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Sicilian Midnight

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Title
Sicilian Midnight
Description
Under direct orders from Patton himself, the 3rd Ranger Battalion stepped off at dusk on the 15th to seize Porto Empedocle. Marching in a column of companies, the Rangers made good time across the Sicilian hills. But just after midnight, scouts stumbled onto a roadblock at the junction of highways …
Publisher
Date
1943-07-16
Scenario#
DASL25
AD11
OA12
Scenario Description
Under direct orders from Patton himself, the 3rd Ranger Battalion stepped off at dusk on the 15th to seize Porto Empedocle. Marching in a column of companies, the Rangers made good time across the Sicilian hills. But just after midnight, scouts stumbled onto a roadblock at the junction of highways 122 and 116 manned by troops of the Italian 208th Coastal Battalion. Realizing the need for speed in the bold adventure, Colonel Dammer sent two companies forward to attack both the roadblock and the high ground.
Location
Favara, Sicily
Battle Narrative
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II, in which the Allies took the island of Sicily from the Axis powers. It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign, and initiated the Italian Campaign. To divert some of the Axis forces to other areas, the Allies engaged in several deception operations, the most famous and successful of which was Operation Mincemeat. Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943, and ended on 17 August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners; the Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island and the Mediterranean sea lanes were opened for Allied merchant ships for the first time since 1941. The Italian leader, Benito Mussolini, was toppled from power in Italy and the way was opened for the Allied invasion of Italy. The German leader, Adolf Hitler, "canceled a major offensive at Kursk after only a week, in part to divert forces to Italy", resulting in a reduction of German strength on the Eastern Front. The collapse of Italy necessitated German troops replacing the Italians in Italy and to a lesser extent the Balkans, resulting in one fifth of the entire German army being diverted from the east to southern Europe, a proportion that would remain until near the end of the war.
Narrative Source
Combatants
American
Italian
Additional Information
Scenario Type = Deluxe
Collection:

Geolocation