bigpigeon.us webpage WW II - Germany > MTO > North Africa & Sicily > Sicily, updated by RAC 8 Sep 2020.
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The Italian island of Sicily lies between Tunisia in North Africa and the Italian mainland. After the Tunisian Campaign ended in  May 1943, it was the obvious next target of Allied forces.
​Sicily, July 9 - August 17, 1943:
  • The Sicilian Campaign began with the Operation Husky amphibious and airborne landings on the south coast of Sicily on 9 July. Two Allied armies fought in Sicily:
  • Patton's new US Seventh Army fought northward and then eastward.
  • 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 map: August 7 should read August 17.
Operation Husky and the Sicily Campaign
Operation Husky and the Sicilian Campaign
Although Allied progress during the Sicilian Campaign was generally steady, there were four major glitches:
  • Friendly fire shot down US aircraft holding 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, thus leading to his reassignment to England.

​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 Italian mainland was occupied by German troops.
Sources for the Sicily webpage:
  • The Operation Husky and the Sicilian Campaign map is courtesy of Infobase Publishing.

​Pottawattamie County, Iowa Area WW II Dead - Sicily:​02-02 - Sicily: (three dead, updated 26 Jul 2020) 
† Barnett, Walter McMillan Jr., SN 20-743-494, US Army, Pott. Co.
Co. G, 505th Parachute Inf. Regt., 82nd Airborne Div.; KIA 13 Jul 1943 Sicily, Italy; Operation Husky.
† Jensen, Carl Christian, SN 6-863-492, US Army, Audubon & Pott. Cos.
Co. F, 18th Inf. Regt., 1st Inf. Div.; KIA 4 Aug 1943 Sicily, Italy; Operation Husky.
† Stoelk, Leon Harley, SN 37-436-468, US Army, Shelby & Carroll Cos.
Co. A, 753th Tank Bn., KIA 22 July 1943 in central Sicily, Italy NE of Enna supporting 1st Inf. Div; Operation Husky