July 1943

Sicily

By this morning enough of heavy equipment and supplies had been landed for 7th Army to go over to the offensive. Hill 41 in the Piano Lupo sector is captured by 2nd Battalion, 16th RCT (Regimental Combat Team) from a Hermann Goering outpost. Gen Conrath decides to take it back. The battle or Hill 41 resumes at 7:00am, and before long American troops are surrouneded by Luftwaffe panzer troops. US Artillery support is on hand and 155-mm guns pound the German troops. The German attack is halted 75 yards short of the American positons. As the defenders are still being hard pressed all along the line, CCB (Combat Command B), 2nd Armored Division, shows up and attacks the German panzers from the rear. A tank battle ensues and Hill 41 is saved. The Hermann Goering Division makes three more assaults on the Hill, but the attacks are poorly coordinated and lack sufficient infantry support. They are all easily repulsed.

Elsewhere units of the Livorno Division surrender to the Americans. The 26th RCT advancing up Highway 117 capture the Ponte Olivo Airfield from remnants of the Livorno Division. By 10:00am the 26th has advanced 5 miles taking the high ground to the north. On the American right the 45th Infantry Division is slowed as it meets increasing numbers of Germans in rough terrain north of Comiso airfield. It pushes them back and makes contact with 1st Canadian Infantry Division at Raguso. On Patton's left flank Gen Truscott is pushing forward, aided by American fighter-bombers decimating Italians in the area. The 129th Panzer Grenadier Regiment helps the remaining Italians to fall back to a new line, Serradifalco-San Cataldo.

In the British sector, Brig G.W. Richard's 23rd Armored Brigade takes Palazzolo Acreide, then moves onto Highway 124 heading for Vizzini.

Group Schmalz with support from units of Napoli Division attack the British XIII Corps in order to cover his withdrawal to Lentini, thus leaving Augusta uncovered. Augusta is taken about 7:30pm when Ulster Monarch escorted by a destroyer and two gunboats, lands troops who quickly silence the remaining shore batteries. The vanguard of British 5th Infantry Division arrives and secures the city for tha Allies.

The Canadians run into stiff resistance at Modica. Parts of 4 Canadian battalions finally storm the place capturing several guns and a few hundred Italian prisoners. More Italians surrender from the hills when tanks fire a few shots over the town. German paratroopers drop in the evening and move to reinforce Schmalz south of Lentini. Other paratroopers move to Francofonte to help plug the gap between Group Schmalz and rest of the Hermann Goering Division.

Patton's troops are looking to Agrigento, from which two main roads leave toward Palermo and the port of Porto Empedocle. The area is defended by Col Augusto de Laurentiis and his rapidly deteriorating 207th Coastal Defense Division containing 10th Bersaglieri Regiment, 19th Blackshirt Battalion, 35th and 160th Coastal Artillry Battalions, 22nd Artillery Battalion and 77th Anti-Aircraft Battalion. Gen Truscott assigns the taking of Agrigento and its port to Col Harry B. Sherman's 7th Infantry Regiment, reinforced by the 3rd Ranger Battalion and 2 artilerry battalions. In the afternoon the area is shelled by US Navy ships and low-level attacks from fighter-bombers. The 77th Anti-Aircraft Battalion flees in terror leaving Italians with no anti-aircraft protection.