1. North Africa and Italy
Lesson 17

2. North Africa

3. Italian Presence in North Africa
Since before World War II, Italy had been occupying Libya and had over a million soldiers based there
In neighboring Egypt, the British Army had only 36,000 men guarding the Suez Canal and the Arabian oilfields
On Sept 13, 1940, the Italians advanced into Egypt but halted in front of the main British defenses at Mersa Matruh
On Dec 9, the British counterattacked and pushed the Italians back more than 500 miles, inflicting heavy casualties
British troops then moved along the coast and on Jan 22, 1941, they captured the port of Tobruk in Libya

4. Germany to the Rescue
In the meantime, Germany sent forces across the Mediterranean to Tripoli
The Afrika Corps commanded by Erwin Rommel
Italy’s disasters in North Africa and elsewhere (i.e., Greece) were threatening to undermine the Axis position in the Balkans and the Mediterranean

5. Rommel
Characteristically Rommel attacked and drove the British Commonwealth forces out of Libya except for Tobruk
With the situation in North Africa stabilized, Hitler turned his attention to shoring up Italy, leaving Rommel to deal with North Africa
One of Rommel’s biggest challenges would be his long, tenuous supply line
Between Oct and Nov the Allies sank nearly 80% of Axis supply ships crossing the Mediterranean

6. Rommel
Rommel pushed the British deep into Egypt but Montgomery stopped Rommel at El Alamein in July 1942

7. Operation Torch
While this was going on in Egypt and Libya, Americans acquiesced to British pressure and began planning Operation Torch– landings to occupy Algeria and Morocco and co-opt the Vichy French
The “Vichy French” had reached an agreement with the Germans allowing a French government headed by Marshall Henri Pétain to govern the French colonies and those parts of France not occupied by the Germans
The “Free French” established their own government in exile led by Charles de Gaulle

8. Operation Torch
The Anglo-American forces landed at Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers and then advanced by land and sea to Tunisia

9. Operation Torch
At first the Vichy French resisted, but eventually surrendered
Hitler began rushing troops to Tunis before the Allies could get there
Hitler was successful in winning “the race to Tunis” and therefore denying the Mediterranean to Allied shipping but he did so at a great price, committing Italian and German troops to an ultimately hopeless fight when they could have been better used elsewhere

11. Kasserine Pass
In January, Rommel had escaped from Libya and arrived in Tunisia
He developed a plan to sweep up from southern Tunisia and destroy the Allied supply dumps in eastern Algiers
Rommel attacked on February 14 and punched his way through the Kasserine Pass
It was a tactical victory, but Rommel was unable to continue with his larger plan and began withdrawing on Feb 22

12. American soldiers enter Kasserine Pass
Germans Defeated
Rommel then turned south against the British who were arriving from Egypt
British General Bernard Montgomery dealt Rommel a stunning defeat and Rommel personally left Africa
The Axis position in North Africa steadily deteriorated and in early May the Allies controlled Tunisia
American soldiers enter Kasserine Pass

13. Lloyd Fredendall, commander of the American II Corps
First Battle
The Americans did not perform very well in their first combat experience and senior leadership was horrible
General Eisenhower was forced to relieve Lloyd Fredendall of command and replace him with George Patton
Lloyd Fredendall, commander of the American II Corps

14. Results of North Africa
The Germans had wasted valuable resources in an indecisive theater
Mussolini was severely weakened domestically
The Americans learned from their poor performance and made the necessary changes
The British and American coalition weathered a potentially threatening storm

15. Casablanca Conference
After the Axis surrender in Tunisia, the Allies began planning the next phase of the war
Roosevelt and Churchill met in Casablanca, Morocco in January 1943
Stalin had been invited, but declined to attend because of Stalingrad

16. Second Front
Since July 19, 1941, Stalin had been demanding the Allies open up a second front to relieve the German pressure Russia was facing
Invading Italy would help meet Stalin’s demand

17. Strategic Differences
US advocates for a cross channel invasion to directly attack Germany
Churchill prefers an indirect approach, attacking through the “soft underbelly of Europe”

18. British Approach

19. American Approach

20. Casablanca Conference Jan 1943
Britain
“the control of the Mediterranean meant… control of the Western world.”
Had imperial fortunes in Egypt, the Middle East, and India
Felt it was the Axis’ vulnerable point
Americans
“periphery pecking” would delay the cross-channel invasion that would strike the German jugular

21. What They Agreed On
Forces from Operation Torch could continue on to Sicily once the North African Campaign was terminated
Churchill knew this would preclude a cross-channel invasion in 1943
At the end of the conference, Roosevelt announced that “peace can come to the world only by the total elimination of German and Japanese military power (which) means unconditional surrender.”

22. Trident Conference May 1943
Americans accept the strategic goal of eliminating Italy from the war but demand that the forces involved consist only of those already in the Mediterranean
Americans and British also agree that planning begin for a cross channel invasion in May 1944
The Federal Reserve Building in Washington, DC, site of the Trident Conference

23. The Italian Campaign Three amphibious operations
Sicily (Operation Husky)
Salerno (Operation Avalanche)
Anzio (Operation Shingle)

24. Sicily, 1943
Failure to Plan Ahead

25. The Commanders General Mark Clark, American Fifth Army
General Bernard Montgomery, British Eighth Army
General Sir Harold Alexander, 15th Army Group

26. General George Patton, Seventh Army, coming ashore in Sicily
General Omar Bradley, commander II Corps

27. Sicily
Allies enjoy great tactical success in capturing the island of Sicily but do not have a good plan for what to do next
Germans are able to escape to the Italian mainland
The King places Mussolini under arrest but the Allies are slow to exploit this diplomatic opportunity

28. Messina: With Mainland Italy in the Distance

29. So What Next ?…. “We can't win a war by capturing islands.”
General Mark Clark, Fifth Army commander
One down, two to go: Cartoon on jeep shows Mussolini crossed out with Hitler and Hirohito next

30. Invading the Italian Mainland
Salerno, 1943
Invading the Italian Mainland

31. The Commanders: Allies
General Sir Richard McCreery, British X Corps
General Ernest Dawley, American VI Corps

32. The Commanders: Axis Albert Kesserling A Luftwaffe officer
Supreme Commander “South” or O.B.S. (Oberbefehlshaber Süd)
One of Germany’s best generals

33. Salerno
With the Italian Army on the verge of disintegrating the assault on Salerno was designed to seize the port of Naples and the airfields of Foggia, followed by a drive to Rome
The Germans are ready for the invasion and the battle is a close call for the Allies
Massive naval gunfire, strategic bombers, and determined Allied ground forces save the day

34. Gustav Line
The Germans withdrew to a defense centered on Monte Cassino astride the Liri, Sangro, Rapido, and Garigliano Rivers
Major position from which to defend Rome
Exposed the Allies to costly and slow mountain fighting that was getting them nowhere
Allies need a way to alleviate the stalemate

35. Anzio, 1944
Missed Opportunity

36. Strategic Situation in late 1943
Campaign stalled about 80 miles short of Rome and was beginning to resemble the trench warfare of World War I
A landing at Anzio would bypass German defenses around Cassino and put the Allies just 35 miles south of Rome
Gustav Line
Anzio
Salerno
Rome

37. New Commander
Major General John Lucas replaced Dawley as VI Corps commander after Salerno
Would prove to not be the right man for the job
Tired from mountain warfare in Italy; appeared dispirited and discouraged.

38. Ghost of Salerno
“Don't stick your neck out, Johnny (new VI Corps Commander John Lucas). I did at Salerno and got into trouble.”
Mark Clark, Fifth Army commander
Landing at Salerno

39. Anzio
The Allies surprise the Germans at Anzio and have immediate success
However the close call at Salerno has left them with an overly cautious attitude and they let the Germans recover
“I had hoped we were hurling a wildcat into the shore, but all we got was a stranded whale.”
Winston Churchill

40. Anzio
Alexander’s guidance was to “Carry out an assault landing on the beaches in the vicinity of Rome with the object of cutting the enemy lines of communication and threatening the rear of the German 14 Corps”
“Cut the enemy’s main communications in the Colli Laziali (Alban Hills) area southeast of Rome, and threaten the rear of the 14 German corps”

41. Anzio Alexander had told Lucas to advance “on” the Alban Hills
Instead Lucas cautiously builds up the beachhead which gives the Germans rush in reinforcements
“On January 22 and even the following day, an audacious and enterprising formation of enemy troops… could have penetrated into the city of Rome itself without having overcome any serious opposition”
Siegried Westphal, German Chief of Staff
Alexander had told Lucas to advance “on” the Alban Hills
Did that mean “to” or “toward”?
What was the commander’s intent?

42. Legacy of Anzio
It wasn’t until June 4 that the Allies finally reached Rome in “a hollow triumph”
By then the decisive Allied effort had shifted to France
Most of the German Tenth Army escaped Clark at Rome and the Germans established a strong defense along the Gothic Line
Kept the Allies away from the Italian industrial area and the Alpine approaches to Germany
Rome
Gothic Line

43. Summary of the Italian Campaign
Through the summer of 1943 it was an excellent training ground for Anglo-American forces
Casualties the Allies inflicted on German ground and air forces in Tunisia and Sicily were a significant return on the investment
“After that point, however, Italy cost more than it gained.”
Robert Doughty, American Military History and the Evolution of Western Warfare

44. Next
Normandy