Operation Husky part 3
British Sherman enters Catania; August 5, 1943
After the capture of Palermo, the Allies could also move towards Messina along the northern coast. In doing so, they attacked the mountainous, inaccessible center of the island and along the east coast. Nevertheless, it was the Germans who continued to dictate the pace and in many ways the course of this battle.
The capture of Palermo by the XNUMXth Army marked a turning point in the Battle of Sicily. Not only did Patton's troops achieve equal status, but they were soon to dominate the final phase of this campaign, during which both allied armies advanced towards Messina, their final destination on the island. Meanwhile, Montgomery realized the futility of trying to break through the German defenses in the XNUMXth Army sector and realized that he needed to cooperate with Patton, whether he wanted to or not.
General Matthew Ridgway (second from left), commander of the US 82nd Airborne Division; Sicily, July 25, 1943. After the capture of the western part of the island, his division went into reserve.
"There must be a catch in this"
On July 25, 1943, Patton, at the invitation of Montgomery, flew to Syracuse to discuss the strategy for the final phase of the operation in Sicily. The last time the two generals had seen each other was long before the invasion. It is noteworthy that it was Montgomery, and not Alexander, the nominal commander of the Allied ground forces, who took the initiative to strengthen cooperation with the Americans. In a message to Patton, Monty wrote: “It would be my great honor if you and your Chief of Staff would visit me and stay overnight so that we can discuss getting Messina.
Patton arrived in Syracuse deeply distrustful of Montgomery's intentions, expecting a dispute over priority in using the island's underdeveloped road network. To his surprise, Montgomery himself suggested that the Americans, rather than the Eighth Army, take Messina. Patton decided that Montgomery should have a primary target. On the evening of the same day, he remarked: “He agreed so readily that there must be a catch, but I did not understand what. Three days later Montgomery flew to Palermo to confer with Patton. Also this time he emphasized the great significance of the American attack. Patton remarked with surprise: he said that if we were the first to reach the height of Taormina, we should turn south! Previously, he insisted that we do not even come close to the east coast.
These suspicions were not entirely unfounded. From the first day of the invasion, Montgomery acted as if there were no Americans in Sicily at all. His behavior at Vizzini, where he arbitrarily displaced the sectoral divisions of both armies to the detriment of Bradley's corps, and also manipulated strategy through the submissive Alexander, sounded arrogant, as if only the British could win the main battles of this campaign. Now, however, the strategy imposed by Montgomery threatened to completely discredit the Allies in Sicily. What appeared to be a sudden surge of sympathy for Patton was in fact an admission that this campaign could not be won by the British spectacular single attack of Messina.
On the east coast, V Corps (the core of which was the British 5th and 50th Infantry Divisions) was still stranded on the outskirts of Catania, unable to move. Attempts to get around this blocking position by extending the front inland and bypassing the entire Mount Etna from the west - a maneuver that Montgomery pompously called the "left hook" - came to nothing. The XXX Corps advancing here was also stuck. Nevertheless, Montgomery decided that it was by this detour, through the mountainous center of the island, that he would reach Messina. To this end, he introduced the British 78th Infantry Division into reserve operations (it arrived in Sicily on July 25), which was supposed to advance in the direction of Katenanuova - Centuripe - Adrano, supported on the left flank by the Canadian 1st Infantry Division and the British 231st Infantry Division. brigade, and on the right, the 51th mountain division.
Attempts to bypass the German positions did not make sense, since by that time General Hube (commander of the 150th Panzer Corps and at that time, after the marginalization of the Italians, the de facto commander of the Axis forces in Sicily) had already managed to create an uninterrupted line of defense linking both coasts of the island. The Hauptkampflinie (outer ring of defence) he established ran from San Stefano di Camastra on the north coast through Nicosia, Agira, Regalbuto, Katenanuova and Gerbini to the southern suburbs of Catania on the east coast. Its length was about 80 km. Its southern part, from Agira to Catania (about 3 km), was occupied by the Hermann Goering division, which was supported by a number of smaller units, some of which had previously fought as part of the Schmalz battle group. These were two regiments of paratroopers (FJR 4 and 115), the 923rd Panzer Grenadier Regiment, two fortress battalions (2nd and "Reggio") and, in particular, the remnants of the 504th company of the XNUMXth heavy tank battalion, at of which there were still four serviceable Tiger tanks in reserve.
Montgomery, having completed the front of the 113th Army with five divisions and one infantry brigade (which was practically all he had), needed someone else to attack along the northern coast of the island. That is why he so willingly provided the Americans with the two roads leading there: the No. 30 coastal road from Palermo to Messina and the No. 120 road from Nicosia via Troina to Randazzo, located about XNUMX km inland.
Patton had four infantry divisions at his disposal (the 1st and 45th from General Bradley's 3rd Corps, the 9th division in Palermo, and the XNUMXth division just arrived from Tunisia) - but only places to attack for two . This meant, however, that, unlike Montgomery, he was reserved. The opportunity to relax the forward units turned out to be very useful, since the Americans had a difficult path ahead.
First, the advance of Bradley's corps was complicated by difficult terrain. On the north coast, where the 45th Thunderbird Division was advancing, coastal road No. 113 was divided by a series of streams (mostly dry, mined channels with steep banks at this time of the year) and a ridge descending from the mountains to the sea. Each of these terrain obstacles was an excellent defensive line. In turn, in the direction of the offensive of the 1st division, high mountains rose on both sides of road No. 120. The road itself, meandering up and down steeply, was so narrow in places that the larger vehicles had to make tight turns as they pulled up and back in sections. Between the two axes of attack lay the massif of the Madona Mountains, and even to the east of Monti Nebrodi, the highest and impregnable mountains of Sicily. Two mountain ranges divided Patton's offensive into two completely separate operations, not supporting each other. Moreover, if on the 113th route the attack could be supported by amphibious assault forces and naval artillery, then on the internal 120th route this was impossible.
Secondly, Bradley faced an opponent as strong as the British. The northern part of the Hauptkampflinie was manned by two armored grenadier divisions. On the shore, on the axis of road No. 113, the newly arrived 29th division of General Freis, a veteran of the Eastern Front, who lost his left arm and leg there (in the fall of 1942 near Rzhevo). In turn, the advance along route No. 120 was blocked by the 15th division of General Rodt and the 382nd tank regiment attached to it.
Although the Germans had established a stable front, they were running out of provisions, ammunition and fuel. These shortcomings were caused by Allied air raids on road and rail networks in central and southern Italy. However, Hube had an evacuation plan ready through the Strait of Messina, and his headquarters were now working out the details of how to retreat as the German forces retreated from Sicily. In the rear of the Hauptkampflinie, the German sappers built a new, shorter line of defense called the Etna line, running from San Fratello through Troina and Adrano to Acireale in the northern suburbs of Catania. Almost a third of this new frontier was the inaccessible massif of Mount Etna. In fact, on a front of more than 100 km, the Allied attack could pass only along a few mountain roads.
On the day of Patton's arrival in Syracuse (July 25), the 45th Division captured the coastal town of Cefalu and the 1st Division entered the Ganges. Three days later, the "Great Red", as General Allen's 1st division was called, captured Nicosia, breaking the Hauptkampflinie. Farther east was Troina, and it was there that American forces would face the bloodiest battle of the campaign.
“I think there are too damn few of them”
Rodt's grenadiers withdrew steadily east along Highway 120, avoiding any major engagement with the 1st Division but resisting each of the following hills. They often counter-attacked, backed up by heavy artillery fire, making the advance of Allen's foot soldiers a laborious and costly undertaking. On the northern coast, Fries' grenadiers were evenly giving up land for the retreat of Rodt's troops.
The Americans were sure that the enemy would pass through Troina only on the way to new positions, about 8 km to the east, in the Cesaro area. No one noticed that at Troina the 15th Panzergrenadier Division suddenly stopped retreating. I Corps intelligence erroneously assumed that the Germans would want to resist further east. The intelligence chief of the 1th division reported on July 29 that the Germans were very tired and did not have enough ammunition. Their casualties are high and morale is low. Meanwhile, the "Great Red" was reinforced by the 39th Regiment from the 9th Division (three infantry battalions and one artillery squadron), as well as the 4th Fleet Goumier (battalion) belonging to the Free French forces. These local Moroccans were recruited mainly from the warlike Berber tribes of the Atlas Mountains. They were commanded by French officers and non-commissioned officers.
Troina, one of the pillars of the Etna line, was too valuable for the Germans to give it up without a fight. In addition, the highest city in Sicily (1121 m above sea level) was an ideal place for defense. Fire stations in the city itself and on the surrounding hills allowed deadly fire - due to the barren open countryside, the attackers had little cover. Among other things, they dropped 170 mm artillery shells (17 cm-Kanone 18 at the Mercerlafette) - the only battery of German heavy artillery in Sicily.
The Battle of Troina began on July 31, when the 1st Division captured the town of Cherami, 8 km to the west. By evening, the 39th Regiment occupied nearby Hill 1234, and the 1st Battalion of the 16th Regiment - Hill 1209. Heavy field artillery and mortar fire immediately hit the American positions. The fire from Monte Acuto (Hill 1343), the highest point facing Route 120 and Troina, was particularly intense. Nevertheless, Allen and Bradley recognized that the 39th was capable of capturing Troina on its own.
The commander of the 39th was an eccentric former cavalryman and close friend of Patton, Colonel Harry Flint. During the Battle of Troina, wanting to be easily recognized by his soldiers, he circled the front lines bare-chested, wearing a helmet and a black silk scarf. Exposing himself to German fire, he contemptuously waved his hand in the direction of their position and shouted: See? There is nothing to be afraid of. Damn people can't even hit an old goat like me.
On the afternoon of August 1, Flint sent the 1st and 3rd Battalions to Troina. The first of them occupied a height of 1034, located one and a half kilometers to the west of the city. The ease with which this happened seemed to confirm that the enemy was still retreating. In fact, the Americans found one of the sectors most prepared for self-defense in the entire Sicilian campaign. General Rodt organized his 15th Panzergrenadier Division into two battle groups, each based on a grenadier regiment (three battalions, three companies each), reinforced with additional units (heavy weapons company, engineer platoon, anti-tank platoon, artillery platoon) and the number of tanks. Battle Group Fullreed occupied Troina and the mountains to the north, including Monte Acuto. The approaches to Troina from the south were defended by the Ens battle group, which the Canadians pushed back from their direction of attack, capturing Agira on 28 July.
In fact, the Americans managed to capture Hill 1034 almost on the move only because Colonel Enns did not have time to deploy his troops. After dark, the Germans corrected this error by conducting a furious counterattack. The battered 1st Battalion was forced to retreat, leaving Battle Group Ens this valuable position (from the top of the hill there was a fine view of Troina and the German artillery posts further east). On the other hand, the 3rd Battalion, which reached a distance of 3 km northwest of the city, was driven back to its original positions by heavy fire from the mountains north of Highway 120.
The events of 1 August forced the 39th Regiment to reconsider their original plan to capture Troina alone. The next morning, Flint was to make the main attack, but this time supported by Colonel Flint's 26th Infantry Regiment. Bowen to the hills north of Troina. Still further north, Goumier's 4th Fleet, halted the day before by artillery fire, was to resume the offensive on Monte Acuto. Up to 16 squadrons of 105- and 155-mm guns (165 barrels in total) were to provide fire support.
Colonel Bowen, having analyzed the intelligence reports himself, warned General Allen that they would face very strong defenses. I think there are a hell of a lot of them. We will put ourselves before them. His fears turned out to be well founded. The attacks of the 26th and 39th regiments, like those of the Gumiers, collapsed under the fire of German artillery. Neither the Moroccans nor Flint's troops were able to take a step towards Troina. Only Bowen's top battalion advanced a little less than a kilometer. The testimonies of the prisoners showed that the German troops were ordered to hold Troina "at any cost".
What have we done to you?
Further south, the British 15th Army, after a series of heavy skirmishes on the XXX Corps front, seriously threatened the German positions at Adrano, one of the pillars of the Etna line. After the conquest of Agira, the Canadians waged an equally bloody battle for Regalbuto, located 3 km to the east. General Konrath, worried about their breakthrough at Hauptkampflinie at Agira, sent a battalion of sappers (Fallschirm-Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon) to defend Regalbuto against his Hermann Göring division, supported by a company of eight tanks, an artillery battery, a company of FJ 2 paratroopers and several paratroopers -Nebelwerfen rocket launchers. During the fierce fighting for the city, the Canadian infantry alternately attacked or beat off counterattacks. Another general assault was scheduled for the afternoon of XNUMX August, but a patrol sent out in the morning of the same day found that the enemy had withdrawn from the city under cover of night.
The German retreat from Regalbuto was largely due to what happened a few kilometers to the south. There, on the night of July 29-30, a Canadian infantry brigade attacked the city of Katenanuova, defended by the German 923rd fortress battalion, which fled in a panic (for which the commander and officers were brought before a military tribunal, and their unit was disbanded). General Leese, commander of British XXX Corps, immediately moved the 78th Infantry Division in that direction, hoping to capture Centuripe, the next town on the way to Adrano, on the march. Konrath reacted just as quickly, sending Mei to Centuripe. Heilman, commander of FJR 3, who became known as someone who does not retreat (see part 2). Heilmann manned the city with the 1st battalion and part of the 2nd battalion of his parachute rifle regiment, supported by tanks, as well as field and anti-tank artillery of the Hermann Göring division. Finally, at nightfall on 2 August, General Konrath himself ordered a retreat from Centuripe; this time Heilmann complied.
Further south, on the right flank of XXX Corps, the British 51st Infantry Division was advancing, breaking through extensive minefields. Although she made little progress, she was bleeding from her opponent. When Colonel Schmalz, commander of this sector, launched a counterattack by the 1st Battalion, 2nd Panzergrenadier Regiment of the Hermann Göring Division, supported by a dozen PzKpfw IVs, he lost all 12 tanks.
Paradoxically, the Allies advanced least of all on both banks (the Americans in the north, the British in the east) - that is, where they were able to carry out auxiliary landings from the sea and could use naval artillery. The 17th Corps, having captured the Primosolsky Bridge in the southern suburbs of Catania on July XNUMX, practically halted the advance on Messina. To make matters worse, Dempsey's troops suffered from malaria or were killed by German artillery fire, which repeatedly disabled the donated Ponte Primosole.
British self-propelled guns Bishop - an unsuccessful marriage of a 25-pounder (87,6 mm) howitzer with a Valentine tank chassis; Sicily, summer 1943.
The situation was also stable on the northern coast, where the advance was held back by the 29th Panzergrenadier Division. The defensive positions prepared by General Fries on the edge of the San Fratello Ridge were even more difficult to breach than those around Troina. The position of the Americans was not changed by the replacement of the 45th Thunderbird Division by the more experienced 3rd Division (which took place on August 2 at San Stefano). The enemy skillfully used the terrain and countless mines, the detection of which was hampered by the presence of iron in the lava and rocks of Sicily. In just one day, the 15th Rifle Regiment lost 103 soldiers without capturing a single piece of land.
Meanwhile, "Great Red" was preparing to conquer Troina. Before dawn on August 3, General Allen ordered a massive attack on the entire front of his 1st Division. The night attack brought little success, but the Germans continued to hold their positions. In the afternoon, a counter-attack by Kampfgruppe Enns forced the American artillery to cease fire, as both sides were too close to each other. An attempt to bypass the city from the Galliano side failed due to the open rocky terrain and the exhaustion of the soldiers. So, despite the fact that the front line was moved 2-3 km closer to the city, fierce fighting on August 3 did not bring a breakthrough.
On the fifth day of the battle (August 4), the Americans made their most determined attempt to capture Troina. The attack began in the late afternoon with a 45-minute artillery and aerial bombardment. However, when the infantry attacked, the Germans again defended their positions. With the arrival of the 60th Regiment (from the 9th Infantry Division), the Americans made an attempt to bypass the city from the north. Allen sent this regiment, supported by detachments of sappers, towards Monte Camolato (height 1536), 10 km north of Cesaro.
General Rodt realized that he could no longer hold Troina. He knew that the enemy was heading towards Cesaro to outflank him from the north, and there was nothing he could do about it. The fierce defense of Troina stopped the American advance for almost a week, but the price of this success was extremely high - 1600 people were killed (almost 40% of the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division). His subordinates, who carried out 24 counterattacks in that battle, were exhausted, and incessant air raids destroyed most of the supply depots. Nevertheless, Rodt's first request for permission to leave Troyna, submitted on 5 August, was denied. Only in the evening, when General Konrath reported that his division "Hermann Göring" was retreating further south under the onslaught of the XXX British Corps, exposing the left flank of the 15th Panzergrenadier Division, Hube approved the withdrawal of Rodt's troops to new positions in the Cesaro area. .
During the Battle of Troina, Allied tactical air power, not for the first time in that campaign, proved to be a double-edged weapon. There have been many unfortunate accidents in Sicily due to the poor quality of the maps, the inexperience of the pilots and the similarity of the terrain. Canadian troops in Regalbuto, a few kilometers to the south, were attacked several times by American fighter-bombers. Finally, after one especially dangerous raid, General Leese (commander of the XXX British Corps) called Bradley and asked: what have we done to you that you treat us like this? When asked where exactly the bombs had landed, Liz replied, "At my command post." They destroyed the whole city.
