Allied invasion of Italy
1943 battle / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Allied invasion of Italy was the invasion of mainland Italy by the Allies during World War II. The Allies landed on the mainland on 3 September 1943. The invasion followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign.
Quick Facts Invasion of Italy, Date ...
Invasion of Italy | |||||||
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Part of the Italian Campaign of World War II | |||||||
Troops and vehicles being landed under shell fire during the invasion of mainland Italy at Salerno, September 1943. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom United States Canada |
Germany Italy (to 8 September) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Harold Alexander Bernard Montgomery Mark W. Clark |
Albert Kesselring Heinrich von Vietinghoff | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
189,000 (by September 16) | 100,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2,009 killed 7,050 wounded 3,501 missing | 3,500 casualties |
Close
The invasion was done by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group. This included Lieutenant General Mark Clark's U.S. Fifth Army and General Bernard Montgomery's British Eighth Army.
The main invasion force landed near Salerno on the western coast in Operation Avalanche. Two other attacks were done in Calabria (Operation Baytown) and Taranto (Operation Slapstick).