Winston Churchill famously referred to Italy as the soft underbelly of Europe, and strongly advocated for Italy as a target for the allies to reestablish a foothold in Europe. In reality we know that while allied forces were largely superior to Italian troops and that the allied invasion contributed to the collapse of Mussolini's regime, the rapid transfer of German troops and the narrow, rocky geography of Italy contributed to the allied advance being slowed or even stopped for months at a time.

Obviously the geography of Italy was well understood when the planning was being conducting. Did planners assume that allied superiority would be such that these obstacles would not pose a major problem? Did they underestimate the speed and ability of the Germans to form a defensive position in Italy? Was the decision motivated by a desire to take pressure off the Eastern Front and/or a desire to ensure that Italy did not fall under the control of communist leaning partisans?