Patton and the Battle for Sicily

Operation Husky, the combined American and British air and sea invasion of Sicily in July 1943, was one of World War IIs most critical campaigns. The largest amphibious assault to date came at a crucial moment, and both the planning and execution presented many conflicts for the Allies. Despite the success of Operation Torch in North Africa, the U.S. was still considered not fully tested or trusted by their British partners, and Stalin was clamoring for the Allies to open a second front to take the pressure off his Soviet Union. At the center of Husky was George S. Patton Jr.,inarguably Americas most dynamic, courageous, and controversial commander of World War II. His dreams of martial glory and his all-consuming desire to best his chief Allied rival, General Bernard Montgomery, head of the British Eighth Army, to the ultimate prizethe port of Messinaoften clouded his judgment. His primary motivation, however, was to prove to Monty and other dismissive British generals that the American soldier was as good, if not better, than his British counterpart. In this new work, author Flint Whitlock covers the history of Operation Husky as it unfolded, with much of the Allied leadership facing internal conflict. Using Pattons personal letters and diaries, Whitlock reveals the scathing opinions he held of Montgomery and almost everyone else in the Allied hierarchy (Eisenhower, Marshall, Clark, Bradley, and Alexander, among others)even Adm. H. Kent Hewitt, USN, whose Eighth Fleet carried Pattons troops to the beaches and supported them once on shore. In fact, it was the guns from Hewitts warships that halted the fierce German and Italian attacks that nearly threw the Americans back into the sea. From Tunisia to the landing beaches on the south coast of Sicily to the final fight for Messina, this book chronicles how Husky would prove pivotal for both sides. The operation was criticized by some historians as a wasteful effort by the Allies that squandered valuable troops and resources while allowing many of the Italian and German troops to escape in the battles final daysan Axis Dunkirk. Here, Whitlock makes the case that Husky caused the downfall of Benito Mussolini and the neutralization of fascist Italy, and opened the second front to help Stalin. Moreover, the fight for Sicily proved the worth of American soldiers and seamenas well as combined Army-Navy planning and logistics capabilities. Ultimately, lessons learned from Husky would be integrated into the Operation Overlord plan launched against Frances Normandy coast the following year.