Patton and the Battle for Sicily: The General, The Navy, and Operation Husky [Hardcover]

Operation Husky, the combined American and British air and sea invasion of Sicily in July 1943, was one of World War IIs most critical campaigns with General George S. Patton Jr., inarguably Americas most dynamic, courageous, and controversial commander of World War II, at the center. In this new work, author Flint Whitlock covers the history of Operation Husky as it unfolded, with much of the Allied leadership facing internal conflict.

The largest amphibious assault to date came at a crucial moment, and both the planning and execution presented many conflicts for the Allies. Despite the success of Operation Torch in North Africa, the U.S. was still considered not fully tested or trusted by their British partners, and Stalin was clamoring for the Allies to open a second front to take the pressure off his Soviet Union.  

Patton's dreams of martial glory and his all-consuming desire to best his chief Allied rival, General Bernard Montgomery, head of the British Eighth Army, to the ultimate prizethe port of Messinaoften clouded his judgment. His primary motivation, however, was to prove to Monty and other dismissive British generals that the American soldier was as good, if not better, than his British counterpart.

Using Pattons personal letters and diaries, Whitlock reveals the scathing opinions he held of Montgomery and almost everyone else in the Allied hierarchy (Eisenhower, Marshall, Clark, Bradley, and Alexander, among others)even Adm. H. Kent Hewitt, USN, whose Eighth Fleet carried Pattons troops to the beaches and supported them once on shore. In fact, it was the guns from Hewitts warships that halted the fierce German and Italian attacks that nearly threw the Americans back into the sea.

From Tunisia to the landing beaches on the south coast of Sicily to the final fight for Messina, this book chronicles how Husky would prove pivotal for both sides. The operation was criticized by some hil£+