IV ALLIED INVASION OF SICILY

ALLIED INVASION OF SICILY

At 10 o'clock on Friday night, July 9, gliders packed with Allied troops dropped behind the enemy lines in Sicily, and the invasion of the island had begun. The gliders were quickly followed by paratroops, and through the next two days American and British landing forces made contact with the air borne units, breached the coastal defenses, and established bridgeheads at many selected points. Protected by a great fleet of Allied warships, and by the Allied Air Forces, which had secured air supremacy, mighty reinforcements of men, tanks, guns, equipment, and supplies were successfully landed. Enemy coastal batteries were put out of action by the guns of the Fleet. By July 11 the first immediate objectives had been taken, and three Sicilian airfields were in Allied hands. One of these was at Pachino, captured by British and Canadian assault troops. American forces occupied two airfields at Gela, where the enemy, supported by tanks, made a counter-attack, which was successfully beaten off. Axis forces opposing the invasion were estimated at 400,000, including 100,000 Italians. The German radio admitted that the first phase of the attack had been successful at several points, and an Italian commentator boasted that the Allies would "bite their teeth out" on the strong Italian fortifications. The picture shows one of the many Sicilian landings.

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