Italian CampaignEssential Question: How did the Italian Campaign impact

the War?

Casablanca Conference

After the Axis surrender in Tunisia, the Allies began planning the next phase of the war

Roosevelt and Churchill met in Casablanca, Morocco in January 1943• Stalin had been

invited, but declined to attend because of Stalingrad

Second Front Since July 19, 1941,

Stalin had been demanding the Allies open up a second front to relieve the German pressure Russia was facing

Invading Italy would help meet Stalin’s demand

Strategic Differences US advocated a

cross channel invasion to directly attack Germany

Churchill preferred an indirect approach, attacking through the “soft underbelly of Europe”

British Approach

What They Agreed On Forces from Operation Torch could continue on

to Sicily once the North African Campaign was terminated• Churchill knew this would preclude a cross-channel

invasion in 1943 At the end of the conference, Roosevelt

announced that “peace can come to the world only by the total elimination of German and Japanese military power . . . (which) means unconditional surrender.”

Americans and British also agreed that planning begin for a cross channel invasion in May 1944

The Italian Campaign Three amphibious operations

• Sicily (Operation Husky)• Salerno (Operation Avalanche)• Anzio (Operation Shingle)

Sicily, 1943

Sicily Allies enjoyed great

tactical success in capturing the island of Sicily but did not have a good plan for what to do next

Germans were able to escape to the Italian mainland

The King placed Mussolini under arrest but the Allies were slow to exploit this diplomatic opportunity and Hitler shored up his defenses in Italy

Salerno, 1943Invading the Italian Mainland

Salerno With the Italian Army on

the verge of disintegrating, the assault on Salerno was designed to seize the port of Naples and the airfields of Foggia, followed by a drive to Rome

The Germans were ready for the invasion and the battle was a close call for the Allies• Massive naval gunfire,

strategic bombers, and determined Allied ground forces saved the day

Gustav Line

• The Germans withdrew to a defense centered on Monte Cassino astride the Liri, Sangro, Rapido, and Garigliano Rivers– Major position from

which to defend Rome

• Exposed the Allies to costly and slow mountain fighting that was getting them any where– Allies needed a way

to alleviate the stalemate

Anzio, 1944

Strategic Situation in late 1943 Campaign stalled

about 80 miles short of Rome and was beginning to resemble the trench warfare of World War I

A landing at Anzio would bypass German defenses around Cassino and put the Allies just 35 miles south of Rome

Gustav LineAnzio

Salerno

Rome

Anzio The Allies surprised the

Germans at Anzio and had immediate success

However the close call at Salerno had left them with an overly cautious attitude and they let the Germans recover

“I had hoped we were hurling a wildcat into the shore, but all we got was a stranded whale.”

• Winston Churchill

Legacy of Anzio It wasn’t until June 4 that the

Allies finally reached Rome in “a hollow triumph”• By then the decisive Allied

effort had shifted to France Most of the German Tenth

Army escaped Clark at Rome and the Germans established a strong defense along the Gothic Line• Kept the Allies away from

the Italian industrial area and the Alpine approaches to Germany

Rome

Gothic Line

Summary of the Italian Campaign

Through the summer of 1943 it was an excellent training ground for Anglo-American forces

Casualties the Allies inflicted on German ground and air forces in Tunisia and Sicily were a significant return on the investment

“After that point, however, Italy cost more than it gained.”• Robert Doughty, American Military History and

the Evolution of Western Warfare