Cherry Ripe

As the Allied armies advanced across Sicily toward Messina, they had to overcome the defenses of a series of well defended towns. Centuripe, or “Cherry Ripe” as it was known by British troops, was the lynchpin of the so-called Etna Line. This town atop a mountain was defended …

1943-08-03

AP067

As the Allied armies advanced across Sicily toward Messina, they had to overcome the defenses of a series of well defended towns. Centuripe, or “Cherry Ripe” as it was known by British troops, was the lynchpin of the so-called Etna Line. This town atop a mountain was defended by the 3rd Regiment of the elite Fallschirmjager-Division Hermann Goring. These had so far succeeded in holding off the efforts of two brigades of British troops. To maintain the pressure, another attack was ordered by Major-General Eveleigh. This time the task fell to battle-hardened veterans of the Tunisian campaign, the 38th Irish Brigade of the 78th “Battleaxe” Division.

Centuripe, Sicily

The Battle of Centuripe was fought from 2 to 4 August 1943, as part of the Allied invasion of Sicily during World War II. The 78th Battleaxe Division, of the British Eighth Army, was engaged in fierce fighting around the town of Centuripe in the central portion of Sicily in the hill country between the Rivers Dittaìno and Salso. Centuripe, a hill town set on a very high rocky pinnacle and approached by only one steep and twisty road, itself was the key to the whole Adrano position, the capture of which would in turn force the Germans to withdraw to new positions. The British troops captured the town after heavy fighting and as a result caused the Germans to start contemplating abandoning Sicily altogether.

British

German

Scenario Type = Standard