a delighted kessel rang quickly pulled back to yet another set of defensive works codenamed the gothic line after so much blood had been shed the actual capture of rome was something of an anti-climax with german attention turning towards the inevitable invasion of france the city had all but been abandoned after a few brief skirmishes rome was liberated on june 4th just two days prior to the landings in normandy getting there had required six hundred thousand allied troops over one hundred thousand of which had become casualties since the day they first landed in italy but despite their grievous losses there was little time to rest and recuperate kessel ring had proven a genius at defensive warfare and leaving him to his own devices would undoubtedly prove disastrous thus british and american armies raced up the coast only to be checked yet again at the improvised traci mene line encountered on june 20th stalled for another week the germans had ample time to move the bulk of its army to the aponine mountains infuriated but impotent the allies could do nothing but resign themselves to yet another long riding siege on august 25th the allies launched operation olive aimed at breaching the gothic line and finally ending the seemingly eternal battle for italy the eighth army was to attack german positions along the adriatic coast and when castle ring had committed his reserves to that area mark clark's fifth army would strike at the weakened center breaking through to bologna initial progress was good but kesselring continued to pull his old tricks and refused to be lured into fighting on unequal terms by the end of september the allies had clambered their way over the peaks of the apennine mountains having suffered 14 000 casualties then autumn reigns stalled further attacks grounding air support and turning vital supply routes into impassable quagmires at this point the remainder of 1944 would be spent in a deadlock with a single axis counter attack in december managing to briefly reoccupy a section of the gothic line although castle ring had done a spectacular job in italy his position was about to change drastically he was severely injured in a car crash in october and upon his recovery found himself replacing field marshal gert von roenstedt as commander of the entire western front on march 10th even he could do nothing but watch the final collapse of the third reich as allied troops were already pouring into germany itself in spring of 1945 the allies launched their final offensive in italy operation grapeshot during the months-long stalemate the fifth and eighth armies had been reinforced by a diverse collection of units from various nations including several thousand british trained italian volunteers and even a division from the brazilian expeditionary force the attack began on april 6th with a long artillery bombardment then attacks all along the line by commonwealth troops without any reserves left the germans could no longer do anything but desperately try to hold the line however the situation was hopeless by the 20th of april the two allied armies had broken into the po valley and only five days later mussolini was dragged out of hiding by italian partisans and summarily executed with no reason left to fight kessel castlerang's replacement opened up negotiations with the allies and signed a surrender order on may 2nd just a few days before the official end of the war in europe after so many gambits and clever plays the chessboard of italy had been cleared the final handshake between players would occur at last a year and a half after the start of their unexpected rematch in many ways the italian campaign showcased both the best and worst moments from the second world war the idea to divert forces from the eastern front was sound but internal division quickly turned the campaign into an unfocused mess supplies were diverted to other operations and arguments among allied generals led to missed opportunities and long delays kessel ring also demonstrated exactly how deadly the vermont could be on the defense holding out for over a year against a much greater force which by that point possessed total air superiority but the battles in italy kept hundreds of thousands of german soldiers occupied at a time when manpower was critically low and the experience gained from the amphibious landings at salerno proved invaluable to the planners of d-day still historians remained divided on the campaign with many arguing that it was an outright strategic failure but others see it as part of a bigger picture a necessary even vital component to the fall of the axis powers into the liberation of europe you

Channel: The Armchair Historian

Views: 851,874

Rating: 4.9363151 out of 5

Keywords: allied invasion of italy, the invasion of italy, allies invade italy, operation husky, downfall of italy, history of italy in ww2

Id: P13i7P_V9M4

Length: 33min 19sec (1999 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 15 2021