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Germans planned to invade Sicily first then move on to main land Italy. The invasion of Sicily began in July of 1943, fighting continues for 39 days. Italy surrenders in September of 1943.
Invasion of Italy
Mussolini falls from power in July 1943 (he was overthrown by the Italian government, protected by Germans, and then captured by Italians) He was executed in April 1944.
Despite the Italian surrender Germans continue to fight. Until allies break through in May of 1944.
Operation Baytown was the preliminary step in the plan in which the British Eighth Army under General Bernard Montgomery would depart from the port of Messina on Sicily, to cross the Straits of Messina and land near the tip of Calabria (the "toe" of Italy), on 3 September 1943Winston Churchill in particular wanted to invade Italy, which he called the "underbelly of Europe"
The aftermath of the invasion:The subsequent success of the 10th Army in inflicting heavy casualties, and Kesselring's strategic arguments, led Hitler to agree that the Allies should be kept away from German borders and prevented from gaining the oil resources of the Balkans.
