Operation Avalanche

Operation Avalanche foi o codinome para os desembarques Aliados perto do porto de Salerno, executados em 9 de setembro de 1943, parte da invasão Aliada da Itália durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial. Os italianos se retiraram da guerra no dia anterior à invasão, mas os Aliados desembarcaram em uma área defendida por tropas alemãs. Planejada sob o nome Top Hat, foi apoiada pelo plano de engano Operation Boardman. The landings were carried out by the U.S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark. It comprised the U.S. VI Corps, the British X Corps, and the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, a total of about nine divisions. Its primary objectives were to seize the port of Naples to ensure resupply, and to cut across to the east coast, trapping the Axis troops further south. In order to draw troops away from the landing ground, Operation Baytown was mounted. This was a landing by the British Eighth Army, under General Sir Bernard Montgomery, in Calabria in the 'toe' of Italy, on 3 September. Simultaneous sea landings were made by the British 1st Airborne Division at the port of Taranto (Operation Slapstick). The Salerno landings were carried out without previous naval or aerial bombardment in order to achieve surprise. Surprise was not achieved. The Germans had established artillery and machine-gun posts and scattered tanks through the landing zones which made progress difficult, but the beach areas were captured. Around 07:00 a concerted counterattack was made by the 16th Panzer Division. It caused heavy casualties but was beaten off. Both the British and the Americans made slow progress, and still had a gap between them at the end of day one. They linked up by the end of day two and occupied of coastline to a depth of .