• In Salerno
    THE BRITISH ARMY
    september 1943
    Memories from the
    the following picture are available on the thImperial War Museum website released with IWM non commercial license
    Imperial War
    Museum
  • On June 1940, Italy
    aligned itself with
    Germany
    and declared war
    upon France.
    November 1941
    Eastern Africa
    The Italian Army
    in East Africa were
    finally defeated at the
    Battle of Gondar
    only some guerrilla
    activities ended
    in 1943
    IWM E 2367
    fascist stone monument at
    Kismayu in Italian Somaliland,
    11 April 1941.
  • British forces based in Egypt were ordered to undertake only defensive measures,
    but on June they began a series of raids against Italian positions in Libya. After victory
    by the Allies in 1943 a new stage was set for the Italian Campaign to begin.
    The invasion of european fortress followed few months late.
    North African campaign
    IWM A 16321
    1943, Italian and german war prisoners in Africa
    IWM A 17045
  • Once the Axis forces had been defeated in Africa,
    the Allied strategic bomber force commenced
    attacks on the principal airfields, ports and
    industrial targets of Sardinia, Sicily and southern
    Italy. Their attacks didn't save the italian cities.
    BOMBING ITALY
    IWM C 3772
    IWM CNA 1139
    Flying Officer
    Colin Edmends
    from Australia
    and his fitter,
    D. McMinnemy,
    inspect the tail
    of his
    Curtiss Kittyhawk
  • IWM A 17959
    SICILY 10th JUNE 1943, OPERATION HUSKY
    Royal Navy brings the invasion forces, troops dashing ashore from landing craft.
    Two American and two British attacks were carried out just after midnight
  • On 25 July 1943, during the Great Council of Fascism an "order of the day"
    of Dino Grandi was adopted by majority vote, with that order Mussolini
    was dismissed as prime minister. Leaving the council,
    Mussolini was arrested by carabinieri and spirited off to the island of Ponza.
    Badoglio became prime minister.
    MUSSOLINI ARRESTED
    IWM MH 10946 Lieutenant General George Patton watches operations
  • At the end of july
    Kesselring had realised
    that the outcome of the
    campaign would be an
    evacuation from Messina.
    SICILY DEFEAT
    IWM MH 10946
    Lieutenant General George Patton
    watches operations.
  • The italian general Alfredo Guzzoni
    reported to Rome that,
    without German troops,
    any defence would only been short.
    SICILY DEFEAT
    IWM C 3772 British troops advance through Pachino
  • On 3th september, in Cassibile, the Kingdom of Italy with Giuseppe Castellano
    signed an armistice with the Allied Forces and their representative Walter Bedell Smith.
    The armistice stipulated the surrender of Italy and was secret for some days.
    ARMISTICE
    IWM MH 10946 Lieutenant General George Patton watches operations
  • At the end of july Kesselring had realised that the outcome of the campaign would be
    an evacuation from Messina. The italian general Alfredo Guzzoni reported to Rome
    that, without German troops, any defence would only been short
    BOARDING IN TUNISIA
    IWM MH 10946 Lieutenant General George Patton watches operations
    IWM C 3772 British troops advance through Pachino
  • 8th september
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower, to force the Italian Government announced the armistice at
    Radio Algeri. Head of italian government Badoglio leaved Rome with the military high
    command and the royal family. They leaved the Italian soldiers without a strategy,
    Germans began to occupy the italian cities capturing many of them, more than half of
    all Italian soldiers laid down their arms and tried to go back home.
    In the Salerno war field general Ferrante Gonzaga was the head of italian coastal defense.
    He was killed in the night by nazi soldiers because he refused to lay down arms.
    IWM NA 6786
    IWM HU 51040
    IWM NA 7113
  • A big fleet of ships and submarines leaved the north Africa coast,
    with more than 170.000 soldiers on board.
    100.000 of them, was serving the Royal British Army.
    SALERNO!
    IWM A 20224
    IWM A 19156
  • On 9th september started the Operation Avalanche with different
    landing in Maiori, Pontecagnano, Battipaglia, Eboli, Capaccio and Sapri.
    3.30 am
    IWM A 19251
  • General Mark Clark was the chief of the operations while general Montgomery lead
    the troops coming from Calabria. Maresciallo Badoglio had signed the armistice so
    that italian Army didn't fight the Allieds but German divisions of Fld. Mrshl. Albert
    Kesselring were ready in the coastal italian defense.
    IWM NA 6786
    IWM HU 51040
    IWM NA 7113
  • taranto
    IWM NA 6630
    IWM NA 6646
  • In the Gulf of Salerno landings were carried out with no previous
    naval or aerial bombardment in order to achieve surprise.
    IWM NA 6630
    IWM NA 6646
  • But surprise was not achieved, germans defense was very strong,
    they were determined to resist.
    IWM MH 6339
    IWM MH 6340
  • But surprise was not achieved, germans defense was very strong, they were determined to resist
    IWM A 20225
  • the germans replied to initial allied effort
    with a concerted counterattack
    realized with motorized troops,
    hoping to throw the allied beachhead
    into the sea before it could link with the
    British Eighth Army.
    GERMAN COUNTERATTACK
    IWM NA 6836
    During 12 - 13 September, the Germans mounted
    their strongest counter-attack, dividing the Allied
    forces and almost forcing them to evacuate completely.
    Men of the 9th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers at an observation
    post at the window of a ruined house.
  • Before signing the troops re-boarding
    order general Clark asked an
    intensive bombing.
    No location was saved.
    That decision caused many damages
    and victims among civilians.
    Kids killed in Buccino,
    remembered in the "pallone di pezza",
    at Vallo della Lucania,
    the nine "animelle",
    Altavilla and Battipaglia destroyed.
    NAVAL AND AEREAL BOMBING
    IWM CNA 2103
    this picture represents a following operation during the Sangro river battle
  • Due its strategic position the city of Battipaglia
    was one of the most critical objectives
    of the contenders. It was conquered and lost
    both by germans both by allied, many times.
    THE BATTIPAGLIA SACRIFICE
    IWM NA 6985
    IWM NA 6984
    IWM NA 6983
    IWM NA 6982
  • Kitted out temporarily as an American private
    with bucket helmet, hip-clinging trousers and
    gated boots,I picked up a lift in an American
    truck going in the direction of Naples, which
    had fallen three days before, and where I supposed
    my section would already be installed.
    At Battipaglia, it was all change, with an opportunity
    for close- quarters study of the effects of the carpet
    bombing ordered by General Clark.
    The general has become the destroying angel
    of southern Italy. Here in Battipaglia,
    we had an Italian Guernica -a town transformed
    in a matter of seconds to a heap of rubble.
    An old man who came to beg said that
    practically nobody had been left alive,
    and that the bodies were still under the ruins.
    From the stench, and from the sight of the flies
    streaming like black smoke into and out of the holes
    in the ground, this was entirely believable.
    THE ITALIAN GUERNICA
    On the left Norman Lewis, picture not in IWM archives
  • Original wartime caption:
    Three men of the 9th Bn. Royal Fusiliers, who
    spent 5 days hiding from the enemy in
    Battipaglia.They are:
    Sgt. Danny Hogan, Hammersmith,
    London L/Cpl. F. Crew of Shoredtich,
    London Sgt. S. Judd of Erith, Kent.
    The 9th Royal Fusiliers advanced into the town
    of Battipaglia at midnight 9th-10th September
    1943. There was no opposition, at 8 a.m. on
    the 10th September 1943 the Battalion knew
    they were cut off by German armour who came
    around their right and left flanks.
    THE HISTORY OF
    HOGAN, JUDD AND CREW
    IWM NA 6970
  • They made a fighting withdrawal and some of
    them got back to Allied lines. But 39 men were
    still in one house in the centre of the town.
    The enemy searched the lower floors and set
    up HQ in the next house. The Fusiliers had
    no water and no food, a sentry was always
    on to stop the men from snoring.
    They made occasional recces for food and
    water, and on one occasion knocked out
    two machine gun nests and killed 8 Germans
    on their search for an escape road.
    On the fourth day Sgt. Hogan volunteered
    to go out and find an escape path, for the others.
    He got out, waded down the River Tusciano
    with his puttees wrapped
    THE HISTORY OF
    HOGAN, JUDD AND CREW
    IWM NA 6970
  • The Naval Bombing helped to resists to
    the germans counter-attack.
    Here the original description of IWM:
    The Deputy Commander-in-Chief and
    Ground Forces Commander, General
    the Hon Sir Harold Alexander with the
    Commander of the 5th Army,
    Lieutenant-General Mark W Clark
    and the Commander of the British
    10th Corps, Lieutenant-General
    Sir Richard McCreery during Alexander's
    flying visit to the Salerno beaches
    on 15 September 1943.
    His visit finally stopped plans to evacuate
    the beachhead.
    DEFEAT AVOIDED
    WM NA 6822
  • The British Army
    in Salerno
    sep. 1943
    saved memory
    in the
    Imperial War
    Museum
    Archives
    2020 published by Mu.Bat
    the following images are available on
    www.iwm.org.uk
    released under the
    IWM non commercial license