The FReeper Foxhole Revisits Operation Husky - Sicily (Jul-Aug, 1943) - July 10th, 2004

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[Light Speed]

I wish they were Beavers. These things even have orange teeth, they are just awful looking close up. Ewww.

Wowah....scarry..

Hopefully they are not.... *Hanford ....nuclear reactor pond Beavers...
That would be bad.

[snippy_about_it]

I don't do "chick flicks". LOL. Okay, but just think, finding one in thousands is a good thing.

[PhilDragoo]

Monty Patton

Farewell! Gen. Bernard Law Montgomery is bid a jolly farewell by Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., at the Palermo, Sicily airport after a visit by Gen. Montgomery. (28 Jul 43) Signal Corps Photo: MM-Bri-7-28-43-R2-6 (Lt. Brin)

Italian M105 'Bassotto' Semovente Tank 1943

Germans Retreating from Sicily as the Allied Troops advance

High resolution

German Panzer III

German Mark IV

AFLAC aka 2 1/2 Ton 6x6 DUKW

M59 Long Tom 155mm Cannon

The 155mm heavy gun, nicknamed "Long Tom" could fire a 95lb projectile upwards of 15 miles with high accuracy. The gun is so long that if the trunion, which effects the raising and lowering of the rifle, were put at the center of balance, the breech of the gun would go into the ground whenever the muzzle was raised high. The solution is to put the trunion farther back, and to make the gun easy to raise and lower by hand by substituting mechanical balance for natural balance. The equilibrator does the mechanical balancing.

In other news, Jean-Fraude Keri is out of step. His reply: "Moi?"

[radu]

EEEEEUUUUU! BUGS!! I think aphids are the only bugs I haven't run across around here. LOL! We have plenty of everything else, though......especially mosquitos, thanks to all the rain we've had. Japanese beetles are running rampant these days and trying to ruin our veggie garden. GRRRRRRRRRRR!!

Ya reckon we all need to move in with ms. feather, since it's not so hot where she is? LOL! 75 degrees sounds mighty nice right now, doesn't it?

[SAMWolf]

Evening Phil Dragoo.

Thanks for the pictures and descriptions of some of the equipment used in Sicily.

We know the AFLAC commercials are sucessful because when SNippy and I went to the local wetlands down the road to feed the ducks, the kids there all called the only white duck in the pond "AFLAC".

[snippy_about_it]

Monty Patton. LOL. And AFLAC the DUKW, :-)

Thanks Phil.

[SAMWolf]

Mosquitos are actually pretty rare around here. you can actually eat at outdoor tables at restuarants and not have to fight off flying bugs.

[snippy_about_it]

It's not really hot here but slaving over a huge hedge with a step ladder and trimmer in the sun makes it feel hot! Feather has been having her place upgraded though, probably less work at her place for us!

[snippy_about_it]

Sam's right. It's amazing radu, we can sit out on the UNSCREENED deck and I don't have to chase bugs away. Just an occassional fly.

[radu]

That's one of my favorite graphics and is one of the first I saved. I can't even remember where I found it......slept a few times since then. LOL!

[radu]

I'm jealous! We have to surround ourselves with citronella candles (bucket-sized!) in order to sit outside. But walk outside the circle and you're "dinner". LOL!

We've got some 'skeeters here that could carry a person off, I swear. They sound like bees when they fly, they're so big. But the biggest welts are from the tiny ones when they bite. Go figure that one!

It must be that the southern half of the country has turned into a microwave oven. The northern section seems to be relatively cool this summer. All one has to do around here is walk out the door and sweat breaks out. Hubby and I are keeping Gatorade in business. :-)

[SAMWolf]

I don't miss the bugs we used to have in the Midwest, except for Lightning Bugs. (Fireflies)

[radu]

Aaaaaah, lightning bugs. One night a while back, I walked out to the garage to talk to hubby for a minute and it looked almost like the back field was on fire. There were zillions of lightning bugs out there. I stood and watched for several minutes because I'd never seen so many at once. It was only like that the one night and I wish I could've captured the scene on video. Amazing.

No lightning bugs in Oregon, huh? Bummer.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!!

[SAMWolf]

No lightning bugs in Oregon, huh? Bummer.

It's the one bug I really miss in the spring. They'd look perfect here on a spring night.

[Darksheare]

I think unlawful possession of dangerous substances would be worth it.
Just to see nutria fly like an eagle.
(Fire the nutria cannon!)

[Darksheare]

Darksheare, nutria assassin for hire!

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from 2004.

On the night of 9-10 July 1943, an Allied armada of 2,590 vessels launched one of the largest combined operations of World War II -- the invasion of Sicily.

[SunkenCiv]

Patton organized the 2d Armored, 82d Airborne, and 3d Infantry Divisions into a provisional corps under Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Keyes and sent it on a 100-mile dash to the Sicilian capital. Palermo fell in only seventy-two hours, and by 24 July the Seventh Army had taken control of the entire western half of the island, capturing 53,000 dispirited Italian soldiers and 400 vehicles at the loss of 272 men.

The fall of Palermo was quickly followed by even more startling news. Disenchanted by the long and costly war, Mussolini's opponents ousted the dictator from power on 25 July. Although the Allies had hoped that Operation HUSKY would destabilize the Fascist regime, the coup took them by surprise. Mussolini's downfall did not immediately terminate Italy's participation in the war. Nevertheless, the invasion of Sicily had acted as a catalyst in bringing about an important crack in the Rome-Berlin Axis.

Palermo's capitulation also coincided with the beginning of a new phase of the campaign. On 23 July Alexander ordered Patton to turn eastward toward Messina. Montgomery's drive had bogged down at Catania, and it was now apparent that the Eighth Army was not going to be able to capture Messina on its own. Alexander, therefore, redrew the army boundaries once again, authorizing Patton to approach Messina from the west while Montgomery continued to push from the south.

The drive on Messina would not resemble Patton's quick, cavalry-like raid on Palermo. The city was protected by the most rugged terrain in Sicily, the Caronie Mountains and Mount Etna's towering eminence. In addition, the Germans had constructed a series of strongpoints, called the Etna Line, that ran from the vicinity of Catania on the east coast, around the southern base of Mount Etna, north to San Fratello on the island's northern shore.