Operation Avalanche was disagreement between the Allies as to what the next step should be. Winston Churchill in particular wanted to invade Italy, which he called the "underbelly of Europe" (commonly misquoted as "soft underbelly"). Popular support in Italy for the war was declining, and he believed an invasion would remove Italy, and thus the influence of the Italian Navy ("Regia Marina") in the Mediterranean Sea, opening it to Allied traffic. This would make it much easier to supply Allied forces in the Middle East and Far East, and increase British and American supplies to the Soviet Union. In addition, it would
Operation Rayon activities was mixed. A moderate increase in German activity on Crete was detected, and the operation succeeded in drawing attention away from a convoy bound for Malta. Many of the 'A' force personnel involved in Operation Rayon were employed in Operation Zeppelin, another operation intended to mislead the Wehrmacht into believing an Allied invasion of Greece would occur. Dummy landing craft (dubbed "Drybob" and "Wetbob") used in Operation "Rayon" were later used in Operation Bodyguard. Operation Rayon Operation "Rayon" was a Allied deception operation in the Mediterranean Theatre during World War II. The operation called for Allied forces to mislead