Chapter III: Section II: Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia

The decision to assault Sicily was made by the Chiefs of Staff at Casablanca in January 1943. After the conclusion of the Tunisia Campaign, plans were completed and preparations for the attack were accelerated (Operation HUSKY). The island of Pantelleria, located between North Africa and Sicily, occupied mainly by Italian troops, was bombarded by Air Forces and Navy units and fell on 11 June. Troops for the invasion were embarked from the United States, United Kingdom, Algeria, Tunisia, and the Middle East.

On the night before D Day, a high wind of near gale proportions was encountered as the convoys approached their rendezvous. Shortly after H Hour, 10 July, airborne landings, although scattered by the high wind, were to some extent successful in their effect on our beach assault. Three hours after the landing, beachheads were established from Licata to Scoglitti by the Americans and from Capo Passero to Syracuse by the British.

Despite the problem of supply during the first two days, by 12 July the Allied armies had seized the port of Syracuse and ten other Sicilian towns in addition to several airfields. By the 23d, American tanks and infantry, driving across the western end of the island, took the key port of Palermo. The enemy, in the east, lodged in rugged mountain terrain, offered stiff resistance.

On 25 July King Victor Emmanuel III had announced the resignation of Premier Benito Mussolini and his cabinet, thereby exposing the weakness of fascist Italy. Italian resistance had crumbled and in August the German army started to withdraw to the mainland across the Strait of Messina.

The British Eighth Army succeeded in taking Catania on the east coast early in August, and Messina was entered by both American and British units on the 16th. All organized resistance ceased on 17 August after thirty-nine days of fighting.

Allied Force Headquarters’ plan for the occupation of Corsica and Sardinia was confirmed at the Quebec conference held in August 1943. After the withdrawal of the German forces from Sardinia, the island fell into Allied hands without a struggle. The French army, given the mission of taking Corsica, met only slight resistance from the retreating German troops in October 1943.

Air bases established on both islands provided air coverage for future operations in northern Italy and southern France.

INFANTRY MEN WITH FULL EQUIPMENT boarding ship for the invasion
of Sicily. Extra clothing and personal effects were carried in
the unmanageable barracks bag. The only satisfactory way to
carry this bag was over the shoulder, an impossible feat for a
man with a pack on his back. Later the bag was redesigned; a
shoulder strap and a handle on the side were added. It was then
called a duffel bag.]

MEN MARCHING ABOARD LANDING CRAFT IN BIZERTE HARBOR. This port
was one of the embarkation points for the invasion of Sicily, an
island strategically important because its geographic location
between Africa and Italy almost divides the Mediterranean Sea in
two. In order to travel from one end of the Mediterranean to the
other it was necessary to pass through the ninety-mile strait
between Sicily and Tunisia. With Sicily in enemy hands, control
of this strait was divided and enemy aircraft and submarines
interfered with Allied shipping to the Middle East. (Landing
craft, infantry, large, LCI (L).)]

FLYING FORTRESS BOMBING ENEMY INSTALLATIONS in Sicily. For weeks
prior to the invasion of the island, airfields, rail lines, and
ports had been under aerial bombardment by Allied planes. Note
black antiaircraft bursts.]

RESULT OF AERIAL BOMBARDMENT ON NAPOLA RAILROAD YARD, near
Trapani in western Sicily. By the time of invasion the railroad
net on the island was crippled and remained so throughout the
campaign.]

PARATROOPERS HEADED FOR SICILY. On 9 July 1943 U. S.
paratroopers boarded their transports at Kairouan, Tunisia. They
were scheduled to land at 2330 on that day, but a forty-mile
wind blew the planes from their course, and parachutists
were strewn over a large part of southeastern Sicily, but
nevertheless aided in retarding the German counterattack against
the beachheads. (Douglas C-47.)]

GELA BEACH, SICILY. The invasion of the island took place on 10
July 1943. Gela was the center of the American invasion area
which extended from Licata on the west to Scoglitti on the east.
The British Army landed in the region between Capo Passero and
Syracuse on the east coast of the island. Beach landings in both
areas were preceded by airborne assaults. By sunrise, three
hours after the first landings, the beaches were under control.]

LICATA BEACHES, LOOKING WESTWARD ALONG THE COAST. The highway in
the foreground is the main coastal road. This was the western
portion of the U. S. assault area and Licata, located at the
foot of the hill in the distance, was occupied by 1130 on D Day.]

SCOGLITTI, in the eastern section of the U. S. invasion area.
Troops landed here against little opposition and occupied the
important town of Vittoria, a few miles inland, on D Day.]

AN AMERICAN CRUISER SHELLING DEFENSES in the Gela beach area
during the early morning of D Day. The naval bombardment,
which started at 0345, silenced the few coastal batteries that
protected the beaches. Large-scale enemy resistance on the
beaches did not materialize during the landings.]

ALLIED SHIPS UNDER AERIAL BOMBARDMENT. At daybreak on D Day
enemy air forces launched a series of bombing and strafing
attacks on the ships offshore and on the troops along the
beaches.]

U. S. AMMUNITION SHIP EXPLODING as result of a direct hit by an
enemy bomb during the late afternoon of 11 July 1943. The ship
burned throughout the night, furnishing a brilliant beacon for
enemy aircraft. The Allies made several attempts to sink the
ship, but the water was too shallow.]

LOWERING LANDING CRAFT OFF GELA BEACH. Troops boarded the
craft after it was afloat. (Foreground, landing craft,
vehicle-personnel, LCVP; background, LCM.)]

INFANTRY LANDING ON GELA BEACH (top). Unloading equipment and
supplies from LCVP’s (bottom); in the background are two LST’s.
The sea ran so high during the morning of the landings that many
craft were washed up on the beach and could not be refloated in
time for turn-around to mother ships. (LCVP in top picture.)]

A BATTERY OF ANTIAIRCRAFT GUNS being unloaded from an L S T,
the largest type landing craft used during the operation. The
prototype of the landing ship, tank, was built by the British
and used in the invasion of North Africa. The LST shown is a
seagoing ship. Its payload was from 1,600 to 1,900 tons of which
400 tons were deck-loaded. The ship could carry on each side
sectional ponton ramps for inaccessible landings (in use above).
The first three vehicles are 6-ton 6 x 6 prime mover trucks.
(90-mm. guns.)]

LANDING CRAFT ON BEACH. Top picture from left to right: LCI,
LCM, and LCVP; on beach is a ¼-ton 4 x 4 truck, jeep. Bottom
picture: in middle distance is LST, with bow doors open, ramp
down, and unloading onto a sectional ponton ramp; in the
foreground are two LCT’s. (The LCI (L) (1-350) was an infantry
carrier with side ramps which could be lowered for unloading
directly on the beach. It carried a crew of 3 officers and 21
men.)]

A LOADED DUKW COMING ASHORE ON THE BEACH (top). Prisoners loaded
in a DUKW waiting to be evacuated (bottom). This amphibian
truck, the DUKW, was one of the planned surprises of the
operation. Until ports were captured and prepared for use, this
means of moving all types of fighting equipment from ship to
shore helped to solve a very pressing problem. (The term DUKW
is the manufacturer’s (GMC) code serial number which has no
meaning. The resemblance to the word duck and the purpose for
which this vehicle was used quickly brought about the common
name “duck.”)]

AN LST DECK-LOADED WITH MEN AND EQUIPMENT off Gela awaiting
signal to approach the beach, while a U. S. cruiser fires on an
enemy strong point.]

TROOPS ON THE BEACH. During the landing (top) and while
troops were moving inland (bottom), the beaches were strafed
sporadically. At one time, during the German tank-supported
counterattack on D plus 1 in the Gela area, it looked as if the
U. S. forces might be pushed back into the sea. (Top picture,
left to right, center of beach, LCV, LCVP; offshore, LCVP.
Bottom, a truck towing a 105-mm. howitzer is pulled through the
sand by a diesel tractor with angledozer.)]

WOUNDED ARRIVING ON BOARD A TRANSPORT. During the first days
of the invasion the seriously wounded were brought back to
transports equipped with surgical and medical facilities. These
ships would then deliver the wounded to base hospitals in
Africa.]

FLYING AMBULANCE. As soon as airfields had been captured many of
the U. S. wounded were evacuated by planes to hospitals in North
Africa. The Douglas C-47 transport was generally used for this
purpose. Medical personnel accompanied wounded.]

FIRING A HOWITZER INTO ENEMY POSITIONS on the road to Palermo.
After securing the beaches the U. S. forces drove to the west
and north and began the advance on Messina along the north coast
road. Palermo, one of the most important ports in Sicily, fell
to U. S. forces on 22 July 1943. (75-mm. howitzer motor carriage
T30 with a .50-caliber antiaircraft gun mounted in rear.)]

HALF-TRACK DETOURING THROUGH A SIDE STREET. When the enemy
retreated through the Sicilian villages he would often blow up
buildings on both sides of the main street, thus blocking the
passage for vehicles. If he had time he would also mine and
booby-trap the road and ruins. (The 75-mm. gun motor carriage
M3 was the first standardized American self-propelled antitank
weapon used in World War II.)]

TROINA. View from the northwest with Mt. Etna in the background.
The town is located on top and around the base of the hill in
the center of horizon line (top). View from Troina toward the
northwest showing Highway 120 winding over the hills to Cerami
(upper left corner) (bottom). Troina lies at the junction of
Highway 120 and the road to Adrano and Paterno. The U. S.
Seventh Army took Troina on 6 August after some of the fiercest
fighting of the campaign.]

ENEMY ARTILLERY. At top is the famous German 88-mm. gun. The
pillbox in the background was sited to fire both toward the
sea and along the road. The coast of the island was ringed
with pillboxes, some of which had not been completed at the
time of the invasion. The self-propelled gun (bottom) of
Italian manufacture is a 90-mm. cannon. It was used in North
Africa as well as in Sicily. (Top, German 8.8-cm. Flak 18 with
single-piece barrel; bottom, 90/53 Ansaldo self-propelled (SP)
gun on redesigned M 13/40 Ansaldo chassis.)]

HALF-TRACK MOVING THROUGH A SICILIAN TOWN. The gun is a 75-mm.
howitzer M1A 1 used generally as an infantry support weapon.
(75-mm. howitzer motor carriage T30.)]

SELF-PROPELLED HOWITZER. This is the M7 howitzer motor carriage
mounting a 105-mm. howitzer which was used for high angle as
well as direct fire. The .50-caliber machine gun is mounted in a
raised pulpit-like structure which gave the vehicle the nickname
Priest. (Mounted on M3 tank chassis.)]

THE LONG TOM. This was the largest U. S. piece of artillery in Sicily. A 7½-ton 6 x 6 prime mover truck towing a gun into position (top). Firing from a camouflaged position in an orchard (bottom). (155-mm. gun with standard carriage.)]

OBSERVING FIRE ON SICILIAN TOWN. The officer at right is in
telephone communication with the artillery command post. The
man in the center is using a battery commander’s telescope
(BC scope). U. S. field glasses and artillery sights of all
kinds were greatly improved by the end of the Tunisian fight.
Fine sand managed to work its way into the moving parts of
optical equipment, obscuring the image and interfering with the
mechanical operation. Moisture condensed on the inside of the
lens elements and, combined with dust, cut down the optical
effectiveness. Corrections were made by sealing the instruments
wherever possible and by placing a moisture-absorbing chemical
between the elements.]

SHERMAN TANKS ENTERING PALERMO on the day the city surrendered,
22 July 1943.]

THE CITY OF PALERMO. The port had been damaged by Allied bombing
raids, and the Germans before withdrawing had demolished some
of the installations. After the arrival of U. S. troops the
port was quickly made serviceable and was used as a supply base
for troops advancing from here eastward along the coast toward
Messina. It was later used as one of the embarkation ports for
the invasion of Italy.]

SIGNAL CORPS MEN REPAIRING COMMUNICATIONS LINES. Maintaining
communications and other public utilities behind the lines
were problems that fell within the scope of Allied Military
Government. In Sicily the U. S. Army was called upon to furnish
personnel and supplies, though native labor and materials were
used whenever possible.]

SICILIAN CHILDREN RECEIVING CANDY FROM A SOLDIER. U. S. soldiers
were universally popular with children of all classes. The
individual soldier gave a good portion of his ration of sweets
and chewing gum to native children.]

SCENE FROM THE NORTHERN COAST OF SICILY, looking toward the
west. At left is the San Fratello Ridge; at right is the
village of Acquedolci. The fight for the San Fratello Ridge was
unusually severe. Highway 113, the main axis of advance along
the north coast from Palermo to Messina, follows the shore here.
The enemy would blow the bridges, mine the approaches, and hold
the top of each mountain ridge as long as possible, and then
retreat behind the next ridge.]

SAN FRATELLO RIDGE. Top: the ridge is in the upper left of the
picture, Torrente Furiano in the right foreground; bottom: view
of the ridge on Highway 113 from the northwest. San Fratello
Ridge was taken on 8 August after bitter enemy resistance.]

CORONIA VALLEY, typical of the valleys separating the mountain
ridges along the northern coast. The valleys provided little
concealment from the enemy in position on top of the ridges. The
bridge spans were usually long and easily demolished. Note that
both highway and railroad bridges are blown in this picture.]

PROBING FOR MINES AT A BRIDGE-CROSSING SITE. The mine detector
reacts to metal; whether the metal was a mine or a shell
fragment had to be determined by probing and digging, usually
with a bayonet. (Mine detector SCR 625.)]

BRIDGE BUILDING. In the valleys this task presented no
particular problem once the enemy had been chased off the
mountain ridge overlooking the bridge site. However, near
Messina, where the road in some places is hewn out of the cliffs
overhanging the sea, the problem was more difficult. The air
compressor (Le Roi) mounted on a 2½-ton truck (in picture above)
was used for operating power-driven saws, hammers, and drills.]

BROLO BEACH ON THE NORTH COAST OF SICILY. This is one of the
several localities where U. S. forces made amphibious landings
behind the enemy lines. Highway 113 runs along the hills, the
railroad near the beach. The village of Brolo is at upper part
of picture. The landing was supported by aircraft and naval
gunfire.]

ENGINEERS REPAIRING A BREAK IN HIGHWAY 113, on the north coast,
caused by German demolition. The locality is Capo Calavâ where
the road practically overhangs the sea.]

MEDIC TREATING A BLISTER on an infantryman’s foot. Medical aid
men were present at the scene of every action. They were unarmed
and were identified by an arm band with a red cross, or a red
cross painted on the helmet, or both.]

MEDICAL AID MAN GIVING BLOOD PLASMA TO A WOUNDED MAN. Plasma
was dried human blood that could be kept almost indefinitely
under ordinary conditions. It was prepared for use by adding
the required amount of triple-distilled water or a saline
solution containing the same amount of salt as whole human
blood. It was not as effective as whole blood, which retained
its effectiveness for a maximum of only twenty-one days when
properly stored and refrigerated. This made whole blood
difficult to keep and use under field conditions.]

DIGGING A FOXHOLE IN AN OLIVE GROVE using a helmet as a shovel.
These holes provided excellent protection against shell and bomb
fragments. The steel helmet was used for a variety of purposes
besides protecting the head. It made a fine wash basin, was used
as a basket to carry post exchange items (paper bags were not
available), and practically everyone used it as a seat while
living in the field. In some cases it was used as a cooking
utensil in violation of regulations, as excessive heat took the
temper out of the steel, making it useless for the purpose for
which it was originally intended. (The soldier in picture is
wearing the fiber liner while he digs with the steel helmet M1.)]

A GOUMIER OF FRENCH MOROCCO. The goumiers, generally called
goums by American soldiers, formed part of the French colonial
troops. Serving with the Americans in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy,
and southern France, they were greatly respected for their
fighting ability. (The term “goum” literally means “company,”
and a goumier is a member of an infantry company. Not all native
infantrymen, however, were known as goumiers, the term applying
only to soldiers of certain Moroccan tribes.)]

GOUMIERS ADVANCING ACROSS THE HILLS IN SICILY. Their specialty
was mountain fighting, and they used horses and mules to carry
supplies.]

SOLDIERS STERILIZING MESS KITS AFTER EATING. When possible this
was done before and after every meal. Such procedure was of the
greatest importance in Sicily where sanitation as we know it was
little practiced among the population as a whole. In spite of
every precaution, dysentery of one kind or another was common
among Allied forces.]

INFANTRYMAN TURNED MULE SKINNER.]

PACK MULE. The interior and northern coast of Sicily were
mountainous and had few roads fit for vehicles. Mules often had
to be used to bring supplies to troops in forward areas.]

FIELD BAKERY. The men in the picture above are using a British
oven which was built into a trailer. Field ovens of U. S.
troops were separate units and not built in trailer form. In
some instances U. S. troops obtained the British type oven when
previously stationed in the British Isles. Others obtained them
in America. Every attempt was made to vary the rations of the
troops, and fresh bread was baked when possible.]

FLYING FORTRESS DURING BOMBING OF MESSINA. In the first two
weeks of August the enemy started to withdraw to Italy across
the narrow Strait of Messina under heavy bombing attacks. By
concentrating antiaircraft guns in and around Messina as a means
of combating these attacks, the Germans managed to ferry across
thousands of their first-line armored and airborne troops, but
much of their heavy equipment was left behind. U. S. patrols
entered the city from the west on 16 August 1943 while British
units entered from the south on the same day. The campaign had
lasted thirty-nine days.]

UNLOADING EQUIPMENT IN PALERMO. Even before the fighting
in Sicily had ended, the build-up for the invasion of
Italy started. The crane (left center) unloading pipe is a
truck-mounted crane M2. Designed to handle 240-mm. howitzer
materiel and 8-inch gun materiel in the field, it was a
six-wheeled type with power supplied to all wheels and capable
of accompanying convoy vehicles at a maximum speed of about
thirty miles per hour. It was also used to facilitate unloading
as above. The crew consisted of a chassis operator and a crane
operator.]

SMOKE SCREEN OVER PALERMO HARBOR AREA. This port, within easy
reach of enemy bombers based in Italy, was subjected to air
raids during the build-up period before the invasion of the
mainland. The smoke screen obscured the port area and kept the
bombardiers from aiming at any specific target.]

LST’S IN PALERMO HARBOR. The very low altitude barrage balloons
(above) protected the ships from dive-bombing attacks. They were
flown at different altitudes from day to day.]

AMMUNITION DUMP NEAR PALERMO during the build-up for the
invasion of Italy.]

GLIDER TRAINING FIELD IN SICILY. (Douglas C-47 transport with
CG-4 gliders.)]

MESSINA WITH THE ITALIAN MAINLAND ACROSS THE STRAIT. On 3
September 1943 British and Canadians of the British Eighth Army
crossed this channel into Italy.]

THE SINKING OF THE ITALIAN HEAVY CRUISER TRIESTE in Maddalena
harbor, Sardinia. The cruiser was sunk by twenty-four B-17’s
coming from bases in Africa, 10 April 1943. (Top picture:
cruiser within its protective antitorpedo net; center: salvo of
bombs landing on and near ship; bottom: this photograph was made
within the next few days and shows oil rising from the sunken
cruiser.)]

SEAPLANE BASE. The planes are captured Italian seaplanes at
Cagliari on Sardinia. Sardinia was not invaded by U. S. forces,
but the Germans evacuated the island in September 1943. Shortly
thereafter the Allies started basing aircraft there, chiefly
medium bombers. The bases were within range of all central
Italy. (Top plane is an Italian Cant. Z-506-B Airone (Heron)
three-engined bomber torpedo reconnaissance seaplane. The planes
have British RAF markings added after capture.)]

AIR CORPS PERSONNEL SETTING UP CAMP on the French island of
Corsica. On 14 September 1943, French commandos landed to help
patriots who were fighting the Germans. On 4 October the island
was in Allied hands, and soon thereafter the airfields were
being used as bases for fighters and medium bombers.]

BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON REPAIR TENT in Corsica, riddled by bomb
fragments. U. S. medium bombers based here ranged over all
northern Italy and southern France. Fields in Corsica were
within range of enemy planes based in the Po Valley, and were
bombed and strafed periodically.]

MALARIA CONTROL IN CORSICA. Throughout the Mediterranean
campaign, the malaria problem was ever present. Vigorous
measures were taken to eliminate the disease-carrying mosquito.
Douglas A-20 Havoc light-bomber (top) spreading Paris green dust
over swampland near an Allied military installation; (bottom)
refilling hopper of plane with dust.]

ITALY

(9 September 1943–4 June 1944)