Operation Husky was an invaluable experience for Allied forces in World War II. It opened the Allied forces eyes to the numerous challenges they must face internally before they could hope to be victorious in the war against Germany, Japan and Italy. This essay will show how a failure in operational leadership caused Operation Husky to fail to become the decisive victory it had the potential of being. Essential to command and control is a thorough understanding of the commander’s intent at every level and a command climate of mutual trust and understanding. The breakdown of command and control for Operation Husky began long before D-Day, July 10, 1943. Both the United States and Great Britain were already at odds over the conduct of the war. Though the partners mutually agreed to pursue an invasion of Sicily, this decision was an uneasy compromise between the partners that left the commanders with little understanding of the ultimate
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Lacking an effective deputy commander due to his heavy involvement in land operations, Eisenhower needed to engage the Allied Air Forces. He failed to deal effectively with his air arm commanders to overcome their over-zealous efforts to protect their authority at the expense of the campaign. Had a separate, and effective, deputy commander been assigned to assist Eisenhower with the command and control of the component commands, this problem may have been averted. However, Alexander assumed great responsibility, but he lacked the leadership and strength of character to successfully meld the joint elements of the operation. This, combined with Eisenhower’s ineffective leadership both during the planning and execution of Operation Husky, resulted in a failure of the Allied Forces command team to provide the necessary guidance and leadership to command and control their subordinate
Lacking an effective deputy commander due to his heavy involvement in land operations, Eisenhower needed to engage the Allied Air Forces. He failed to deal effectively with his air arm commanders to overcome their over-zealous efforts to protect their authority at the expense of the campaign. Had a separate, and effective, deputy commander been assigned to assist Eisenhower with the command and control of the component commands, this problem may have been averted. However, Alexander assumed great responsibility, but he lacked the leadership and strength of character to successfully meld the joint elements of the operation. This, combined with Eisenhower’s ineffective leadership both during the planning and execution of Operation Husky, resulted in a failure of the Allied Forces command team to provide the necessary guidance and leadership to command and control their subordinate