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bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > Sicily, © 2024 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 17 Jun 2024.

After the Axis North Africa surrender in Tunisia in May 1943, the Italian island of Sicily, lying between Tunisia and the Italian mainland, was the next Allied objective.

The Sicily Campaign, 9 July–17 August 1943

The Sicilian Campaign began with the Operation Husky amphibious and airborne landings on the southeast coast of Sicily on 9 July.

Two Allied armies fought in Sicily:
  • On the left wing, Patton's new US Seventh Army fought northward and then eastward.
  • On the right wing, Montgomery's veteran British Eighth Army fought northward. 

The Seventh Army included the US 1st, 3rd, 9th, and 45th Infantry Divisions, 2nd Armored Division, and 82nd Airborne Division.

Note: Error in upper right-hand corner of the first map: August 7 should read August 17.
Operation Husky and the Sicily Campaign
Operation Husky and the Sicilian Campaign
scalable alternative map
Although Allied progress during the Sicilian Campaign was generally steady, there were four major glitches:
  • Friendly fire shot down US aircraft carrying airborne troops over the invasion beaches at Gela.
  • Contention between Americans and Brits over roadway use northward slowed US progress.
  • For nearly a week at the end of the campaign, 40,000 German troops were able to escape from Messina to the mainland with their equipment.
  • General Patton personally administered corporal punishment to two men suffering from combat fatigue and was relieved of command.

​The pending loss of Sicily led Italian Fascist Party leaders in Rome to stage a bloodless coup on 25 July 1943, removing Benito Mussolini from power. Italy soon left the Axis, and the German Army occupied the Italian peninsula and disarmed the Italian Army.

                                     ██  Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - The MTO > Italy > Sicily  ██
  • Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Dead module.
​02-02 - The MTO > Italy > Sicily: (five dead, updated 27 Jan 2024) 
† Barnett, Walter McMillan Jr., SN 20-743-494, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Co. G, 505th Parachute Inf. Regt.; 82nd Airborne Div., Seventh Army; KIA 13 Jul 1943 Sicily; Operation Husky - The MTO > Italy > Sicily.
† Jensen, Carl Christian, SN 6-863-492, US Army, Audubon & Pott. Cos.
  • Co. F, 18th Inf. Regt., 1st Inf. Div., Seventh Army; KIA 4 Aug 1943 near Troina, central Sicily; Battle of Troina - The MTO > Italy > Sicily.
† Martin, Stanley Wayne, SN 37-289-074, US Army, Haakon Co., SD
  • 91st Cavalry Recon. Sqdn., attached to 9th Inf. Div., Seventh Army; KIA 15 Aug 1943, Sicily; The MTO > Italy > Sicily.
† Stoelk, Leon Harley, SN 37-436-468, US Army, Shelby & Carroll Cos.
  • Co. A, 753th Tank Bn., supporting 1st Inf. Div., Seventh Army; KIA 22 July 1943 NE of Enna, central Sicily; Operation Husky - The MTO > Italy > Sicily.
† Vanderhoof, George Duane, SN 37-466-726, US Army, Montgomery Co.
  • Co. K, 26th Inf. Regt., 1st Inf. Div., Seventh Army; KIA 26 Jul 1943 Sicily; Operation Husky - The MTO > ​Italy > Sicily.

                                               ██   Allied Order of Battle - The Sicily Campaign   ██ ◼ US Seventh Army (Patton)
Under direct US Seventh Army control:
  • US 82nd Airborne Division - from US II Corps 13 August 1943
⏶ US II Corps
  • US 1st Infantry Division - assaulted east of Gela, Sicily 10 July 1943; sent to England after the Sicily Campaign
  • US 9th Infantry Division - units attached to 1st Infantry Division; replaced US 1st Infantry Division 7 August 1943; sent to England after the Sicily Campaign
  • US 45th Infantry Division - east wing of US assault 10 July 1943
  • US 82nd Airborne Division - air assault east of Gela, Sicily 10 July 1943; to US Seventh Army 13 August 1943
⏶ US Provisional Corps 
  • US 2nd Armored Division - from Oran, Algeria; sent to England after the Sicily Campaign
  • US 3rd Infantry Division - assaulted west of Gela, Sicily 10 July 1943
◼ British Eighth Army (Montgomery)
Under direct British Eighth Army control:
  • British 46th Infantry Division
⏶ British XIII Corps
  • British 5th Infantry Division
  • British 78th Infantry Division
  • British 1st Airborne Division - did not participate as a unit
⏶ British XXX Corps - sent to England after the Sicily Campaign
  • 1st Canadian Infantry Division - to British XIII Corps after the Sicily Campaign​
  • British 50th Infantry Division - sent to England after the Sicily Campaign
  • British 51st Infantry Division - sent to England after the Sicily Campaign

                                     ██  Sources for Big Pigeon's The MTO > Italy > Sicily webpage  ██