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533:, who were fighting in the hills behind Centuripe, and in the August heat they could see the village resting on the summit of the large hill. The job of the London Irish was to take three commanding hills, Points 704, 611, and 703 behind Centuripe but it was not known in what strength they were held by the Germans. It was hoped that most of German attention would be to the main battle and that they would concentrate on this rather than their rear.
612:. As dusk approached, two platoons of 'G' Company moved across the river with reserve ammunition, mortars, and machine-guns for the immediate support of the two other companies. By darkness the bridgehead was secure and the Germans withdrew during the night so that in the morning a fighting patrol from the London Irish located the Germans half-way up the hills on top of which was the next objective, the much-bombed town of
433:
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course was taken; the Royal Irish
Fusiliers put in their assault towards the north and rear of Centuripe, and the Inniskillings, who throughout had been in close contact with the Germans on the frontal sector, obtained a foothold on the southern edge of the village after a heavy barrage, which included scaling a 100-foot cliff.
453:. As well as the regiment, the kampfgruppe consisted of an artillery regiment and a number of reconnaissance units which included a number of tanks with supporting infantry units. Heilmann had replaced the commander Oberstleutenant Von Carnap after he had been killed by British artillery fire in late July.
440:
The key position in the German defense line across Sicily was
Centuripe, a village perched on the top of a formidable line of steep hills along with its precipitous sides which gave it an almost impregnable position. The lesser hills round it were well defended by the Germans and it was necessary for
556:
fire, and when darkness came the London Irish consolidated on the ground gained. The third hill however still held out and the decision had to be made whether to wait until it had fallen, or to carry on without delay and rely on the preoccupation of the
Germans with the left-flank attack. The latter
576:
In August 1943, there was no respite after
Centuripe had been captured and the Irish Fusiliers mastered heights beyond the village, and the London Irish, marching through Centuripe, reached rising ground overlooking the River Salso. The transport had difficulty in getting down the winding road from
568:
weapons. The Irish brigade then had the difficult task of house to house fighting which proved difficult against the tough paratroopers, by the evening it was thought the town was cleared but the
Germans counterattacked and although it was largely repelled some units sneaked back in to snipe as the
616:. That, however, was not an Irish Brigade task, for the two other brigades (11th and 36th) of the 78th Division went through. From the afternoon of August 1 to nightfall on August 5 the Irish Brigade had advanced twenty-five miles fighting battles at Centuripe, Salso, and the Simeto.
569:
Irish cleared the streets and houses. Throughout the night more men from 38th
Brigade moved into the town to reinforce those already there. Finally the Germans launched another counterattack but this time it was weak and easily repelled after which resistance began to fade.
552:, and they were soon on Points 704 and when G Company overwhelmed the position, H Company moved on to take Point 703. On the start-line they had some casualties as they had to face machine-guns from the hill and from the sides; G Company helped in silencing the
572:
Just before dawn on August 3 the whole of the environs including
Centuripe fell to the Irish Brigade. The operation had been a tough one, in difficult country and chief credit for the success was due to the Inniskillings, who bore the brunt of the fighting.
423:
position, the capture of which would in turn force the
Germans to withdraw to new positions. The British troops captured the town after heavy fighting and as a result caused the Germans to start contemplating abandoning Sicily altogether.
623:, and were holding the hills on the far side of the latter town. The crossing of the Salso and Simeto Rivers and the fall of Aderno had cut all the German lateral communications west and south of
487:
166:
38:
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below the foothills of
Centuripe. No transport was able to get forward and that meant that all ammunition, food, and other supplies had to be man-handled causing a delay.
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to crack and thus had to withdraw to a new position: the Etna line. This however had to be abandoned and soon plans were made to abandon the island of Sicily as a whole.
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419:. Centuripe, a hill town set on a very high rocky pinnacle and approached by only one steep and twisty road, itself was the key to the whole
251:
479:. The country between the two villages was wild and rough with great rocky crags, similar to those among which the 78th had fought in the
619:
The battalion spent five days resting in the cool waters of the Simeto, by which time the rest of the division had captured Aderno and
494:, to take Centuripe, and the plan was for a night advance to be made with heavy artillery fire available at call. The 6th Battalion,
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twelve hours to fill in and also because the
Germans in their retreat scattered mortar bombs and shells in the area.
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The Royal Irish Fusiliers pushed through the northern end of the town, fighting was stubborn and hard; two German
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The London Irish G and F Companies crossed the start-lines after a fifteen-minute warm-up by the
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only a few days later, citing the capture as one of the greatest achievements in storming.
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them to be mastered before Centuripe could be tackled. Defending this position was the
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At noon next day the London Irish went forward to a line behind the 6th Battalion,
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On the evening of August 1 the London Irish moved to a lying-up area in the
635:. The 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers, in the meantime, had captured Capella and
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147:
142:
967:
Irish generals: Irish generals in the British Army in the Second World War
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472:
1058:
The Battle of Sicily: How the Allies Lost Their Chance for Total Victory
597:
The successful capture of Centuripe had caused the whole German line to
661:
commander, when shown the cliffs of the town after its capture shouted
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561:
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536:
1013:
Battle-axe Division: From Africa to Italy with the 78 Division 1942–45
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770:
The Italian Campaign, 1943–45: A Political and Military Re-assessment
404:
236:
68:
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The London Irish quickly reached high ground on the far side of the
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445:, consisting mostly of the 3rd Fallschirmjäger Regiment as part of
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News of the capture of Centuripe was met with great enthusiasm,
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forced the Germans on their last hurried withdrawal to the sea.
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tank knocked out during the fierce street fighting in Centuripe
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416:
1080:. Clandon, Surrey: The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Museum.
565:
514:
880:
The Conquest of Sicily from 10 July 1943 to 17 August 1943
895:(2nd supplement). 10 February 1948. pp. 1009–1025.
1117:
Battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom
436:
Allied movements on Sicily during the month of July.
403:, was engaged in fierce fighting around the town of
1037:
Jump Into Hell: German Paratroopers in World War II
577:Centuripe because of a large crater which took the
383:was fought from 2 to 4 August 1943, as part of the
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502:were given the main tasks, and the 2nd Battalion,
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903:The battle for Sicily: stepping stone to victory
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475:and to capture Centuripe as part of Operation
945:The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II
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692:The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
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989:Facaros, Dana & Pauls, Michael (2008).
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1076:Squire, G.L.A. & Hill, P.G.E. (1992).
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47:during mopping up operations in Centuripe.
1112:Battles of World War II involving Germany
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673:mentioned the news of the capture in the
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1061:. Stackpole Military History Series.
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643:and the subsequent rapid approach to
639:and cleared the village. The fall of
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506:were ordered to make a dangerous
471:, assembled for a drive towards
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492:38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade
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230:1st Paratroop Panzer Division
216:38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade
906:. Pen & Sword Military.
593:British troops in Centuripe.
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496:Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
45:Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
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1055:Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007).
942:Chant, Christopher (2013).
786:Facaros & Pauls, p.225.
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995:. New Holland Publishers.
921:Blaxland, Gregory (2012).
688:John Anthony Holt Saunders
407:in the central portion of
43:Men of the 6th Battalion,
16:Battle during World War II
1107:Allied invasion of Sicily
1016:. Sutton Publishing Ltd.
963:Doherty, Richard (1993).
882:. Alexander's Despatches.
627:, and caused the fall of
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865:Squire & Hill, p.19.
900:Blackwell, Ian (2010).
498:and the 1st Battalion,
464:, under the command of
443:Hermann Göring Division
948:. Routledge Revivals.
773:. Praeger. p. 62.
667:British Prime Minister
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447:Kampfgruppe von Carnap
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210:78th Infantry Division
154:Commanders and leaders
992:Cadogan Guide, Sicily
927:. Osprey Publishing.
736:Blackwell. pp.173-75.
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531:36th Infantry Brigade
500:Royal Irish Fusiliers
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178:John Fullerton Evetts
1078:The Surreys in Italy
696:East Surrey Regiment
1040:. Stackpole Books.
971:. Appletree press.
659:British Eighth Army
631:, Santa Maria, and
504:London Irish Rifles
490:, commander of the
481:campaign in Tunisia
401:British Eighth Army
381:Battle of Centuripe
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24:Battle of Centuripe
1122:August 1943 events
1010:Ford, Ken (1999).
892:The London Gazette
748:Alexander, p.1021.
681:Noted participants
655:Bernard Montgomery
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270:Invasion of Sicily
818:Chant, pp. 77-78.
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625:Mount Etna
542:Panzer III
428:Background
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485:Brigadier
460:Battleaxe
405:Centuripe
399:, of the
395:Battleaxe
366:Centuripe
329:Narcissus
301:Corkscrew
287:Mincemeat
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350:Inland
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110:Result
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