after its bombardment from the sea: National Army Museum
34 The Italian strongpoint at Ponte Dirillo: Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, USA
35 One of the mighty Tigers of 2. Kompanie, 504. Heavy Panzer Bataillon: Esselborn/Bundesarchiv, bild 183-J14953
36 Well-positioned German machine-gunners: Dohm/Bundesarchiv, bild 183-J14874
37 US infantry moving forward: Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, USA
38 Monty addressing Canadian troops: National Army Museum
39 German Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) moving forward: Novak/Bundesarchiv, bild: 101I-634-3899-02A
40 British paratroopers of the 2nd Parachute Brigade: Airborne Assault Museum
41 All other images on page 10: National Army Museum
42 Captured British paratroopers and Tommies: Funke/Bundesarchiv, bild: 101I-303-0558-22
43 An American half-track struggles through the narrow Sicilian streets: Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, USA
44 All other images on page 11: National Army Museum
45 German machine-gunners well camouflaged: Dohm/Bundesarchiv, bild: 101I-303-0559-27
46 A German Kubelwagon needs a change of wheel as a Sicilian boy watches: Grund/Horst/Bundesarchiv, bild: 101I-303-0559-27
47 The Allies captured tens of thousands of prisoners: Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, USA
48 Germans of the Herman Göring Division talk to their captor: Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, USA
49 A Spitfire comes into land: © Imperial War Museum CAN 1098
50 A British sapper clears one of the many mines the Germans left: National Army Museum
51 British tanks of the County of London Yeomanry cross the Plain of Catania: National Army Museum
52 All other images on page 13: Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, USA
53 A Fallschirmjäger anti-tank gun crew: Haas/Bundesarchiv, bild: 101I-567-1515-32
54 All other images on page 14: National Army Museum
55 Major-General Vyvyan Evelegh and Colonel George R. Smith meet on the road to Randazzo: Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, USA
56 The astonishing bridge-building effort by American 10th Engineer Battalion at Capo Calavà: Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, USA
57 US troops enter the wreckage of Messina: Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, USA
58 All other images on page 15: National Army Museum
59 The view from Assoro: © Mike Peters
60 Centuripe – the prostrate man: 4Corners images
61 All other images on page 16: Supplied by author
Integrated Pictures
62 Operations room in Malta: © Imperial War Museum NA 4094
63 SRS men with captured Italian gun: Paul Davis
64 Supplied by the author from various sources where known: Airborne Assault Museum, Angela Bruccoleri, Max Corvo, Paul Davis, Charles Dryden, Robin Dundas, Imperial War Museum, National Archives UK, National Archives and Records Administration USA, Roberto Piccione.
65 Part 3 opener: ‘The Race to Catania’: © Imperial War Museum NA 4666
Note on the Text
Writing a campaign history such as this is a complicated undertaking. Although dealing with American, British, Canadian, German and Italian units across the armed services, I’ve tried to keep the numbers of unit names as low as possible. To help distinguish one side from another, I have used a form of vernacular, styling German and Italian units more or less as they would be written in German and Italian – not to be pretentious in any way, but just to reduce the potential for confusion. Having said that, it seemed to me that to describe a Tiger tank company as the 2. Schwere Panzerkompanie was perhaps taking this too far, so I have called it more simply 2. Heavy Panzer Kompanie.
For those who are not familiar with the scale of wartime units and the numbers involved, the basic fighting formation on which the size of armies was judged during the Second World War was the division. German panzer divisions were an all-arms formation of motorized infantry, artillery and tanks; panzer-grenadier divisions had fewer panzers – tanks – and more motorized infantry: a grenadier was simply an infantryman who was provided with motor transport to get from A to B. Infantry divisions had much less motorization by 1943 as fuel and other shortages were increasingly keenly felt within the Reich.
As a rule of thumb, a division was around 15,000 men, although some divisions could have as many as 20,000. Two divisions or more made up a corps, usually denoted in Roman numerals to distinguish them. Two corps or more constituted an army, and two armies or more an army group. Going back down the scale, American, German and Italian divisions were divided into regiments, while British and Canadian divisions were divided into brigades. Confusingly, the British did have regiments too, but in the case of infantry these were parent organizations and never fielded as a whole. US and German regiments and British brigades were much the same, each consisting of three core components, which in the case of an infantry regiment/brigade were battalions, although the Americans termed these ‘regimental combat teams’ or RCTs. An infantry battalion was around 850 men, divided into companies of some 120 men, each of which in turn broke down into three platoons and finally to the smallest formation, the ten-man squad, Gruppe or section, depending on nationality. I hope this helps.
List of Maps
Sicily, Mediterranean and Allied Shipping Routes
Axis Dispositions, 9 July
HUSKY Final Landings Plan, 10 July
US Seventh Army Assault, 10 July
Withers’ Route to Ponte Grande, 9 July
SRS on Capo Murro di Porco, 10 July
Axis Counter-attack at Gela, 11 July
Allied Operations, 10–22 July
Primosole Bridge, 13–18 July
5th Division Attacks in the Plain of Catania, 18–21 July
US Seventh Army Drive West, 19–23 July
Axis Defensive Lines
