Chapter 413: Onna Plateau

The German army did not move for a whole day of fighting.

Three infantry divisions were waiting for the enemy in the high ground with tunnels, and the armored divisions and mechanized infantry divisions were lurking in the jungle. Even if there were airborne stragglers landing nearby and fighting with the Italian army, they turned a blind eye.

This gave the Allies an illusion that all the Germans on Sicily had disappeared.

It was not until the next day when the British and American troops advanced deep into the island under the cover of tanks that they encountered the German troops stationed on the high ground.

The U.S. troops landed with the 1st, 3rd and 45th Infantry Divisions, followed by the 2nd Armored Division. However, due to the limited throughput of the port controlled by the U.S. military, only ten tanks were unloaded throughout the day, and the landing of the 2nd Armored Division was temporarily bottlenecked.

However, the U.S. military would certainly not stop advancing because of this. They divided the ten tanks into two parts and led the two troops to advance deep into Sicily.

Its main force, the 1st Infantry Division, advanced towards Enna, the 3rd Infantry Division attacked Palermo, and the 45th Infantry Division stayed behind as a reserve to defend the beachhead.

This distribution of forces was correct, using the powerful 1st Infantry Division to attack Enna... Patton obviously saw that Enna was the focus of the Sicily Campaign because it was located in the center of the entire Sicily Island. Once the Allies occupied this place, they could divide the enemy into several pieces and reinforce their own troops in time. It can be said to be an extremely important transportation hub.

On the other hand, Palermo, although an important port, was basically unable to use the port when the British and American forces had air superiority... The British and American fighters and bombers had basically blocked the port.

The reason why "basically" was used was because German fighters taking off from Sardinia occasionally took advantage there to cover the entry and exit of ships.

Such a port can no longer be considered a strategic location, so the relatively weak 3rd Infantry Division was allowed to attack.

As for the beachhead... that is the rear of the US Army, the 45th Infantry Division will build a defense line there, and the 2nd Armored Division that will land in succession will also ensure the safety there.

However, as the battle deepened step by step, this situation soon changed.

The commander of the 1st Infantry Division of the United States is Major General Allen, whose temper is somewhat like Patton, the typical rough, bold, and unkempt type... Such officers often appear in the US military, and they even like to act on their own.

When the 1st Infantry Division of the United States was training in Tripoli, Ellinghower once visited their training and found that the so-called "landing exercise" of the officers and soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division was just a fight, so Eisenhower wanted to replace this unruly 1st Infantry Division with the 36th Infantry Division.

But Patton immediately broke into Eisenhower's office and yelled: "General, they may not be disciplined, they may not obey orders, but in fighting... I want those sons of bitches! Without them, I can't fight this war!"

This also shows the status of the 1st Infantry Division in Patton's heart.

At this time, Major General Allen was sitting in a jeep and following the troops along the road, taking out the map from time to time to look at it.

"Where are we, Oddo?" Major General Allen asked the staff officer sitting in the back row.

Oddo came up, pointed at a point on the map, and replied: "It should be here, General, it's still ten kilometers away from Enna!"

"Still haven't found the Germans?" Allen asked.

"No, General!"

Looking at the watch, Allen ordered: "Order the troops to stop advancing!"

"But General!" Oddo objected: "General Patton's order is for us to occupy Enna as quickly as possible!"

"That's his order!" Allen replied: "We should build fortifications here!"

"General..."

"Obey the order!"

"Yes!"

Major General Allen was worried about the German armored division and mechanized troops.

You must know that the 1st Infantry Division at this time only had 5 tanks, but the Germans had an armored division... and they didn't know the location of this armored division.

If this armored division suddenly appeared in front of them, the US military, which lacked anti-tank equipment, would be in trouble.

Soon Patton called to ask: "Why stop moving forward?"

"I feel the danger, General!" Major General Allen replied.

"Our reconnaissance plane has scouted Enna!" Patton said: "And one of our paratroopers also landed there last night. We got the intelligence that there is only one regiment of Italian soldiers in Enna, drive your tanks up to occupy it!"

"I'm worried about the enemy's armored division!"

"No, Allen!" Patton said: "They will put the armored division in ports like Palermo or Messina. If our paratroopers are there, they will be found, not to mention we have air support!"

"Anyway, General!" Allen said: "I hope to stay here for one night and continue to move forward tomorrow!"

"Attack now... now, otherwise I will let the bombers drop bombs on you!" Patton said and hung up the phone.

Major General Allen's sixth sense was correct. The German armored division was indeed hiding behind Enna, but Major General Allen didn't have to worry about this at least for now, because the Enna Heights were blocking him.

At Patton's urging, Major General Allen had to order the troops to move forward.

Then with a loud "bang", a "Sherman" tank in the front was blown into a fireball, and then a mortar shell came whistling from the other side of the mountain.

After a series of loud noises, the American soldiers on the road were blown into a bloody mess.

"Enemy!" A US soldier shouted, and then fired randomly at the opposite hilltop... This is the habit of the US military, and it is also the normal reaction of new recruits who have never participated in combat, even though they did not even find the enemy.

Needless to say, a row of bullets came and knocked these American soldiers to the ground on the spot.

Amid the explosions, Major General Allen turned over and got out of the car as quickly as possible and raised his telescope to look at the opposite high ground, and then his heart was relieved.

"It's the Germans!" Major General Allen said: "I saw their helmets!"

"This is not a good thing, General!" Otto replied: "The high ground they occupied blocked our only way!"

"No, this is a good thing!" Major General Allen replied: "This means that we encountered the German infantry division, understand?"

Otto nodded. If the enemy's armored division was in front, he would have fallen into the trap set by the enemy's steel torrent.

However, Major General Allen soon realized that he was wrong.