Steven Casey
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190660628
- eISBN:
- 9780190660659
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190660628.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, Military History, American History: 20th Century
John Thompson of the Chicago Tribune accompanied the Eighty-Second Airborne’s parachute drop into Sicily in July 1943, making him the first reporter to set foot on the Axis-controlled continent of ...
More
John Thompson of the Chicago Tribune accompanied the Eighty-Second Airborne’s parachute drop into Sicily in July 1943, making him the first reporter to set foot on the Axis-controlled continent of Europe since the start of the Allied fight back. This paratroop mission was the biggest innovation of the Sicilian invasion, but it only heightened the familiar problem that had hampered reporting in North Africa: how to get stories from the front. Once again, therefore, Allied headquarters in Algiers often became the main source of news. As the Sicilian battle progressed, Eisenhower’s command undertook an impressive effort to improve communications and relax censorship, but two of the biggest stories—Patton’s manhandling of ill soldiers and the friendly-fire deaths of a number of paratroopers—remained firmly under wraps.Less
John Thompson of the Chicago Tribune accompanied the Eighty-Second Airborne’s parachute drop into Sicily in July 1943, making him the first reporter to set foot on the Axis-controlled continent of Europe since the start of the Allied fight back. This paratroop mission was the biggest innovation of the Sicilian invasion, but it only heightened the familiar problem that had hampered reporting in North Africa: how to get stories from the front. Once again, therefore, Allied headquarters in Algiers often became the main source of news. As the Sicilian battle progressed, Eisenhower’s command undertook an impressive effort to improve communications and relax censorship, but two of the biggest stories—Patton’s manhandling of ill soldiers and the friendly-fire deaths of a number of paratroopers—remained firmly under wraps.
Steven Casey
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190660628
- eISBN:
- 9780190660659
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190660628.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Military History, American History: 20th Century
Robert Capa had taken a series of photographs of the paratroop mission to Sicily, but so far he had not enjoyed a happy war. His problems in getting to the front had mirrored the deeper problems the ...
More
Robert Capa had taken a series of photographs of the paratroop mission to Sicily, but so far he had not enjoyed a happy war. His problems in getting to the front had mirrored the deeper problems the US military had encountered in getting good images of the battlefield. All this changed after Sicily. Not only did Eisenhower make a concerted effort to recruit more leading photographers, but senior officials in Washington, worried that the public had become too confident about a quick victory, also decided to allow the publication of grittier battlefield images. Capa was the first photographer to benefit from this policy change. He was soon joined by Margaret Bourke-White, also of Life magazine, who profited from Eisenhower’s willingness to allow more women journalists near the front.Less
Robert Capa had taken a series of photographs of the paratroop mission to Sicily, but so far he had not enjoyed a happy war. His problems in getting to the front had mirrored the deeper problems the US military had encountered in getting good images of the battlefield. All this changed after Sicily. Not only did Eisenhower make a concerted effort to recruit more leading photographers, but senior officials in Washington, worried that the public had become too confident about a quick victory, also decided to allow the publication of grittier battlefield images. Capa was the first photographer to benefit from this policy change. He was soon joined by Margaret Bourke-White, also of Life magazine, who profited from Eisenhower’s willingness to allow more women journalists near the front.
