Inferno. Sicilian invasion. An enemy bomber scored a direct hit on this LST setting her aflame when she was about fifty yards from shore and had just jockeyed into position to discharge her cargo. The deck above is loaded with trucks, other vehicles and men who clamber down ropes to escape the flames. Troops stranded in the belly of the craft wait to be taken off the ramp by amphibious "ducks," the seagoing invasion trucks
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Public domain photograph - historical image of Italy, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
The Allied invasion of Sicily, code-named Operation Husky, began before dawn on July 10, 1943, with combined air and sea landings involving 150,000 troops, 3,000 ships and 4,000 aircraft and 600 tanks. Allied troops encountered little resistance. The Axis defense of Sicily was weakened by losses the German and Italian armies had suffered in North Africa, in casualties as well as the several hundred thousand troops captured at the end of the campaign. On July 25, the day after Mussolini’s arrest, Italian troops began withdrawing from Sicily. As July turned to August, Patton, and Montgomery and their armies battled mostly against German troops pushing the Axis forces until most were trapped in a northeast corner of the island. After 38 days of fighting, the U.S. and Great Britain successfully drove German and Italian troops from the island. On August 17, 1943, Patton, expecting to fight one final battle, was surprised to learn that the enemy forces had disappeared. The battle for Sicily was complete, but German losses had not been severe, and the Allies’ failure to capture the fleeing Axis armies undermined their victory.
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