4.9.43 No. 75

INVASION OF ITALY

From William Wilson for Combined Press

Coast of Sicily,

Opposite Calabria

Canadian and British troops invading Italy landed on the beaches of

from Calabria hours before dawn today under cover of an artillery barrage

Sicily, and by 7.a,m, sent back word that the beaches were secured. The

the signal for the beginning of the invasion of Europe, which was started by of Eighth Army, was a twin stream tracers from heavy ack ack at 3.30 a.m, marking

the from' the way into beaches for a long line of landing craft dimly visible

the Sicilian shore.

concentrate Tracers continued intermittently for 15 minutes and then all guns

in the northeast tip of the island - field, medium and heavies - opened up with

of which a twenty minutes barrage directed against the German batteries, many

forced to out of of of fire directed had been move range our guns by the weight against them after the fall of Messina.

The artillery was all British except for some American heavies.

Forty minutes before the troops reached shore the whole barrage was directed

on to the beaches for 15 minutes then returned to counterbattery firing. Just before the landing the guns resumed bombardment of the beaches and then lifted to fire inland. The infantry crossed the narrow Straits in assault craft without drawing any fire visible from the Sicilian shore. The Canadians first obstacle ashore was a railway with a twenty to thirty foot embankment varying from 200 to 600 yards inland.

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION