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Italian campaign (World War II)

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Italian campaign
Part of theMediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War IIandEuropean theatre of World War II
Clockwise from top left:
Date9 July 1943–2 May 1945
(1 year, 9 months, 3 weeks and 2 days)
Location
Italy,San Marino,Vatican City
Result

Alliedvictory

Territorial
changes
  • Division of Italy between the "Kingdom of the South"and theItalian Social Republic(1943)
  • Collapse of the Italian Social Republic (1945)
    • Belligerents

    Allies:

    •India
    •Newfoundland[1]
    •Palestine

    Co-belligerents:
    Italian Resistance
    Kingdom of Italy(from 8 Sep. 1943)
    Supported by:
    Australia[a]

    Axis:

    Germany

    •Bohemia & Moravia[b]
    •ChetniksChetniks
    Italian Social Republic(from 23 Sep. 1943)
    Italy(until 8 September 1943)

    Commanders and leaders
    Strength
    May 1944:
    619,947 men
    (ration strength)[10]
    April 1945:
    616,642 men
    (ration strength)[11]
    1,333,856 men
    (overall strength)[12]
    Aircraft:
    3,127 aircraft
    (September 1943)
    4,000 aircraft
    (March 1945)[13]    		 May 1944:
    Nazi Germany365,616 men
    (ration strength)[10]
    April 1945:
    Nazi Germany332,524 men
    (ration strength)[11]
    Nazi Germany439,224 men
    (overall strength)[11]
    Italian Social Republic160,180 men
    (military only)[11]
    Aircraft:
    Nazi Germany722 aircraft
    (September 1943)[14]
    Nazi Germany79 aircraft
    (April 1945)[13]
    Casualties and losses

    Sicily:
    24,900 casualties[15][16][17]
    Italian mainland:[c][d][e]
    United States:119,200
    United Kingdom:89,440
    :35,000
    Free FranceProvisional Government of the French Republic:32 171
    Canada:25,890
    British Raj:20,000
    Poland:11,000
    Dominion of New Zealand:8,668
    Kingdom of Italy:5,927
    Union of South Africa:3,860
    Vargas Era:2,300
    Kingdom of Greece:452
    Total:
    358,295–376,637 casualties

    Vehicles:
    8,011 aircraft destroyed
    United States:3,377 armoured vehicles destroyed[22]

    Sicily:
    Fascist Italy:150,000[23]
    Nazi Germany:27,940[24][16][25]
    Italian mainland:[f][g][h]
    Nazi Germany:336,650–580,630
    Italian Social Republic:35,000 (dead only)
    Surrender of Caserta:
    1,000,000 captured[i][11]
    Total:
    1,549,590–1,793,570 casualties

    Aircraft:
    Nazi Germany:~4,500 aircraft lost[31]
    152,940 civilians killed

    TheItalian campaignofWorld War II,also called theLiberation of Italyfollowing theGerman occupationin September 1943, consisted ofAlliedandAxisoperations in and aroundItaly,from1943 to 1945.The jointAllied Forces Headquarters(AFHQ) was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in theMediterranean theatreand it planned and led theinvasion of Sicilyin July 1943, followed in September by theinvasion of the Italian mainlandand the campaign in Italy until thesurrenderof theAxis forcesin Italy in May 1945.

    The invasion of Sicily in July 1943 led to thecollapse of the Fascist Italian regimeand the fall ofMussolini,who was deposed and arrested by order of KingVictor Emmanuel IIIon 25 July. The new government signed anarmistice with the Allieson 8 September 1943. However, German forces soon invaded northern and central Italy, commiting severalatrocitiesagainst Italian civilians and army units who opposed the German occupation and started theItalian resistance movement.Mussolini, who was rescued by German paratroopers, established a collaborationistpuppet state,theItalian Social Republic(RSI), to administer the German-occupied territory. The events of 8 September 1943 turned the Kingdom of Italy into a co-belligerent of the Allies in the conflict against Nazi Germany, a state of war formally declared on 13 October 1943. Therefore, theItalian Co-Belligerent Armyand theItalian partisansfought alongside the Allies against German troops and the collaborationistNational Republican Army;an aspect of this period is theItalian civil war.In the summer of 1944, after the German defeats atCassinoandAnzio,central Italy, including Rome, was liberated. Northern Italy was liberated following the final spring offensive and the general insurrection of Italian partisans on 25 April 1945. Mussolini was captured by the Italian resistance andsummarily executedby firing squad. The campaign ended whenArmy Group Csurrendered unconditionally to the Allies on 2 May 1945, one week before the formalGerman Instrument of Surrender.Both sides committed war crimes during the conflict, and the independent states ofSan MarinoandVatican Citysurrounded by Italian territory also suffered damage.

    It is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, 60,000–70,000 Allied and 38,805–50,660Germansoldiers died in Italy.[32][j]The number of Allied casualties was about 330,000 and the German figure (excluding those involved in the final surrender) was over 330,000.[32][k]Fascist Italy, prior to its collapse, suffered about 200,000 casualties, mostlyprisoners-of-wartaken in the invasion of Sicily, including more than 40,000 killed or missing.[34]Over 150,000 Italian civilians died, as did 35,828anti-Naziandanti-fascistpartisans and some 35,000 troops of the Italian Social Republic.[35][36][l]On theWestern Front of World War II,Italy was the most costly campaign in terms of casualties suffered byinfantryforces of both sides, during bitter small-scale fighting around strongpoints at theWinter Line,theAnzio beachheadand theGothic Line.[37]Casualties among infantry in Italy were proportionally higher than they were on theWestern FrontofWWI.[38]

    Strategic background[edit]

    The British, especially thePrime Minister,Winston Churchill,advocated their traditional naval-based peripheral strategy. Even with a large army, but greater naval power, the traditional British answer against a continental enemy was to fight as part of a coalition, blockading with their navy and mount small peripheral operations designed to gradually weaken the enemy. The United States, with the largerU.S. Army,favoured a more direct method of fighting the main force of theGerman Armyinnorthwestern Europe.The ability to launch such a campaign depended on first winning theBattle of the Atlantic.

    The strategic disagreement was fierce, with the U.S. service chiefs arguing for an invasion of France as early as possible, while their British counterparts advocated a policy centred on operations in theMediterranean.There was even pressure from someLatin Americancountries to stage an invasion of Spain, which, underFrancisco Franco,was friendly to the Axis nations, although not a participant in the war.[39]The American staff believed that a full-scale invasion of France at the earliest possible time was required to end the war in Europe, and that no operations should be undertaken that might delay that effort.

    Eventually the U.S. and British political leadership reached a compromise in which both would commit most of their forces to an invasion of France in early 1944, but also launch a relatively small-scale Italian campaign. A contributing factor wasFranklin D. Roosevelt's desire to keep U.S. troops active in the European theatre during 1943 and his attraction to the idea of eliminating Italy from the war.[40]It was hoped that an invasion might knock Italy out of the conflict,[41]or at least increase the pressure on it and weaken it.[42][43]The elimination of Italy would enableAllied naval forces,principally theRoyal Navy,to dominate the Mediterranean Sea, securing the lines of communications with Egypt and thus Asia.[43][44]Italian divisions on occupation and coastal defence duties in theBalkansand France would be withdrawn to defend Italy, while the Germans would have to transfer troops from theEastern Frontto defend Italy and the entire southern coast of France, thus aiding theSoviet Union.[45][46]

    Campaign[edit]

    Invasion of Sicily[edit]

    Main article:Allied invasion of Sicily

    The initial plan was for landings in the south-east, south and north-west areas of the island which would lead to the rapid capture of key Axis airfields and except forMessina,all the main ports on the island. This would allow a rapid Allied build-up, as well as denying their use to the Axis.[47]This was altered into a reduced number of landings but with more concentration of force.

    The Allied invasion ofSicily,Operation Husky, began on 9 July 1943 with both amphibious and airborne landings at theGulf of Gela.The land forces involved were theU.S. Seventh Army,underLieutenant GeneralGeorge S. Patton,the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade under the command of Major-GeneralGuy Simondsand theBritish Eighth Army,underGeneralBernard Montgomery.

    The original plan required a strong advance by the British northwards along the east coast to Messina. The Canadians took the central position, with the British on their right and the Americans on the left. The Canadian War Cemetery in Agira is testament to the sacrifice made driving the Germans from the rugged terrain. The Americans had the important role of pushing Axis forces out of mainland Sicily on left flank. When the Eighth Army were held up by stubborn defences in the rugged hills south ofMount Etna,Patton amplified the American role with a wide advance northwest towardPalermoand then directly north to cut the northern coastal road. This was followed by an eastward advance north of Etna towards Messina, supported by a series of amphibious landings on the northern coast that propelled Patton's troops into Messina shortly before the first units of the Eighth Army. The defending German and Italian forces were unable to prevent the Allied capture of the island, but they succeeded in evacuating most of their troops to the mainland, with the last leaving on 17 August 1943. The Allied forces gained experience in opposed amphibious operations, coalition warfare, and large airborne drops.

    Invasion of mainland Italy[edit]

    Main articles:Allied invasion of Italy,Armistice of Cassibile,Operation Achse,andFour days of Naples
    Artillery being landed during the invasion of mainland Italy at Salerno, September 1943

    Forces of the British Eighth Army, still under Montgomery, landed in the 'toe' of Italy on 3 September 1943 inOperation Baytown,the day the Italian government agreed toan armisticewith the Allies. The armistice was publicly announced on 8 September by two broadcasts, first by General Eisenhower and then by aproclamation by Marshal Badoglio.Although the German forces prepared to defend without Italian assistance, only two of their divisions opposite the Eighth Army and one atSalernowere nottied up disarmingtheRoyal Italian Army.

    On 9 September, forces of theU.S. Fifth Army,under Lieutenant GeneralMark W. Clark,expecting little resistance, landed against heavy German resistance at Salerno inOperation Avalanche;in addition, British forces landed atTarantoinOperation Slapstick,which was almost unopposed. There had been a hope that, with the surrender of the Italian government, the Germans would withdraw to the north, since at the timeAdolf Hitlerhad been persuaded thatSouthern Italywas strategically unimportant. However, this was not to be; although, for a while, the Eighth Army was able to make relatively easy progress up the eastern coast, capturing the port ofBariand the important airfields aroundFoggia.Despite none of the northern reserves having been made available to theGerman 10th Army,it nevertheless came close to repelling the Salerno landing. The main Allied effort in the west initially centred on the port ofNaples:that city was selected because it was the northernmost port that could receive air cover byfighter planesflying from Sicily. In the city itself, anti-Fascist Forces began an uprising, later known as theFour days of Naples,holding out despite continuous German reprisals until the arrival of Allied forces.

    As the Allies advanced, they encountered increasingly difficult terrain: theApennine Mountainsform a spine along the Italian peninsula offset somewhat to the east. In the most mountainous areas ofAbruzzo,more than half the width of the peninsula comprises crests and peaks over 900 metres (3,000 feet) that are relatively easy to defend; and the spurs and re-entrants to the spine confronted the Allies with a succession of ridges and rivers across their line of advance. The rivers were subject to sudden and unexpected flooding, which had the potential to thwart the Allied commanders' plans.[48]

    Allied advance on Rome[edit]

    Main articles:Bernhardt Line,Moro River Campaign,Battle of Monte Cassino,andBattle of Anzio
    The situation south of Rome showing German prepared defensive lines

    In early October 1943, Hitler was persuaded by his Army Group Commander in Southern Italy,Field MarshalAlbert Kesselring,that the defence of Italy should be conducted as far away from Germany as possible. This would make the most of the natural defensive geography ofCentral Italy,whilst denying the Allies the easy capture of a succession of airfields, each one being ever closer to Germany. Hitler was also convinced that yielding southern Italy would provide the Allies with a springboard for an invasion of the Balkans, with its vital resources of oil, bauxite, and copper.[49]

    Kesselring was given command of the whole of Italy and immediately ordered the preparation of a series of defensive lines across Italy, south ofRome.Two lines, theVolturnoand theBarbara,were used to delay the Allied advance so as to buy time to prepare the most formidable defensive positions, which formed theWinter Line– the collective name for the Gustav Line and two associated defensive lines on the west of the Apennine Mountains, theBernhardtandHitlerlines (the latter had been renamed the Senger Line by 23 May 1944).[50]

    The Winter Line proved a major obstacle to the Allies at the end of 1943, halting the Fifth Army's advance on the western side of Italy. Although the Gustav Line was penetrated on the Eighth Army'sAdriaticfront, andOrtonawas liberated with heavy casualties to Canadian troops, the blizzards, drifting snow and zero visibility at the end of December caused the advance to grind to a halt. The Allies' focus then turned to the western front, where an attack through theLirivalley was considered to have the best chance of a breakthrough towards the Italian capital. Landings behind the lineat Anzioduring Operation Shingle, advocated by Churchill, were intended to destabilise the German Gustav line defences, but the early thrust inland to cut off the German defences did not occur because of disagreements that the American commander,Major GeneralJohn P. Lucas,had with the battle plan, and his insistence that his forces were not large enough to accomplish their mission. Lucas entrenched his forces, during which time Kesselring assembled sufficient forces to form a ring around thebeachhead.After a month of hard fighting, Lucas was replaced by Major GeneralLucian Truscott,who eventually broke out in May.

    It took four major offensives between January and May 1944 before the line was eventually broken by a combined assault of the Fifth and Eighth Armies (including British, American, French, Polish, and Canadian corps) concentrated along a 30-kilometre (20-mile) front betweenMonte Cassinoand the western seaboard. In a concurrent action, Clark was ordered to break out of the stagnant position at Anzio and cash in on the opportunity to cut off and destroy a large part of the German 10th Army retreating from the Gustav Line between them and the Canadians. But this opportunity was lost on the brink of success, when Clark disobeyed his orders and sent his U.S. forces to enter the vacant Rome instead.[51]Rome had been declared anopen cityby the German Army so no resistance was encountered.

    The American forces took possession of Rome on 4 June 1944.[52]The German 10th Army was allowed to get away and, in the next few weeks, may have been responsible for doubling the Allied casualties in the next few months.

    Allied advance into Northern Italy[edit]

    British infantry moving cautiously through the ruined streets ofImpruneta,3 August 1944
    Main articles:Gothic LineandSpring 1945 offensive in Italy

    After the capture of Rome, and the Alliedinvasion of Normandyin June, theU.S. VI Corpsand theFrench Expeditionary Corps(CEF), which together amounted to seven divisions, were pulled out of Italy during the summer of 1944 to participate inOperation Dragoon,codename for the Allied invasion ofSouthern France.The sudden removal of these experienced units from the Italian front was only partially compensated for by the gradual arrival of three divisions, theBrazilian 1st Infantry Division,theU.S. 92nd Infantry Division,both in the second half of 1944, and theU.S. 10th Mountain Divisionin January 1945.[52]

    In the period from June to August 1944, the Allies advanced beyond Rome, takingFlorenceand closing up on the Gothic Line.[53]This last major defensive line ran from the coast some 50 kilometres (30 miles) north ofPisa,along the jagged Apennine Mountains chain between Florence andBolognato theAdriatic coast,just south ofRimini.In order to shorten the Alliedlines of communicationfor the advance into Northern Italy, thePolish II Corpsadvanced towards the port ofAnconaand, after a month-longbattle,succeeded in capturing it on 18 July.

    DuringOperation Olive,which commenced on 25 August, the Gothic Line defences were penetrated on both the Fifth and Eighth Army fronts; but, there was no decisive breakthrough. Churchill, the British Prime Minister, had hoped that a major advance in late 1944 would open the way for the Allied armies to advance northeast through the "Ljubljana Gap" (the area betweenVeniceandVienna,which is today'sSlovenia) to Vienna andHungaryto forestall theRed Armyfrom advancing intoEastern Europe.Churchill's proposal had been strongly opposed by the U.S. Chiefs of Staff, despite its importance to British postwar interests in the region, as they did not believe that it aligned with overall Allied war priorities.[52]

    In October, Lieutenant GeneralSir Richard McCreerysucceeded Lieutenant GeneralSir Oliver Leeseas the commander of the Eighth Army. In December, Lieutenant General Mark Clark, the Fifth Army commander, was appointed to command the15th Army Group,thereby succeeding the British GeneralSir Harold Alexanderas commander of all Allied ground troops in Italy; Alexander succeededField MarshalSir Henry Wilsonas theSupreme Allied Commanderin the Mediterranean Theatre. Clark was succeeded in command of the Fifth Army by now-Lieutenant General Truscott In the winter and spring of 1944–45, extensivepartisanactivity in Northern Italy took place. As there were two Italian governments during this period, (one on each side of the war), the struggle took on some characteristics of acivil war.

    Brazilian troopsarrive in the city ofMassarosa,Italy, September 1944

    The poor winter weather, which made armoured manoeuvre and the exploitation of overwhelming air superiority impossible, coupled with the massive losses suffered to its ranks during the autumn fighting,[54][55]the need to transfer some British troops toGreece(as well as the need to withdraw theBritish 5th Infantry DivisionandI Canadian Corpstonorthwestern Europe) made it impractical for the Allies to continue their offensive in early 1945. Instead, the Allies adopted a strategy of "offensive defence" while preparing for a final attack when better weather and ground conditions arrived in the spring.

    In late February-early March 1945,Operation Encoresaw elements of theU.S. IV Corps(1st Brazilian Divisionand the newly arrived U.S.10th Mountain Division) battling forward acrossminefieldsin the Apennines to align their front with that of theU.S. II Corpson their right.[56]They pushed the German defenders from the commanding high point ofMonte Castelloand the adjacent Monte Belvedere and Castelnuovo, depriving them of artillery positions that had been commanding the approaches to Bologna since the narrowly failed Allied attempt to take the city in the autumn.[57][58][59]Meanwhile, damage to other transport infrastructure forced Axis forces to use sea, canal and river routes for re-supply, leading toOperation Bowleragainst shipping in Venice harbour on 21 March 1945.

    The Allies' final offensive commenced with massive aerial and artillery bombardments on 9 April 1945.[60]The Allies had 1,500,000 men and women deployed in Italy in April 1945.[11]The Axis on 7 April had 599,404 troops of which 439,224 were Germans and 160,180 were Italians.[11]By 18 April, Eighth Army forces in the east had broken through theArgenta Gapand sent armour racing forward in an encircling move to meet the U.S. IV Corps advancing from the Apennines in Central Italy and to trap the remaining defenders of Bologna.[52]On 21 April, Bologna was entered by the3rd Carpathian Division,the Italian Friuli Group (both from the Eighth Army) and theU.S. 34th Infantry Division(from the Fifth Army).[61]The U.S. 10th Mountain Division, which had bypassed Bologna, reached theRiver Poon 22 April; the8th Indian Infantry Division,on the Eighth Army front, reached the river on 23 April.[62]

    By 25 April, the Italian Partisans' Committee of Liberation declared a general uprising,[63]and on the same day, having crossed the Po on the right flank, forces of the Eighth Army advanced north-northeast towards Venice andTrieste.On the front of the U.S. Fifth Army, divisions drove north toward Austria and northwest toMilan.On the Fifth Army's left flank, theU.S. 92nd Infantry Division(the "Buffalo SoldiersDivision ") went along the coast toGenoa.A rapid advance towardsTurinby the Brazilian division on their right took the German–Italian Army ofLiguriaby surprise, causing its collapse.[58]

    Between 26 April and 1 May there were theBattles of Collecchio-Fornovo di Taro,which resulted in the surrender of the148th German Infantry Divisionto Brazilian soldiers of the FEB; the Brazilian soldiers captured about 15,000 Italian and Nazi soldiers, the end of these battles marked the end of the conflicts in Italy and the end of the Italian fascist army.[64][65]

    As April 1945 came to an end, the German Army Group C, retreating on all fronts and having lost most of its fighting strength, was left with little option but surrender.[58]GeneralHeinrich von Vietinghoff,who had taken command of Army Group C after Albert Kesselring had been transferred to become Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front (OB West) in March 1945, signed theinstrument of surrenderon behalf of the German armies in Italy on 29 April, formally bringing hostilities to an end on 2 May 1945.[66]

    Progress of the campaign[edit]

    • Progress of the war in Italy and the other European fronts
    • 1 July 1943
      1 July 1943
    • 1 November 1943
      1 November 1943
    • 1 July 1944
      1 July 1944
    • 1 September 1944
      1 September 1944
    • 1 December 1944
      1 December 1944
    • 1 May 1945
      1 May 1945

    War crimes[edit]

    Axis crimes[edit]

    See also:Axis war crimes in ItalyandList of Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS divisions involved in war crimes in Italy

    Research in 2016 funded by the German government found the number of victims of Nazi war crimes in Italy to be 22,000. The victims were primarily Italian civilians, sometimes in retaliation forpartisanattacks, andItalian Jews.[67]

    Approximately 14,000 Italian non-Jewish civilians, often women, children and elderly, have been documented to have died in over 5,300 individual instances of war crimes committed by Nazi Germany. The largest of those was theMarzabotto massacre,where in excess of 770 civilians were murdered. TheSant'Anna di Stazzema massacresaw 560 civilians killed while theArdeatine massacresaw 335 randomly selected people executed, among them 75 Italian Jews. In thePadule di Fucecchio massacreup to 184 civilians were executed.[68]

    Allied crimes[edit]

    See also:Allied war crimes during World War II

    Allied war crimes during the conflict were reported, including killing of civilians (such as theCanicattì massacre),[69]execution of prisoners(such astwo massacres at Biscari airfieldon 14 July 1943),[70][71]and rape (most notably themarocchinate).[72]

    See also[edit]

    Notes[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ^Royal Australian Navy– thecorvettes/minesweepersHMASCairns,Cessnock,HMASGawler,HMASGeraldton,HMASIpswich,HMASLismore,HMASMaryborough,and HMASWollongong.
      Royal Australian Air Force–No. 3 Squadron RAAF(fighters),No. 450 Squadron RAAF(fighters),No. 458 Squadron RAAF(maritime patrol), andNo. 462 Squadron RAAF(heavy bombers).[5]
    2. ^In May 1944, eleven out of the total twelve battalion strongProtectorate Government Army(5,002 soldiers, including 272 officers) were moved to northern Italy to support German military operations there.[6][7]Responsibilities were limited to a passive role in the construction of fortifications and field positions.[8]Approximately 600 soldiers deserted to theItalian partisans,due in part to the effects of the propaganda campaign "Operation Sauerkraut" of the United States'Office of Strategic Services.[9]
    3. ^Ellis provides the following information on Allied losses for the campaign, but includes no dates. American: 29,560 killed and missing, 82,180 wounded, 7,410 captured; British: 89,440 killed, wounded, or missing, no information is provided on those captured; Indian: 4,720 killed or missing, 17,310 wounded, and 46 captured; Canadian: 5,400 killed or missing, 19,490 wounded, and 1,000 captured; Pole: 2,460 killed or missing, 8,460 wounded, no information is provided for those captured; South African: 710 killed or missing, 2,670 wounded, and 160 captured; French: 8,600 killed or missing, 23,510 wounded, no information is provided on those captured; Brazilian: 510 killed or missing, 1,900 wounded, no information is provided on those captured; New Zealand: no information is provided for the campaign.[18]
    4. ^United States: 114,000 casualties; British Commonwealth: 198,000 casualties[19]Total Allied casualties: 59,151 killed, 30,849 missing and 230,000 wounded.[20]
    5. ^American: 119,279 casualties; Brazilian: 2,211 casualties; British: 89,436 casualties; British Colonial troops: 448 casualties; Canadian: 25,889 casualties; French: 27,625 casualties; Greeks: 452 casualties; Indian, 19,373 casualties; Italian: 4,729 casualties; New Zealand; 8,668 casualties; Polish: 11,217 casualties; South African: 4,168 casualties.[21]
    6. ^Between 1 September 1943 and 10 May 1944: 87,579 casualties. Between 11 May 1944 and 31 January 1945: 194,330 casualties. Between February and March 1945: 13,741 casualties. British estimates for 1–22 April 1945: 41,000 casualties. This total excludes Axis forces that surrendered at the end of the campaign[26]
    7. ^Ellis states that from various sources, between September 1939 and 31 December 1944, theGerman Armed Forces(including theWaffen SSand foreign volunteers) lost 59,940 killed, 163,600 wounded, and 357,090 captured within Italy.[18]
    8. ^Overmans lists the total death toll of German troops in Italy (including Sicily) as 150,660.[27]The US military estimated 91,000 German and Italian dead in the Italian campaign, thereof 5,000 in Sicily and 86,000 on the Italian mainland, and 364,189 captured prior to the surrender of Army Group C, thereof 7,100 in Sicily and 357,086 on the Italian mainland[28][29]Including 10 killed, 15 wounded and 800 defected from theProtectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
    9. ^"The surrender of nearly one million men from Army Group C, effective at noon on May 2, brought to an end the Mediterranean struggle that had begun five years earlier."[30]
    10. ^InAlexander's GeneralsBlaxland quotes 59,151 Allied deaths between 3 September 1943 and 2 May 1945 as recorded at AFHQ and gives the breakdown between 20 nationalities: United States 20,442; United Kingdom, 18,737; France, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal and Belgium 5,241; Canada, 4,798; India, Pakistan, Nepal 4,078; Poland 2,028; New Zealand 1,688; Italy (excluding irregulars) 917; South Africa 800; Brazil 275; Greece 115;Jewish volunteersfrom theBritish Mandate in Palestine32. In addition 35 soldiers were killed by enemy action while serving with pioneer units from Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Cyprus and the West Indies[20]
    11. ^Field MarshalSir Harold Alexanderafter the war used a figure of 312,000[33]but later historians generally arrive at a slightly higher figure.
    12. ^In 2010, theUfficio dell'Albo d'Ororecorded 13,021 RSI soldiers killed; however, theUfficio dell'Albo d'Oroexcludes from its lists of the fallen the individuals who committed war crimes. In the context of the RSI, where numerous war crimes were committed during theNazi security warfare,and many individuals were therefore involved in such crimes (especially GNR and Black Brigades personnel), this influences negatively the casualty count, under a statistical point of view. The "RSI Historical Foundation" (Fondazione RSI Istituto Storico) has drafteda list that lists the names of some 35,000 RSI military personnel killed in action or executedduring and immediately after World War II (including the "revenge killings" that occurred at the end of the hostilities and in their immediate aftermath), including some 13,500 members of theGuardia Nazionale Repubblicanaand Milizia Difesa Territoriale, 6,200 members of theBlack Brigades,2,800Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicanapersonnel, 1,000Marina Nazionale Repubblicanapersonnel, 1,900X MASpersonnel, 800 soldiers of the "Monterosa" Division, 470 soldiers of the "Italia" Division, 1,500 soldiers of the "San Marco" Division, 300 soldiers of the "Littorio" Division, 350 soldiers of the "Tagliamento" Alpini Regiment, 730 soldiers of the 3rd and 8th Bersaglieri regiments, 4,000 troops of miscellaneous units of theEsercito Nazionale Repubblicano(excluding the above-mentioned Divisions and Alpini and Bersaglieri Regiments), 300 members of theLegione Autonoma Mobile "Ettore Muti",200 members of theRaggruppamento Anti Partigiani,550 members of theItalian SS,and 170 members of theCacciatori degli Appennini Regiment.

    Citations[edit]

    1. ^"Royal Artillery".www.heritage.nf.ca.
    2. ^Gaujac, p. 68
    3. ^"Canada and the Italian Campaign".www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
    4. ^Canada, Veterans Affairs (23 June 2021)."Canada - Italy 1943-1945 - The Second World War - History - Remembrance - Veterans Affairs Canada".www.veterans.gc.ca.
    5. ^RAN, n.d.,Sicily 1943andAustralian War Memorial, n.d.,Sicily 1943Archived23 September 2018 at theWayback Machine(23 September 2018)
    6. ^"History".hrad.army.cz.Army of the Czech Republic. Archived fromthe originalon 27 October 2017.Retrieved27 October2017.
    7. ^Thomas, Nigel (2012).The German Army 1939–45 (5): Western Front 1943–45.New York:Bloomsbury. p. 11.ISBN978-1782002437.
    8. ^Littlejohn, David (1985).Foreign Legions Of The Third Reich.San Jose: Bender Publishing. p. 22.ISBN9780912138220.
    9. ^"A Look Back… Barbara Lauwers: Deceiving the Enemy".cia.gov.Central Intelligence Agency.Archived fromthe originalon 2 September 2009.Retrieved25 October2017.
    10. ^abFrieser 2007,p. 1151.
    11. ^abcdefgFrieser 2007,p. 1158.
    12. ^Jackson, p. 230
    13. ^abFrieser 2007,p. 1156.
    14. ^Frieser 2007,p. 1129.
    15. ^Mitcham, Samual W.; Von Stauffenberg, Stephen (2007).The Battle of Sicily: How the Allies Lost Their Chance for Total Victory.Stackpole Books.ISBN9780811734035.
    16. ^abMitcham & Von Stauffenberg, 2007 p. 305
    17. ^Liddel Hart, Basil H.(1970).A History of the Second World War.London: Weidenfeld Nicolson. p. 627.
    18. ^abEllis, p. 255
    19. ^"The Italian Campaign".Archived fromthe originalon 24 October 2009.Retrieved28 July2011.
    20. ^abBlaxland 1979,p. 11.
    21. ^Jackson, p. 335
    22. ^Zaloga 2006,p. 44.
    23. ^Ufficio storico dello Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito (USSME) (1993).Le operazioni in Sicilia e in Calabria.Rome. pp. 400–401.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
    24. ^Le Operazioni in Sicilia e in Calabria (Luglio-Settembre 1943),Alberto Santoni, p. 401, Stato maggiore dell'Esercito, Ufficio storico, 1989
    25. ^Messerschmidt, et al, 2007, p. 1,114
    26. ^Jackson, p. 400
    27. ^Rüdiger Overmans, Deutsche militärische Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Oldenbourg 2000.ISBN3-486-56531-1,P. 336 and P.174.
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    31. ^Don Caldwell."Luftwaffe Aircraft Losses By Theater, September 1943-October 1944".The Air Force Historical Foundation. Retrieved March 1, 2016. 4,468 operational losses are given from the brief period of September 1943 to October 1944 alone, but including the Balkans.
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    33. ^Blaxland 1979,p. 284.
    34. ^Le Operazioni in Sicilia e in Calabria (Luglio-Settembre 1943), Alberto Santoni, p.401, Stato maggiore dell'Esercito, Ufficio storico, 1989
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    36. ^Giuseppe Fioravanzo,La Marina dall'8 settembre 1943 alla fine del conflitto,p. 433. In 2010, theUfficio dell'Albo d'Oroof the Italian Ministry of Defence recorded 15,197Italian partisanskilled; however, theUfficio dell'Albo d'Oroonly considered as partisans the members of theItalian Resistancewho were civilians before joining the partisans, whereas partisans who were formerly members of the Italian armed forces (more than half those killed) were considered as members of their armed force of origin
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    38. ^Holland, James(2023). "RAINCOAT".The Savage Storm: The Battle for Italy 1943.Atlantic Monthly Press. p. 393.ISBN978-0-8021-6160-4.
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    41. ^Blumenson 1969, p. 7.
    42. ^Weinberg 1994, pp. 588 & 591.
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    53. ^Video: Allies Liberate Florence etc.Universal Newsreel.1944.Retrieved21 February2012.
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    55. ^R.Brooks,The War North of Rome,Chps XIX-XX spec.p254
    56. ^Brooks 2003,p. 678, Chptrs XX to XXII.
    57. ^Moraes, "The Brazilian Expeditionary Force By Its Commander" Chapter V (The IV Corps Offensive); SectionsMonte Castello&Castelnuovo
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