Savannah Rain

On July 10th, the Allies landed in Sicily — theAmerican VII Corps in the Licata and Gela area and the British at Pozzalo, eastof Syracuse. In Gela, Darby’s Rangers successfully fought off a counterattack by the 10-ton French tanks of Gruppo Mobile “E”. The Axis command recoveredquickly, however, and planned …

1943-07-11

AP006

On July 10th, the Allies landed in Sicily — theAmerican VII Corps in the Licata and Gela area and the British at Pozzalo, eastof Syracuse. In Gela, Darby’s Rangers successfully fought off a counterattack by the 10-ton French tanks of Gruppo Mobile “E”. The Axis command recoveredquickly, however, and planned another counterattack for the next day. The ItalianLivorno Division was to move toward Gela and, after its capture, move westwardagainst Licata. Most of the German units went to face the British in theeast, leaving only the Hermann Göring Division to support the Italians. Thecounterattack commenced at 0830 hours. At the time of the attack, General Patton was visiting Ranger headquarters. As he was leaving, he shouted back, “Kill every one of the goddamn bastards!” The cruiser Savannah opened fire with her six-inch guns, hammering the Italian infantry which was advancing under the cover of German tanks. Though stripped of its infantry support, the German armor continued advancing through the naval gunfire, forcing Darby to use makeshift crews to man captured Italian artillery pieces which engaged the German tanks a mere thousand yards from the beach.

Gela, Sicily

The amphibious Battle of Gela was the opening engagement of the American portion of the Allied Invasion of Sicily during World War Two. United States Navy ships landed United States Army troops along the eastern end of the south coast of Sicily; and withstood attacks by Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica aircraft while defending the beachhead against German tanks and Italian tanks of the Livorno Division until the Army captured the Ponte Olivo Airfield for use by United States Army Air Forces planes. The battle convinced United States Army officers of the value of naval artillery support, and revealed problems coordinating air support from autonomous air forces during amphibious operations.

Italian / German

American

Scenario Type = Standard