39 Days German defensive warfare in Sicilily in 5 phases

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Tucobenedito
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39 Days German defensive warfare in Sicilily in 5 phases

#1

Post by Tucobenedito » 21 Dec 2017, 22:17

The following is taken from,Signal Years of Retreat 1943-44, Edited by S.L.Mayer. Published in 1979 by the Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. Middlesex

1st phase of the fighting 10th-13th July 1943

During the night of 10th July several groups of enemy ships approached the eastern and southeastern coast of Sicily between Marsala, Cape Passero and Augusta along a broad front. Under cover of the fire from their heavy naval artillery, United States troops simultaneously began to land at various spots along the Southcoast in the vicinity of Licata and Gela. British divisions disembarked at Cape Passero and Syracuse. Parachutists and airborne troops were also sent into action in the Ragusa-Comiso area.
The struggle of the Anglo American armies of invasion against Germany and Italy's advanced guard had begun.
Whilst German and Italian coastal defence troops offered resistance to the invading enemy and immediately engaged him in embittered fighting, the British and Americans continued to land fresh troops at further places along the extensive coastline. The parachutist and airborne troops landed behind the axis lines were encircled, annihilated or dispersed by emergency units of the Air Force and Army as soon as they touched the ground. As early as 10th July, the main body of the "Hermann Goering" tank division, which launched an attack to to the direction of Gela eastwards of Gela- Piazza- Amerina road, succeeded in collaboration with a number of Italian units in driving the Americans who had landed at Gela into a narrow coastal strip and forcing them to take to their ships again with the majority of their strength. In the southeast of the island a unit of 15th Panzer Grenadier Division supported by units of the "Hermann Goering" Panzer Division and an Italian Division launched an attack against Syracuse. The enemy paratroopers who had landed NW of Syracuse were put out of action
During the course the night and days that followed, the enemy again landed strong contingents of troops including tank at various places along the coast. Enemy attempts to land at Marsala and Augusta were repulsed with heavy losses.
Under the pressure exerted by the British and American troops, who were continually drawing reinforcements from the bridgeheads, and in order to escape the rain of shells from the heavy naval units off the coast the German and Italien troops withdrew during the succeeding days to prepared positions lying further northwards, all the time fighting delaying rearguard actions. In spite of the stubborn resistance of the British the town and harbour of Augusta and the peninsula of Maddalena were captured by the 15th PG Division. During fighting for possession of roads leading northwards through narrow mountain valleys, the Germans and Italiens troops inflicted exceedingly heavy losses on the enemy in elastic warfare. Skilful withdrawals alternating with lightning attacks continually resulted in the cutting off from the main forces and annihilation of enemy advance guards. Once more the armour piercing weapons of the German troops proved their superiority laying low even the heavy American "Dreadnought" tanks.
In almost uninterrupted day and night fighting, strong bomber, Stuka and fighter and destroyer units of the German Air Force attacked concentrations of enemy troop columns on the March and disembarkation with annihilating effect. From the beginning of the landing operations until 13th July, the German Air Force sank no less than 20 troop transport ships, cargo ships and merchant vessels totalling 107500 tons as well as numerous landing-boats. 97 ships, 5 cruisers, 2 destroyers and a large number of landing boats were damaged by direct hits from bombs. Anti Aircraft guns and aerial combat counted for 83 enemy planes.

More will follow

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Sheldrake
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Re: 39 Days German defensive warfare in Sicilily in 5 phases

#2

Post by Sheldrake » 22 Dec 2017, 00:50

What exactly is this? Is this the English translation of Signal articles? or the Alt right version of WW2?

Some of the numbers are wrong. E.g. claim is 20 merchantmen and 100k+ tons. The Allied and British shipping Monthly Loss Summary: 14 British or Allied merchant ships of 80,000 tons. http://www.naval-history.net/WW2RN17-194306.htm

It very much reminds me of an exhibition East Front wargame of Barbarossa I once saw. Each side had a pack of propaganda statements triumphing victory or dressing up defeat.


Tucobenedito
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Re: 39 Days German defensive warfare in Sicilily in 5 phases

#3

Post by Tucobenedito » 22 Dec 2017, 20:30

The following is from Signal, Years of Retreat 1943-44. Edited by S.L. Mayer. The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited
Here we go again...
2nd Phase of the Fighting 14th-17th July 1943
During the fighting which now followed, the enemy attempted by concentrating his strength not only to force a breach in the Catania Plain but also to capture the area around Enna,the centre of Sicily, by penetrating the right wing of the German defensive front. With this objective in view, General Montgomery, who was in command of the British 8th Army in Southeast Sicily, reinforced the British troops held up by the strong German defence in their attack south of Catania by bringing up contingents of freshly landed troops. By the mass employment of Paratroopers and airborne units northwest and south of Catania, he attempted to break the resistance of German with an attack in their rear. Battleships, Aircraft Carriers, Cruisers and Destroyers were concentrated along the coastline from Augusta to Catania with the object of holding down the German troops with almost incessant shelling from their heavy guns.
The defenders nevertheless proved in the days to follow that they were able to cope with this superiority in men and materials. The airborne troops landed northwest and south of Catania were encircled and eliminated before being able to launch their attack. The heavy onslaughts of the British, which now began with strong tank and air support, collapsed in the face of the defenders resistance with heavy losses after severe and embittered fighting without having reached the Plain of Catania. In only a few days of fighting the "Hermann Goering" Panzer Division alone accounted for 130 enemy tanks and 15 planes at Catania.
The offensive launched to the west by United States troops shared the same fate. General Patton,too, brought up reserve from the bridgeheads at Lecata and Gela in order to make up the losses of men and material in the previous fighting. He launched an attack in the Barrafrnca area with the object of capturing the town of Enna so as to be able to control and use the roads and railways converging there which were of fundamental importance for the prosecuting of the fighting. Although the Americans here sought to carry forward the infantry attack by giving it strong tank and air support and covering it with massed heavy artillery fire, all their efforts did not achieve the anticipated success. They suffered very heavy losses and all their attacks crumbled in the annihilating fire of the defenders often before the the main battle line had been reached.
The chief task of the German Air Force, which gave effective support to the troops fighting on the ground, in this phase of the fighting, too, lay principally in attacks on enemy shipping in the waters surrounding the island. During the period from 14th to 17th July the German Air Force sank 1 destroyer, 28 troop transport ships, oil tankers, munition ships, supply ships and troop landing ships totalling 94,000 tons. 5 Cruisers, 5 Destroyers and 53 ships of various kinds were damaged whilst 43 enemy planes were brought down.

That's it for now, phases 3,4 and 5 to follow soon.
Rich

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