Allied invasion of Sicily

The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers (Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign, and initiated the Italian campaign.

Sicilian campaign
Part of the Italian campaign of World War II
A map of the Allied army amphibious landing in Sicily, 10 July 1943, as part of Operation Husky
Date 9 July – 17 August 1943 (1 month, 1 week and 1 day) Location Sicily, Italy Result Allied victory Territorial changes Sicily occupied by Allied forces
Belligerents
United Kingdom  India[1]  United States  Canada Free France[2] Supported by:  Australia[3][4][5] Sicilian irregulars[6]	Italy  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Dwight D. Eisenhower Harold Alexander Bernard Montgomery George S. Patton Walter Bedell Smith Arthur Tedder Andrew Cunningham	Alfredo Guzzoni Vittorio Ambrosio Pietro Barone Albert Kesselring Hans-Valentin Hube F. v. Senger u. Etterlin
Strength
Initial strength: 160,000 personnel 600 tanks 14,000 vehicles 1,800 guns[7] Peak strength: 467,000 personnel[8]	Italy: 131,359[9]–252,000 personnel[10] 260 tanks 1,400 aircraft[11] Germany: 40,000–60,000 personnel[8][12]
Casualties and losses
United Kingdom and Canada:[13][14] 2,938 killed 9,212 wounded 2,782 missing United States:[13] 2,811 killed 6,471 wounded 686 missing	Italy:[15] 4,678 killed 32,500 wounded 116,861 captured or missing[16] Germany:[15] 4,325 killed 13,500 wounded 10,106 captured or missing

To divert some of the Axis forces to other areas, the Allies engaged in several deception operations, the most famous and successful of which was Operation Mincemeat. Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943 and ended on 17 August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners; the Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island and the Mediterranean sea lanes were opened for Allied merchant ships for the first time since 1941. These events led to the Italian leader, Benito Mussolini, being toppled from power in Italy on 25 July, and to the Allied invasion of Italy on 3 September.

The German leader, Adolf Hitler, "canceled a major offensive at Kursk after only a week, in part to divert forces to Italy," resulting in a reduction of German strength on the Eastern Front.[17] The collapse of Italy necessitated German troops replacing the Italians in Italy and to a lesser extent the Balkans, resulting in one-fifth of the entire German army being diverted from the east to southern Europe, a proportion that would remain until near the end of the war.[18]