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Allied theatre and army group commanders
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Sir Harold Alexander

The Allied invasion of Italy, a phase of the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, took place on 3 September at Reggio di Calabria (Operation Baytown), and on 9 September 1943 at Taranto and Salerno (Operation Slapstick and Operation Avalanche respectively). Allied naval forces landed American and Commonwealth troops on the beaches of southern Italy where they faced resistance from Axis forces.

Allied Forces

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Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ), Mediterranean
General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Allied Naval Forces, Mediterranean
Admiral Andrew Cunningham)
Western Task Force (Operation Avalanche) (Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, USN)
Force H (Vice Admiral Sir Algernon Willis, RN)
Naval Task Force, Operation Slapstick (Vice Admiral Arthur Power, RN)
Mediterranean Air Command (Allied)
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder[a]
British Eighth army and XIII Corps commanders
Bernard L. Montgomery
Sir Miles Dempsey

Allied 15th Army Group
General Harold Alexander

Operation Baytown – 3 September

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Landings across Strait of Messina

British Eighth Army
General Bernard Law Montgomery

British XIII Corps
Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey
British 5th Infantry Division[2]
Major-General Gerard Bucknall

Operation Slapstick – 9 September

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Landings at Taranto

British Eighth Army
General Bernard Law Montgomery

British 1st Airborne Division[4]
Major-General George F. Hopkinson (KIA 9 September)
Major-General Ernest Down (from 10 September)

Operation Avalanche – 9 September

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US Fifth Army commander
Mark W. Clark as a major general
Fifth Army corps commanders
Richard L. McCreery
Ernest J. Dawley

Landings at Salerno

US Fifth Army
Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark

Northern landing beaches

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British X Corps
Lieutenant-General Richard L. McCreery

46th Infantry Division[5]
Major-General John Hawkesworth
128th (Hampshire) Infantry Brigade (Brigadier M.A. James)
2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment
1/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment
5th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment
138th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier G.P. Harding)
6th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
2/4th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
6th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
139th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier R.E.H. Stott)
2/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment
5th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters
16th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
Divisional troops
2nd Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (Machine Gun Battalion)
46th Reconnaissance Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps
70th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
71st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
172nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
58th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
5th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery
115th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
270th Field Company, Royal Engineers
271st Field Company, Royal Engineers
272nd Field Company, Royal Engineers
273rd Field Park Company, Royal Engineers
Corps troops
Royal Scots Greys (Sherman tanks, attached to 56th Division)[8]
40th Royal Tank Regiment (attached to British 46th Infantry Division)[5]
British Special Service Brigade (Brigadier Robert Laycock)
No. 2 (Army) Commando
No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando
U.S. Ranger Force (Lieutenant Colonel William O. Darby)[b]
1st Ranger Battalion
3rd Ranger Battalion
4th Ranger Battalion

Southern landing beaches

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US VI Corps
Major General Ernest J. Dawley

Army Group Reserve

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These units were available to Fifth Army

82nd Airborne ("All-American") Division
Major General Matthew B. Ridgway
504th Parachute Infantry Regiment
505th Parachute Infantry Regiment
325th Glider Infantry Regiment
1st Armored ("Old Ironsides") Division
Major General Ernest N. Harmon[e]

German Forces

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Albert Kesselring
Heinrich von Vietinghoff

Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring[9]

Generaloberst Heinrich von Vietinghoff
XIV Panzer Corps
General der Panzertruppen Hermann Balck
Deployed along coast from north to south of Naples:
15th Panzergrenadier Division (Generalleutnant Eberhard Rodt)
Kampfgruppe Stroh
Panzer Division Hermann Göring (Generalmajor Wilhelm Schmalz)[f]
Kampfgruppe Haas
Kampfgruppe Becker
16th Panzer Division (Generalleutnant Rudolf Sieckenius)[g]
Kampfgruppe Dörnemann
Kampfgruppe Stempel
Kampfgruppe von Holtey
Kampfgruppe von Doering
LXXVI Panzer Corps
General der Panzertruppen Traugott Herr
Deployed in Calabria and Apulia:
26th Panzer Division (Generalleutnant Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz)
Kampfgruppe[h]
3rd Panzergrenadier Division (Generalleutnant Fritz-Hubert Gräser)
Kampfgruppe Moldenhaur
29th Panzergrenadier Division (Generalleutnant Walter Fries)
Kampfgruppe Ulich
Kampfgruppe Krüger

Notes

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  1. ^ Headquarters at Algiers, Algeria[1]
  2. ^ Under British X Corps for this operation.
  3. ^ Did not take part in initial landings
  4. ^ Did not take part in initial landings
  5. ^ 1st Armored Division was in Morocco being reorganized in the new "light armored division" organization. It began to arrive at Naples on 28 October 1943 and thus was not in the Army Group reserve for the landings in Italy.
  6. ^ CO Generalleutnant Paul Conrath was on leave at the time of the Salerno landings.[10]
  7. ^ Absorbed the initial Allied assault
  8. ^ CO unknown

Citations

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  1. ^ Secret Document 161, Location of units in the Royal Air Force, 34th issue, July 1943, Royal Air Force Museum accession number PR02859.
  2. ^ a b Molony, p. 234n.
  3. ^ Molony, pp. 117 & 234.
  4. ^ Molony, pp. 242, 244 & 245.
  5. ^ a b Molony, p. 278n.
  6. ^ Molony, p. 277n.
  7. ^ Molony, p. 337n.
  8. ^ Molony, p. 276n.
  9. ^ Konstam 2013, p. 25
  10. ^ Konstam 2013, pp. 21-22

Bibliography

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Print

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Konstam, Angus (2013). Salerno 1943: The Allies invade southern Italy. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78096-249-8.
Molony, Brigadier C.J.C.; with Flynn, Captain F.C. (R.N.); Davies, Major-General H.L. & Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO:1973]. Butler, Sir James (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. V: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-069-6.

Web

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Houterman, Hans; Koppes, Jeroen. "World War II unit histories and officers". Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
"Orders of Battle.com". Archived from the original on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2010.