July 1943

Sicily

The Italians counterattack the British Commandos with a tactical battle group under Lt-Col Tropea, with support from Col Theodor Koerner's 115th Panzer Grenadier Regiment. The Commandos hold on but their casualties mount. Since no relief is in sight, Lt-Col John Dunford-Slater tells his men to make their way south and east in small groups to make it to British lines.

At dawn the 50th Division is still 14 miles from the paratroopers and 8 miles from the Commandos needing to be relieved. The 7th Green Howards reinforce the 6th and the battle of Monte Pancali begins. The British take the position at 10:00am but the Germans escape to their next blocking position. At 5:00pm part of 69th Brigade capture the Malati Bridge, which had not been destroyed by the Germans. At this point the 151st Brigade replaces the 69th as the division spearhead. Gen Kirkman's left flank pushes up a dusty gravel road slowly. Shermans of the 4th Armored Brigade are held up by a blown bridge near Carlentini and can not move forward until near 7:00pm. Lentini is finally reached in the afternoon but the streets are obstructed by rubble and craters. It is night before they can move out of the town.

In the morning only 295 British paratroopers are at the Primosole Bridge. Many Italians have surrendered to them, and others are making weak attacks to no avail. Positions south of the bridge are held by the German 1st Parachute Machine Gun Battalion. At dawn Maj Schmidt's men begin machine-gun and mortar fire. The first German attack is turned back, but is soon successful in taking one of the three hills near the bridge. Support fire from the British cruiser Newfoundland causes heavy casualties among the Germans. Schmidt's men start attacking British positions with heavy machine-gun fire and force the British off another of the hills. Communications between shore and ship fail, and there is no more naval gunfire support. At 2:00pm the Germans attack with the 1st Company of the 1st Parachute Signal Battalionn which is the only German unit not yet committed. With nothing to match the German heavy weapons, the British finally withdraw about 1200 yards south to a ridge overlooking the river around 5:00pm.

With the fall on Lentini, Lt-Gen Paul Conrath decides to retire as fast as they can changing his mind about holding those positions he was determined to hold. He withdraws his division in 3 groups. Group West, Lt-Col Ohring, retreats from Caltagiorne through Ramacca, Center Group, Lt-Col Hahm, falls back from Grammichele through Palagonia, Group East, Lt-Col Rabholz retreats from Vizzini thru Militello and Scordia. The distance between Conrath and Schmalz narrows while that of 15th Panzer Grenadier Div to the west increases. The flanks of the 15th Panzer Grenadier are still in the air, but Kesselring feels that the Allies will not try to break through the weak center and envelop the western flank of the Hermann Göering Division.

Messina, a primary target for Allied bombers, is particularly hard hit this day. 212 heavy and medium bombers drop about 800 tons of bombs.