Foreign Relations of the United States, The Conferences at Washington, 1941–1942, and Casablanca, 1943

J.C.S. Files

Directive to the Commander in Chief, Allied Expeditionary Force in North Africa (Eisenhower)¹

secret
C.C.S. 171/2/D

[Casablanca,] January 23, 1943.

Operation Husky

The Combined Chiefs of Staff have resolved that an attack against Sicily will be launched in 1943, with the target date as the period of the favorable July^* moon (Code designation Husky).

The Combined Chiefs of Staff have further agreed that the following command setup shall be established for the operation:

(a) You are to be the Supreme Commander with General Alexander as Deputy Commander in Chief, charged with the detailed planning and preparation and with the execution of the actual operation when launched.

(b) Admiral of the Fleet Cunningham is to be the Naval Commander and Air Chief Marshal Tedder the Air Commander.

You will submit to the Combined Chiefs of Staff your recommendations for the officers to be appointed Western and Eastern Task Force Commanders.

In consultation with General Alexander you will set up at once a special operational and administrative staff, with its own Chief of Staff, for planning and preparing the operation, including cover plans.

The provision of the necessary forces and their training in time for the assault on the target date given above have been the subject of exhaustive study by the Combined Chiefs of Staff and their staffs. A Memorandum setting out the various considerations and the outline plan for the operation which formed the basis of this study is attached for your information (C.C.S. 161/1).² Case A (vide C.C.S. 161/1, Enclosure “A,” paragraph 5) was accepted by the Combined Chiefs of Staff for the provision of the British Ground Forces. The details of the additional forces which will be made available to you for the operation will be communicated separately by the United States and British Chiefs of Staff.

A copy of the Minutes of the 66th Meeting of the Combined Chiefs of Staff held at Casablanca on January 22, 1943, which led to the above decisions, is attached for your information.³

You are to report to them not later than March 1st whether any insurmountable difficulty as to resources and training will cause the date of the assault to be delayed beyond the favorable July moon. In the event of there being such a delay you will confirm that the assault date will not be later than the favorable August moon.

The code designation to be communicated to you later will apply to all general preparations for Husky in the Mediterranean Theater, including training, cover plans and preliminary air operations. Specific operations will be given special code designations.

1. As approved by the Combined Chiefs of Staff at their final meeting on January 23, 1943, ante, p. 720. The earliest draft of this directive, C.C.S. 171 (not printed), was considered and amended by the Combined Chiefs of Staff at their meeting on the morning of January 23, 1943, ante, p. 699. The revised directive, C.C.S. 171/1/D, January 23, 1943 (not printed), is identical with the final version except for the footnote to the word “July” in the first paragraph which was added by the Combined Chiefs of Staff at their final meeting on the evening of January 23.
2. The Combined Chiefs of Staff have agreed that without prejudicing the July date for the operation, an intense effort will be made during the next three weeks to achieve by contrivance and ingenuity the favorable June moon period as the date for the operation. If at the end of the three weeks their efforts have proved successful, your instructions will be modified accordingly. [Footnote in the source text.]
2. Not printed.
3. Ante, p. 680.