011 - Combat in Palermo

[October 1944]

I am back in America n a hospital in Maine where I'm healing.

I had completed my basic training and was given the rank of Private first class under a Sergeant Lucas Hughes in the us 36th infantry division.

I and Sergeant Lucas Hughes were the only surviving members of his squad during the landings at Palermo. I shouldn't have even been in the 36th since they were a Texas division but due to errors was assigned there.

I remember my first kill like it was happening again and again.

We had just stormed the beach and it was just Me and Lucas. Lucas's rifle had been hit by a round and was unfunctional.

The beach was being put under heavy fire. We had snuck into some bush and crawled around an Italian platoon of infantry and made there way over to a row of artillery batteries hidden in the brush.

It was not possible for them to be destroyed by air support due to swarms of Luftwaffe above. So, we had approached one piece that was isolated and jumped a young kid who was dragging three shells behind him.

Lucas sneaked behind him and he was struck in the back of the head.

I checked if the boy who was no more than fourteen and he was still breathing, good.

We snuck ahead, Lucas trying to not breath to heavily and give us away. Even I was exhausted after crawling four a miles through the brush.

I saw the piece through the bush as it let off another shell.

{BOOM!}

I unsheathed a knife as Lucas attached a bayonet to his rifle.

I jumped out and charged at the one who was operating a radio and reading out firing solutions and with a kick to his head he went limp. I immediately made my way towards the second man as I heard the shot from Lucas' rifle.

{BuuH!}

I felt my knife go through the neck of the second man as I heard the thud of the third as the bullet went through his skull.

{Shing}

I heard Lucas cock his rifle as I didn't even check the second man as I went straight for the final man who had dropped a shell he was in the middle of loading and had raised a machine gun at Lucas.

I wasn't thinking as I lunged at him and we went into a roll on the grass.

{Pap, Pap, Pap, Pap.}

The gun went off as I struggled to wrestle it away from him. As he got on top of our wrestle.

{Buuh!}

As the final man just flopped down dead from a bullet in Lucas' rifle.

"You good, Cane?" came a shout from Lucas as I shoved the body off me.

I just nodded as I replied with, "You, Sarg?"

"Fine. Just fix your shoulder." He said with a worried look.

Lucas was a thirty-two year old park ranger from Texas and we had the kind of bond only formed through combat.

I walked over to a tree I let out a pained screech as I relocated my shoulder which had come out when I tackled the last guy.

{Uhhh…!}

I then walked over to the second guy and picked up my knife which he had pulled out before bleeding to death.

We quickly tied up the Radio guy along with the boy.

We then made our way towards the sound of two more gun pieces.

Once we had made it, we noticed that they had obviously not noticed the other gun emplacement going silent as they were still firing.

This time we counted eleven.

four carriers

And three on each

As well as one on a radio.

I pulled out a pistol I had grabbed from one of the previous men and held it with my left arm and a knife in the other.

Lucas pulled out a grenade and tossed it at the further emplacement which he had also looted from the fallen enemies along with the machine gun.

{Boom!} as soon as it went off I removed my hands from my ears and charged.

{Pap, Pap, Pap.}

{Putt.}

As the first burst one fell as I raised the pistol, and another fell. I approached the third as my knife went side ways into his heart through his ribs.

{Pap, Pap, Pap, Pap, Pap... Pap, Pap, Pap.}

Lucas was supressing only soldier left behind the second piece from the grenade as I took a shot at the radio guy and missed.

{Putt.}

{Bang.}

He returns fire from a revolver as he takes cover behind some crates.

{Putt, Putt.}

{Bang…Bang…Bang}

We exchange fire for a few moments as Lucas comes out from behind the guy. He notices and tries to turn but with a burst he drops dead.

{Pap, Pap, Pap, Pap. Click, Click.}

"Out!" Lucas Shouts as he tosses the machine gun away and unslings his rifle.

I reload my pistol which is a beretta M1934 and we continue our rampage.

After taking out another Piece we come across a large tent with about twenty guys all around a table shouting in Italian at each other. We look at each other and realize that we can't take them, so Lucas just lobs another grenade as we make our way back towards our side both being exhausted and tired.

It turns out that that was the coordination centre where they calculated the firing angles for the artillery with information from spotters once that place was disrupted all the artillery in the battle started to fire randomly and casualties dropped drastically.

After that and a beach head was secured, the theatre fell into chaos when the Italian government had surrendered but the Germans had then launched a coup meaning we were fighting with some Italian and British Forces and against Italian and German forces. And it didn't help that the British ones where a mix of volunteers from different countries causing communication problems.

I had been promoted to sergeant after that as and was sent to a hospital till the end of the war back in the states.

It turned out that I had been shot twice and had just ignored it due to adrenalin. I was told when I just walked Into an FOB and just collapsed I looked like a deranged beast covered in blood and wounds.

I had several broken ribs, a heavily injured shoulder, two bullet wounds and a concussion as well as multiple scrapes, bruises and lacerations.

Oh, and I got to keep the pistol.