Sicily and the Italian Campaign
On July 10th, 1943, Canadian and other Allied troops landed on the tip of the island of Sicily. The battle for Sicily lasted for weeks. This day marked the beginning of the larger Italian campaign in which the Allies pushed through Axis defences to meet with other Allies making their way through Holland and into Germany.
The landings in Sicily were called Operation Husky. This was a significant invasion as the Allies would not land in France until June 1944. Stalin was pushing for the Allies to open another front to alleviate some of the pressure of German troops in the Soviet Union. Engaging in battle in Italy meant opening a new front without attempting to land in Western Europe. However, just getting troops to a position from which they could launch an attack in Sicily was difficult and dangerous. Early in July 1943, Canadian troops en route from Britain to the Mediterranean were attacked by U-boats and sunk. Between 50 and 60 Canadian troops went missing and the Allies lost equipment, including a number of guns and about 500 vehicles.
CANADIAN TROOPS FROM THE LOYAL EDMONTON REGIMENT IN MODICA ON SICILY IN JULY 1943. IMAGE FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.
The landings finally took place on July 10, and included both a seaborne and airborne attack. The seaborne attack was one of the largest in military history: almost 3000 Allied ships and landing crafts and thousands of men. Canadians were part of the landing troops, and RCAF pilots flew Spitfires to provide support to the invasion. On the first day of the invasion, the Canadian troops moved through the defences and took their objective. However, the battle for Sicily would last for weeks. Italy, including Sicily, was heavily fortified and as the Allies broke through one line of defence the Axis would retreat to the next fortification. Axis troops began evacuating the island in August and had completely withdrawn by August 17, 1943; thus began the Allies’ push through mainland Italy.
The Allies landed in Italy on September 3, 1943. After their withdrawal from Sicily, the Axis were even more determined to hold onto the mainland, and like in Sicily, Italy was covered with strong defensive fortifications. Canadian troops slowly pushed their way north, liberating cities along the way. American troops were also moving through Italy, and took Rome on June 4, 1944. In the fall of 1944, Allied troops broke through the German “Gothic Line”. In the spring of 1945, German troops in Italy finally surrendered. However, Canadians were not there for the final days of the Italian campaign as they had been transferred to join the Allies in their campaigns across Holland and Germany. The entire Italian campaign, including Sicily, cost the Canadian troops more than 26 000 casualties, including 6000 lives.
Our exhibit is focused on the Home Front, where the majority of Canadians, especially women and children, would have experienced the war. However, there were just over a million Canadians who left home and served in the conflict. This blog series will look at 5 major battles or campaigns that involved Canadians during WWII: Dunkirk, Dieppe, Sicily, Normandy, and the Netherlands.