The Lost Evidence: Sicily (1/5)

On 10 July 1943, the American Fifth Army, commanded by General George Patton, landed on the Italian island of Sicily. Pattons forces were joined by the British Eighth Army, led by General Sir Bernard Montgomery. It was the first major attack launched against Hitlers Fortress Europe; an attempt to strike at the soft underbelly of European Nazi hegemony. Over the next thirty-eight days, half a million Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen participated in a bloody battle of attrition against German and Italian troops.

Operation Husky was one of the largest combined operations of the Second World War. Allied forces were immediately disadvantaged by the battles location; their Italian enemies would be fighting on familiar territory. The weather also provided an unforeseen and dangerous adversary. In a disastrous start to the operation, forty mile an hour gales turned the airborne phase of the attack into chaos; American and British paratroopers were scattered arbitrarily over the islands hazardous terrain.

Despite these adverse conditions, the Allies achieved considerable early success on the battlefields of Sicily. As their advance gathered momentum, they secured an Axis withdrawal from the strategically important port of Messina. As Axis forces hurriedly evacuated more than 100,000 troops, the Allied had won undisputed control of the island.

Sicily could now serve as the base for an attack on the rest of southern Europe. The vast operation also provided vital fighting experience for the Allied soldiers who would take part in the June 1944 invasion of France. Eleven months later, the men who gained their stripes amid the tumultuous tides of the Mediterranean would be engaged in ferocious combat on the savage shores of Normandy.

Aerial reconnaissance photographs of the battle have been layered over a three dimensional map to create a CGI model of the island. For over sixty years these photographs have been hidden. For the first time these original high-resolution images allow us to track the battle from the air. Cutting edge technology, archive film, vivid re-enactments and extraordinary interviews provide a unique insight into one of the most dramatic campaigns of the Second World War.

Category:

Entertainment

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• The
• Lost
• Evidence:
• Sicily
• (1/5)

[cdltpx]

My uncle was there ! He fought in Africa and beyond he told me about going to the battle of the bulge he was decorated with 4 bronze stars and a silver star. He told his war stories so well that when the production Band of Brothers came out I felt as I already seen it. I understand he was not with that regiment so much of what he did was tied in with what the others did. Pattons men fought so dam much !

[real3tron3]

why is it so hard to get video from the LIbrary of Congress ? I need to dig up some material for my documentary and critical past is the only source I have found. It burns me to the bone when I see documentaries that cover Sicily like a foot note. On the Book note, Bitter Victory Carlo D'este. And I found an italian Author from my villagio who wrote about the war from the Sicilian perspective. I also found some books that are out of print for 40 years that are Italian with good pictures .

[Rohilla313]

@real3tron3 Yeah, I liked the Mitcham/Stauffenberg book too. In fact I haven't read a better book on this campaign.

[Rohilla313]

Recommended reading: The Battle for Sicily by Sam Mitcham jr.

[martynrobin121]

@legendarytoyou Monty and Patton were not rivals, Monty was superior to Patton and Monty was the man who defeated Rommel and won Africa. Monty was the Allied supreme commander on the ground.

[TheIcelandicPatriot]

Gela? Why there is nothing there exepth a beach. George S Patton.

[legendarytoyou]

@jdewitt77 thats because Patton was part bulldog i think. him and montgomery were such rivals that had it not been for the Allied Forces they themselves would've butted heads. Patton was hell bent on capturing Sicily himself and so was Montgomery in that he didn't look to strategic advantage until his part in the Battle of the Bulge. reason why they called him Old Blood and Guts, our blood his guts. he was a brilliant soldier but terrible tactician who relied on brute force not strategy.

[Chansulus]

George S. Patton is a roman .

[1993heavenshallburn]

@MrHarlee2006 its weaponology, so there are many mistakes.

[MrHarlee2006]

There is a mistake here. It should be the US 7th Army that Lieutenant General George S. Patton Junior commanded for the invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky. The US 5th Army was under Lt General Mark W. Clark's command at that time and only came into action for Operation Avalanche in Sept 1943 at the invasion of Salerno, Italian mainland.