One of the great highlights during our WWII Re-enactment (October 7th & 8th) is the WWII Veterans Roundtable discussion. Veterans from all branches of service talk about what they were doing during the war before a very captive audience. If you know a WWII Veteran who would like to participate please send an email to Hunter Chaney at hchaney@collingsfoundation.org
We are still a go for this weekend's WWI & Aviation Event at the American Heritage Museum. Though the forecast of wind and rain on Saturday might prevent us from flying, the presentations on the featured aircraft will still go on in the hangar. Any pre-purchase tickets for Saturday will be honored on Sunday for visitors thinking of waiting. See more at our update email at the link below:
RE: This Weekend's World War I and Aviation Event at the American Heritage Museum - September 16-17
mailchi.mp
We are still a go for World War I and Aviation Weekend at the American Heritage Museum this weekend for World War I and Aviation Weekend at the American Heritage Museum on Saturday, September 16th an...
Join us on Friday, September 22nd, 2:00 - 3:30 PM, for our Speaker Series presentation by author James Ellman on his book MacArthur Reconsidered. No reservations needed. More information see: www.americanheritagemuseum.org/event/speaker-series-macarthur-reconsidered/
tel:+19785629182
The American Heritage Museum is the largest tank and military museum in the Eastern United States.
The American Heritage Museum is hosting a Marlborough, Worcester and Metro West Chambers of Commerce veterans appreciation event on Thursday, November 9th. We are hoping to highlight Korean War veterans. If you know a Korean War veteran please pass on the invitation! Email Hunter at hchaney@collingsfoundation.org
Still time to register for the 9/11 5K Heroes Run at the American Heritage Museum this Saturday. See:
2023 Boston, MA | Travis Manion Foundation
www.travismanion.org
The driveway to the museum is very long, please drive down the entire driveway and park in the grass to the right of the museum and in front of the other building. We will have parking attendants and ...Italian Campaign
M3A1 Scout Car – USA | PERSONNEL CARRIER/RECON
M5A1 Stuart – USA | LIGHT TANK
VW Kübelwagen Type 82 – GER | RECON CAR
Schwimmwagen Type 166 – GER | AMPHIBIOUS PERSONNEL CARRIER/RECON
2 cm Flak 38 – GER | ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN
The Italian Campaign lasted from 1943 to 1945. It is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, 60,000–70,000 Allied and over 100,000 German soldiers died. The invasion of Sicily in July 1943 led to the collapse of the Fascist Italian regime and the fall of Mussolini who was incarcerated on July 25th, 1943. German forces soon took control of northern and central Italy. Mussolini, who was rescued from captivity by German paratroopers. Hitler assisted Mussolini in setting up a puppet state, the Italian Social Republic, to administer the German-occupied territory. Italy fell into a civil war even as Allied and German armies clashed on its territory.
U.S. and British political leaders hoped that an invasion might knock Italy out of the war. The defeat of Italy would enable Allied naval forces, principally the Royal Navy, to dominate the Mediterranean Sea, securing the lines of communications with Egypt and Asia while forcing Axis divisions to transfer troops from the Eastern Front to defend Italy. This assistance had been promised to the Soviet Union, then facing the great majority of German and also Italian troops.
The land forces involved were the US 7th Army under General George Patton, and the British 8th Army, under General Bernard Montgomery. They started with the liberation of Sicily in 1943. Allied forces continued with the invasion of mainland Italy which precipitated the fall of Mussolini’s government and also provoked a German invasion o the north that blocked the Allies from Rome.
Mountainous Italy was a hard place to fight and mistakes were made by both sides, even before the main focus of fighting in Western Europe shifted to France in June, 1944. The result was that difficult, hardscrabble fighting in Italy lasted almost the the end of WWII.
