In July of 1943, the Allies had a problem. More than two weeks into the battle for Sicily, the Allied leaders had failed to decide what would happen next. They were locked in a fierce debate. The Americans wanted to take the most direct route into the Third Reich via France. While the British wanted more time to build their forces.

But on the 25th of July 1943, everything changed. The Fascist Grand Council deposed the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini and his successor began secret peace negotiations with the Allies. Now, the Allies planned to take advantage of the coup and knock Italy out of the war with an invasion of the Italian mainland.

The invasion was supposed to be a simple one. But the reality was very different. In this second episode of our Italian Campaign series, sponsored by Company of Heroes 3, we'll examine the Allied invasion of Italy and how perilously close it came to catastrophe.

This video is sponsored by Company of Heroes 3: https://www.companyofheroes.com/en

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