Operation Avalanche and the Italian mainland. The Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, codenamed Operation Husky, was highly successful, although many of the Axis forces there were allowed to avoid capture and escape to the mainland. More importantly a "coup" deposed Benito 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 troops that would now be trapped fighting in a hostile country. However, Italian (and more so German) resistance proved relatively strong, and
Operation Flagpole (World War II) force supported it. As a result of the meetings, Clark secured the agreement of the French. On October 24, Clark's mission returned to "Seraph" after some inadvertent delays, and later met a seaplane that flew them back to Gibraltar, arriving back in London on October 25. Operation Flagpole was followed by Operation Kingpin, in which Général Giraud, code-named "Kingpin", was released from French "Zone libre" confinement and brought to Gibraltar . Operation Flagpole (World War II) Operation Flagpole was part of the run-up to Operation Torch, the planned Allied invasion of North Africa during World War II. It involved arranging