General Montgomery Operation Husky Essay

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On July 10, 1943, General Patton and his Seventh Army landed on Sicily's shores along the Gulf of Gela, the southwest side of the island. To the east, British General Montgomery landed with his 8th Army south of Syracuse. Operation Husky, which was the code name for the invasion of Sicily, was underway. However, tensions were high between the British and American commanders. To the Americans, General Montgomery always got his way, and the Americans were always on the sidelines. Part of this can be that the American military was shown as ineffective in battle during the earlier stages of the invasion of North Africa, despite the successes the Americans achieved under Patton later on. When Patton found out that Montgomery was given use of a highway…show more content…
However, British and American relations worsened when Montgomery, who was bogged down by German defenders in Catania, decided to flank west around Mt. Etna. This flanking maneuver would require the use of Route 124, which the Americans had fought hard to capture. British General Sir Harold Alexander, commander of Operation Husky and the 15th Army, gave the route to Montgomery. Patton, however, would not give up Route 124 completely. He expanded the American perimeter west and discussed a possible reconnaissance force to push west towards Agrigento and Porto Empedocle. Patton felt that capturing the city of Messina on the northeast tip of Sicily would finally prove to the British and the world that Patton and the American army were fully capable of any operation on the battlefield. Instead, on July 16, General Alexander issued an order that Montgomery's 8th army was to advance to Messina while Patton's 7th army would protect Montgomery's left flank. Enraged, Patton flew to 15th Army headquarters in Tunisia the following day to meet General Alexander. He argued that the Americans should be equal in terms of glory after the campaign and requested to push on northwards to destroy all resistance in the west. Alexander agreed. Immediately, Patton established a Provisional Corps, led by Major
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