Allied invasion of Italy the Mediterranean theatre, and it was they who planned and commanded the invasion of Sicily and the Italian mainland. The Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, codenamed Operation Husky, was highly successful, although many of the Axis forces managed to avoid capture and escape to the mainland. The Axis viewed this as a success. More importantly, in late July, "a coup" deposed Mussolini as head of the Italian government, which then began approaching the Allies to make peace. It was believed a quick invasion of Italy might hasten an Italian surrender and produce quick military victories over the German
World War II by country Union. Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union during World War II. So see this article's section on the Soviet Union. The United Kingdom was one of the original Allies, entering the war in 1939 to honour its guarantees to Poland. After the fall of France, the United Kingdom was the only Allied nation left in Europe until the invasion of Greece. It remained the only one of the Big Three in the war until 1941 when the Soviet Union was invaded. The United Kingdom was heavily engaged in the Western European, Atlantic, Mediterranean, African and South East Asian theatres,