Mussolini's Ousting from Power in July 1943 Essay

Mussolini's Ousting from Power in July 1943 - Essay Example Hitler was facing a crucial strategic problem of opposing the Allies’ evident reentry in Europe – territories conquered by Germany were so immense (from France’s west coast to Greece’s east coast), that it was practically impossible for him to gauge the place the Allies were going to strike next. On the other hand, the wide choice of possible objectives and the superior sea power were the crucial strategic advantages of the Allies.Having lost its forces in Africa, only 10 Italian divisions and 2 German panzer units were available for the Axis in the middle of summer 1943. â€Å"The Allies, meanwhile, were preparing to throw some 478,000 men into the island – 150,000 of them in the first three days of the invasion.† The air superiority of the Allies in the Mediterranean theatre was also great by that time, â€Å"more than 4,000 aircraft against some 1,500 German and Italian ones† (â€Å"Sicily and the Fall of Mussolini, July-August 194 3†, 1999).So, on 10th of July 1943 Allies’ troops invaded Sicily from the sea. The coastal territories, guided mainly by Sicilians, were given up fast enough due to the unwillingness of Italians to let their motherland be turned into a battlefield to suit Germany’s interests. In only three first days of the invasion, the British forces had been able to clear the whole southeastern part of Sicily. Then the British moved toward Messina taking a circuitous route around Mount Etna while the Americans moved in an eastward direction and occupied Palermo in the west of the northern coast on 22nd of July.