The Battle of Sicily: How the Allies Lost Their Chance for Total Victory Stackpole Military History Series

401 Pages·2007·9.09 MB·English

by  Mitcham

THE BATTLE OF SICILY
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THE BATTLE OF
SICILY
How the Allies Lost Their Chance
for Total Victory
Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr.
Friedrich von Stauffenberg
STACKPOLE
BOOKS
Copyright © 1991 by Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr., and the estate of Friedrich von Stauffenberg Published in
paperback in 2007 by
STACKPOLE BOOKS
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Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
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All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form or by any
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Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
Cover design by Tracy Patterson
Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mitcham, Samuel W.
The battle of Sicily: how the Allies lost their chance for total victory / Samuel W.
Mitcham, Jr., Friedrich von Stauffenberg.
p. cm.—(Stackpole military history series)
Originally published: New York: Orion Books, 1991.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-81173403-5
ISBN-10: 0-8117-3403-X
1. World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns—Italy—Sicily. 2. Sicily (Italy)—History—
1870–1945. I. Stauffenberg, Friedrich von. II. Title.
D763.S5M58 2007
940.54'21548—dc22
2007000835
eISBN: 9780811746694
Table of Contents

Maps vii
Tables viii
Introduction ix
Acknowledgments xi
Chapter 1 The Great Blunder 1
Chapter 2 Uneasy Allies 9
Chapter 3 The Deteriorating Axis 13
Chapter 4 The Defenders 21
Chapter 5 Pantelleria, the Plan, and the Air Battles 41
Chapter 6 The Allies Approach 63
Chapter 7 D-Day 73
Chapter 8 Counterattack and Retreat 121
Chapter 9 Primosole Bridge 137
Chapter 10 Enter General Hube 169
Chapter 11 Patton Breaks Loose 193
Chapter 12 The Battles of the Hauptkampflinie 231
Chapter 13 The Allies Close In 259
Chapter 14 Operation Lehrgang: A Panzer Corps Escapes 283
Epilogue 315
Appendix 1: Tables of Equivalent Rank 327
Appendix 2: Evolution and Titles of the
329
Hermann Goering Panzer Unit
Appendix 3: Order of Battle, Italian 6th Army,
330
July 10, 1943
Appendix 4: Order of Battle, 15th Army Group,
July 10, 1943 335
Notes 341
Bibliography 355
Index 360
Maps

1 The Mediterranean xii
2 Sicily 24
3 Axis Dispositions, July 9, 1943 50
4 Italian Coastal Defense Units, July 10, 1943 76
5 The Allied Landings: July 10, 1943 77
6 The Counterattacks of July 10, 1943 95
7 The Counterattacks of July 11, 1943 122
8 The Battle of Southeastern Sicily, July 10–22, 1943 138
9 The Primosole Bridge Sector 149
10 Situation, July 18, 1943: Patton Changes Directions 200
11 The Conquest of Western Sicily: July 19–23, 1943 201
12 Situation, July 23, 1943 207
13 The British XXXth Corps’ Drive to Adrano, July 24–August 7, 1943 253
14 The Battle of Troina, August 1–6, 1943 260
15 Northeastern Sicily: Hube’s Defensive Lines 265
16 The Conquest of Northeastern Sicily 268
17 The Messina Flak Corridor, Early August 1943 287
18 The Evacuation: August 11–17, 1943 290