 The lesser hills round it were well defended by the Germans and it was necessary for them to be mastered before Centuripe could be tackled.Defending this position was the crack Hermann Göring Division, consisting mostly of the 3rd Fallschirmjäger Regiment as part of "Kampfgruppe von Carnap" under Ludwig Heilmann.As well as the regiment, the kampfgruppe consisted of an artillery regiment and a number of reconnaissance units which included a number of tanks with supporting infantry units.