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    Operation Husky Sicily 1943: Maj R L Simmons

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    Stent21
    Operation Husky was the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. There were issues with joint and combined planning and operations between the US, UK, and other Allied forces. The preliminary planning was a strategic compromise due to disagreements between national interests. During operational planning, there were difficulties caused by dispersed headquarters, ongoing battles, and national/service pride that hindered cooperation. Issues emerged in the airborne assault, amphibious landings, lack of flexibility in the plan, and failure to cut off Axis retreat from Sicily. Valuable lessons were learned about the complexity of amphibious operations, importance of planning coordination, selection of commanders, and training that would be applied in later operations.

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    Operation Husky Sicily 1943: Maj R L Simmons

    Uploaded by

    Stent21
    52 views27 pages
    Operation Husky was the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. There were issues with joint and combined planning and operations between the US, UK, and other Allied forces. The preliminary planning was a strategic compromise due to disagreements between national interests. During operational planning, there were difficulties caused by dispersed headquarters, ongoing battles, and national/service pride that hindered cooperation. Issues emerged in the airborne assault, amphibious landings, lack of flexibility in the plan, and failure to cut off Axis retreat from Sicily. Valuable lessons were learned about the complexity of amphibious operations, importance of planning coordination, selection of commanders, and training that would be applied in later operations.

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    Op Husky

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    Operation Husky was the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. There were issues with joint and combined planning and operations between the US, UK, and other Allied forces. The preliminary planning was a strategic compromise due to disagreements between national interests. During operational planning, there were difficulties caused by dispersed headquarters, ongoing battles, and national/service pride that hindered cooperation. Issues emerged in the airborne assault, amphibious landings, lack of flexibility in the plan, and failure to cut off Axis retreat from Sicily. Valuable lessons were learned about the complexity of amphibious operations, importance of planning coordination, selection of commanders, and training that would be applied in later operations.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    52 views27 pages

    Operation Husky Sicily 1943: Maj R L Simmons

    Uploaded by

    Stent21
    Operation Husky was the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. There were issues with joint and combined planning and operations between the US, UK, and other Allied forces. The preliminary planning was a strategic compromise due to disagreements between national interests. During operational planning, there were difficulties caused by dispersed headquarters, ongoing battles, and national/service pride that hindered cooperation. Issues emerged in the airborne assault, amphibious landings, lack of flexibility in the plan, and failure to cut off Axis retreat from Sicily. Valuable lessons were learned about the complexity of amphibious operations, importance of planning coordination, selection of commanders, and training that would be applied in later operations.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 27

    OPERATION HUSKY

    Sicily 1943

    Maj R L Simmons

    1
    What problems in joint and combined
    operations were revealed by Operation
    Husky? How effectively were they
    resolved?

    2
    OUTLINE
    • OP HUSKY in context
    • OP HUSKY in overview
    • Preliminary Planning (Strategic)
    • Planning (Operational)
    • Operational issues (against functions in
    combat)
    • Endgame

    3
    JULY 1943

    4
    5
    6
    7
    PRELIMINARY PLANNING
    • Casablanca Conference Jan 1943
    • National Strategic Issues US/UK
    • Aid to Stalin
    • Spanish Neutrality
    • Add pressure to Italy (Trident
    Conference May 1943)
    • Secure Mediterranean
    • Delay Op ROUNDUP
    • Compromise

    8
    PRELIMINARY PLANNING
    ‘ A strategic compromise conceived in
    dissention and born of uneasy alliance’

    Garland and Smyth, 1986

    9
    ORBAT
    • HQ - Eisenhower
    • Air – Air Chief Marshall Tedder
    • Maritime – Admiral Cunningham (2590
    Ships and LC)
    • Land – General Alexander 15th Army Gp (7
    Divisions + 1 Reserve)
    • 8th Army (UK/CAN) – General Montgomery
    • 7th Army (US) – General Patton
    10
    OPERATIONAL PLANNING
    • Key personalities
    • Dislocated HQs
    • Fighting the current
    battle
    • National Pride
    • Single Service Pride
    • Joint? Combined?

    11
    OPERATIONAL PLANNING
    ‘ There were no decisions reached about
    how to exploit a victory in Sicily…it was an
    egregious error to leave the future
    unresolved. It led to misguided planning
    for and a cloudy conclusion to the Sicily
    operation’

    General Bradley, Commander 2 Corps, 7th


    Army
    12
    MANOEUVRE
    • Airborne Assault
    • Amphibious Assault – Initial
    • Amphibious Assault – Subsequent
    • Fixed Plan – No flexibility
    • Axis Delay – Etna Line
    • Denial of MSRs

    13
    AIR MANOEUVRE

    14
    MARITIME MANOEUVRE

    15
    MANOEUVRE
    • Airborne Assault
    • Amphibious Assault –
    Initial
    • Amphibious Assault –
    Subsequent
    • Fixed Plan – No flexibility
    • Axis Delay – Etna Line
    • Denial of MSRs
    16
    17
    MANOEUVRE
    ‘ A secondary attack on Calabria would have
    enabled the Sicily landing to be developed
    into an overwhelming Allied victory’

    General Albert Kesselring


    German Commander-in-Chief Army
    Command South

    18
    PROTECTION
    • Denial of routes to Axis reserves
    • Air Superiority – Pre Ops
    • Control of Maritime manoeuvre space
    • Axis use of delay to enable withdrawal

    19
    FIREPOWER
    • Naval Gunfire –
    Battleships + LC
    • Air – CAS vs Strategic
    targeting
    • Air – Overwhelming Air
    Superiority
    • Armour – US/UK Attitudes
    • Artillery
    20
    INFORMATION AND
    INTELLIGENCE
    • Deception – Op MINCEMEAT
    • Initial approach to Amphibious AO
    • Beach Recce
    • Air Recce
    • Joint Communications
    • HUMINT

    21
    COMBAT SERVICE SUPPORT
    • Initial number of LC
    • Subsequent perception of LC availability
    • Sea basing of stores
    • Build up of combat power over logistical
    elements

    22
    COMBAT SERVICE SUPPORT
    • Tactical stowage
    • Beach masters

    23
    ENDGAME
    • Axis withdrawal to Italy
    • Failure to capitalise on victory
    • Slow to communicate intelligence
    • Slow to advance
    • Costly victory in human terms
    • Air and Maritime reluctance (Gallipoli)

    24
    The enemy failure to exploit the last chance of hindering the
    German forces crossing the Straits of Messina, by continuous and
    strongly coordinated attacks from the sea and the air, was almost a
    greater boon to the German Command than their failure
    immediately to push their pursuit across the straits on 17 August.
    Unquestionably the troops on both sides had to face extraordinary
    exertions in the heat of a blistering midsummer sun in the rocky and
    almost treeless mountain regions, but the halt called by the Allies
    until 3 September, which was not absolutely dictated by the
    situation, was again a gift to the Axis.

    General Albert Kesselring

    25
    POLITICAL FALLOUT
    • Grand Strategic victory
    • Mussolini Arrested
    • Loss of trust between Axis nations
    • Springboard to Italy
    • German Forces split
    • Complete control of Mediterranean
    • Time to build up combat power before Op
    OVERLORD
    • Valuable lessons learned

    26
    LESSONS IDENTIFIED
    • Inherent complexity of amphibious operations
    • Planning coordination
    • Careful selection of commanders
    • Rehearsals and training (Joint)
    • Air Superiority and Sea Control
    • Flexible approach within a defined plan
    • Importance of deception and shaping
    • Understanding the 1 Up Intent

    27

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