Sicily 1943: The Debut Of Allied Joint Operations (campaign)
by Steven Zaloga /
2013 / English / PDF
8.6 MB Download
Not only did the Sicily operation represent a watershed in tactical
development of combined arms tactics, it was also an important test
for future Allied joint operations. Senior British commanders left
the North African theater with a jaundiced and dismissive view of
the combat capabilities of the inexperienced US Army after the
debacle at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia in February 1943. Sicily was a
demonstration that the US Army had rapidly learned its lessons and
was now capable of fighting as a co-equal of the British Army. The
Sicily campaign contained a measure of high drama as Patton took
the reins of the Seventh US Army and bent the rules of the theater
commander in a bold race to take Palermo on the northern Sicilian
coast. When stiff German resistance halted Montgomery's main
assault to Messina through the mountains, Patton was posed to be
the first to reach the key Sicilian port and end the campaign. The
Sicily campaign contains a fair amount of controversy as well
including the disastrous problems with early airborne assaults and
the Allied failure to seal the straits of Messina, allowing the
Germans to withdraw many of their best forces.
Not only did the Sicily operation represent a watershed in tactical
development of combined arms tactics, it was also an important test
for future Allied joint operations. Senior British commanders left
the North African theater with a jaundiced and dismissive view of
the combat capabilities of the inexperienced US Army after the
debacle at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia in February 1943. Sicily was a
demonstration that the US Army had rapidly learned its lessons and
was now capable of fighting as a co-equal of the British Army. The
Sicily campaign contained a measure of high drama as Patton took
the reins of the Seventh US Army and bent the rules of the theater
commander in a bold race to take Palermo on the northern Sicilian
coast. When stiff German resistance halted Montgomery's main
assault to Messina through the mountains, Patton was posed to be
the first to reach the key Sicilian port and end the campaign. The
Sicily campaign contains a fair amount of controversy as well
including the disastrous problems with early airborne assaults and
the Allied failure to seal the straits of Messina, allowing the
Germans to withdraw many of their best forces.