When the allies landed in Sicily, the Germans, with a more important disposition of batteries along its shores and more planes, could have benefited from the narrowness of the detroit and block the access to the
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[P.55] In order to compensate for its weakness in the air, the enemy had concentrated its DCA along the east coast and at the far end of Sicily, on the west coast, in order to protect from the planes the detroit of Messina and the important towns of Catania and Palermo. June 19, italian staff headquarters ask with insistance for 2000 extra german planes to ensure that the island will be protected against the vast resources of the allies, but the request was left without response. [seront mal guerdonnez]
[Translation - Les Canadiens en Italie - Lt. Colonel G.W.L. Nicholson]
As we have seen in the analysis of quatrain II-49, Malta was a strategic position, coveted by the germans and fiercely defended by the allied forces. Headquarters of the english and canadian forces, this base was the starting point of 'Operation Baytown', code name of the landing in Calabria:
[P.440] Detroit of Massina, september 3, 1943.
British forces [plusieurs de Malte] got a foothold on the european continent. General Montgomery took no risk: four battleships bombed intensively the detroit. [par le fait de Messine]. All available pieces of artillery have been disposed along the Sicilian coast. A shower of shells of all sizes fell on the beaches in the surroundings of Reggio di Calabre...
... Thus, the allies met with little resistance [seront mal guerdonnés] on the part of italian soldiers, who even offered to help them land on the beach.
[Translation - Chronique de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale Jacques Legrand SA]