The soft underbelly of Europe was anything but that as the Axis forces nearly won this opening round of the Sicilian invasion. The Rangers commenced the battle by attacking Gela, which would fall on Turn 3 only to be captured and recaptured throughout the day as each side vied for the town’s objective medal. The US took the worst of the exchange early on, at one point losing five Ranger units for every Axis infantry unit lost. But by the time the Shermans finally entered the scene on Turn 6, the Americans seized the initiative. A Fiat 300 unit would be eliminated and Pointe Olive captured two turns later putting the US within two medals of victory. The Axis eventually tied the score thanks in part to German Panzers emerging from the olive grove. But when a desperate Italian close assault from inside Gela failed to eliminate two Ranger units that would have won the game, the ensuing Allied armor assault killed those same Italian troops and secured Gela for the decisive final two medals.
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