BATTLE OF SICILY

How the Allies lost their chance for total victory. In July 1943 the Allies launched a massive amphibious assault on Sicily. The invasion proved successful, bringing fame to American General George S Patton and British General Bernard Montgomery, whose 'race' to Messina was immortalised in the movie 'Patton'. But according to Mitcham and Stauffenberg, the Allies lost a significant opportunity for total victory when the Germans mounted a brilliant defence. With only 4 divisions, the Germans held off the invaders for 38 days and then escaped, almost entirely intact, to mainland Italy, dooming the Allies to a prolonged battle of attrition up the Italian peninsula. The Great Blunder; Uneasy Allies; The Deteriorating Axis; The Defenders; Pantelleria, the Plan and the Air Battles; The Allies Approach; D-Day; Counterattack and retreat; Primosole Bridge; Enter General Hube; Patton Breaks Loose; The Battles of the Hauptkampflinie; The Allies Close In; Operation Lehrgang: A Panzer Corps Escapes; Epilogue; Index.