With the success of the 1st battalion during the Tunisian campaign, Colonel Darby set in motion and trained the 3rd and 4th Ranger battalion. The problem with the 1st Rangers was that they only took volunteers, Darby knowing that the best man for the job was not always a volunteer, sought out men around Oran. Although he was still limited in that he could only accept volunteers, he began to find ways around this. For instance, he began to give speeches, to put up posters and to encourage his officers to scout around for eligible candidates. As of June 1943, the three Ranger battalions were fully operational .1st Rangers were still under Colonel Darby; the 3rd under Major Herman Dammer, the 4th commanded by Major Roy Murray, both reported directly to Darby.
1st and 4th battalion were paired together, and positioned to spearhead General Terry Allen's 1st Division, on the Sicily campaign. Landing outside Gela, the Rangers took the town by mid, and were quickly sent out to San Nicole. For what must have felt like weeks, the Rangers seized the town of San Nicole with the help of an armored division at their side. This 50 hour barrage would be one of the most unbearable experiences for the Rangers. Despite the fact that they were under a constant attack of artillery, tank and ariel support, they still succeeded in the completion of their mission.
Following their success, these two Ranger battalions were then ordered to take the town of Buerta, a 4000 feet suspended fortress on the edge of the cliff of Buerta beach. After almost withdrawing from the battle, and requesting artillery to level the city, a platoon volunteered to breach the city. Two privates, John See and John Constantine, snuck in behind enemy lines and scared the Italians and Germans into surrendering.
Meanwhile the 3rd Ranger battalion headed out into the area of Agrigento, where they marched through Campobello, Naro and Favara successfully occupying each town. The 3rd was ordered to back tack to the shores of Porto Empedocle. The beach itself was not occupied but high in the cliffs heavy machinegun and cannon fire poured onto the Rangers. Scrambling, the Ranger battalion made their way to each machine gun nest where they managed to disable all opposition before infantry battalion even hit the shore.
Colonel Darby was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for commanding the 75th Rangers, and given a promotion by Patton; Darby, wanting to be closer to his men, had turned down this very promotion.
On January 30th 1943 the Rangers were put together for a joint operation, to occupy the town of Cisterna, before the main infantry division moved in. That night the 1st and 3rd battalions moved into the town, passing many German soldiers that did not appear to notice the Rangers slip by. The 4th battalion met opposition almost immediately taking an opposite rout by the road. During the night the 1st and 3rd battalion separated out about 2 miles, and when daily light caught the 1st Ranger battalion out in an open field, the Germans began their assault. Unable to escape and completely surrounded, the two Ranger battalion’s fought on until ammunition and resources were empty. The 4th battalions tried to make a push to save their comrades but were unsuccessful and had to withdraw. After 5 hours of fighting the Germans had sent in wave after wave of elite parachute troopers and didn’t stop until there was nothing left. Out of the 760 men in the two battalions, only six escaped.
This marked the end of the three Ranger battalions, the remaining 400 rangers would be scattered around the 504th parachute division, and the 137 original rangers would be sent home. On October 26, 1944, the three original Ranger battalions were deactivated at Camp Burner, NC
