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- Sicily
- When the allies launched Operation “Husky” the HG where split into two formations.
- The Herman Goring Division, which operated on the right side of the Sicilian island with the Panzer Grenadier Regiment 29 and Italian forces.
- On left of the Island was Oberst Schmalz of the HG Division leading the “Kampgruppe Schmalz HG” incorporating the remnants of the DAK and z.b.V HG (special purpose grenadier battalion) and the 15th panzer Grenadier Division taking in the Augusta, Syracuse and the Catania plains.
- The allies landed on the 10th July 1943 with the 7th US Army on the Right of the island and the British 8th Army on the left, scattered allied airborne forces landed on the night of the 9/10th being formed from the1st Allied Airborne and US 82nd Airborne, prevented the HG Division forming up sooner than planned to launch their attack at the beach landings at Gela, the attack being delayed by 24 hours and launched on the 11th of July 1943, with the HG where 14 mark 1 Tiger tanks of the 2Kompanie/ Schwere Panzer Abteilung 504, the attack was only stopped from destroying the beach head by Naval gun fire and allied air attacks , which was guided in by extremely brave American radio teams who allowed the panzers to pass them before calling in the much needed attacks, the big red 1 was at the time re embarking and withdrawing from the beach head that is how very nearly successful this attack was. The last final aid to the failure of the attack where the Italian units that failed to turn up at the attack and support the attack with much needed infantry, only 14 tanks of the original 40 HG tanks withdrew and 3 of the 14 Tigers, one which had received 116 hits, counted by the crew.
- On left of the island “Kampgruppe Schmalz” had lost the battle for Augusta, they where keeping British forces in attacking Syracuse and breaking out into the Catania plains, which would have cut off the HG Division and the 29th PzG Regiment and a direct route to the town of Messina cutting the escape route for all axis forces using the Messina straights.
- At 18.15 on the 12th July 1943 FJR3 was dropped into the Catania airfield without casualties, despite allied air supremacy, linking up with “Kampgruppe Schmalz” fighting around Lentini when the rest of the 1st FJ Division arrived in Sicily the following day just in front of the allied sea and airborne landings, the plan was to cut off the axis forces by taking the vital bridges across the Lentini River but the HG and rest of 1st FJ Division prevented the bridges being taken, but the allies did manage to isolate FJR3 who where still defending the Catania airfield, after being ordered to withdraw FJR3 managed to bring the wounded and surviving paratroopers through allied lines, the casualty figure was very light despite the heavy fighting, in fact one section of FJR3 went back behind allied lines and recovered ammunition and weapons!.
- FJR3 stayed with “ Kampgruppe Schmalz” until they finally withdrew from Sicily on the 17th August via the Messina straights, having fought the allies all the way fighting the rearguard action to allow axis forces to withdraw from Sicily, not allowing the allies to take Messina until they had withdrawn.
- This may have been a defeat for axis forces but this also was a knock back for the allies as they fully expected and planned to isolate all axis forces on the island and destroy them, but they did not leading General Eisenhower to write in his book “ the panzer and paratrooper units deployed in Sicily were amongst the best that US forces encountered through out the whole war, they fought with so much tenacity that each German position could only be taken once its defenders had been utterly destroyed ”
- The defence of Sicily also convinced Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring that Southern Italy could be defended rather than the North, preferred by Generalfeldmarschall Rommel.
- He was to be proven correct.
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