were being formed. (7) During the summer and fall of 1943, the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Ranger Battalions were heavily involved in the campaign in Sicily and the landings in Italy. The 1st and 4th Ranger Battalions conducted a night amphibious landing in Sicily and secured the landing beaches for the main force. The 3rd Battalion landed separately at Licata, Sicily, and was able to silence gun positions on an 82-foot cliff overlooking the invasion beaches. (8) During the invasion of Italy, the 1st and 4th Ranger Battalions landed at Maori with the mission of seizing the high ground and protecting the flank of the remainder of the main landing by the United States. Enemy forces in the area were estimated to outnumber the Rangers by approximately eight to one. Despite these odds, the Rangers took the position and held off 7 enemy counterattacks. (9) After the invasion of Italy, Rangers continued to be used, often in night attacks to seize key terrain ahead of the advancing Allied forces. At the Anzio beachhead, the majority of the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Ranger Battalions sustained heavy casualties after being cut off behind German lines. The Rangers had planned to infiltrate German positions under the cover of darkness and make a dawn attack on a critical road junction but were pinned down by enemy tanks and an elite German paratrooper unit. After 12 hours of desperate fighting and a failed relief attempt, the majority of the Ranger force was killed, wounded, or captured. Only 6 Rangers from the 1st and 3rd Battalions, out of more than 767 men, returned to friendly lines. The 4th Battalion, which had been in reserve, also suffered 60 killed and 120 wounded out of 550 men. These 3 battalions were inactivated and the survivors were transferred to other units. (10) In the United States, and later in Scotland, the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions were formed to undertake operations in Western Europe. Those Battalions were engaged on D-Day, assaulting German positions at the Pointe du Hoc coastal battery, and remained in combat