Allied Invasion of Sicily World War Ii Newsreel Operation Husky (1943)
1943 · Short film · 10 min
- War
Synopsis
Prepared for the home market, this silent WWII era Excel Newsreel was sold in Sears and other department stores for viewing by the American public. The film shows Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943, and contains some great shots of General George S. Patton in command of invasion forces. Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis Powers (Italy and Nazi Germany). It was a big amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign and was the beginning of the Italian Campaign. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners; the Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island and the Mediterranean sea lanes were opened for Allied merchant ships for the first time since 1941. Benito Mussolini was toppled from power in Italy and the way was opened for the invasion of Italy. Hitler "canceled a major offensive at Kursk after only a week, in part to divert forces to Italy," resulting in a reduction of German strength on the Eastern Front. The invasion of Sicily, code-named Operation Husky, began before dawn on July 10, 1943, with combined air and sea landings involving 150,000 troops, 3,000 ships and 4,000 aircraft, all directed at the southern shores of the island. This massive assault was nearly cancelled the previous day when a summer storm arose and caused serious difficulties for paratroopers dropping behind enemy lines that night. However, the storm…
Uploader's description on archive.org
Details
- Running time
- 10 minutes
- Collection
- Ephemeral Films
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- Allied Invasion
- Sicily
- WWII
- Excel Newsreel
- Sears
- American Public
- George S Patton
- Stock Footage