[Homer_J_Simpson]

The Italian campaign was a waste of men and resources. it was a “we need to do something, let’s do this because we can’t do that.”

Here is a reply from BroJoeK two days ago on that subject.

Colorado tanker: "It was a long and costly campaign that ultimately did little to end the war."

According to this site:

"By October 1943 the U.S. Fifth and British Eighth Armies together had only 11 divisions, but this force was able to tie down some 20-odd German divisions throughout the long campaign."

Also one of the best German commanders, "Smiling Albert" Kesselring.

The longer the war continued the greater the Allied advantage in numbers of troops in the field. Also see henksters reply #11 on this thread. The Italian campaign wasn't a complete loss for the Allies.

[TalonDJ]

Even more than just 11 divisions tying down 20.. As Henkster pointed out in post 11 this invasion demoralized Hitler’s other ‘allies’. They gave him less support and there was more unrest. This robbed Germany of other divisions. Also they had to spend more and more manpower putting down uprisings. The number of Nazi troops needed to hold the Balkans and Greece increased a lot from 1942 to 1944.