The Allied invasion of Italy, a phase of the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, took place on 3 September at Reggio di Calabria (Operation Baytown), and on 9 September 1943 at Taranto and Salerno (Operation Slapstick and Operation Avalanche respectively). Allied naval forces landed American and Commonwealth troops on the beaches of southern Italy where they faced resistance from Axis forces. Allied Forces Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ), Mediterranean General Dwight D. Eisenhower Allied Naval Forces, Mediterranean (Admiral Andrew Cunningham) Western Task Force (Operation Avalanche) (Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, USN) Force H (Vice Admiral Sir Algernon Willis, RN) Naval Task Force, Operation Slapstick (Vice Admiral Arthur Power, RN) Mediterranean Air Command (Allied) (Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder) Allied 15th Army Group General Harold Alexander Operation Baytown – 3 September Landings across Strait of Messina British Eighth Army General Bernard Law Montgomery British XIII Corps Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey British 5th Infantry Division (Major-General Gerard Bucknall) 13th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier L.M. Campbell) 2nd Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 2nd Battalion Wiltshire Regiment 15th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier E.O. Martin) 1st Battalion Green Howards 1st Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 1st Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment 17th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier Dudley Ward) 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers 2nd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment 6th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders Divisional troops 7th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (Machine Gun Battalion) 5th Reconnaissance Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps 91st (4th London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery 92nd (5th London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery 156th (Lanarkshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery 52nd (6th London) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery 18th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 38th Field Company, Royal Engineers 245th Field Company, Royal Engineers 252nd Field Company, Royal Engineers 254th Field Park Company, Royal Engineers Canadian 1st Infantry Division (Major-General Guy Simonds) 1st Infantry Brigade (Brigadier Howard Graham) The Royal Canadian Regiment 1st Battalion, The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment 1st Battalion, 48th Highlanders of Canada 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade (Brigadier Chris Vokes) Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry 1st Battalion, The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada 1st Battalion, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade (Brigadier M.H.S. Penhale) Royal 22e Régiment 1st Battalion, The Carleton and York Regiment 1st Battalion, The West Nova Scotia Regiment 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade (Brigadier R.A. Wyman) 11th Armoured Regiment (The Ontario Regiment) 12th Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment) 14th Armoured Regiment (The Calgary Regiment) Divisional troops 4th Reconnaissance Regiment (4th Princess