Around Mount Etna, advancing columns combined reconnaissance troops, sappers and armour from the Sharpshooters. German rearguards used small forces, sometimes a single tank, to cover narrow approaches and withdraw to another prepared position. Each obstruction then required a small coordinated attack, with artillery support and engineers dealing with mines and craters. The account's emphasis on Tigers is questioned with the suggestion that mechanical breakdowns helped determine where they could fight. As the armies converged on Messina, the 23rd Armoured Brigade was withdrawn to make room for the Americans.
Notable Point · 2:12:19-2:14:09
Sicily's rearguards force repeated combined-arms attacks
Narrow approaches and German rearguards turn the advance into successive attacks coordinated with artillery and engineers.