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The fighting petered out. At 11:00 am, the Battalion seized the American line, and fire ceased.
Leonardi inspected what was left of his exhausted unit. 10th Company was reduced to 30 men and no officers; they formed a platoon under Lt. Petrillo. The other companies were not in much better shape. 9th Company’s strength was halved.
Lt. Baldassare, commander of the recon platoon, was ordered to go on patrol duty and observe the enemy’s moves. Later during the day, he sent the following message back to the Commander: “No traces of Americans in the area we patrolled. They are still falling back into Gela. Patrol stands near the Gela roadblock. Waiting for orders.”
It was clear that the Americans had retreated into the town of Gela. Fighting inside the town in those conditions was out of the question; a folly, which would have destroyed the Battalion to the last man. Nothing was known, moreover, about the outcome of the other two prongs’ attacks.
Nevertheless, Leonardi thought it expedient to take advantage of the lull by pushing forward at least on the outskirts of the town, to the Gela roadblock.
While the troops were progressing, the Regiment commander, Col. C. Martini, sent an encouraging, cheerful message, praising the Battalion for its “superb behavior in battle” and “the brilliant result attained”.
Just when the companies had reached the Gela roadblock position and were digging in, naval gunfire suddenly hit them murderously. Major Artigiani was killed and several officers and soldiers wounded, including Lt. Baldassare and Lt. Mascellani, platoon leader of the 11th Company.
Leonardi wrote an abridged report to Col. Martini, pointing out the heavy losses suffered (only 400 men were left) and the critical conditions of the unit, as well as the utter impossibility to go farther. Ammunition, fuel for the supply vehicles
Italian mortar action against American forces
(mostly “motor tricycles”), and reinforcements were urgently asked for. The Regiment commander replied that he had already requested reinforcements and they should have been on the way; the Battalion had to consolidate its gains, guard the conquered position and repel any attacks until the arrival of the reinforcements.
In the afternoon, some reinforcements arrived. Not the infantry battalion expected, but the 3rd (divisional) mortar company of the Livorno (commander, Capt. A. Abate). Disappointment was bitter. The men couldn’t believe that the Division would have left them in the lurch. A mortar company was a joke of a reinforcement in those conditions.
Anyway, the 81 mm mortars were set up on Colle Frumento, a nearby hillock. During the day the mortars opened fire on enemy objectives on several occasions. The unit was well led and well trained. It managed to escape encirclement and destruction on the following day. Leonardi went personally to Col. Martini’s HQ post, to further clarify the situation and beg for more reinforcements. The Colonel was very sorry, but he was unable to pour more troops into the battle.
Italian mortar action against American forces.
The other two battalions of the 34th Regiment had been detached from the Regiment and assigned to other tasks elsewhere. Leonardi remarks that this splitting up of the Regiment was a disastrous mistake, as it prevented a build-up of striking power which would perhaps have allowed the Italians to retake Gela.
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I have traveled extensively around and through Sicily and have had a difficult time finding resources to the history of the”Battle for Sicily 1943″. My relatives do not like discussing anything about it. Have any resources outside of this site?
Hello Jim, I read your web site with intense interest . My father was taken as a prisoner of war on 8/8/43 at San Fratello. Is there a list of POWs or photographs from that time i could have a look at? I am interested at looking up his service history as he has never said anything about his experiences at war. His name is Isidoro Tessaro.