Sicily . The most important colony was established at Syracuse in 734 BC. The german response to the invasion of sicily was. Sicily was a natural route to mainland Italy and the European continent going back in history to the Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome. Sicily was colonized by Greeks in the 8th century BC. Though American leaders such as General George C. Marshall favored moving forward with an invasion of France, his British counterparts desired a strike against southern Europe. With chaos and confusion being brewed by the misplaced Allied paratrooper elements inland, the invasion forces operated at speed. Initially, this was restricted to the eastern and southern parts of the island. The Allies could count on air cover from Malta for a Sicilian invasion. On July 10, 1943, the Allies begin their invasion of Axis-controlled Europe with landings on the island of Sicily, off mainland Italy. Late on the night of July 9, the Canadians joined the invasion armada of nearly 3,000 Allied ships and landing craft. The Canadians, forming the left flank of the five British landings that spread over 40 miles of shoreline, went ashore near Pachino close to the southern tip of the island. During the Allied invasion of Sicily the SS Robert Rowan (Liberty ship K-40) explodes after being hit by a German Ju 88 bomber off of Gela, Sicily (Italy), on (11 July 1943). After the success of this event, the axis air, land, and naval forces were driven away from the Mediterranean Sea lanes were open to the Allied Merchant for the first time since its closures in 1941. Encountering little It was the war that granted the allies the island of Sicily from the axis powers. The invasion of Sicily was now in full swing. an evacuation to divert their troops all over Italy to take a defensive stance. Explanation: The invasion o Italy is known as the decisive and more important battle in Europe in the second world war. The Capture of Sicily and the invasion of the Anglo American was an improvement in the Italian campaign. With the conclusion of the campaign in North Africa in the late spring of 1943, Allied planners began looking north across the Mediterranean. The Muslim conquest of Sicily began in June 827 and lasted until 902, when the last major Byzantine stronghold on the island, Taormina, fell.Isolated fortresses remained in Byzantine hands until 965, but the island was henceforth under Muslim rule until conquered in turn by the Normans in the 11th century.. Just after dawn on July 10, the assault (preceded by airborne landings) went in. Ponte Grande was in British hands for the moment but an Italian offensive beat the outnumbered British invaders. Other important Greek colonies were Gela, Akragas, Selinunte, Himera, Kamarina and Zancle or Messene (modern-day Messina, not to be confused with the ancient city of Messene in Messenia, Greece). Deception was an ally in the Battle of Sicily, prior to the events in North Africa the body of a British marine was found by the Germans. on a beach in Spain.