Montgomery's objections were proved correct: German troops refused battle and the Eighth Army tied down none of them. The main obstacle to the Allied advance was the terrain and German demolitions.[3][4][5]
Opposition to the landings was very light, because the few German troops in the area rapidly withdrew northward.[3] Italian troops on the coast, belonging to the coastal divisions, were poorly equipped, demoralized by the political situation and the massive Allied bombardment; they offered no resistance to the landing. An exception was the 185th Paratroopers Regiment "Nembo" which was attached to the 211th Coastal Division,[6] had provided more determined resistance on the Aspromonte massif, but was eventually overcome on 8 September 1943. During the fighting, the Canadians killed six and took 57 prisoners, suffering two officers killed.[7]
Lewisham Gunners: A Centenary History of 291st (4th London) Field Regiment R.A. (T.A.) formerly 2nd Kent R.G.A. (Volunteers), Chatham: W & J Mackay, 1962.
C. J. C. Molony, History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Mediterranean and Middle East, Vol V: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and the Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944, London: HMSO, 1973/Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, 2004, ISBN1-845740-69-6.
The Memoirs of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, London: Collins, 1958.