““Darby himself fired 300 rounds of .30 caliber ammunition at one tank and failed to stop it. Then, as he said, he ‘ran like hell.” But the Italians could do little once the Rangers were indoors because their machine guns, their only armament, could not be elevated. Darby got into his jeep, raced down to the pier, unmounted a gun that had just been brought ashore, and lifted it into the vehicle. Then he drove his improvised tank-destroyer back to Gela and started shooting. “Every time we slammed a shell in that demounted gun,” he said, “she recoiled on the captain and knocked him ass over teakettle into the back seat.” But it did the trick, and the Italians soon retreated.””
