Onto the Italian mainland
3rd September 1943: Operation Baytown - the invasion of Italy - British and Canadian troops begin a new Allied campaign
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The British, Canadian and American forces had moved swiftly across the island of Sicily and it now seemed inevitable that they would move onto the Italian mainland. It was a short hop across the Strait of Messina to the nearest shore, a route by which the Germans had successfully extricated most of their men under the noses of the Allies. Another force - of US and British troops- was poised for a further assault once this first foothold had been secured.
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