FIELD BAKERY. The men in the picture above are using a British oven which was built into a trailer. Field ovens of U. S. troops were separate units and not built in trailer form. In some instances U. S. troops obtained the British type oven when previously stationed in the British Isles. Others obtained them in America. Every attempt was made to vary the rations of the troops, and fresh bread was baked when possible.] [Illustration: SICILY FLYING FORTRESS DURING BOMBING OF MESSINA. In the first two weeks of August the enemy started to withdraw to Italy across the narrow Strait of Messina under heavy bombing attacks. By concentrating antiaircraft guns in and around Messina as a means of combating these attacks, the Germans managed to ferry across thousands of their first-line armored and airborne troops, but much of their heavy equipment was left behind. U. S. patrols entered the city from the west on 16 August 1943 while British units entered from the south on the same day. The campaign had lasted thirty-nine days.] [Illustration: SICILY UNLOADING EQUIPMENT IN PALERMO. Even before the fighting in Sicily had ended, the build-up for the invasion of Italy started. The crane (left center) unloading pipe is a truck-mounted crane M2. Designed to handle 240-mm. howitzer materiel and 8-inch gun materiel in the field, it was a six-wheeled type with power supplied to all wheels and capable of accompanying convoy vehicles at a maximum speed of about thirty miles per hour. It was also used to facilitate unloading as above. The crew consisted of a chassis operator and a crane operator.] [Illustration: SICILY SMOKE SCREEN OVER PALERMO HARBOR AREA. This port, within easy reach of enemy bombers based in Italy, was subjected to air raids during the build-up period before the invasion of the mainland. The smoke screen obscured the port area and kept the bombardiers from aiming at any specific target.] [Illustration] [Illustration: SICILY LST’S IN PALERMO HARBOR. The very low altitude barrage balloons (above) protected the ships from dive-bombing attacks. They were flown at different altitudes from day to day.] [Illustration: SICILY AMMUNITION DUMP NEAR PALERMO during the build-up for the invasion of Italy.] [Illustration: SICILY GLIDER TRAINING FIELD IN SICILY. (Douglas C-47 transport with CG-4 gliders.)] [Illustration: SICILY MESSINA WITH THE ITALIAN MAINLAND ACROSS THE STRAIT. On 3 September 1943 British and Canadians of the British Eighth Army crossed this channel into Italy.] [Illustration: SARDINIA