The Italian D-DAY: Invasion of Sicily | Animated History

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 before we begin a word from our sponsor vessie you don't have to land on the shores of sicily to know that wet shoes are the worst a deep puddle or a few inches of snow could turn your socks from warm and snug to wet and soggy that's why i like vessy's weekend shoes the world's first perfectly waterproof and weatherproof knit sneaker they're made from 100 vegan materials and crafted for all climates and conditions ensuring your feet stay comfortable and dry while still allowing them to breathe now i'll show you just how waterproof my vessies are see how the water rolls right off remember this image next time your shoes get soaked in the rain and look the paper talon side stays completely dry get ready for your next deployment in style by clicking the link down below and using our code armchair historian to get 25 off of your new vesey shoes 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 three hundred thousand 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 eighth army under bernard montgomery once again the treacherous winds and natural obstacles such as offshore sandbars 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 8th 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 piazz anti-tank weapons yet even without their tanks the outnumbered falsehood yeagers 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 manage to regain ground and reoccupy old positions the assault on trenia 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 adrino 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 rearguard 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 twenty six thousand men with ten thousand 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 thanks again to our sponsor vesey remember to follow the link in the description below and enter code armchair historian at checkout to save money and support the channel [Music] you

Channel: The Armchair Historian

Views: 431,083

Rating: 4.9462214 out of 5

Keywords: invasion of Italy, Operation Husky, Allied invasion of sicily, d-day, amphibious invasion, second world war, italian history, george s patton, general patton, italian campaign, sicily campaign, operation mincemeat, operation fustian, italy in ww2, why was italy bad in ww2, german invasion of italy, benito mussolini, general kesselring, battle of centuripe, battle of troina, messina, catania, palermo, syracuse, naval invasion italy

Id: HWUa6bJY0Ps

Length: 13min 32sec (812 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 17 2020