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 Attila (World War II) Operation Attila (World War II) During World War II, Operation Attila was a plan for the Nazi occupation of Vichy France. This plan was drawn up in 1940 in case the French rejoined the Allies or in case of an Allied threat to the south of France. An important aspect was the capture of the French Navy. The original plan was never executed, but a version ("Case Anton") which included Italian forces was executed on 11 November 1942 in response to the Torch landings in North Africa. The attempt to capture the French fleet (Operation "Lila") failed. Most of the