Allied invasion of Sicily

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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 Allied forces invaded the Italian island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis forces. The island was defended by the Italian 6th Army and the German XIV Panzer Corps. The invasion paved the way for the Allied invasion of mainland Italy and initiated the Italian campaign that removed Italy from the war. With the conclusion of the North Africa campaign in May 1943, the victorious Allies had for the first time ejected the Axis powers from a theatre of war. Now at Italy's doorstep, the Allied powers—led by the United States and United Kingdom—decided to attack Axis forces in Europe via Italy, rather than Western Europe, due to the wavering Italian morale, control over Mediterranean sea lanes, and the vulnerability of German supply lines along the Italian Peninsula. To divert some Axis forces to other areas, the Allies engaged in deception operations...

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