OTL
Even though heavy resistance from German forces in Sicilly continued in the last week of July and first week of August, the eventual outcome of the campaign was pretty much clear at that point. Even Axis commanders admitted this on July 27th. BY the 29th, Kesselring reported to Hitler that he would need 3 days to perform a succesfull evacuation, starting August 1st.
Between 1–10 August, over 12,000 men, 4,500 vehicles and 5,000 tons of equipment were evacuated, whilst the bulk of the evacuation took place from 11-17 August. In total, the Germans evacuated some 52,000 troops (including 4,444 wounded), 14,105 vehicles, 47 tanks, 94 guns, 1,100 tons of ammunition and about 20,700 tons of gear and stores.
The allies proved inacapable of interdicting the straits due to heavy AA fire, narrow waters with a strong current and coastal artillery covering them. What they did try was launch brigade-sized amphibious assaults in Sicilly on August 15th in order to trap the Germans. However, the speed of the Axis withdrawal was such that these operations "hit air".
What if...
Anticipating a victory in Sicilly, and determined to prevent the escape of Axis forces, the Allies plan for landings in Calabria, far enough from Reggio di Calabria that coastal Artillery and AA fire are not an issue, but close enough that troops can advance overland quickly and subject the straits to direct fire, thus shutting down naval traffic and effectively trapping German forces on the island ?
First draft of proposed landings:
Any time between July 29th and August 1st would have been ideal.
From what I found, the area at the time was defended by 1st Parachute Division headquarters and the 1st Parachute Regiment, commanded by Richard Heidrich (with the rest of the division having been sent as reinforcements to Sicily), along with Italian units (which I couldn't identify wrt both numbers and quality).
So, at first glance, a determined amphibious assault by (at least) two brigandes, plus airborne landings* and naval gunfire support could very well have achieved the aim of establishing a foothold in Calabria and thus trapping axis forces.
* 2nd parachute brigade and two battalions of 4th parachute brigade (UK) were biding their time in Tunisia, whilst at least some elemnts of the remainder of 1st Airborne division (UK) and 82nd Airborne (US) could be mobilized for the operation after their deployment to Sicilly).
Even though heavy resistance from German forces in Sicilly continued in the last week of July and first week of August, the eventual outcome of the campaign was pretty much clear at that point. Even Axis commanders admitted this on July 27th. BY the 29th, Kesselring reported to Hitler that he would need 3 days to perform a succesfull evacuation, starting August 1st.
Between 1–10 August, over 12,000 men, 4,500 vehicles and 5,000 tons of equipment were evacuated, whilst the bulk of the evacuation took place from 11-17 August. In total, the Germans evacuated some 52,000 troops (including 4,444 wounded), 14,105 vehicles, 47 tanks, 94 guns, 1,100 tons of ammunition and about 20,700 tons of gear and stores.
The allies proved inacapable of interdicting the straits due to heavy AA fire, narrow waters with a strong current and coastal artillery covering them. What they did try was launch brigade-sized amphibious assaults in Sicilly on August 15th in order to trap the Germans. However, the speed of the Axis withdrawal was such that these operations "hit air".
What if...
Anticipating a victory in Sicilly, and determined to prevent the escape of Axis forces, the Allies plan for landings in Calabria, far enough from Reggio di Calabria that coastal Artillery and AA fire are not an issue, but close enough that troops can advance overland quickly and subject the straits to direct fire, thus shutting down naval traffic and effectively trapping German forces on the island ?
First draft of proposed landings:
Any time between July 29th and August 1st would have been ideal.
From what I found, the area at the time was defended by 1st Parachute Division headquarters and the 1st Parachute Regiment, commanded by Richard Heidrich (with the rest of the division having been sent as reinforcements to Sicily), along with Italian units (which I couldn't identify wrt both numbers and quality).
So, at first glance, a determined amphibious assault by (at least) two brigandes, plus airborne landings* and naval gunfire support could very well have achieved the aim of establishing a foothold in Calabria and thus trapping axis forces.
* 2nd parachute brigade and two battalions of 4th parachute brigade (UK) were biding their time in Tunisia, whilst at least some elemnts of the remainder of 1st Airborne division (UK) and 82nd Airborne (US) could be mobilized for the operation after their deployment to Sicilly).