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The Americans finalize the preparations for the amphibious landing in Sicily: a truck climbs on reverse the loading ramp of a Landing Ship Tank.
As soon as this one reaches the beach, the gate will open and the vehicles transported will be ready to leave immediately.
The abandoned position of a German 88-millimeter cannon at half-slope on an abrupt terrain elevation in Sicily. The Allied
amphibious landings in Sicily were the first assault against the European Fortress and would serve as a trial for the Operation
Overlord, the amphibious landings in Normandy.
The port of Messina, near the Maritime Station, as it appeared to the American vanguards of General Patton when they entered the city
the 16th August 1943.
A dramatic image of the war in Sicily: an elderly peasant sitting on the ruins of her dwelling.
An American military policeman poses in front of Villa Feltrinelli, near Gargnano sul Garda, where Benito
Mussolini had been housed after the Italian Armistice, under discreet vigilance from a detachment of the SS.
Two German soldiers support an anti-partisan operation with a 50-millimeter mortar. After the Italian Armistice of September 1943
the partisan activity grew and the German reprisals against partisans and civilians alike became frequent and harsh.
The crew of an American medium tank M4 Sherman while ressuplying the vehicle with ammunitions. Trying to break the German
Gustav Line with the aim of reaching Rome, the Allies had to fight hard and long battles on the strategic town of Cassino.
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In Operation Husky took part hundreds of ships of every type, used for transport and defense, and later for supporting the landing
contingent with powerful naval artillery.
American infantrymen in the moment of disembarking in a Sicilian beach. The beachhead is already consolidated and the soldiers
leave the landing units with total quietness.
An Allied column passes next to an overturned Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger, one of the heaviest German tanks. The surfaces of
the hull are covered with zimmeritt, a special pastry which applied to vehicles could prevent the
enemy infantrymen from attaching magnetic mines to them.
The Allied fleet photographed in the Gulf of Salerno from the deck of a transport ship. The whole landing force comprised almost 100000
British soldiers and 70000 Americans.
Two British soldiers support each other at the entrance of a hospital. The troops disembarked after knowing about the Italian surrendering, and were
caught by the German resistance.
American reconnaissance vehicles M8 from the 36th Division, belonging to the 5th Army, upon which fell the main role on the
battles for the consolidation of the beachhead during the amphibious landings at Salerno.
German gunners loading a projectile in an artillery piece. Hitler feared a total breakthrough on the Italian Front, but Kesselring
managed to keep the situation under control.
The Italian landscape, rich in natural obstacles, was a challenge for the Allied armies. In this photograph an engineering unit
of the US Army repairs a bridge that had been destroyed by the retreating Germans.
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