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How the invasion came about
With North Africa secured and Sicily—the stepping stone to Italy—conquered, the Allied forces launched their invasion of Italy on 3 September 1943. It began with British forces skipping across the Strait of Messina to Calabria. -
Period: to
Invasion of Italy
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When they all got together
More British and American forces landed several hundred miles to the north at Salerno. Their plan was simple: the northern forces would throw a net across the Italian peninsula while the British army chased the Germans into it from the south. -
When they realized they got attacked
On 8 September, 231st Brigade was landed by sea at Pizo, some 15 miles (24 km) behind the Nicotera defenses. They found themselves attacked from the north by a mobile force from 26th Panzer Division and from the south by the Krüger Battle Group which was withdrawing from the Nicotera position. After an initial attack which made no headway, the Krüger Battle Group veered away but the northern attack continued throughout the day before the whole German force withdrew at dusk. -
Operation Avalanche
Operation Avalanche - the main invasion at Salerno by the U.S. 5th Army - began on 9 September 1943, and in order to secure surprise, the Army decided to assault without preliminary naval or aerial bombardment. However, as amphibious force commander Hewitt had predicted, tactical surprise was not achieved. -
What happened when Clark visited the battlefield
On September 10th, Clark visited the battlefield and judged that it was unlikely that X Corps would be able to push quickly east past Battipaglia to link with VI corps. Since X Corps' main line of thrust was to be north towards Naples, he decided to move the VI Corps left hand boundary north of the Sele river and move the bulk of 45th Division into the gap. -
Patrols were sent further
On 11 September, as patrols were sent further afield, there were some sharp encounters with elements of the German 1st Parachute Division. But 1st Parachute could do little but skirmish and fall back because most of its strength was attached to the 26th Panzer and Herman Göring Divisions at Salerno. 1st Airborne's commander, Major General George F. Hopkinson, was mortally wounded in one of these actions. By 11 September the ports of Bari and Brindisi, still under Italian control, were occupied. -
Counteroffensive
On 13 September, the Germans launched their counteroffensive. While the Herman Göring battle groups attacked the northern flank of the beachhead, the main attack was on the boundary between the two Allied Corps which ran roughly from Battipaglia to the sea, with the greatest weight due to fall on the VI Corps side -
German losses
With strong naval gunfire support from the British Royal Navy and well-served by Fifth Army's artillery, the reinforced and reorganized infantry units defeated all German attempts on 14 September to find a weak spot in the lines. German losses, particularly in tanks, were severe. In addition, Tedder ordered every available aircraft to support 5th Army, including the strategic bomber force. Over 1,000 tons of bombs were dropped during the daylight hours of that day. -
Refused assignment
The Salerno battle was also the site of the Salerno Mutiny instigated by about 500 men of the British X Corps, who on 16 September refused assignment to new units as replacements. They had previously understood that they would be returning to their own units from which they had been separated during the fighting in the North African Campaign, mainly because they had been wounded. -
Naval superiority was decisive
On 16 September, von Vietinghoff reported to Kesselring that the Allied air and naval superiority were decisive and that he had not the power to neutralize this. Tenth Army had succeeded in preventing troops being cut off, and continuing the battle would just invite heavy losses.
