Allied invasion of Italy two hours traveling from the transports to the landing beaches. On the German side, Albrecht von Kesselring lacked the strength to push the Salerno landing back, and was refused two panzer divisions from northern Italy to assist him. Operation Avalanche was planned under the name Top Hat and supported by a deception plan, Operation Boardman, a false threat of an Allied invasion of the Balkans. In mid-August, the Germans had activated Army Group B ("Heeresgruppe B") under Erwin Rommel with responsibility for German troops in Italy as far south as Pisa. Army Command South ("OB Süd") under Albert Kesselring continued
Operation Lustre Line as expected for fear of being overrun by the more mobile German troops during a retirement and the Allied troops were left vulnerable. These forces had little effect on the German invasion and they were evacuated (Operation Demon) on and after 24 April. Some of these units were moved to Crete, where they were defeated and forced to evacuate by the airborne invasion of that island (Operation Mercury). Operation Lustre Operation Lustre was an action during World War II: the movement of British and other Allied troops (Australian, New Zealand and Polish) from Egypt to Greece in March and