Operation Husky - The Invasion of Sicily 1943 (Documentary)

[@marlaporter]

My Dad was a AAF Navigator in this mission and his C-47 was shot down at night by German anti-aircraft on the coast of Syracuse. They crashed landed in the water and spent 12 hours on a life raft watching the the criss-crossing flak and exploding planes. Fortunately, a British 40 ship convoy spotted them at daylight and picked them up. The tally for his Squadron: Of the twelve planes on the mission, eight returned, full of holes. One complete crew, and half of another were killed. About ten other crew members were wounded. He wrote about this mission in great detail in his memoirs. Thanks for sharing this fantastic video!

[@trikyy7238]

It's heartwrenching to think of the young, strong, best trained men to land in water and just drown. No way for a soldier to die.

[@cpp3221]

That's sadly often the case. For exemple, the first commando raid against german deterium facilities in Norway, has seen one of the gliders of the commandos being lost due to cable not holding during (the plane was returning with it's cargo due to not having identified the landing area), while another plane with it's glider crashed into the mountain. The survivor were picked off, tortured and interrogated by the gestapo, the executed. A second raid has to be made. Seriously, war has too many dumb way to die, it is the one of it's worst aspect, considering it's already horrifying.

[@marchellochiovelli7259]

Meh, The Allies would do the same thing and then some. We too were far from saint hood regardless of which side we are on. @@cpp3221

[@wowliker642]

The man drowning and just happened to show up on the shores of spain was a psy op called operation minemeat. While a real RAF pilot didn't die, to this day they still honor the man of the corpse that they used to this say as one.

[@MrGouldilocks]

​​​​​​​@@mcs699 Andrew Cunningham blaming friendly fire (airborne) deaths on pilots that got lost is f****** disgraceful. Of course pilots are going to get lost, they don't have GPS. How about you do your f****** job and make sure the anti-aircraft batteries know about airborne drops in advance so they're (less likely) to shoot down their own allies.

[@seanbumstead1250]

My grandfather fought in Italy,his 2 younger brothers fought at D-day and through france

[@jessealexander2695]

This episode was a fun one - a friend of mine who reads Italian got us a very neat quote from an Italian tanker in a re-purposed Renault tank captured in France.

[@italianmapperchris3168]

Weren’t they Fiat 3000’s? A Italian improved version of the French Renault?

[@jessealexander2695]

Our source said they were R35s.@@italianmapperchris3168

[@kohtalainenalias]

How many languages you speak? Your voice is easy to listen to and your prenounciation is excellent

[@jessealexander2695]

Thanks! I speak 4. @@kohtalainenalias

[@danreed7889]

@@italianmapperchris3168 they were captured R35s

[@drstevenrey]

Your English is, of course, impeccable. But your German, Italian, French are the absolute highlight. I am a Canadian living in Ireland, grew up in English and French with adoptive parents from Switzerland, German part. So I grew up trilingual. Later I lived in San Marino for a while, hence Italian and Romagnola became number four and five. A heart felt congratulations on your fabulous work here. I am hooked and deeply impressed.

[@jebbroham1776]

Albert Kesselring was a brilliant defensive strategist, which is the main reason why the fighting in Italy was so bloody and difficult unlike the "soft underbelly" that Churchill envisioned. The man was a very dangerous opponent, especially given the rough and mountainous terrain of mainland Italy.

[@jaggedskar3890]

I think Kesselring was the best German general of WW II, but several others always get notice despite their obvious failings.

[@kane357lynch]

I would say the title "best general" is a little bullshit. But kesselring should get the fame that rommel got

[@gratefulguy4130]

​@@kane357lynchthen who would you suggest? Manstein often gets that credit, but it may very well have been him who truly lost Stalingrad after Paulus screwed up.

[@CARLOSLOPEZ-iy7dg]

Churchill was a great politician ,orator and a motivator , but really bad recommending or pushing military operations like Gallipoli, invasion of Italy and somewhere in France way before the disembark in Normandy. Generally speaking the Germans have great Generals and soldiers in each branch of the army , but they have a terrible politican as a leader. If Germany would have had a different type of politician as a leader probably the war wouldn't have been so disastrous for them .

[@kane357lynch]

​@gratefulguy4130 I would suggest realizing that "best general" is bullshit because there's too many variables. Like I said however. The fame rommel got should have went to kesselring

[@Explorer982]

My grandad was captured here by Germann paratroopers counter attacking near Catania I think. They were very polite apparently - but only after killing most of his unit ( part of the Green Howards)

[@grahammckechnie8438]

My great uncle George was in the black watch 1st btn , he died in Sicily july 13th 1943, he is buried in commonwealth war cemetery in Catania .

[@jpmuaddib5758]

These Maps are stunning

[@HumanityisEmbarrassing]

Don't you think the colours used for allies and axis are far too similar and difficult to distinguish?

[@jpmuaddib5758]

@@HumanityisEmbarrassing You are 100% right. That was kinda confusing but doesn't take away from the maps

[@burimfazliu3102]

I like how the Italians are mentioned more in this than in almost any other video about Husky. Usually they get maybe 30 seconds saying that most are giving up and that the battle for Sicily becomes a German show.

[@kennethmorgan6516]

It’s commonly believed that it was exclusively Germans who inflicted the devastating defeat against US troops at the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, in early 1943. While the Axis forces were under German command, it was a mixed force of Germans and Italians. The Italian role in this battle is hardly mentioned.

[@blitzy3244]

Well they better... it's their damn territory lmfao

[@darkawakening01]

@@kennethmorgan6516 It is said that Rommel often made remarks along the lines of "The Italian soldier is disciplined and reliable, but - to his and our detriment - poorly led."

[@kane357lynch]

​@@kennethmorgan6516because German commanders were the clear factor in victory

[@im_flat]

@@darkawakening01 rommel was also a war criminal, don't quote him.

[@jeffe9842]

Thanks for doing this video. This invasion is overshadowed and overlooked by the Normandy invasion, but is important because it led directly to Italy's surrender and the overthrow of Mussolini. My father participated in this invasion, in the third wave. The 80th anniversary of this invasion was this past July.

[@douglassauvageau7262]

Perhaps the most relevant result of Operation Husky was refinements in tactics which contributed to the success of Operation Overlord.

[@IanCross-xj2gj]

And Hitler had to withdraw units from Kursk and cancel the offensive. Second front for Stalin at last!

[@johnruddick686]

My Grandad won his Military Cross in Sicily fighting the Germans. He said the Italian soldiers when on patrol would bang pots and pans together to let the enemy know they were there then his lot would hang their own back for them, that way both sides could report back they had found the enemy without anybody getting hurt. He took 30 Italian prisoners who were just chilling in a cafe, they were quite happy to surrender and obviously didn't really want to fight anybody.

[@paolovaccaneo9992]

Are you saying that the Italians in Sicily fought and lost worse than the British in Singapore against the Japanese in February 1942?

[@basfinnis]

That’s a cool story. I like that 😉

[@DensApri]

​@@paolovaccaneo9992are you saying you can't read and understand a simple text? How does the two situations even compare?

[@Warpstoner]

Nice fake history, got more?

[@MarcCelisKuss]

Finally a doc where archive footages are consistent with the narrative arch; thx!

[@realtimehistory]

thanks for noticing, that's something we always try to our best with. For Sicily in particular, we went through a few hours of news reels.

[@naclworks5636]

Apart from the footage of Romanian troops

[@daltonweeks6736]

What a morning for me in canada, I can't remember ever having a episode this early! I'm so happy!!

[@Token_Civilian]

Great episode, as always RTH. And likewise on the outtro.

[@jimtalbott9535]

My great uncle ended up being stationed in Sicily as a Bombardier in a B-24 - in ‘43 he was in the Hail Columbia over Ploiesti flying, from Libya - and in 44 he volunteered for a “milk run” over mainland Italy, flying from here, despite having all his points to rotate home. He ended up having to bail out of his Bomber, spent a night with a kind Italian family who fed him a lovely dinner - and turned him over to the Gestapo the next day. He spend a year in the Hermann Göering Hotel system after that, finally being liberated by the Soviets.

[@wolfeinhorn4661]

The Italian family turned him in !!???

[@jimtalbott9535]

@@wolfeinhorn4661 Yup. As they hauled him off, he saw the dad counting out a THICK stack of Lira. He told me he didn’t really blame them though - he’d probably have been found anyway, so it was better for the family to cooperate.

[@diegotrejos5780]

​@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217In 44 Italy was an Allied co belligerent, that family betrayed an allied combatant for money.

[@gotakurtoo]

@@diegotrejos5780 In '44 Italy was divided in two sides: the south under Allied occupation and whit the king Vittorio Emanuele as formal ruler and Co-belligerant; the north under German occupation and whit a reinstated Mussolini as ruler of a puppet state, the Social Republic of Salo`. If the airman bailed out over the fascist republic soil the italian family had only two options: the easy one is to turn him to the authorities, being this the law and the fact that a reward was granted. The hard one: hide the "enemy" airman somewhere and contact the partisans so he can join them or get help to reach the allied lines (very risky). Getting caught doing this means immediate death sentence for the WHOLE family!

[@PancakeProduct]

How did he speak of the Soviets when he was liberated? Did he spend any time in USSR or was he directly shipped to the American side?

[@marcelb7259]

This is incredible work ! Thank you for this tremendous historical video. Cheers from Canada.

[@jessealexander2695]

Thanks!

[@wolfeinhorn4661]

Viva la Canada !

[@DaveSCameron]

A little ott but I understand your points...

[@OTDMilitaryHistory]

Despite the difficult fighting, the campaign in Sicily was successful in all its goals. I think this tends to be forgotten.

[@22BOZIDAR]

My grandfather was part of the Italian campaign. He always had fond memories of the Italian people. The nat#z not so.

[@bigsarge2085]

Awesome documentary, keep up the incredible work!

[@901Sherman]

Starting of the month with yet another banger👍

[@RiverRev]

My father was in the 82nd Airborne in this jump landing in the first wave and fighting through to Palermo. He would go on to Salerno, Anzio, Waal, and Chenaux.

[@Warentester]

Thanks for the balanced depiction. Glad to see the axis side represented as well.

[@t.paquet264]

Great work. My dad Major A.E.T Pâquet PPCLI was injured in Leonforte. Sent to Tunisia with his injured men.

[@timothylowe8327]

V P!

[@indianajones4321]

Excellent doc

[@mkoschier]

The Wehrmacht did not know the anglosaxian Sergent System, there was a platoon commander a junior officier or an experienced sergant. The WH did not have deputies and no platoon sergant. The reason is that any officer given command was expect to do the job without somebody who shows him what to do

[@bunk95]

Those marketed as part of the Wehrmacht did, for a time, know of such things. Other marketing materials could be used to describe whatever you’re using that material to market (if youre using it for anything outside of the material itself). Slaves have no debt. Let them send their best.

[@DesmodueSS]

Hi, Great video! one small note: the footage from 7.00 to 7.14 displays Romenian troops, not Italian. You can tell by the different helmet style.

[@rhoddryice5412]

"Poor old 7th R.M. Never have so many been buggered about by so few" I must say I love the sarcasm, paraphrasing Churchill.

[@dansmith4077]

Great video thank you love the content

[@oliversherman2414]

Very interesting video. Keep up the great work

[@Rugmunchersauce3]

Excellent ! I have to say, this is probably the best conscise documentary about the Allied Invasion of Sicily I have ever seen ; I would even rate it above a Mark Felton video, and THAT is really saying something ! (It's saying "I think it's better than a Mark Felton one. Has Professor Felton done one on this subject ??🤔 I'm sure hé has but I don't remember it). Well done, fella, damn fine video.

[@waduwill1332]

Great video jesse, would love to see the battle of monte cassino next

[@tando6266]

Another great one.

[@johnwells7740]

My grandfather was part of the first armored division fought at both battles of kasserine pass and was at Sicily where he was severely injured and lost his eye to shrapnel . It was not the soft underbelly of Europe . Each inch was bought in blood and lives.

[@roryokane5907]

Love your work guys. Been a fan since the Great War days. Keep the content coming! :)

[@realtimehistory]

thanks and we will

[@didierduval5472]

Again a great video! I'm reading the biography of Eisenhower and I'm at the Sicilian campaign chapter. In the book it says the friendly fire incident with the paratrooper happens on the landing day btw. Eisenhower and the American wanted the Normandy landing in 42 and then 43 but as Sicily shows they were not ready at all. As a footnote, Bradley was chosen to lead in Normandy because he was the one that doesn't give headache to his superiors!

[@lyndoncmp5751]

"As a footnote, Bradley was chosen to lead in Normandy" Montgomery was the C-in-C of all allied ground forces in Normandy. Montgomery lead in Normandy and planned much of it. Bradley was a secondary figure.

[@DirtyMikeandTheBoys69]

No one was ready for D-Day in 42 or 43. The Dieppe Raid showed as much. Op Husky was quite successful on the other hand.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

@@DirtyMikeandTheBoys69 Yes Operation Husky was very successful. Done and dusted in six weeks, casualties weren't very high and it took Italy out of the war.

[@didierduval5472]

@@lyndoncmp5751 I was talking about the American side.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

@@didierduval5472 Oh fair enough. No worries. Cheers.

[@seegurke93]

23:18 US not british 3rd Div :) thanks for this minidoku, helps a lot! Would have liked to hear more on the south coast advance to the west coast by the us after initial landings and before Palermo was captured.

[@bremnersghost948]

Apart from the Swiss Borders, It is hard to ask for any better defensive Terrain than Sicily and Italy.

[@urviechalex9963]

Ukraine agress and sighs....

[@samsungtap4183]

Try Nth Vietnam...as the Chinese found out

[@nobbytang]

The allies learned a great deal in the operation of Husky …the bad weather encountered on landings day probably influenced Eishenhower decision to delay D day (by a day) a year later in 1944…it also demonstrated and emphasised the importance of naval gun fire and allied air power ..the German defence was stubborn and the geography favoured the defenders…..D day was successful because of Sicily…..

[@TomasBradvica]

True, but Attack on Salerno in mainland Italy was the real pre-Normandy simulation where allies used naval gunfire to destroy defensive positions and also used naval gunfire to repel axis armored thrusts(counter attacks) towards Salerno beachead...not to mention that it was concentrated invasion along the single beach which is what happened on d day...so ye, they learned alot in Sicily so as their troops did but Salerno was the real practicing ground before invasion of Normandy. Stay safe !

[@alexy590]

Any chance of a video on the Italian Risorgimento? You already touched on parts of it in your other documentaries.

[@tenax8964]

Amazing documentary!

[@Rusty_Gold85]

Also PATTON shot a Mule ( with that famous Pistol) from under a Italian Farmer who was blocking a narrow road . He was then sidelined for a year and never took command until a month after Normandy D-Day for anger management reasons

[@johndawes9337]

are you forgetting the Biscari massacre Patton incited or the 2 troopers he bashed up in hospital or the fact he kept disobeying orders

[@terpfen]

@@johndawes9337 Eisenhower and Marshall had decided to put Bradley in a high command position in Normandy as early as the Tunisia campaign. Nothing Patton did or did not do in Sicily influenced that decision.

[@IanCross-xj2gj]

Patton didn't cover himself with glory. He had to wait until 1944 in France to get another field command.

[@Materialist39]

just the perfect level of detail and context, seriously, this is an excellent episode

[@micahistory]

great overview. This was definitely a turning point in the war

[@lyndoncmp5751]

I'd say the earlier defeat of the Axis in North Africa was more of a turning point on the western front.

[@bigwoody4704]

um no a side show evidenced by running away from Rommel,Guderian and Manstein were right across the channel - and the odds were even. Allied generals drank a MONTY it was 15:1 ration Vermouth-Gin as those were the omly odds he could win at. Old monty had the back bone of a gummy bear and the mouth of a carnival barker

[@jefftroyer1151]

I was a paratrooper in the 82nd airborne. I've never read about a drop that wasn't a disaster

[@sergiopiparo4084]

Thanks for making this video my father was born on that day of the invasion my grandmother told me the hospital got hit by Allied bombing

[@joeshmoe8345]

Great, thanks for sharing y’all.

[@hlynnkeith9334]

12:45 Wow! Is this the 'Macky' Steinhoff who flew the Komet -- with disastrous results -- and, after the war, rose to become the Inspector General of the Luftwaffe?

[@Sturminfantrist]

No he flew the Me262 , his plane was on fire he escaped with luck but was badly burned. He became Gen. Inspekteur der Luftwaffe in early or mid 60s during the height of the Starfighter crisis, he solved the Problems, better training, Maintenance, infrastructure and from early 70s on F-104G loss rate droped.

[@hlynnkeith9334]

@@SturminfantristThank you for the correction on the Me262.

[@samsungtap4183]

Very well done to mention the Bascari massacre..!

[@Ealdorman_of_Mercia]

Great work!

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

It was a great documentary

[@paolosciarpuccio]

When in Sicily, you must visit the Museum of the Sicilian Landing in Catania, it's a masterpiece

[@realtimehistory]

thanks for the tip.

[@michaelwalker7700]

I agree! My father was 82nd Airborne and jumped in both Sicily and on the beach at Salerno. Visited the museum last year. Met a woman who was born on the day my Dad jumped to help liberate Sicily. Very moving for me

[@paolosciarpuccio]

@@michaelwalker7700 wow ❤️❤️ That woman was born just when your father and people like him were risking their lives to Liberate her and Italy. No amount of "thank you" will ever be enough to explain how grateful we are to those men ❤️

[@paolosciarpuccio]

@@realtimehistory there's a fullscale replica of village's square before and after an allied bombing, and a coast defense bunker under attack experience. Really loved it! When canadians heard about the construction of the museum, they sent a whole cargo of uniforms, weapons, and other stuff to be shown in the galleries ❤️❤️

[@fogeltje]

After a hiatus of watching videos I'm starting to catch up. Thanks for providing this high quality content. Proud patreon supporter.

[@realtimehistory]

and thanks for the support!

[@conanhom]

@realtimehistory I am still unclear after watching this what your case is as to "why the German defense of Sicily was so effective". I think you make the case as to why it wasn't - for example the German and Italian reaction in the opening days, the shattering of the Luftwaffe, and also the Axis losing more men (killed, wounded, prisoner/missing) in the campaign than the Allies (this doesn't include the Italian losses). In the end they still lost Sicily. I guess with your title/thesis, you haven't outlined the criteria as to what would have constituted high effectiveness vs. low. It's one thing to narrate the Operation Husky, but when you have a title like this and don't support it clearly then the title unfortunately starts to have a click bait in nature. While I enjoyed the video as a narration and I applaud your work, I am disappointed because the title promised what I thought would be an insightful argument using the facts to build your position/viewpoint (on the title) rather than a narration.

[@georgedoolittle9015]

Operation Husky was not part of any "War Plan" prior to being effected as well as no one foresaw just how total the German and Italian defeat in Tunisia would be. In the alternative given the crushing defeat of the Axis in Tunisia meant a very "rushed" assault into Sicily and surrounding Islands was made to have pushed forward as a prelude to the Normandy Landings for the following Year. The Battle for Sicily was a short, sharp and further very much crushing defeat for the Axis powers as it led quickly to the assault onto the Italian Mainland and the invaluable Air Base in Southern Italy granting the Allies complete air dominance over the entire Mediterranean Sea let alone Italy and the Balkans.

[@oTHARKUNo]

Agreed. Video is great, visually and script-wise. But if you create a video with such a thesis, you have to answer it - at the latest in your conclusion in the end. And you didn't, really. Viewers will have to piece it together by themselves (green allied troops vs veteran german troops, inexperience in using gliders & paratroopers, friendly fire, problems with inter-allied cooperation) but that's not how it should be, and even then the title doesn't really fit to what you're retelling in the video.

[@mikeynth7919]

I agree. The allies took Sicily. That isn't an effective defense by any means.

[@urviechalex9963]

@@mikeynth7919 Finland was EXTREMELY effective in the Winter War, nonetheless it lost. Some battles can´t be won regardless what you do.

[@Philip271828]

This always looks like a learning experience. These things are never as simple as they look and you need to find out where your weaknesses are, such as Patton and Montgomery being incompatible. Imagine the carnage if they had gone into Normandy without practice.

[@AdamMisnik]

The quotes are being mis-attributed in the text of the video. Leese for Gavin and Bradley for Leese were two that I saw. Excellent video none the less.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Montgomery offered Messina to Patton. He proposed this to General Alexander when he wrote: ""when the Americans have cut the coast road north of Petralia, one American division should develop a strong thrust eastwards towards Messina so as to stretch the enemy, who are all German, and possibly repeat the Bizerta manoeuvre" (i.e cut them off as at Bizerte, Tunisia). And in his own diary Monty also wrote: "the Seventh American Army (Patton) should develop two strong thrusts with (a) two divisions on Highway 120 and (b) two divisions on Highway 113 towards Messina" Even Patton, on being told of Monty's suggestions in a meeting with him soon after wrote in response in his own diary: "I felt something was wrong (with the plan) but have not found it yet. After all this had been settled, Alexander came. He told Monty to explain his plan. Monty said he and I had already decided what we were going to do so Alexander got madder and told Monty to show him the plan".

[@xjuliussx]

Hello, is there a way to make a separate video to explain how your map was created? Cause it's beautiful.

[@lucaderosa1175]

Will you ever do a video about italian battles/ vicotries (such as teh battle of Nikolayevka for example)?

[@takingbacktheplanet]

thanks! i happened to subscribe to Nebula last episodes, always thought about it and this was a great opportunity!! especially now that you've released THIS original content! (& the Atoms series was a pretty interesting watch also btw. :) )

[@takingbacktheplanet]

also! that Jesse closing comment this week... 😂😂😂😂hahahaha!

[@emmgeevideo]

Do we really need the symphony sound track? It makes it hard to understand the narrator.

Thx for the intersting Video. Italians going up against the British on Sicily in french tanks is also nice :)

[@arslongavitabrevis5136]

Fantastic video! The animated maps are excellent and the narrative by Jesse is superb (as always). I was surprised by the incompetence of the Allied High Command in the coordination of the landings and the use of paratroopers. The fact that, in spite of an overwhelming aur superiority they could not prevent the German evacuation is shameful. The Allies were very lucky that they had to face only 30.000 German soldiers; the Italians were mostly useless (as usual).

[@josefoglio9250]

hollywood dixit

[@joiedevie3901]

Once again you astound with your command of history and your remarkable talent in presenting content through an engaging and thoughtful narrative that complements the outstanding imagery. Wie gewohnt überzeugen Sie auch mit Ihrer präzisen Aussprache der deutschen Sprache. You have shown your gifts as a polyglot with your French, German, and Russian on earlier videos. Sono curioso se parli anche italiano? You are awesome!

[@fuferito]

I hesitate to correct Jessie's _overall_ excellent and impressive pronunciation of all Italian locations. Pantelleria is Pantelle-ría, Gela is Jela, Pachino is Pakino, Sicilia is Sichília in Castiglione di Sicilia (pronounced impeccably by Jessie), Termini is Términi Imerese.

[@UncleJoeLITE]

Thanks for posting this short campaign summary, Jesse, Flo & all of the RTH team. _It's cold in Canberra tonight...the only national capital that will bore you to death BEFORE you freeze or burn!_

[@samsungtap4183]

And Fiji stomp the Wallabies that wouldn't warm you up !

[@garycollins7750]

Funny how history works, some things just fall by the side and are barely mentioned while others are given constant attention.

[@JB-rt4mx]

Very Well Done...please use contrasting colors for the maps

[@richbayers6008]

Well done doc! Sicily was tough!

[@TheW0rdMan]

Great video as always!

[@operationhighjump4656]

awsome information and pictures thank you

[@josephbacon7493]

Damn shame Monte messed up the plan and Patton wasn’t allowed to crush Messina before the axis escaped.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Montgomery saved the plan from disaster. The original plans were too widely dispersed. Montgomery offered Messina to Patton. Patton was too slow to stop the Germans evacuating.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Montgomery proposed this to General Alexander when he wrote: ""when the Americans have cut the coast road north of Petralia, one American division should develop a strong thrust eastwards towards Messina so as to stretch the enemy, who are all German, and possibly repeat the Bizerta manoeuvre" (i.e cut them off as at Bizerte, Tunisia). And in his own diary Monty also wrote: "the Seventh American Army should develop two strong thrusts with (a) two divisions on Highway 120 and (b) two divisions on Highway 113 towards Messina" Even Patton, on being told of Monty's suggestions in a meeting with him soon after wrote in response in his own diary: "I felt something was wrong (with the plan) but have not found it yet. After all this had been settled, Alexander came. He told Monty to explain his plan. Monty said he and I had already decided what we were going to do so Alexander got madder and told Monty to show him the plan".

[@terpfen]

@@lyndoncmp5751 The original plan, which Monty scuttled, of landing at Palermo would have given Seventh Army its own supply line and put them in position to cut off forces in the center of the island from retreating to and escaping from Messina. Under Monty's plan, Seventh Army existed just to protect his left flank as he moved on Messina, and their supplies were dependent on passing through Eighth Army lines as Monty had the larger, more usable port in his landing zone. The real problem was the plan of landing on Sicily along the SE coasts. The Allies should have conducted simultaneous landings at Messina and the opposite Italian mainland shore. Sicily would be won by pressing the enemy to the west, and the army on mainland Italy would prevent supply and reinforcement runs to the island. Criticizing Patton for being too slow when Monty's plan and force dispersion gave Patton one narrow road and the worst terrain on the island to cross is myopic.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

@@terpfen There was no real problem with the invasion of Sicily plan once Montgomery sorted it out. Sicily was a successful invasion overall, done and dusted in just six weeks and with not very high casualties when all is said and done. The original plans were not really workable. Montgomery knew what he was doing. He used similar plans for Normandy and Normandy was hugely successful, coming in ahead of schedule (Montgomery was already liberating Brussels, Belgium on September 3rd when only Paris was supposed to be reached by then). You DON'T disperse forces everywhere. You keep them fairly concentrated when you implement a seaborne invasion. Worked for Sicily and worked for Normandy. It was Bradley who claimed Patton kept him in the hills outside Messina, allowing German forces to continue to evacuate. Montgomery gave Patton Messina for the specific reason of cutting the Germans off.

[@asinner9096]

I might be wrong, but it seems, that the name Kesselring is not mentioned at all. By comparison, in the documentary of the royal war museum on the same topic he takes an all important and Central role in the Sicilian campaign. And the question in the title is actually not even asked, let alone answered...

[@vincentlefebvre9255]

Félicitations pour ton travail toujours aussi excellent.

[@noreply-7069]

7:03 This is footage of Romanian troops, judging by helmets and weaponry, not Italian forces.

[@scotsbillhicks]

There is a fabulous Strategy & Tactics game which opens with Von Moltke rejecting a spurious award declaring him to be the greatest soldier. He declined because he had never conducted an opposed withdrawal across a water obstacle. From the Axis perspective that is what the Sicilian campaign amounted to, and they succeeded. This is the last time American forces fought without total air superiority.

[@ΙννοκέντιοςΚοκκινογούλοφ]

Great work as always. Perhaps a video for Italy of these years about the "Italian Social Republic" will be very interesting.

[@taccs27570]

The narrator’s knowledge of the German language is impressive. Gut gemacht.

[@canadiandrumer]

great explanation and recap

[@julianpalmer4886]

Concise report Jessie. Sieg!

[@hlynnkeith9334]

4:45 What is that strange headgear the first two paratroopers wear? Never seen those before.

[@biologicalengineoflove6851]

and the armbands...curious

[@dr.woozie7500]

Those are Polish paratroopers. I don’t know of any Polish units during Operation Husky, maybe a few of them were integrated into British troops.

[@chrisvickers7928]

My uncle flew a Halifax out of North Africa for the North African and Sicilian campaigns. Then he caught dysentery and was sent back to Canada to recuperate. He retired from the RCAF in 1968.

[@Ben_From_Marketing]

Friendly fire after friendly fire - it really does sound like a war with Americans involved.

[@zainmudassir2964]

Hi Jesse love your work hope you cover Operation U go 1944, Japanese invasion of India

[@ippy6896]

Babe put down your coffee Jesse Alexander is on!

[@brucebarnes8138]

Excellent video.

[@clever-ish317]

Awesome video, that microphone you’re using could use an upgrade tho

[@Historiehomme]

Incredible

[@walnzell9328]

3:24 Alexander was going for an achievement run apparently.

[@welcometonebalia]

Thank you.

[@tedthesailor172]

The Axis withdrawal from Sicily to the Italian mainland has echoes of the Allied withdrawal from Dunkirk. One might've though that there'd have been a greater effort to interdict the withdrawal from Sicily based upon the Dunkirk experience...

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

The difference being that the Straits of Messina are two miles wide at their narrowest point. The Channel is 23 miles wide.

[@tedthesailor172]

@@dovetonsturdee7033 That would surely work in the allies' favour, as with such a narrow conduit, the axis forces would be squeezed like fish in a barrel...

[@thevillaaston7811]

‘The German and Italian evacuation schemes proved highly successful. The Allies were not able to prevent the orderly withdrawal nor effectively interfere with transports across the Strait of Messina. The narrow straits were protected by 120 heavy and 112 light anti-aircraft guns. The resulting overlapping gunfire from both sides of the strait was described by Allied pilots as worse than the Ruhr, making daylight air attacks highly hazardous and generally unsuccessful. Night attacks were less hazardous and there were times when air attack was able to delay and even suspend traffic across the straits but when daylight returned, the Axis were able to clear the backlog from the previous night. Nor was naval interdiction any more practicable. The straits varied from three to ten kilometres (2-6 mi) wide and were covered by artillery up to 24 centimeters (9+1⁄2 in) in calibre. This, combined with the hazards of a six-knot (3 m/s) current and fear that Italian warships were preparing to attack the Straits of Messina in a suicide run, made risking warships unjustifiable.’ Molony, C. J. C.; Flynn, F.C.; Davies, H. L. & Gleave, T. P. (2004) [1973], Butler, Sir James (ed.), The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy 3 September 1943 to 31 March 1944, History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series, vol. V (pbk. repr. Naval & Military Press ed.), Uckfield, UK: HMSO, ISBN 1-84574-069-6

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

@@thevillaaston7811 Quite. ABC's famous Tunisia order ('Sink, burn, and destroy. Let nothing pass') could not have been applied where Sicily was concerned.

[@tedthesailor172]

@@thevillaaston7811 Thanks for your detailed evaluation. In effect, it wasn't the narrowness of the passage, but the level of protection - and implicitly, forward planning - by axis forces that saved their day. I assume that the allies were limited in the number of aircraft they could muster for this theatre of the war, otherwise they might've carpet-bombed the anti-aircraft guns at night as well as the shipping...

[@zcam1969]

you got it right ,the 82nd Airborne got hit with friendly fire . my Father parachuted that night and landed in a olive orchard unhurt . the soldier above him was ripped in half !

[@andymiller6661]

*fire. *unhurt. *half!

[@richardwarner3705]

The gorgeus deadly spitfire.⚔️🇬🇧⚔️

[@Ashfielder]

The brutal house to house combat was slowed by every Sicilian nonna cooking up a grand meal for her surprise American visitors.

[@markphelt6395]

Ha! I grew up on Ft Bragg. And had a few friends who lived in Biazza Ridge. If you know you know.

[@douglascoggeshall2490]

2023-09-07 ... Very well done ... Excellent .... the "sidebar" quotes are great too ...

[@billballbuster7186]

The Americans were still pressing for an invasion of France and the expected Cakewalk to Berlin, so were not really wanting to invade Sicily or Italy. The so called rivalry between British and American senior officers is an American invention, at this stage of the war it was the Americans that needed to prove themselves. It is strange that there are many pictures of Patton and Monty sharing a joke so the rivalry was probably not as bad as some say. Both Patton and Monty thought the planning for Operation Husky was questionable to say the least.

[@kenoliver8913]

Its true that there was no real rivalry between Monty and Patton in Sicily, though there was poor co-ordination (mostly Patton's fault, but not really deliberate). There very much was such a rivalry in the Normandy campaign though - they grew to hate each other.

[@billballbuster7186]

@@kenoliver8913 The so called rivalry was again one sided. The Americans were paranoid because of the enormous losses they were suffering. There are many instances of Americans criticising Monty to cover up their own insecurity, the most serious being after the Battle of the Bulge. While Monty ever the professional soldier, rarely mentioned the Americans at all.

[@bigwoody4704]

Another one of John Burns alias accounts of cyber psychos

[@billballbuster7186]

@@bigwoody4704 Hey Woodentop, you are really rambling now. You are the definition of a Cyber Psycho, nothing you say has ever made any sense.

[@knoll9812]

​@@billballbuster7186monty continually puttge boot in In the battle of the bulge he claimed credit for the fighting done by Americans Also claimed to sort out the mess In reality us army effectiveky defeated the German attack Monty finally attacked after the battle crisis point had oacked

[@Rugmunchersauce3]

If you get the chance, someday, could you make a film about the disastrous evacuation of British and ANZAC forces from Crête please. My Grandad was a Royal Marine there, in the ill-fated Rear Guard keeping back the elite German Paras whilst as many Brits and ANZACs could bé rescued as possible. Hé, along with many other RMs and remaining ANZACs were left behind whilst the last ship sailed over the horizon. They carried on fighting till there was no more ammunition and then they tried to survive as best they could until they were made POWs . Many of the Royal Marines were shot on the spot because the German Paras believed it was the Royal Marines who had been shooting them whilst they parachuted down to ground and that it was they who mutilated their corpses. My Grandad swore that it was the Partisans who had carried out the atrocities for vengeance. I , of course, believe him; not just cos hé is my Grandad but also because I firmly believe the Royal Marines were above that unneccessary, disgusting behaviour. He spent most of the rest of the War in POW camps in Yugoslavia (as it was then) and Austria. He escaped once, was recaptured, moved to Austria and then when the Germans knew the game was up they just buggered off and the Prisoners litterally just walked out. Hé was later "captured" by the Americans who confiscated the pistols hé had acquired and sent him back home. Back in Blighty he had TWO weeks leave (!!!) and then was supposed to get trained up to go to Burma but fortunately for him a couple of Fat Bombs got dropped on Japan and hé didn't have to go. Phew! Hé was very bitter about the way they were abandoned to fend for themselves against the élite German Paras for many years. Being a POW was no walk in the park, but at least he survived. I salute all the poor young soldiers who sacrificed so much for "democracy". I bet a lot of them would be sad to sée the way things are thèse days. We should never forget.

[@im_flat]

"elite german paras" lol

[@Rusty_Gold85]

Interesting Life story. The other story on the Maori's charging paratrooper Machine Guns in a Bayonet Charge . But these guys and other dont run stories on the Commonwealth as they dont get enough likes

[@jonathanvogt4341]

Thank you for touching on the la cosa nostra connections in sicily! Not so widely known that our tanks rolled around with banners and flags that showed we were on the side of lucky luchiano 😂

[@wolfeinhorn4661]

Many of the troops were probably of Italian decent

[@kenoliver8913]

In the 1930s Mussolini suppressed the mafia in Sicily with the most ruthless means. That organisation, both in America and Sicily, is not known for letting bygones be bygones ....

[@joerosa2532]

@@kenoliver8913 If you're an American, you should really reflect on that. It's no effin' badge of honor!!!

[@kenoliver8913]

@@joerosa2532I'm not American. But it is a matter of record that the US used the Italian-American mafia connections to revive the mafia in Sicily and Calabria to help with the invasion and occupation, which led to serious postwar issues for both the US and Italy.

[@maddmike8516]

Imagine trying this now with all the technology.

[@LyubomirIko]

The colours of the opposing forces on the map are barely readable. It's hard to follow who is who on the map. Please use different colours and distinct icons.