TRUCK CONVOYS WITH SUPPLIES FOR RUSSIA. From the ports on the Persian Gulf, shipments went to Kazvin and Tehran by road and rail. From these points movements were regulated by the Russians. During the entire period of active operations, from August 1942 to May 1945, more than 5,000,000 long tons of lend-lease cargo were moved through the Persian Corridor to Russia. The greatest monthly movement of freight through the corridor took place in July 1944, when approximately 282,000 long tons were delivered. The bulk of this total was moved by rail, the rest by truck and air.] [Illustration] [Illustration: IRAN THE MAIN RAILROAD STATION AT TEHRAN (top) and freight train loaded with tanks bound for Tehran (bottom). U. S. troops from early 1943 operated the southern sector of the Iranian State Railway and the two Iranian ports. They constructed additional roads, docks, and other installations, and continued operation of aircraft and motor vehicle assembly plants. Diesel locomotives and rolling stock were brought in from the United States in large numbers.] [Illustration] [Illustration: IRAN DELOUSING NATIVE WORKERS with DDT powder at Camp Atterbury, Tehran. At the peak as many as 40,000 native workers were employed by the U. S. Army, the majority as unskilled labor. American responsibility for moving supplies to the USSR led to the separation of the Persian Gulf activities of the U. S. Army Forces in the Middle East and the establishment of a separate organization called the Persian Gulf Command.] [Illustration: IRAN QUALEH MORGEH AIRPORT AT TEHRAN. This was jointly occupied by U. S. and Russian air forces. Top picture shows a Douglas C-47 transport and a B-24 bomber. Bottom picture shows a detachment of Russian soldiers marching past U. S. transport planes.] [Illustration] [Illustration: IRAN RUSSIAN PILOTS arriving at Abadan Airport, Iran. This airport, on an island in the Shatt al Arab near the head of the Persian Gulf, was the main assembly field for U. S. planes going to the Soviet Union through the Persian Corridor.] SICILY, CORSICA, AND SARDINIA [Illustration: SICILY] SECTION II Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia The decision to assault Sicily was made by the Chiefs of Staff at Casablanca in January 1943. After the conclusion of the Tunisia Campaign, plans were completed and preparations for the attack were accelerated (Operation HUSKY). The island of Pantelleria, located between North Africa and Sicily, occupied mainly by Italian troops, was bombarded by Air Forces and Navy units and fell on 11 June. Troops for the invasion were embarked from the United States, United Kingdom, Algeria, Tunisia, and the Middle East.