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 Marne Avalanche Operation Marne Avalanche Operation Marne Avalanche was a US military operation that occurred in southern Baghdad in July 2007 as part of Operation Phantom Thunder. The goal of the offensive operation was to stop southern Baghdad from being used as a haven and to prevent the movement of weapons, munitions and insurgent activity into Baghdad. The operation’s intent was to improve security conditions in southern Baghdad and reduce the influence of insurgents in the area. Another goal of the operation was to stanche the flow of weapons into Baghdad. Marne Avalanche built on the successes of Task Force Marne’s offensive