German troops refused battle and the Eighth Army tied down none of them. The main obstacle to the Allied advance was the terrain and German demolitions.
Opposition to the landings was very light, because the few German troops in the area rapidly withdrew northward. Italian troops on the coast, belonging to the coastal divisions, were poorly equipped, demoralized by the political situation and the massive Allied bombardment; they offered no resistance to the landing. An exception was the 185th Infantry Regiment "Nembo" which was attached to the 211th Coastal Division, had provided more determined resistance on the Aspromonte massif, but was eventually overcome on 8 September 1943.