Anti-Hitler Coalition in Italy

On July 9, 1943, Operation Husky began — the landing of Western Allied troops in Sicily.

Despite the complexity of the operation and the successful evacuation of local troops, its results were impressive: Italy left the war, the Mediterranean Sea was open to navigation.

In turn, after Italy’s withdrawal from the war on September 8, 1943, immediately after the armistice of September 3 between Italy and the Allies came into effect, the Wehrmacht began implementing the Operation Axis plan, which included the seizure of the country’s territory, as well as all territories in Europe that controlled by Italian troops.

The disarmament of the Italian armed forces began, which was accompanied by massive casualties among prisoners of war who died in Nazi concentration camps. Mussolini was released from arrest by German saboteurs under the command of Otto Skorzeny, and at the command of Hitler, he headed the newly formed Italian Republic on September 23, the territory of Italy, which was occupied by German troops, establishing their administration there.

German and Italian losses amounted to 29,000 killed, 140,000 (mostly Italians) captured. American forces lost 2,237 killed, 6,544 wounded or captured; 2,721 British alternative soldiers, 10,122 soldiers were wounded and captured; Canadian casualties were 562 killed and 1,848 wounded or captured. For many of the American troops and the entire Canadian contingent, this was the first spectacle in which they took part. The Allies made mistakes during the landings and accidentally set fire to themselves.

The interaction between units and subunits was improved, the training of paratroopers was strengthened, and adjustments were made taking into account the requirements of this type of troops. Improved airborne capabilities were useful to the Allies during Operation Overlord, as well as in amphibious operations in Italy, Normandy and Southern France. There is a common misconception among Western historians that the Allied landing on Sicily contributed to the cancellation of the German Operation Citadel near Kursk, which began on July 5, 1943, and forced Hitler to transfer part of his troops to Italy to strengthen the defense of the Apennine Peninsula.

Russian historians Valery Zamulin and Lev Lopukhovsky convincingly show that the continuation of Operation Citadel on July 13 occurred not because of the landing in Sicily, but as a result of the military defeat of German troops in the Orly region. Of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps, only the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler division, without tanks and heavy equipment, was transferred to Italy. The opinion of the General Staff was expressed by Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov: “Britain and America, by all accounts, were still not planning to launch large-scale offensive operations in Europe. Although, of course, Hitler’s leadership now had extra worries.”