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Axis forces blow up bridges at Randazzo to slow Allied progress
FRIDAY 13 AUGUST 1943
39th Infantry take Randazzo. Progress to the main target of Messina, 50 miles away, is hampered by hard going and resistance from German forces aimed at protecting the Axis retreat.
SATURDAY 14 AUGUST 1943
British and American forces meet at Randazzo.
SUNDAY 15 AUGUST 1943
Eighth Army captures Taormina.
Allied ship losses MTB 665
MONDAY 16 AUGUST 1943
US forces enter Messina.
Italian mainland shelled from Messina.
Lipari Islands taken by US naval forces.
Italian evacuation of Sicily completed. In total 62000 Italians have been transported to the mainland.
Italian prisoners near Messina carry flags of surrender
TUESDAY 17 AUGUST 1943
German command reports the evacuation of Sicily complete. Allied forces have seized thousands of vehicles plus 47 tanks, 94 guns and 17000 tons of stores.
General Patton and US forces enter Messina.
All Axis resistance in Sicily ends and Operation Husky is formally concluded.
WEDNESDAY 18 AUGUST 1943
General Badoglio broadcasts to the people of Italy.
Allied ship losses Submarine Saracen; LCTs 416, 301
OPERATION HUSKY CASUALTIES
- US Seventh Army: 2237 killed or missing, 5946 wounded, 598 captured
- British Eighth Army: 2062 killed or missing, 7137 wounded, 2644 captured
- Canadian forces: 562 killed, 1664 wounded, 84 captured.
- German forces: 4578 killed, 5532 captured, 13500 wounded.
- Italian forces: 4325 killed, 32500 wounded, 116681 captured.
OPERATION HUSKY HEADQUARTERS at Lascaris in Valletta, Malta are open to the public, as part of the War Rooms complex restored and reinstated by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna. CLICK FOR DETAILS
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Malta: War Diary 