Patton ordered that no troops except patrols cross a line one mile south of Palermo.
1. The History of WWII Podcast episode 594, “The Truscott Trot,” tracks Lucian Truscott’s drive across Sicily toward Palermo.
2. Chris Stewart hosts the episode and narrates the Sicily campaign, while Wes Levesay, Ray, and sponsor voices appear in ad breaks.
3. The episode asks how Truscott’s 3rd Division moved so fast across southern Sicily that Palermo fell before the Germans could stabilize their defense.
4. Patton orders the 7th Army and Provisional Corps after friction with British and Canadian movements under Montgomery.
5. Truscott sends the 7th Infantry Regimental Combat Team toward Porto Empedocle, with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment and 3rd Ranger Battalion clearing routes around Agrigento.
6. The Rangers fight an Italian roadblock around midnight on July 15th and later hit artillery, motorcycles, and troop carriers near Agrigento without suffering killed or wounded in those actions.
7. The Rangers also capture Monteperto’s command post and artillery after using mortars and rifles to close on the guns.
8. A later assault on Porto Empedocle forces German troops behind a cemetery wall, but the Rangers still overwhelm the defense by 4 p.m.
9. Alexander then changes Patton’s freedom of movement, telling him to drive north rather than northwest, even though Patton’s troops are already in motion.
10. Truscott’s column includes the 15th Infantry Regiment, the 30th Infantry Regiment, the 3rd Ranger Battalion, and a tabour of Moroccan Gommier from the Free French.
11. The 3rd Battalion, 30th Regiment marches 54 miles over high ground to a point northeast of San Stefano in 33 hours.
12. The episode states that Truscott trained his men to march 5 mph for the first mile and then 4 mph in full kit, compared with the Army standard of 2.5 mph.
13. Patton later says he knows of no other major general who performed more efficiently as a division commander, and he ranks Truscott fifth among 155 general officers.
14. At San Stefano on July 20th, Rogers opens fire on Italian artillery batteries and machine-gun crews that are mid-setup.
15. The 330th captures San Stefano, and the Americans take more than 750 prisoners and over 100 vehicles.
16. The 7th Infantry Regiment then pushes through Prizzi, Corleone, and Marineo, leapfrogging battalions and keeping artillery moving with them.
17. At 2:45 p.m. on July 22nd, Patton orders no troops except patrols to cross a line one mile south of Palermo.
18. Palermo’s civilian representatives meet Brigadier General William W. Eagles at 7 p.m., and the Americans enter the city at 8:30 p.m. to secure installations and gather prisoners.
19. The episode has a brisk, campaign-chronicle style with frequent map-like location shifts, unit names, and quoted judgments from Patton and Bradley.
20. Listeners who follow the Sicily campaign, Truscott, Patton, and Bradley will get the most from it, while listeners wanting a short character study may skip it.
