Patton's forces would make an invasion landing on the west coast of the island while Montgomery's forces would be charged with making headway in the east. Patton while the British 8th Army was headed up by legendary General Bernard Law Montgomery. The American 7th Army was led by none other than General George S. Within the fleet were two distinct invasion forces made up of Americans, Canadians and the British. But before the Italian coast could be hit, the Allies would need a staging point - this staging point became the German-held island of Sicily.Ī massive invasion forces rolled over heavy seas on the morning of July 9th, 1943. 'Dangerous' World War II Bomb Found at Hong Kong Construction Site Related Articles:Īunt to Nephew After $1.With Northern Africa free of fascist tyranny, the Allies now focused their attention on the Italian mainland in an effort to knock out the weaker Italian forces from under the Axis banner. Wreck of World War II Navy Ship Found, 76 Years After Sinking With 5 Brothers on Board World's Oldest World War II Veteran Turns 112, Said He Smokes a Dozen Cigars a Day Luciano, who had 20 to 40 years left on his sentence at the end of the war, was pardoned by Dewey in January 1946 and deported to his native Sicily. "Through these contacts and informants, the names of friendly Sicilian natives and even Sicilian underworld and Mafia personalities who could be trusted were obtained and actually used in the Sicilian campaign,” Herlands wrote in the report. Thomas Dewey and carried out by State Commissioner of Investigation William Herlands, credits Luciano with enlisting "numerous" informants who aided the Sicily campaign. The Herlands Report of 1954, ordered by then-New York Gov. Records, however, appear to suggest otherwise. “Costello lived in the same elegant apartment building with … Winchell, then one of the most influential columnists in the U.S., and Winchell hinted that Lucky had helped the Allies. “Frank Costello, who was running Luciano's family and his loyal follower, reportedly spread stories to reporters exaggerating Luciano's role. "Before and after Luciano's release, there were flimsy news stories about his assistance - mostly exaggerated,” said Raab. “He asked his minions to provide whatever aid they could for the invasion of Sicily, but it was essentially limited to picture postcards of ports," Raab added. Selwyn Raab, author of "Five Families," told it was a “total myth that Luciano was a valuable aid in the invasion of Sicily." naval intelligence in preparation for the invasion."Īt the time, American journalist Walter Winchell even suggested that Luciano should have received the Medal of Honor for his assistance in the war.īut others contend Luciano never helped Operation Husky. "His gangster colleagues helped facilitate the gathering of information about Sicily from Italians living in New York for U.S. "Although offering help for the Allied invasion of Sicily, he was of little practical use there, despite the myths that continue to surround this," Newark told. The extent to which the mobster helped the Allies remains up for debate, but while Luciano wasn't physically in Sicily, he did appear to lend a hand in whatever small way he could. "Luciano’s contacts even assisted in the Allies’ 1943 amphibious invasion of Sicily by providing maps of the island’s harbors, photographs of its coastline and names of trusted contacts inside the Sicilian Mafia, who also wished to see Mussolini toppled," author Christopher Klein wrote for. Some historians believe Luciano aided the Allies in their campaign to retake Sicily, known as Operation Husky, in 1943, providing maps, photographs of the coastlines and names of mob bosses on the island. In turn, Luciano struck a deal to have his sentence commuted.īut Luciano’s help may have gone beyond stateside intel. The agreement became known as Operation Underworld, with Luciano ordering his henchmen to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity. government turned to Luciano for help because they knew of his influence and contacts around the docks. Italian-American dock workers who lived and operated in the area came under investigation, Newark said, but officials struggled to make any headway. government had long feared that the immigrants coming from Axis nations could and would be a threat to national security, according to historian Tim Newark, author of "Mafia at War" and "Boardwalk Gangster: The Real Lucky Luciano," and many believed the sinking of the ship was an act of sabotage.
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