On the field south of Biscari Airport, where we had quite a fight, I could smell dead enemy while driving for at least six miles along the road.
The Germans have, on several occasions, put mines in behind the Italians, so that when the Italians attempt to run, they get blown up. This naturally does not make the Italians love the Germans.
There have been several very gallant instances. On the tenth, some Italian tanks entered the town of Gela,
which was defended by Colonel Darby and two battalions of Rangers. Darby personally engaged one of the tanks at fifty yards with a light machine gun from his peep. When he found that these bullets would not penetrate, he hurried down to the beach, under fire of three tanks, got hold of a 37 mm. gun just unloaded, split the box of ammunition with an axe, hurried back up the hill, and went into position with his gun less than a hundred yards in front of a tank coming down on him. The first round failed to stop the tank, but the second did stop it. However, the enemy crew did not get out until Darby put a thermite grenade on top of the tank and roasted them out.
The other day this same officer was offered the command of a regiment with an increase of one grade in rank, but he refused to take it because he wished to stay with the men he had trained. On the same day, General Wedemeyer1 requested to be reduced to a Colonel so that he could take command of a regiment. I consider these two acts outstanding.
During the landing, an artillery lieutenant flew his Piper Cub off a landing boat with a run of about fifty feet of chicken wire. During the rest of the day, he circled the town under continuous fire. His plane was hit several times, but he kept the Commanding General of the 3d Division informed of the situation.
A naval officer bringing in an LCT 175-foot landing craft, found the water too shallow to get his bow in, so he broached it to the beach and engaged the enemy machine guns with his two 20 mm. cannon and silenced them, thereby permitting the troops to get ashore.
The naval gunfire support—that is, naval fire put on the beaches from vessels at sea—has been outstanding. We have even called for this support at night and got it on the target on the third salvo.
The people of this country are the most destitute and God-forgotten people I have ever seen. One day, when I was in the town and the enemy nearly took it, some shells and bombs killed a few civilians, and everyone in the town screamed like coyotes for about twenty minutes.
The animals are much better cared for and fatter, and also larger, than the animals in Africa; otherwise, everything here is much worse than in Africa.
1Brigadier General Albert C. Wedemeyer.
The carts are very peculiar. They are in the form of a box about four feet square with things that look like bedposts at the comers and along the sides. The panels between these bedposts are painted with pictures. Under the cart there is a scrollwork built up between the axle and the bottom of the box, just like the porches of houses built around 1880.
The collar of the cart animal has a spike projecting upwards about two feet, and many of the horses wear plumes on the crown piece of the bridle.
During the first two or three days, when we were having fighting close to the towns, the inhabitants were, to say the least, not friendly; but since we have demonstrated that we can destroy either the Germans or Italians, they have become quite Americanized and spend their time asking for cigarettes.
The Capture of Palermo
July 23,1943
On the afternoon of the twenty-first, we secured a position northeast of Castelvetrano from which to launch the 2d Armored Division,1 which heretofore had been held back near the middle of the island so that the enemy could not tell which way it was going.
The troops moved into position, beginning at 4 p.m., and were all set by dark. In the morning they started their relentless advance.
The first act was to break through the enemy on his immediate front. This was done by the 41st Infantry,2 supported by a battalion of medium tanks from the 66th,3 This started the enemy rolling back. From then on, it was a question of attacking him with converging tanks whenever he tried to stop us, which he attempted on three occasions.
1Commanding, Major General Hugh J. Gaffey.
2Commanding Officer, Colonel, later Brigadier General S. R. Hinds.
3Commanding Officer, Colonel, later Brigadier General J. H. Collier.
In one case a 75 mm. assault howitzer in a halftrack engaged a German 105 at five hundred yards and destroyed him. This act was as lucky as it was heroic.
The last stand was made in the mountains southwest of Palermo, which was a most difficult nut to crack, but was finally done with artillery fire and tanks.
We met some of the most ingenious tank traps I have ever seen. The Germans would dig a hole about eighteen feet long and ten feet deep halfway across the right side of the road and cover it with chicken wire and dust to make it look like the road. Then, about thirty feet beyond, on the lefthand side of the road they would make a similar pit. In front of each pit they would put a wire entanglement with the hope that our tanks would disregard the wire and crash into the holes. Fortunately we did not do so. In other places they dug traps about twenty feet wide and fifteen feet deep for distances of several miles, but by sticking to the roads and blasting our way through, we had no trouble with them.
I drove up through the column and received a very warm reception from the 2d Armored, all of whom seemed to know me, and all of whom first saluted and then waved.
As we neared the city, it was dark, so I picked up Colonel R. F. Perry, Chief of Staff of the division, to act as a guide. He stated he believed the town had fallen, and we therefore decided to go in and see.
As we approached, the hills on each side were burning. We then started down a long road cut out of the side of a cliff which went through an almost continuous village. The street was full of people shouting, “Down with Mussolini!” and “Long Live America!”
When we got into the town, the same thing went on. Those who arrived before dark, among them General Keyes,1 had flowers thrown on the road in front of them, and lemons and watermelons given them in such profusion that they almost became lethal weapons.
The Governor had left, but we captured the two Generals, both of whom said that they were glad to be captured because the Sicilians were not human beings, but animals. The bag in prisoners for the day must have been close to ten thousand. On the morning of the twenty-third, when I was inspecting the harbor, I passed a group of prisoners, all of whom stood up, saluted, and then cheered.
1Major General Geoffrey Keyes was Deputy Commanding General of Seventh Army and also Commanding General of a Provisional Corps in Sicily.
The harbor is not too badly damaged, but the destruction around the lip is really appalling. For about two blocks in depth practically every house is a pile of rocks. Some ships, small fishing steamers, were apparently blown completely out of the water and landed on the dock; at least I can account for their being there in no other way. A good many of the small craft in the harbor are sunk, several of them being cut completely in two.
We took over the so-called Royal Palace for a Headquarters and had it cleaned by prisoners for the first time since the Greek Occupation. We are also having the prisoners remove the rubbish from the streets and plug the holes in the dock.
The Italians here are much better-looking than the ones we took in the rest of Sicily, being bigger and older.
The Cardinal’s Vicar came to call on me, and I assured him that I was amazed at the stupidity and gallantry of the Italian Army: stupid, because they were fighting for a lost cause, and gallant, because they were Italians. I asked him to tell them that and to spread the rumor. I further said that we had demonstrated our ability to destroy them, and that if they failed to take the hint and surrender, we would certainly do so. As a matter of fact, I called off the air and naval bombardment we had arranged, because I felt enough people had been killed, and felt that with the drive of the 2d Armored Division we could take the place without inflictin
g unproductive losses on the enemy.
I believe that this operation will go down in history, certainly at Leavenworth,5 as a classic example of the proper use of armor, and I also believe that historical research will reveal that General Keyes’ Corps moved faster against heavier resistance and over worse roads than did the Germans during their famous Blitz.
We did not waste any time, however, and started this morning, capturing the north road and also moving artillery to support the final effort of the II Corps which will begin in a few days.
Headquarters Seventh Army
APO 758 U.S. Army
August 1,1943
General Order
Number 10
TO BE READ TO TROOPS
Soldiers of the Seventh Army and XII Air Support Command:
Landed and supported by the navy and air force, you have, during twenty-one days of ceaseless battle and unremitting toil, killed and captured more than 87,000 enemy soldiers, you have captured or destroyed 361 cannon, 172, tanks,
928 trucks, and 190 airplanes—you are magnificent soldiers! General Eisenhower, the Commander-in-Chief, and General Alexander, the Army Group Commander, have both expressed pride and satisfaction in your efforts.
Now in conjunction with the British Eighth Army you are closing in for the kill. Your relentless offensive will continue to be irresistible. The end is certain and is very near. Messina is our next stop!
G. S. Patton, Jr.,
Lieut. General, U.S. Army,
Distribution: “D” Commanding
Headquarters Seventh Army
APO 758 U.S. Army
August 22, 1943
General Order
Number 18
Soldiers of the Seventh Army:
Born at sea, baptized in blood, and crowned with victory, in the course of thirty-eight days of
incessant battle and unceasing labor, you have added a glorious chapter to the history of war.
Pitted against the best the Germans and Italians could offer, you have been unfailingly successful. The rapidity of your dash, which culminated in the capture of Palermo, was equalled by the dogged tenacity with which you stormed Troina and captured Messina.
Every man in the Army deserves equal credit. The enduring valor of the Infantry and the impetuous ferocity of the tanks were matched by the tireless clamor of our destroying guns.
The Engineers performed prodigies in the construction and maintenance of impossible roads over impassable country. The Services of Maintenance and Supply performed a miracle. The Signal Corps laid over 10,000 miles of wire, and the Medical Department evacuated and cared for our sick and wounded.
On all occasions the Navy has given generous and gallant support. Throughout the operation, our Air has kept the sky clear and tirelessly supported the operation of the ground troops.
As a result of this combined effort, you have killed or captured 113,350 enemy troops. You have destroyed 265 of his tanks, 2324 vehicles, and 1162 large guns, and, in addition, have collected a mass of military booty running into hundreds of tons.
But your victory has a significance above and beyond its physical aspect—you have destroyed the prestige of the enemy.
The President of the United States, the Secretary of War, the Chief of Staff, General Eisenhower, General Alexander, General Montgomery, have all congratulated you.
Your fame shall never die.
G. S. Patton, Jr.,
Lieut. General, U.S. Army,
Commanding.
Sidelights on the Sicilian Campaign
October, 1943
Now that sufficient time has elapsed, it is permissible for me to give you a general idea of the lighter side of the Sicilian Campaign and subsequent incidents.
The first intimation I had that we were in the transport area was when the davit for a landing boat gave way and the boat crashed into my porthole. For a moment we thought that a bomb had hit. As we were sleeping in full pack, we went on deck. The whole coastline as far as we could see was a mass of flames. In some places they looked like burning mountains; in other places, simply like a line of fire.
At intervals along the flaming shore, searchlights would suddenly flare and sweep the water. This was very interesting, because, while the lights made it so bright on deck that we could read a paper, the enemy was apparently unable to see us from the land. I think this had something to do with refraction and the haze caused by the fires.
Whenever one of these searchlights flickered on, innumerable tracer bullets from our destroyers and patrol boats hurried toward it like bees returning to a hive. That searchlight immediately went out.
The fires along the shore, we discovered, were caused by our high explosives igniting the wheatfields. Fortunately for the Sicilians, the wheat had been harvested, but the stubble was still there and that is what burned.
The southern Sicilian is, if possible, the dirtiest of all Sicilians. There were actually cases in which they lived with corpses in their houses for several days because they were too lazy to remove them. Yet, when we used posthole diggers to bury them, they were very angry and said the dead should be buried horizontally and not vertically. We gave them the opportunity of horizontal burial by “permitting” the civilians to dig the graves.
In the courtyard back of the house I occupied, I once counted eight children, eleven goats, three dogs, a flock of chickens, and a horse, all picking up filthy scraps
from the pavement. None of them seemed to die. I suppose people that have been raised on tomato sauce made after the Sicilian manner are immune. Their method of preparing this sauce is to collect tomatoes, many of them overripe, and squeeze them out with their hands onto old sheets, or pieces of paper, or doors, or anything else they can find. They leave this bloody-looking mess for several days, and then put it on trays, usually lying on the sidewalks, to dry. Since the streets are never cleaned, there is plenty of germ-laden dust to mix with the sauce. This is the thing with which they eat their macaroni.
The Italians, under German tutelage, were extremely clever in the construction of pillboxes. In fact, in many cases they were too clever, because they camouflaged them with hay or bushes and our first phosphorous shells set them on fire.
In other cases they went to the trouble of building stucco houses outside of the pillboxes. In order to put the latter into action, they simply gave the wall a kick and there was the pillbox. In spite of the tremendous number of these things, we had practically no trouble in destroying them. One battalion alone got thirty-nine in one day.
Owing to the lack of water and other causes, we decided to drink champagne while at Gela and secured a case, which would seem ample, but owing to the large number of visiting firemen, it disappeared in about two days. It was then necessary to secure more champagne. In order to do this, the dealer, who was a bootlegger, had to be got out of jail through the interposition of the Bishop. After he was removed from jail long enough to sell us more champagne, he obligingly returned to his cell.
Agrigento was one of the earliest Greek cities, as later it was to be one of the earliest Carthaginian cities. At Agrigento there are three very beautiful Greek temples —one to Juno, one to Concordia, and one to Hercules. There is also a sacred way connecting these temples, bordered on each side by rock-hewn tombs, now all pilfered.
The Mayor of the town, who was by way of being an archeologist, took me to look at these temples. When we came to the temple of Hercules, which was the biggest but in the worst state of repair, I asked him had it been destroyed by an earthquake. He said, “No, General, it was an unfortunate incident of the other war.” When I asked which was the other war, he said that this temple was destroyed in the Second Punic War.1
The emergence of the Carthaginians at Agrigento, in 470 b.c. is of interest as showing that global war is not new. At that time Carthage owed a sort of lip-service alliance, or in fact vassalage, to Xerxes, King of Kings. This was the time when Xerxes was planning to cross the Hellespont and attack Greece. In order to prev
ent the Greeks from Syracuse and the cities in the heel of Italy from sending reinforcements to the mother country, Xerxes ordered the Carthaginians to land in Sicily and in the heel of Italy for the purpose of keeping the colonial Greeks at home.
When one thinks of the staff work and prevision necessary to arrange such an operation, when it probably took the courier a year to get from Sardis to Carthage, we can give ourselves, with our instantaneous means of communication, less credit for good planning. On the other hand, the Carthaginian Army, which landed at Agrigento and points west, and which numbered some three hundred thousand men, took five years to get to Syracuse, and having got there suffered complete defeat and total annihilation.
At a small road junction called Segesta, Hugh Gaffey and I saw the most beautiful Greek temple and theatre that I have yet encountered. With the exception of the fact that the roof of this temple no longer exists, it is in a perfect state of preservation and has been very little repaired. Since the Greeks were driven from this part of Sicily in 470 b.c.—that is, some twenty-five hundred years ago — the temple must have been built at an earlier date.
There is one rather peculiar thing about this temple. The columns are not monolithic, or composed of two or three blocks, as is usually the case, but are built up of a i number of small stones. It is further noteworthy that, after the lapse of two and one-half millenniums, you cannot get a sharp knife edge between the joints and the stones.
War as I Knew It Page 7