The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Throughout the whole day of fighting, the German troops did not move.

Three infantry divisions were waiting for the enemy on the high ground with tunnel fortifications. The armored divisions and mechanized infantry divisions were hiding in the jungle. Even if airborne skirmishers landed nearby and fought with the Italian army, they turned a blind eye. .

This gave the Allies the illusion that all Germans on Sicily had disappeared.

It was not until the next day that the British and American troops advanced deep into the island under the cover of tanks, and they encountered the German troops stationed on the highlands.

The US troops landed the 1st, 3rd and 45th Infantry Divisions, followed closely by the 2nd Armored Division. However, due to the limited throughput of the ports controlled by the US military, only ten tanks were unloaded throughout the day. The armored division's landing was temporarily stuck in a bottleneck.

But of course the US military would not stop advancing because of this. They divided ten tanks into two parts and led the two troops to advance deeper into Sicily.

Its main force, the 1st Infantry Division, advanced towards Enna, the 3rd Infantry Division attacked towards Palermo, and the 45th Infantry Division stayed behind as a reserve to guard the beachhead.

This distribution of forces is correct, using the highly capable 1st Infantry Division to attack Enna...Patton obviously saw that Enna was the focus for the Sicily campaign because it was located in the center of the entire island of Sicily. Once the Allied forces occupy this place, they can divide the enemy into several pieces and reinforce their own troops in time. It can be said to be an extremely important transportation hub.

On the other hand, although Palermo is an important port, the German and Italian troops have basically been unable to use this port when the British and American troops have control of the air...British and American fighters and bombers have basically blocked the port.

The reason for using "basic" is that German fighter planes taking off from Sardinia occasionally took advantage there to cover the entry and exit of ships.

Such a port could no longer be considered a strategic location, so the 3rd Infantry Division, which had a relatively weak combat effectiveness, was allowed to attack.

As for the beachhead... that is the rear area of ​​the US military. The 45th Infantry Division will build a defense line there, and the 2nd Armored Division, which is landing one after another, will also ensure the security there.

However, as the fighting deepened, this situation soon changed.

The commander of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division is Major General Allen, whose temper is a bit like Patton's, typically rough, bold, and unkempt... There are often such officers in the U.S. military, and they even like to make their own decisions.

When the U.S. 1st Infantry Division was training in Tripoli, Eisenhower once visited their training and found that the so-called "landing drill" of the officers and soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division was just a fooling around. Therefore, Eisenhower wanted to use The 36th Infantry Division replaced the unruly 1st Infantry Division.

But Patton immediately broke into Eisenhower's office and yelled: "General, they may not be disciplined, they may not obey orders, but in a war... I want those sons of bitches! Without them, I can't fight." This battle!”

This also shows the status of the 1st Infantry Division in Patton's heart.

At this time, Major General Allen was sitting in a jeep following the troops along the road, and from time to time he took out a map to look at it.

"Where are we, Otto?" Major General Allen asked the staff officer sitting in the back row.

Odo came up, pointed at a point on the map, and replied: "It should be here, General, it's still ten kilometers away from Enna!"

"Still no Germans found?" Allen asked.

"No, General!"

After looking at his watch, Allen ordered: "Order the troops to stop advancing!"

"But General!" Odo objected: "General Patton's order is for us to capture Enna as quickly as possible!"

"That's his order!" Allen replied: "We should build fortifications here!"

"General..."

"obey orders!"

"yes!"

Major General Allen was worried about Germany's armored divisions and mechanized forces.

You must know that the 1st Infantry Division only had 5 tanks at this time, but the Germans had an armored division... and they did not know the location of this armored division yet.

If this armored division suddenly appears in front of us, the US military, which lacks anti-tank equipment, will be in trouble.

Soon Patton called and asked, "Why did you stop moving forward?"

"I sense danger, General!" Major General Allen replied.

"Our reconnaissance planes have scouted Enna!" Patton said: "And one of our paratroopers also airborne there last night. The information we got is that there is only one regiment of Italian soldiers in Enna. Drive your tanks up and occupy it. !”

"I'm worried about the enemy's armored divisions!"

"No, Allen!" Patton said: "They will put the armored division in a port like Palermo or Messina. If the paratroopers there will find them, not to mention we have air support!"

"No matter what, General!" Allen said, "I hope to stay here for one night and move on tomorrow!"

"Attack now... now, or I will let the bombers drop bombs on your heads!" Patton said and hung up the phone.

Major General Allen's sixth sense was correct. The German armored division was indeed hidden behind Enna, but Major General Allen didn't have to worry about this at least for now, because what stood in front of him was the Enna Highlands.

At Patton's urging, Major General Allen had to order the troops to move forward.

Then there was a loud "boom", and the "Sherman" tank driving at the front was blown into a ball of fire, and then a mortar shell roared fiercely from the other side of the mountain. The sound came over.

After a burst of "boom", the American soldiers on the road were blown to pieces.

"Enemy!" a US military shouted, and then fired randomly at the opposite hill... This is the habit of the US military, and it is also a normal reaction of recruits who have never participated in combat, although they did not even find out where the enemy is. .

Needless to say what the result was, a row of bullets came over and knocked these American troops to the ground on the spot.

Amidst the explosions, Major General Allen got out of the car as quickly as possible and raised his telescope to look at the high ground on the opposite side. Then his heart was relieved.

"It's the Germans!" Major General Allen said, "I saw their helmets!"

"This is not a good thing, General!" Otto replied: "The high ground they occupied blocked our only way!"

"No, this is a good thing!" Major General Allen replied: "This means that we encountered the German infantry division, do you understand?"

Otto couldn't help but nodded. If there was an enemy armored division in front of them, they would probably fall into the trap set by the enemy's steel torrent.

However, it didn't take long for Major General Allen to realize that he was wrong.