And No Birds Sang is the story of a young Canadian, Farley Mowat. The story begins on September 2, 1939 with a young Farley painting his parents' porch when his father pulls into the driveway and excitedly proclaims that the war has begun! Farley was an enthusiastic 18-year-old with aspirations of joining the Air Force and becoming a fighter pilot. Within a month he applied to the Royal Canadian Air Force, but was rejected due to his young age and slim build. Instead he was drafted into the 2nd Battalion called Hasty Pees, with the expectation of being transferred to the 1st Battalion and on active duty. The story follows Mr. Mowat and his experiences during multiple battles as the Allies invaded and eventually conquered Italy. The title comes shortly after the first battle of Farley, when all was silent in the air and no birds sang. By the summer of 1943 the Allied powers had ended their campaigns in North Africa. Their next objective was to move into Sicily and invade Italy to force the Germans to move northwest from the coast. This became known as “Operation Husky, designed to open up shipping lanes in the Mediterranean, eliminate it as an Axis base, and to aid in the fall of Mussolini's government” (Hickman n.d.). On 8 July 1943 Mowat, now an intelligence officer, was ordered to Sicily to participate in Operation Husky. They left on the night of the 8th and encountered terribly rough seas due to the sirocco. The sirocco is an intense wind that comes from the Sahara. It looked like Operation Husky would be canceled. Fortunately, later that night the wind died down and the platoons were able to continue the operation. The invasion began on the night of July 9, landing on the west side of the Pachi...... middle of paper ...... to join the war, which quickly changed. They never had enough food, water or clothing. While the desire to stop and surrender was felt, everyone continued to move forward, knowing that a task had to be accomplished if they were to defeat the Axis powers. Works Cited 2006. A Brief History of Mussolini and the Fascists in World War II. January 6. Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.custermen.com/ItalyWW2/History/Fascists.htm.2. Hickmann, Kennedy. and About.com. Accessed March 26, 2014. http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwarii/p/husky.htm.3. Mowat, Farley. 1979. And no birds sang. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited.4. Slavino, Bill. II Ambush in Grammichele. Accessed March 29, 2014. http://www.fireandfury.com/scenarios/grammichele.pdf.5. 2014. The Royal Canadian Regiment. March 6. Accessed April 1, 2014. http://theroyalcanadianregiment.ca/individual_submissions/sicily.html .