Able at Cesaro

At first light, 2nd Battalion of the 47th Infantry Regiment stepped off to seize the next group of hills and, if possible, the village of Cesaro itself. Pushing through the scrub and low hills northwest of Cesaro, Company A quickly reached the lateral road that linked the village with …

1943-08-08

A013

At first light, 2nd Battalion of the 47th Infantry Regiment stepped off to seize the next group of hills and, if possible, the village of Cesaro itself. Pushing through the scrub and low hills northwest of Cesaro, Company A quickly reached the lateral road that linked the village with the coastal highway. Unopposed to this point, scouts from "Able" ran back with news that Italian troops had taken up positions on a commanding rise just east of the roadway. The Italian troops, in point of fact, were Carabinieri (military police) busily entrenching on the slopes and preparing to interdict the coastal roadway.

Cesaro, Sicily

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.

American

Italian

Scenario Type = Standard