The ‘Iron Deuce’ and the Allied Invasion of Sicily

By JIM PURCELL

“Operation Husky” was the codename given to the Allied Invasion of Sicily in July 1943. Allied Forces were fresh off their victories against Germany and their Axis allies in North Africa during November 1942. So, with inexorable determination, the Allies moved closer to the European Continent with the invasion of the occupied island of Sicily.

   Throughout this campaign, Seventh Army commander Lieutenant General George S. Patton Jr. would depend heavily upon the men and machines of the 2^nd Armored Division to gain victory over German and Italian forces holding the island.

BORN TO BE BAD

   The 2nd Armored Division served the United States as one of its premier combat maneuver units between 1940-1995. The division was born at Ft. Benning, Georgia on July 15, 1940. Its first commander was Major General Charles L. Scott, with then-Colonel George S. Patton Jr. in-charge of the “Iron Deuce’s” training. Later, when MG Scott was promoted, Patton was promoted to brigadier general and placed in command of the division.

   The core of the 2^nd Armored’s units included: the 41^st Infantry Regiment, 66^th Armored Regiment, 67^th Armored Regiment, 17^th Engineer Battalion and the 142^nd Signal Company. For 55 years, these units were the heart of the 2^nd Armored Division’s combat and maneuver capabilities. In Sicily, these units would be christened in blood and flames against a well-entrenched and determined enemy.

THE LANDINGS AT SICILY

   During the invasion of North Africa, the 2^nd Armored Division did not play a key role. However, that changed substantially in Sicily.

A battle map for the Allied Invasion of Sicily in July 1943

   Operation Husky kicked off on the night of July 9, 1943. After more than a month of hard fighting, the operation would finally end on August 17, with the Allied liberation of the island.

   The invasion began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, which was followed up by a six-week land campaign by American, British, Canadian and Free French Forces.

"Iron Knights" from the 66th Armored Regiment in Sicily

   During theinv asion, the 2^nd Armored Division served as the reserve force for the Western Task Force. The division came ashore on July 10^th in support of the 1^st Infantry Division at the Battle of Gela, so-named for the city of Gela that was nearby along the island’s southern coast.

   The beaches of Gela were defended by the Italian XVIII Coastal Brigade. The town itself was being defended by the Italian 429^th Coastal Battalion. The defenses for Gela included barbed wire, pillboxes and anti-tank weapons. In addition, the beaches on either side of Gela were mined, covered by machineguns and had committed artillery battalions to support the defenders.

LTG George Patton confers with MG Hugh Gaffey

   The first armor to reach the shores of Gela were from the 67th Armored Regiment. However, the regiment’s Sherman tanks became stuck in the soft sand of the beachhead. Like everything that goes ‘sideways,’ the tanks eventually freed themselves to join the fight against German armored units that descended on the battlefield. The 2^nd Armored, working closely with the 1^st Infantry Division, held off a massive German counter-attack on July 11 and, on July 12, with the battle won, next went into action on July 21 in support of Allied landings at Licata, Sicily.

   At Licata, the 2^nd Armored Division supported the 3^rd Infantry “Rock of the Marne” Division, as it came ashore. Licata is situated between Agrigento and Gela on the island, which made Licata a strategic point in the campaign.

  Sadly, due to the intense firefights throughout the area, the town of Licata was left heavily damaged. With the war damage, combined with Sulphur industry declines, many of Licata’s resident population permanently left their town for mainland Italy after the war.

TAKING THE FIGHT TO THE NAZIS

   With both landings secured, it was time for the 2^nd Armored to take its show on the road, fighting through to the Sicilian capitol of Palermo. Throughout the inland campaign, the 2^nd Armored, commanded by Major General Hugh J. Gaffey, worked closely with paratroopers from the 82^nd Airborne Division.

   The two divisions knotted quick results. One of the perennial problems plaguing airborne infantry units was that they lacked the punch of armored units. Meanwhile, armored units, at that time, moved far slower than airborne units could. As a consequence of their cooperation, the 2^nd Armored and 82^nd Airborne were among those units that liberated Palermo on August 17^th, which also marked the end of the operation.

AFTER THE CAMPAIGN

G. Kisters

   Along the way, the Iron Deuce took thousands of Italian prisoners of war. During the campaign, the 2^nd Armored also gained its first Medal of Honor recipient, Sergeant Gerry H. Kisters, a Utah resident who was assigned to the 91^st Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron. At the time SGT Kisters was serving in Sicily, his unit was attached to the division.

   With the campaign in Sicily won, the 2^nd Armored Division was ordered to England, where it would prepare and train for the next Allied action, the Normandy Invasion of German-Occupied France. Though the division had sustained casualties during Operation Husky, it had proven itself as an invaluable asset to Allied plans for victory in Europe.

   Going forward in the war, the 2nd Armored Division would be a major force for Allied victory. The division would live up to its motto of "Hell on Wheels" against German Forces throughout mainland Europe. 

MG James M. Gavin: The 'Jumping General' of the 82nd Airborne

MG James M. Gavin during combat operations in Holland, 1942

By JIM PURCELL

For students of military history and U.S. paratroopers from every era during the past six decades, he is one of the most compelling figures of World War II: Major General James M. "Jumpin' Jim" Gavin, third commander of the U.S. Army's  82nd Airborne Division during World War II (1941-1945).

Before he would retire from the Army, after the war, in 1958, he would garner yet another star on his shoulder, as a lieutenant general and commander of the U.S. Army Research and Development Command.

Yet, it is as a fighting general that MG Gavin is most remembered. MG Gavin was the youngest major general to command a division during World War II, being only 37 years old at the time of his promotion. Similarly, after the war, LTG Gavin became the youngest lieutenant general promoted to that rank, in March, 1955. M1

During combat operations in North Africa, Sicily and Europe, MG Gavin was well-known by his preference to carry an M1 Garand, a weapon normally used by enlisted Infantrymen, instead of either an M1 Carbine or M1911, .45 Caliber pistol, preferred by most officers.

MG Gavin's nickname was not just something made up one day. Rather, the "Jumping General" took part in all four combat jumps during World War II that the 82nd Airborne Division was involved with.  For the officers under his command, MG Gavin made it clear he intended they be "... the first one's out the door [during airborne drops] and the last ones on the chow line." So loved by many of his soldier's in the 82nd Airborne, decades later many veterans simply referred to the general as "The Boss."

Who knew that MG Gavin would travel so far in the world, given the humble circumstance of his birth.

MG Gavin was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 22, 1907 to Irish-American parents, Katherine Ryan and James Nally. On his birth certificate, he was given the name "James Nally Ryan." However, by the age of 2, the future airborne commander was given up for adoption and placed in the Covenant of Mercy Orphanage, in Brooklyn, where he remain until he was adopted, in 1909. The future war leader of the famed 82nd was adopted by a Pennsylvania coal miner and his wife, Martin and Mary Gavin, of Mount Carmel. Consequently, "James Nally Ryan" was re-christened "James Maurice Gavin."

Then-COL James M. Gavin

Despite the fact that his father was employed full-time, the Gavin family just barely got by, which promoted young James Gavin to quit school in the 8th Grade to become a full-time clerk at a shoe store for $12.50 per week. However, on the day of his 17th birthday, James Gavin took the night train to New York City. Once there, he sent word to his parents that he was well, so they would not be concerned about him. Then, he took the first steps in a military career that would span more than 30 years and three continents.

Young James Gavin went to an Army recruiter to join-up. However, being only 17, the recruiter brought him before a local lawyer, followed by the young Gavin being sworn in on April 1, 1924 as a private in the U.S. Army. Then-Private Gavin was not sent to Basic Training. Rather, in the Army of the 1920s, Basic Training was performed at the unit. In PVT Gavin's case, the unit was a 155mm battalion that served as coastal artillery at Ft. Sherman, Panama. He did well there and served as a crewman on a 155mm battery.

Once in Panama, PVT Gavin attended a local Army school to complete his education. At the Army school, the top graduates were given a chance -- only a chance -- to attend the United States Military Academy, in West Point, New York. It was stipulated that such graduates would be given the opportunity to be admitted to West Point only if they did well on the academy's entrance examination.

Well, in the Summer of 1925, Cadet James M. Gavin was entered into the freshman roll at West Point. Subsequently, as a graduating cadet in 1929, it was mentioned in the West Point yearbook, "Howitzer," that Cadet Gavin was an accomplished athlete, a boxer, and was "already a soldier" when he arrived to the Cadet Corps.

Upon graduating, in June, 1929, then 2nd Lieutenant Gavin married the former Irma Baulsir, on Sept. 5, 1929. This would be the first of two marriages for the future general. After divorcing his wife, Irma, then-MG Gavin married his second wife, the former Jean Emert Duncan, in July, 1948.

MG Gavin moved steadily through the ranks of the peacetime Army. Then, with war on the horizon, Lieutenant-Colonel James M. Gavin was promoted to the rank of full Colonel and assigned as the first commanding officer of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, at Ft. Benning, Georgia, in July, 1941. Gavin's brigade would join the 82nd Airborne Division, which at that time was comprised of the 325th and 326th Glider Infantry Regiments and the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

Following combat in World War II in North Africa, Sicily and France, Col. Gavin was promoted to the rank of major general and became commander of the 82nd Airborne on Aug. 8, 1944, directly before Operation Market-Garden, which took place in Holland.

LTG Gavin

After the war ended, in 1945, LTG Gavin, an adversary of segregation, played a key role in the incorporation of an all-black battalion in the 82nd Airborne, the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion. Col. Bradley Biggs, first commander of the battalion, referred to LTG Gavin as "one of the most color-blind Army officers in the entire service."

In addition, LTG Gavin called for the use of mechanized troops being transported by air to become modern cavalry. By March, 1958, though, LTG Gavin retired from the Army and wrote the book "War and Peace in the Space Age," which was also published in 1958.

Later, the famed commander of the 82nd Airborne served as a technical adviser for the Hollywood films "The Longest Day" and "A Bridge Too Far."

LTG James M. Gavin died on Feb. 23, 1990 and was laid to rest in the Old Chapel at the United States Military Academy, and buried at the USMA Post Cemetery at West Point. He is survived by his widow, Jean, and five daughters, 10 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.