On 25 July King Victor Emmanuel III had announced the resignation of Premier Benito Mussolini and his cabinet, thereby exposing the weakness of fascist Italy. Italian resistance had crumbled and in August the German army started to withdraw to the mainland across the Strait of Messina.
The British Eighth Army succeeded in taking Catania on the east coast early in August, and Messina was entered by both American and British units on the 16th. All organized resistance ceased on 17 August after thirty-nine days of fighting.
Allied Force Headquarters’ plan for the occupation of Corsica and Sardinia was confirmed at the Quebec conference held in August 1943. After the withdrawal of the German forces from Sardinia, the island fell into Allied hands without a struggle. The French army, given the mission of taking Corsica, met only slight resistance from the retreating German troops in October 1943.
Air bases established on both islands provided air coverage for future operations in northern Italy and southern France.
TUNISIA
INFANTRY MEN WITH FULL EQUIPMENT boarding ship for the invasion of Sicily. Extra clothing and personal effects were carried in the unmanageable barracks bag. The only satisfactory way to carry this bag was over the shoulder, an impossible feat for a man with a pack on his back. Later the bag was redesigned; a shoulder strap and a handle on the side were added. It was then called a duffel bag.
TUNISIA
MEN MARCHING ABOARD LANDING CRAFT IN BIZERTE HARBOR. This port was one of the embarkation points for the invasion of Sicily, an island strategically important because its geographic location between Africa and Italy almost divides the Mediterranean Sea in two. In order to travel from one end of the Mediterranean to the other it was necessary to pass through the ninety-mile strait between Sicily and Tunisia. With Sicily in enemy hands, control of this strait was divided and enemy aircraft and submarines interfered with Allied shipping to the Middle East. (Landing craft, infantry, large, LCI (L).)