Fight for Sicily, WW2

[Rough Edge racing]

 My grandparents came from Eastern and Southern Europe. People would ask my dad if he was Silcian,  his answer was " no, I'm Italian "  ....Truth was his ancestors were Italian, Greek and Middle Eastern. My mother's parents were non religious Jews from Poland and Germany. It's likely relations in Europe were killed leading up to WW2. Everyone here is affected by the war in some manner.

[blackcat]

Mine came from closer to Palermo. Ever been to Sicily? I wish I spoke the language. Its a beautiful place.

Pete

No, never been to Sicily but I need to go as we still have some family there. Unfortunately my parents didn’t teach us the language for various reasons.

[Mr Pootle]

Not even Italians can speak, & barely even understand, Sicilian.  It's full of Greek, Berber, Norman & even Phonecian/Carthaginian words.

In the Inspector Montelbano books there's a running joke about one of the policemen who is a Sicilian speaker, and gets confused by Italian speakers. The joke is also in the tv series, but when it's given English subtitles the complexity of the language is lost, and that character just comes across as a fool.

[ozarquebus]

In regard to having a German Name fighting for the Allies in WWII, my uncle's actual name was Rudolph Hess. He was 18 in '44, wasn't drafted till the very end and spent his time stateside. He loved the Ford Thunderbird.

[slowmover]

My father and uncle were Sicilian and when they enlisted for WW2 they wouldn’t let them fight in the European theatre because they might have sympathies with Italy so we’re sent to the Pacific

[john fish]

Maybe it depended on your draft board/geography/training camp?

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

Not even Italians can speak, & barely even understand, Sicilian.  It's full of Greek, Berber, Norman & even Phonecian/Carthaginian words.

Heck yes, it's not even very close!  Reminds me of how the Spaniards say "The Devil himself could not learn to speak Basque"

[Furbo]

Operation Husky it was called. Done primarily to gain a staging base for the invasion of Italy which itself was not key terrain, but the strategic objective was further weaken the German forces in W. Europe since they were already stretched due to Operation Barbarosa - the invasion of Russia 2 yrs prior.  I did a paper on it in the War College - from the Axis view point. General Guzzoni was officially in command of all Italo-German forces in Sicily. That lasted until the allies hit the beach at which time Gen Kessselring made it clear his services were no longer needed. There were around 200K Italian troops in Sicily. Unfortunately many were virtually untrained, unarmed, and with no communications. Germans were able to quickly reinforce with very well prepped Divisions, but as the Americans and Brits poured in, Kesselring ordered  a movement back to the mainland which was successful. Had the Italians been prepared, the invasion might have been repelled - a story that's been repeating itself since 476AD....   There are credible reports of assistance from American Mafiosi for intel and logistics, tho I've never read an official account of it. But post war Lucky Luciano was let out of prison and sent home to Italy...so. There are multiple stories about Italian American GI's who greeted family on their way across the island.

As to the better leaders....The Germans had a 2 yr head start and well developed doctrine. We adopted many of our staff processes and leadership theories of subordinate leader initiative from the Germans.   

[Neil]

Anyway, I recently finished a book on Patton, Montgomery, and Rommel.  Written by a Limey but it was not particularly complimentary to Monty-- the book maintains that Monty's actions deliberately contributed to American losses in Sicily.

[/quote]
If you don't mind the question- what is the title and author of this book? Thanks.

[john fish]

Anyway, I recently finished a book on Patton, Montgomery, and Rommel.  Written by a Limey but it was not particularly complimentary to Monty-- the book maintains that Monty's actions deliberately contributed to American losses in Sicily.


If you don't mind the question- what is the title and author of this book? Thanks.

Patton, Montgomery, Rommel   Masters of War
by Terry Brighton



On Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6925208-patton-montgomery-rommel