Evening star., 1943-09-19

advancing towards Ragusa where, ac-
cording to the plan of the campaign, it
was to make contact with the Canadian
list Division. The Maple Leaf troops
had run into hard fighting and the regi-
ments patrols were in this important
road junction several hours before their
allies appeared.
Meanwhile members of the Signal
Corps detachment happened to cut in on
an Italian military telephone line A
couple of Italian American soldiers were
called into service and spent several
hours countermanding enemy orders and
generally confusing their whole setup.
Apparently the enemy never suspected
what was happening.
Following the capture of Biscari and
Ragusa well ahead of schedule the whole
division was assembled and moved for
ward on Calcanisetta, perhaps the most
important town in Western Sicily. Up
to this point going had been tough. The
division had moved through rough
mountain country with few of the COM
forts of life even in the larger towns.
Luxurious Headquarters.
Calcanisetta was different. There was
hardly any resistance to its capture
just few land mines and some snipers.
1t was entered July II. The town had
been the center of Fascist activities in
Western Sicily. Division headquarters
was set up in a luxuriously furnished
palace with reproductions of old masters
perhaps some originals-on the walls
Of its high-ceilinged rooms. The district
all around had been heavily bombed. Ap-
parently nothing whatsoever had struck
the palace. Best Of all, the Italians had
left lot of their secret documents be-
hind, the contents of which aided mate
rally in the further progress of the cam
paign.
The next move was eastward to San
Catarina Villamosa, where contact was
again made with the 1st Division, which
had just captured Enna key to the road
net of this part of Sicily. Considerable
resistance was encountered. The same
regiment knocked out, among other ac-
tions, six self-propelled German 88s.
These guns were hidden in deep hollows
Of the hills. Secret roads, we'll camou-
faged, had been constructed by which
they could be run out and rushed back
to shelter again after firing few VOL
leys. They might have remained in &C
tion for long time had it not been for
the cooperation of natives who gave
division officers their exact location.
This was the divisions first experience
with factor which was to prove a sig
nificant factor in the progress of the
campaign-the fact that the Sicilian
country people were enthusiastically pro-
Ally and that the information of enemy
movements and positions which they VOL
unteered enthusiastically almost always
proved accurate. From San Catarina
one detachment of the division took the
town OF Roccopalumbra, one of the rich
cts hauls of the campaign. There were
stored casks of gasoline covering many
acres, vast stores of engine equipment,
thousands of barrels of oil and thou
sands of land mines.
resistance was at minimum during
this phase of the campaign. The enemy
had given up Western Sicily and was
concentrating its forces in an effort to
hold the eastern third of the island.
Blood and Fire.
At this point the 45th turned north
ward and sent some of its patrols into
Palermo simultaneously with those of
the Sd Division. The regiments were
assembled once more and the division
started its progress down the mountain
shadowed north coast road which ran
like winding black ribbon along the
coast of the blue Mediterranean. Here
was to come its great ordeal of blood and
fire which will form a permanent chap
ter in American history.
A picture of the terrain is essential