soc.history.war.world-war-ii

On Mar 26, 11:22 pm, thorn...@visi.com (David Thornley) wrote:
>
> Montgomery had no choice but to attack east of Etna,

John Keegan wrote in "The Second World War", page 348:

"While Patton occupied the western half, Montgomery was to advanced
each side of Mount Etna and secure Messina at the north-eastern tip,
thus cutting off the Axis garrison's line of retreat into the toe of
Italy. In the event, Patton made rapid progress against light
resistance, but Montgomery, opposed by the Hermann Goering Division,
found it impossible to pass east of Mount Etna on the short route to
Messina and was forced to redeploy his divisions to pass to the west."

So it appears he passed to the *west" after all.

Pierrot Robert
Chicoutimi, Canada