The Forgotten Front: Why Sicily and Italy Matter in World War II

When Americans think of World War II in Europe, they usually picture Normandy hedgerows or the frozen forests of the Battle of the Bulge. Italy, where Allied armies fought for nearly two years and learned some of the hardest lessons of the war, often comes in as an afterthought.

Though long treated as a sideshow, the invasion of Sicily and the Italian Campaign shaped the course of the…