October 5th, 1942
Operation Trident - D-Day (Torch, D-Day+16)
Allied plans: Lightfoot, Supercharge, Neptune and Quiévrain
According to the plan adopted after the capture of Palermo, the Allied troops will attack in three sectors, North, Center and East. The offensive is to start first in the Northern sectors (under the command of General Delestraint) and the East (under the command of General Montgomery).
"On the British side, the Xth Corps under General Ritchie was to resume the offensive against Gerbini (Operation Lightfoot) and General Allfrey's V Corps was to attack along the coast (Operation Supercharge). The aim of this double assault was first of all to fix as many Italian troops as possible. Aerial reconnaissance had shown that the Italians were well entrenched. "Monty" had therefore carefully planned an assault based on his superiority in artillery (and on the help provided to Allfrey by the fire support squadrons). He did not hope for a spectacular breakthrough, but a progressive crushing of the Italian defenses, allowing in a second time to begin an operation towards Messina." (According to Francesco Folcini, La caduta dell'Italia Fascista, Rome, 1961)
In the northern sector, the attack is named Neptune (the god with the trident). It must also benefit from considerable naval and air support. Delestraint hopes that the Italian troops would concentrate on the front line, near the coast, thus exposing themselves to a landing on their rear once they were engaged in the battle.
The attack by General Montagne's troops in the Centre sector is to be launched later than in the other two sectors. This decision was made in the hope that the Italian command would weaken its center to strengthen its right and left. This would make the task of the mountain troops easier and their losses reduced, although very tough fighting was expected in a very hostile geographical environment. Montagne's men have the mission of cutting the defenders' forces in two and turning the "Etna Line" from the northwest. The French 4th Corps has to attack along Route 120 through Gangi and the Belgian Corps along Routes 121 and 117 through Leonforte towards Nicosia, where the two CA should meet before pushing towards Troina. This Franco-Belgian association provided the code name of this offensive: Quiévrain (the name of this commune which marks the French-Belgian border is unpronounceable for the Anglo-Saxons, but as there are no English speakers in the area...).
"The preparation of Operation Trident had been masked (at least, that's what they had tried to do) by the installation of a network of false command posts between Trapani and Castellammare del Golfo, to make the Italian staff believe that the next objective of the operation would be Sardinia or Corsica. Given the French strategy during the summer of 1940, it was not absurd to hope that the Italians would fear a landing on these two islands. Nevertheless, General Guzzoni did not fall into this trap, even though Mussolini and Victor-Emmanuel III were more or less convinced that the enemy was preparing to strike in Sardinia or even to land directly in Corsica (where the kidnapping by the Resistance of the general-governor of the island, a few weeks earlier, had made a big impression. (Francesco Folcini, op. cit.)
The Italian reorganization
"Since the beginning of Operation Torch, Guzzoni had obtained from Mussolini (to the great chagrin of General Ambrosio) substantial reinforcements. The first days of October had seen the arrival of two mountain infantry divisions, the 2nd Sforzesca and the 3rd Ravenna, and part of the 16th Motorized Infantry Division Pistoia. If the first two corresponded to the "share of the fire" to which Ambrosio had resigned himself on 21 September, the Pistoia replaced the Trento as an expiatory victim: finally forced to let go of a second motorized infantry division, the Chief of General Staff, in agreement with Messe, had at least held firm on the preservation of the latter. Moreover, he had not considered it useful to warn Guzzoni that the heavy equipment of Pistoia, and in particular the 3rd Fossalta Artillery Regiment, had little chance of ever passing the Messina Strait.
Even ignoring this detail, Guzzoni knew that his position remained weak. The territorial units had virtually no military value. What remained of the mobile units stationed in Sicily at the beginning of the campaign were in a sad state. Only the troops from the Armata di Levante were still able to fight effectively, and they lacked firepower and anti-aircraft protection. Even the Brigata Corazzata "M" and the 52nd Motorized Division Torino, transferred at the end of September, had suffered a lot and had only 50-60% of their theoretical strength left. Moreover, the continuous allied air attacks against Messina and Reggio Calabria had destroyed the local infrastructure, making it very difficult to transfer any heavy equipment. In practice, movements through the Strait of Messina could only be made at night. (Francesco Folcini, op. cit.)
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Forced to make do with these hard-pressed forces, Guzzoni reorganizes them into three army corps.
Armata di Sicilia (situation on October 5th, 1942, 00:00)
General Alfredo Guzzoni (Chief of Staff: General Emilio Faldella)
Catania-Gerbini sector: XVI Corps (General Carlo Rossi)
- 54th DI Napoli (General Giulio Cesare Gotti Porcinari)
75th and 76th Infantry Regiments, 173rd Blackshirt Legion, 54th Artillery Rgt (four groups of howitzers, two 100/17 motorized, two 75/13 transported by pack animals, two
two AA 20 mm batteries). Unit seriously reduced.
- 40th Corps Artillery Group with 3 groups : XIIIth with 12 105/28 guns, CXth and CXIIIth with 12 howitzers of 149/13 each.
- 1a Brigata Corazzata "M" (Consul General Alessandro Lusana)
Two battalions of medium tanks (61 x M13/40 or M14/41), one battalion of self-propelled guns (30 x Semoventi M41 75/18), an independent company of Carri Pesante (10 x P26 pre-production) and a mechanized battalion of Black Shirts on German half-tracks. Unit transferred at the end of September, lost 50% of its equipment and 35% of its men.
- 52nd Motorized Division Torino (General Luigi Krall)
81st and 82nd RI, 52nd Artillery Rgt (12 x 100/17, 24 x 75/27, 16 x 20 mm AA), one anti-tank battalion (8 x 47/32, 8 x Semoventi L40 of 47/32), 74th anti-tank battery (4 x 75/39). Unit transferred at the same time as the Brigata "M" and seriously weakened by the first fights.
- 2nd Sforzesca Mountain ID (general Carlo Pellegrini)
53rd and 54th RI, 17th Artillery Rgt (24 howitzers of 75/18, 12 of 100/17, 2 AA batteries of 20 mm), 2nd anti-tank company (8 x 47/32), 70th anti-tank battery (4 x 75/39). Unit transferred from XXI Corps of the Armata di Levante and being deployed on October 5th.
- 35° Reggimento Corazzato "Centauro II" (35th Armoured Regiment)
Two battalions with three companies of medium tanks and one of self-propelled guns: in all, 78 x M13/40 and M14/41, 26 x Semoventi M41 of 75/18.
Unit being transferred from the X Corps of the Armata di Levante between October 3rd and October 7th.
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Central sector: XXXII Corps (officially created on October 5 at 00:00 - General Benvenuto Gioda, transferred from the Armata di Levante and arriving on October 6th at Troina)
- 4th Mountain ID Livorno (General Domenico Chirieleison)
33rd and 34th Infantry Regiments, 95th Black Shirt Battalion, two Engineer Battalions, a battalion of mortars (81 mm), 28th Artillery Rgt (four groups of towed howitzers: 24 x 75/18, 24 x 10/17; three AA batteries of 20 mm), 4th Anti-tank Battalion (16 x Semoventi L40 of 47/32 mm). Unit seriously reduced.
- 3rd Mountain ID Ravenna (General Edoardo Nebbia)
37th and 38th RI, 121st Motorized Artillery Rgt (three groups of howitzers: 24 x 75/18, 12 x 105/28; 2 AA batteries of 20 mm), one anti-tank battalion (16 x 47/32), 71st anti-tank battery (4 x 75/39). Unit transferred from the XXI Corps of the Armata di Levante and being deployed on October 5th in the Troina-Nicosia area, with most of its artillery still in Reggio Calabria.
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Northern sector: XIIth Corps (General Mario Arisio)
- Mobile Group C (with about ten M13/40 or 14/41 tanks).
- 28th Aosta Division (General Luigi Manzi)
5th and 6th Infantry Regiments, 171st Black Shirt Battalion, 22nd Artillery Rgt. (three groups of towed guns, two 20 mm AA batteries), 28th Mortar Battalion (27 x 81 mm). Seriously reduced unit.
- 16th Motorized ID Pistoia (General Giuseppe Falugi)
35th and 36th RI, 3rd Artillery Rgt (three groups: 8 x 100/17, 8 x 75/27, 8 x 75/32; 3 AA batteries of 20 mm). Unit being transferred from the X Corps of the Armata di Levante.
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"However, if Guzzoni was well aware that Sicily was the main target of the Allies, if he had correctly guessed the Allied objective (to trap his troops) and if he had understood the threat to the Palermo-Messina and Catania-Messina coastal routes, he misjudged the timing of the attack. He did not expect the Allies to resume the offensive until the 8th or the 9th. Indeed, he had underestimated the scale of the Allied logistical effort and the fact that that French and Belgian troops were prepared to settle for more spartan living conditions than British and (especially) American troops. Furthermore, due to the intensity of the previous British attacks on Gerbini, he expected the most dangerous blow to come from Montgomery's side and did not suspect the risk to his center." (Francesco Folcini, op. cit.)
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Lightfoot: the victory of the Churchills
The battle begins with a three-hour bombardment on the entire front of the 1st British Army. It is said that Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, the future Viscount of Sicily, did not leave the details to anyone, battery by battery.
At 08:10 am, the X Corps launches itself forward. The 50th British ID (Northumbrian) and two regiments of the 2nd South African ID slowly make their way through the Italian defenses west of Gerbini, with the support of Churchill tanks and Churchill 3-in. Gun Carriers of the 1st Army Tank Brigade. Two of the three regiments of this brigade were in fact equipped with Churchill "infantry tanks"*. In addition, all the Gun Carriers sent to Sicily were divided into two additional squadrons attached to the Churchill-equipped regiments and each composed of a 3 Churchill Mk.I HQ (useful for close support) and three platoons of 5 Gun Carriers. The latter are used as assault guns against the positions of their opponents of the previous weeks, the "M" Brigade and the 52nd motorized Torino. They approach the Italian field fortifications and shelters without fearing their fire and destroy them with direct hits from their 3 inches.
Around noon, the Italians, unable to reply to the deadly fire of the 6th AGRA guns (Army Group, Royal Artillery), begin to withdraw to their second line of defense, which the British reach shortly after 15:30.
The situation appears so serious that General Luigi Krall (of the Torino) and the head of the XVIth Corps, General Carlo Rossi, decide to counter-attack by gathering all the remaining tanks and Semoventi in the "M" Brigade and the Torino Division. At that moment, the 1st Army Tank Brigade also lost a lot of forces, not so much under anti-tank fire (the Churchills were indifferent to the fire of the 47/32 guns) but also because of the mines. Nevertheless, if a mine could stop a Churchill, it could not put it out of action. Playing the role of fortresses, the Churchills, even when untouched, stop the Italian counter-attack, which is halted at 1840 hours. Several Churchill Mk.III crews report serious problems with their 6-pdr, but the small 2-pdr that arms the Mk.I as the Mk.II is enough to stop even an M14/42, and the 3-inch long Gun Carriers leaves no chance to the Italian tanks. Thus, the machines of Squadron A, supported by a platoon of Gun Carriers, claim the destruction of 11 tanks and 5 self-propelled vehicles.
At dusk, when silence falls on the battlefield, the British forces have not yet broken the Italian second line, but they have seriously damaged it, drawing in all the reserves in the area.
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Supercharge: a "naval" victory
On the east coast, Allfrey can only launch his V Corps attack at 10:35, because the combination of a morning mist and a strong swell delayed the naval bombardment. The heavy monitors HMS Erebus and Terror, supported by their little brothers of the 2nd Coastal Fire Squadron and by the allied fighter-bombers, carry out an impressive suppression fire against the Italian positions north of Catania. Supported by the 4th Armoured Brigade, mainly equipped with Valentines and some old Matildas, the men of the 6th ID and the 231st Infantry Brigade start to advance northwards. The 54th ID Napoli and the 53rd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd DIM Sforzesca resist stubbornly, but in the evening, the 75th Infantry Regiment of the Napoli is reduced to the size of a battalion. Most of the division's artillery is eliminated by Royal Navy guns in an attempt to oppose the British advance.
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Neptune: watch out for mines
In the northern sector, naval support is also delayed by the morning fog, but it dissipates earlier, and the attack begins at 09:15. The 14th French ID (brigade De Larminat in the lead) and a regiment of the American 1st ID Big Red One attack on the coastal road, supported by the CC A of the 2nd US armored division. The 15th DBLE Massada-Valmy attacks a little more inland, on the hillside. Fighting is less severe than in the eastern sector, but progress is slow, because the defenders have sown a very large number of mines.
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As expected...
All in all, at the end of the day, the situation is more or less as expected by the allied plans. The progress is slow and the defense is fierce, but the numerical and qualitative superiority of the Allies begins to speak. Heavy land artillery, naval guns and constant air support take an ever-increasing toll on the Italian forces.
General Guzzoni makes the same assessment. From his point of view, the attack of the X Corps under Ritchiis the most threatening. Gerbini's defenses crack. At 22:00, Guzzoni orders the 38th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Ravenna Infantry Division, which had just arrived at Troina from Messina, to move south-east towards Adrano to avoid the collapse of the Torino.