La campaña de Patton en Sicilia (IV)

Llevo ya algunos días reproduciendo en Etimologías algunas noticias referentes a la campaña de Patton en Sicilia en el verano de 1943. Por tal motivo, es interesante recrearse en este mapa de la isla italiana que publicó el 12 de julio de 1943 el diario The Times, el cual constituya una inagotable fuente de información para profundizar en el estudio de la Historia Militar de los dos últimos siglos. A continuación, tenéis el análisis de The Times el cual señaló que estábamos ante la mayor operación anfibia de la Historia:

The invasion of Sicily is only a preliminary in the allied programme, yet it is in itself a vast undertaking, one of the most important amphibian expeditions in history, and certainly the greatest since the air arm was brought in to reinforce those of the sea and of the land. It is one which could be carried out only by means of perfectly balanced cordination of all the three services working together as a team. Because of the distance fron the North African shore, Malta and perhaps Pantelleria, must have called upon to play a big part in the provision of fighter cover, but the "air umbrella" of itself would not have rendered the expedition feasible without surface strength. It is the combination of the two which has provided the command of the sea, and that in its turn is the sine qua non of the invasion of Sicily.

Fuente: The Times, lunes 12 de julio de 1943. Páginas 4 y 5.