Changes

==Sicily==

==Sicily==

The Allied Forces landed in Sicily in July 1943 during [[Operation Husky]] that toppled Mussolini from power. US Army General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] was the Commander-in-Chief of the operation. He wrote: ''"The successful conclusion of these operations will not only strike closer to the heart of the Axis, but also will remove the last threat to the free sea lanes of the Mediterranean."'' Allied commanders still had a great respect for the Italian Navy.<ref>"The Regia Marina closed the direct passage through the Mediterranean for thirty-six months, almost its entire war, to all but eight fast freighters in three massively protected convoys, Collar, Excess, and Tiger, which ran between November 1940 and May 1941. This forced Great Britain to build and supply an army in Egypt around the Cape of Good Hope rather than the Strait of Gilbraltar, a twelve-thousand-mile voyage, nearly four times longer than the direct Mediterranean passage." On Seas Contested: The Seven Great Navies of the Second World War, Vincent P. O'Hara, W. David Dickson, Richard Worth, p. 156, Naval Institute Press, 2014</ref><ref>"Going into the war, the Regia Marina had several primary missions. Foremost was maintaining communications with Libya in North Africa and the Balkans. This required the movement of regular convoys to those areas. Another important task was the control of the central Meditteranean, thus denying its use to the British. This was a key strategic factor during the war, as it dramatically increased the shipping requirements to maintain British forces in the Middle East. Unable to use sea lanes through the Mediterranean, the British were forced to use the Cape of Good Hope route around Africa, a total distance of 12,000 miles. This quadrupled shipping requirements compared with the Mediterranean route and had strategic implications for Allied capabilities and plans worldwide. Instrumental to being able to move convoys to Africa and keeping the Mediterranean closed to Allied shipping was the maintenance of Italy's battle fleet." Italian Battleships of World War II, Mark Stille, pp. 4-5, Osprey Publishing, 2012</ref>

The Allied Forces invaded in [[Sicily]] in July 1943 during [[Operation Husky]] that toppled Mussolini from power. US Army General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] was the Commander-in-Chief of the operation. He wrote: ''"The successful conclusion of these operations will not only strike closer to the heart of the Axis, but also will remove the last threat to the free sea lanes of the Mediterranean."'' Allied commanders still had a great respect for the Italian Navy.<ref>"The Regia Marina closed the direct passage through the Mediterranean for thirty-six months, almost its entire war, to all but eight fast freighters in three massively protected convoys, Collar, Excess, and Tiger, which ran between November 1940 and May 1941. This forced Great Britain to build and supply an army in Egypt around the Cape of Good Hope rather than the Strait of Gilbraltar, a twelve-thousand-mile voyage, nearly four times longer than the direct Mediterranean passage." On Seas Contested: The Seven Great Navies of the Second World War, Vincent P. O'Hara, W. David Dickson, Richard Worth, p. 156, Naval Institute Press, 2014</ref><ref>"Going into the war, the Regia Marina had several primary missions. Foremost was maintaining communications with Libya in North Africa and the Balkans. This required the movement of regular convoys to those areas. Another important task was the control of the central Meditteranean, thus denying its use to the British. This was a key strategic factor during the war, as it dramatically increased the shipping requirements to maintain British forces in the Middle East. Unable to use sea lanes through the Mediterranean, the British were forced to use the Cape of Good Hope route around Africa, a total distance of 12,000 miles. This quadrupled shipping requirements compared with the Mediterranean route and had strategic implications for Allied capabilities and plans worldwide. Instrumental to being able to move convoys to Africa and keeping the Mediterranean closed to Allied shipping was the maintenance of Italy's battle fleet." Italian Battleships of World War II, Mark Stille, pp. 4-5, Osprey Publishing, 2012</ref>

==Fall of Mussolini==

==Fall of Mussolini==