Biscari massacre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Biscari massacre describes two World War II incidents in which US troops were involved in killing unarmed German and Italian prisoners of war at Biscari (modern Acate, southern Sicily, Italy) in 1943.

Contents 1 Massacre 2 Aftermath 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References

[edit] Massacre

Following the capture of Biscari Airfield on 14 July 1943 during the Allied invasion of Sicily, American troops of the 180th Regimental Combat Team, 45th (Thunderbird) Division murdered 74 Italian and two German POWs. The killings occurred in two separate incidents between July and August 1943. The first incident involved 34 Italians and two Germans, while the second involved 40 Italians.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Aftermath

Informed of the massacre, General Omar Bradley in turn informed General George S. Patton that US troops had murdered roughly 50 to 70 prisoners in cold blood. Patton noted his response in his diary:

I told Bradley that it was probably an exaggeration, but in any case to tell the officer to certify that the dead men were snipers or had attempted to escape or something, as it would make a stink in the press and also would make the civilians mad. Anyhow, they are dead, so nothing can be done about it.^[1]

Bradley refused Patton's instructions.

In the first incident, the Army charged Sergeant Horace T. West. West admitted that he had participated in the shootings, was found guilty, stripped of rank and sentenced to life in prison. Later he was released as a private.

In the second incident, the Army courtmartialed Captain John T. Compton for killing 40 POWs in his charge. He claimed to be following orders. The investigating officer and the Judge Advocate declared that Compton's actions were unlawful, but the court martial acquitted him. The Army transfered Compton to another regiment where he died a year later fighting in Italy. At the time many saw the difference in the treatment of officers and NCOs as a clear case of injustice.

Furthermore, the Army held neither Patton nor the unit commanding officer, Colonel E Cookson, to account any way.

[edit] See also

• List of massacres
• Allied war crimes during World War II

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Botting, Douglas; Ian Sayer (1989). Hitler's Last General: The Case Against Wilhelm Mohnke. London: Bantam Books. pp. 354–359. ISBN 0593017099. 
• Weingartner, James (November 1989). "Massacre at Biscari: Patton and An American War Crime". The Historian LII (1): pp. 24-39. 
• Bartolone, Giovanni (2005). Le altre stragi. Le stragi alleate e tedesche nella Sicilia del 1943-1944. Bagheria: Tipografia Aiello & Provenzano.