The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies including Canadian units such as the 48 Highlanders, Royal Canadian Regiment and the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, took Sicily from the Axis (Italy and Nazi Germany). It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.
Operation Husky began on the 10th of July 1943, and ended on the 17th of August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners. The Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island; the Mediterranean's sea lanes were opened and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was toppled from power. It opened the way to the Allied invasion of Italy.