On July 4th and 5th, 1943, the slow-moving assault convoy was attacked off the coast of Algeria and three freighters carrying supplies were sunk. The landing flotilla had to sail by the Gulf of Biscayne, teeming with U-boats, before entering the Mediterranean. Operation Husky, as the invasion was dubbed, was risky business. The Allies had a second goal: to force Germany to pull land and air forces away from the eastern front in order to defend its southern side, thereby easing the pressure on the USSR. The invasion of Sicily was the logical conclusion of the North African adventure, since capturing the island meant regaining control of most of the Mediterranean. On March 12th, 1943, the Allies finally recaptured the whole of North Africa. The Afrikakorps was caught in a pincer between landing invasion forces advancing from the east and the Eighth Army still marching westwards. On November 8th, British and US troops landed in North Africa (Operation Torch). On November 4th, 1942, the Eighth British Army, under General Bernard Montgomery halted the German troops at El Alamein in Egypt, forcing them to withdraw. Canada in the Second World War > Events > Roads to Victory > The Invasion of Sicily The Invasion of SicilyĪt the end of 1942, Great Britain and the United States put a stop to the series of remarkable military successes of Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrikakorps, who threatened to capture Egypt and the Suez Canal.
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