Darby's Rangers (1958)
Director: William A. Wellman
Starring: James Garner (Maj./Col. William Orlando Darby), Etchika Choureau (Angelina De Lotta/Dittmann), Jack Warden (MSgt. Saul Rosen/Narrator), Edward Byrnes (Lt. Arnold Dittman), Venetia Stevenson (Peggy McTavish), Torin Thatcher (Sgt. McTavish), Peter Brown (Pvt./Cpl. Rollo Burns), Corey Allen, (Pvt. Pittsburgh Tony Sutherland) Stuart Whitman (Sgt./SSgt./Sfc. Hank Bishop), Murray Hamilton (Pvt./Sgt. Sims Delancey).
An army assault group with action in North Africa and Italy.
Historical Background:
William Orlando Darby
1911 (Feb 9) -- born in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
1933 -- he graduates from the U.S. Military Academy.
he was assigned to Ft. Bliss in the 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery of the 1st Cavalry Division, the only horse mounted artillery unit remaining in the Army.
1940 (October 1) -- promoted to captain.
1941 (early) -- Darby participated in amphibious training in Puerto Rico.
1941 (sometime after November) -- he was supposed to go to Pearl Harbor, but the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7.
Darby was assigned as aide to Maj. General Russell P. Hartle.
1942 (November) -- Hartle and his unit shipped out with the 34th Infantry Division to Northern Ireland.
1942 (June 19) -- Col. Lucian K. Truscott Jr. was forming an American commando-type unit and though Darby might make a good leader. The unit was modeled after the British commando units and became known as "Rangers" and then as "Darby's Rangers". Darby received an immediate promotion to major. Within 10 weeks he was made lieutenant colonel.
The unit would making many daring night raids, using hit-and-run tactics.
1942 (August 19) -- a small group of the rangers went along on the abortive Dieppe raid with the loss of 10 men (6 killed).
He led his men into North Africa, Sicily and Anzio. Darby returned to the US following the destruction of the 1st and 3rd battalions at Cisterna.
1942 (Nov 8) -- Darby's men spearheaded the North African landings at Arzew, Algeria.
1943 (July 9) -- the rangers landed at Licata, opening the invasion of Sicily.
1943 (September 9) -- the rangers led the Allies onto the Italian mainland at Salerno.
1943 (December 11) -- Darby promoted to full colonel.
1944 (Jan 22) -- Darby led his Rangers into Anzio and captured several gun batteries and seized the city.
Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr., commanding Seventh Army, offered Darby command of a regiment in the 45th Division.
1944 (January 30-31) -- at Cisterna, just a few miles inland from the Anzio beachhead, the rangers ran into a much larger and more heavily armed German paratroop division supported by tanks. The rangers were slaughtered with 761 casualties or captured/missing out of 767 men.
Darby was assigned to lead the 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Division, then in the midst of a difficult battle.
1945 (April 26) -- in the general effort to cut off the retreat of the German forces remaining north of the Po River, task force Darby captured Lasize, a small village on the southeast shore of Lake Garda.
1945 (April 30) -- Darby killed near Torbole, Italy by an 88mm artillery fragment, while attached to the US 10th Mountain Division.
Among his awards were two Distinguished Service Crosses and three Purple Hearts.Darby was posthumously awarded the rank of brigadier general.
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