More Wartime Coverage by The Montreal Daily Star
From Microfilm of The Montreal Daily Star
As well, according to the naval memoirs of Doug Harrison (RCNVR and Combined Operations), danger lurked just under the surface of the water when Allied convoys left Alexandria, bound for Sicily. And the day of the invasion was dangerous to the nth degree.
Doug writes:
The convoy formed for Sicily at Alexandria (Editor: Evening of July 9th, likely) and ran into heavy sub-marine attacks and mines. I actually saw one torpedo miss us. I was now on the American Liberty ship Pio Pico because the Silver Walnut was abandoned with all the barges we worked so hard to clean and paint, including painted Maple Leaves.
(Morning of July 10) We fired at everything. I saw P38s, German and Italian fighters and my first dogfights. Stukas blew up working parties on the beach once when I was only about one hundred feet out. Utter death and carnage. Our American gun crews had nothing but coffee for three or four days and stayed close to their guns all the time. I give them credit.
Ephus P. Murphy’s pet monkey went mad and we put it in a bag of sand meant to douse incendiary bombs and threw him over the side. The Russian Stoker on our ship, named Katanna, said Dieppe was never like this and hid under a winch. Shrapnel and bombs just rained down.
Simpsons' ad from The Star
From The Montreal Daily Star:
BERLIN GIVES SICILY VERSION
Invasion Costly, Nazis Declare
LONDON, July 10 - (C.P.) - Military circles in Berlin presented initial details of the Allied invasion of Sicily to the german people at noon today in a broadcast which said the operation was launched with "considerable forces" and that it began with "the support of strong naval and air force formations."
By now Allied forces have landed in the southeastern part of Sicily, said the broadcast. It added that fighting was proceeding but said it could not be stated whether attempts to land at other points on the island had been made.
"The invasion forces were immediately engaged in heavy fighting which proved extraordinarily costly for them," one Berlin broadcast said, quoting a dispatch of the International Information Bureau, German propaganda agency. "The parachutists were encircled and rendered harmless."
"Coastal batteries said Axis bombers sank a number of landing transport manned with troops and laden with material. Thirty-three enemy aircraft so far have been brought down in aerial combats. Enemy parachutists who bailed out during the dawn were wiped out."
The German High Command itself, in its communique, said merely: "On the night of July 9 the enemy with the support of strong naval and air forces began an attack on Sicily. The enemy immediately encountered strong defences on the ground and in the air. Fighting is still progressing."
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From Microfilm of The Montreal Daily Star
About the Allies' first stride upon the continent of Europe (from the Mediterranean), Mr DeWitt Mackenzie writes as follows:
As the first smoke of the great battle of Sicily begins to lift we can see that what really matters is that at long last the Allies have flung themselves boldly into what Commander-in-Chief Eisenhower describes as "the first stage in the liberation of the European continent" - an objective which the tense Germans this morning characterized as the biggest enterprise in history.
Sicily is the first stride in our new seven league boots. Beyond that craggy island lie vast reaches of strongly-held enemy territory. History records nothing like the amphibious operations which we must carry out in order to achieve our goal.
Grand Opening
The invasion which was inaugurated in the early hours today, when finely trained Canadian-British-American troops stormed their way onto the rocky shores of Sicily in the face of blazing resistance, mark the grand opening of the crucial period of the Hitlerian conflict. A few weeks from now we may know pretty well how long it's going to take to smash the Nazi Fuehrer.
Mind you, while this inaugurates the continental offensive in a general sense, we shouldn't jump to the conclusion that the Allies are going to race from Sicily to the bigger phases immediately. There may be some other tidying-up operations among the Mediterranean islands first. We aren't likely to clamber aboard the continent tomorrow.
Still, the conquest of powerfully held Sicily will in itself be a major triumph. This is a moment of exultation, though I think we shouldn't let this make us overlook that our joy is likely to be tempered with some tears. This job is going to be costly, you now.
Commander Confident
General Eisenhower told a press conference in North Africa in June that the Allies might be "riding for a bloody nose," but he thought the job could be done. Early enemy reports today indicated that the invasion forces were encountering heavy resistance.
Sicily had been surrounded by mine fields, submarines lurked all about it, and strong coastal batteries had been set up to meet the impending invasion. Last night heavy German and Italian reinforcements were rushed from the mainland to the island. It was no boy's job which the Allied men tackled as they raced ashore from their barges and clambered over the terrorizing barbed wire in the face of heavy fire.
Still, they are as fit and well prepared for their bloody task as any men could be. Many of them - perhaps all - are either commando trained or have undergone a similar fierce preparation over a long period.
Canadians Well Trained
The Canadians, for instance, have been undergoing intensive training for invasion for a long period.
One of the most important lessons which thus far have come to us from this offensive is that air power can indeed render large areas of heavily fortified territory sufficiently impotent so that amphibious operations can be carried out. Such landing of troops and equipment from the sea is perhaps the most difficult of all military operations.
We have many of these bloody landings ahead of us before we beat the Boche. We have no foothold on the continent at all, excepting through the Russians in the east. The First great War was child's play as compared with this.
And so it's grand to find that Prime Minister Churchill was right when he said the experiment of trying to knock the enemy out by bombing was worth while. We can see now that air power is going to open up the continent to us.
All this is said, of course, without forgetting that the battle of Sicily is still young as this is written. We have to win this engagement before we can go ahead with others.
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Want to "Laugh Your Blues Away" at ORLEANS?
Movie ads from The Montreal Star, July 10
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New landing ships - LCIs - highlighted above
Photos from The Montreal Star
Out of Ottawa came a lengthy article (a small excerpt follows) related to Prime Minister King's description of the invasion of Sicily. And yes, Canadian 'Navy Men', as members of Combined Operations, were in the thick of it:
UNCONDITIONAL AXIS SURRENDER
CANADIANS' AIM, PREMIER SAYS
Army, Air Force and Possibly Navy Men
In Sicily Action, Ottawa Reveals
OTTAWA, July 10 - (C.P.) - Canadian troops, backed up by Canadian airmen and possibly some Canadian naval personnel, landed in Sicily early today in what Premier Mackenzie King described as an attack which "has as its ultimate objective the unconditional surrender of Italy and Germany."
It was the first major action of the war for Canadian soldiers, except for last August's raid on Dieppe and the unsuccessful defence of Hong Kong in December, 1941.
Before the terse announcement that the landing had been made, rumors circulated that something big was in the offing. Mr. King gave a hint himself just before the House of Commons adjourned at 11 p.m. E.D.T., when he said it was not possible for him to see "24 hours ahead."
In an address to the House of Commons a few hours before the invasion forces set out for Sicily, the Prime minister hinted broadly that action might be expected within a short time. At the same time, an Air Force announcement revealed that Canada's aerial representation in North Africa had been strengthened with the arrival of Wellington bomber squadrons.
But the Prime Minister had left his office for home and rest when the actual word of the landing reached Ottawa a few minutes after midnight. His office issued a statement which the Prime Minister had prepared in advance - a statement which gave scarcely any information about the Sicilian landing: "The news we have received marks for Canada the beginning of a new phase of the war," it said.
Hard Fighting Ahead
He warned Canadians that "in this new phase of the war for Canada, the Army will share with the Navy and the Air Force the heat of combat, and also, inevitable suffering and losses. We can expect no easy victories and no quick successes," the Prime Minister said. "Rather must we be prepared for fierce fighting and for a long struggle."
....The Royal Canadian Navy was the first service to make its position in the operation clear. A headquarters spokesman said no Canadian ships took part in the landing on Sicily, but added that did not preclude the possibility R.C.N. personnel on Royal Navy ships were helping out.
(Editor: It is not surprising, with the very large number of ships and personnel involved in Operation HUSKY from various Allied nations, that about 250 Canadians, members of RCNVR and Combined Operations and manning landing crafts with Monty's Eastern Task Force, were not pointed out. At this time, we are happy to do so).
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Small headline from The Montreal Star on July 10, 1943
LONDON, July 10 - (C.P. Cable) - The weight of Canada's land arms now has been added to the blasting of the Canadian air arm which has been flung against the under belly of the Axis.
Announcing that Canadian troops are part of the assault force landed on Sicily came close on official word that Canadian Wellington bomber squadrons have been transferred from the bomber group in Britain to Africa.
Thus the two arms - air and land - from the Dominion will work in conjunction.
Canadians of course have been flying in the Allied air strength for months in North Africa as members of R.A.F. formations of bombers and fighters.
But the Wellington squadrons were the first strictly Canadian bomber formations to enter the Mediterranean theatre and take part in the pounding of Sicilian targets such as Messina in addition to those of Southern Italy....
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Photos from The Montreal Star
Though details about the invasion of Sicily were slim in most newspapers on July 10 (more would appear as the assault progressed), information about the island Sicily and other aspects of the war could be found on that day. A few more items appear below from The Montreal Star:
Nov. 7, 1942 - Allied troops landed on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of French North Africa.
Nov. 11, 1942 - Adm. Jean Francois Darlan, Commander-in-Chief of Vichy forces, ordered French troops in North Africa to cease resistance to the Allies: Adolf Hitler ordered german troops to occupy the remainder of Southern France and the Mediterranean island of Corsica.
Feb. 11 - Unification of command under Eisenhower, Commander-in-Chief, with Gen. Sir Harold Alexander, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, and Sir Andrew Cunningham, Admiral of the Fleet as his deputies, announced.
Feb. 17 - British Admiralty reveals 80 Axis ships sunk or damaged by submarine operations in the Mediterranean since start of the North African campaign.
April 1 - 100 American Flying Fortresses, largest number ever assembled for single raid up to that time, bomb harbor of Cagliari and airfields of southern Sardinia: Allied troops compressing germans within Tunisia position by drives from west, southwest and east.
From The Montreal Star, July 10, 1943
"Who said, Men Must Work and Women Must Weep?"
Ad from The Montreal Star
Mountainous Sicily, scene of battle for ages, is the natural road into Italy. Jutting out from the toe of the Italian boot, the triangular-shaped island is actually more like a continuation of Italy itself.
Knowing this, the Axis reportedly has made the island its strongest bastion of the many fringing the Continent. Italy lies only two miles away from the island shore across the Straits of Messina at the closest point.
How far the Axis defences have progressed is not known for sure, but it is certain that strong fortifications and defence positions vulnerable only to the strongest assault have been set up and that the fighting will bear no resemblance to the collapse of Pantelleria and Lampedusa, small Italian islands in the Mediterranean which succumbed to air bombardment.
Sicily contains about 4,000,000 people. Its area is 9,936 square miles, including some minor nearby islands. Most of the island tops 500 feet above sea level, rising to the highest point, volcanic Mount Etna, 10,868 feet. The mountain has a base of 400 square miles.
To Fight in Orchards
Fighting on the island would range through vineyards, big flowered slopes and orchards, including orange and lemon groves. There are many good roads.
The largest city in Sicily, Palermo, has a normal population of 417,000.
Porto Empedocle's harbor, protected by two breakwaters and capable of handling ships up to 26-foot draught, is the principal centre of the sulphur export trade and has large refineries and stores. Sciacca has 22,000 population with a small harbor and Licata has sulphur refineries.
From The Montreal Star, July 19, 1943
Its shipping facilities, docks and quays have been bombed repeatedly by the Allies. The port has equipment for handling 6,000 tons of cargo daily.
Vessels of 20 feet draught can be accommodated at Messina. It has a train ferry service across the two-mile expanse of water to Reggio di Calabria.
Catania is the main port of export for refined sulphur and there are large refineries nearby. It has a population of 250,000.
From Catania around the Gulf to Cape Campolato the coast is flat and sandy, but is rocky to the south. At the north end of the rocky stretch, Augusta has one of the finest natural harbors on the Mediterranean.....
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Movie ad from The Montreal Star
More to follow concerning July 10, from other sources.
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