Chapter 24: The United States in World War II section 1: The War in Europe and North Africa The Battle of the Atlantic

The next phase was to be an invasion of Sicily. Despite a fierce rivalry between Montgomery and Patton, Sicily fell but the German army escaped across the Straights of Messina to the Italian mainland. The allies invaded Italy, Mussolini was forced to resign and placed under house arrest, he was replaced by Marshal Pietro Badoglio and Italy surrendered on Sept. 8, 1943.

German troops were rushed into Italy to oppose the allies. Mussolini was rescued by German paratroopers and placed in charge of areas not under allied control.

The Allies bogged down south of Rome. A landing was planned behind the German lines at Anzio, near Rome. The Americans surprised the Germans and some patrols actually reached the outskirts of the city. But a lack of initiative by the commanding general allowed the Germans to regroup and bottle-up the beachhead for four months; the Americans suffered 25,000-30,000 casualties. Eventually they were relieved from the South. Rome fell to the Allies on June 4, 1944, but the battle for Italy raged until the end of the war. In all, the conquest of Italy cost 300,000 casualties.

During WW II, most African American soldiers served in non-combat positions. The Army-Air Corps recruited a group of African American volunteers to train as fighter pilots. They were segregated from the other recruits and trained at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. They were based in North Africa and provided support for bombing missions in the Mediterranean region. By the end of the war, they were the only U.S. escort group that had not lost a single bomber to enemy planes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XASUTMUkHRk

Italy proved to be a tough fight for the Allies in Europe but the main thrust was always going to be in France. The code-name for the invasion was Operation Overlord.

Where to land became a top priority. The Germans expected a landing in the Port of Calais area; it was the shortest distance between England and France. The Allies chose Normandy, that’s where William the Conqueror had launched his invasion of England in 1066. General Eisenhower was given command of the invasion, Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces. General Omar Bradley

was given command of American Forces and Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery was given command of British, French, and other allied soldiers.

He was also chosen as operational commander of the invasion. Great Britain became the staging ground for the invasion. Millions of men and thousands of trucks, tanks, planes, and equipment were in England.

To fool the Germans into thinking the invasion would strike at the Pas de Calais, a fictitious army was created led by General Patton.