Olan Smith

 New Release: The Battle of Troina (Page 49)
          
            The streets of Troina are burning with history. August 6, 1943 — one day, one town, one crucible of war.
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/1594175347-the-perfumed-letter-the-fire-and-the-fog-of-wwii
          
           ✨  On this page, you’ll march with Squad 3 as they fight block by block, shadow by shadow, alongside the growl of Stuart tanks. Grenades thunder in stairwells, rifles crack from rooftops, and comrades fall in alleys where grief has no time to breathe.
          
            This is the climax of Sicily’s fiercest battle — a contest of will between men and mountains, fought under a punishing sun. Casualties mount, but the push does not falter. By nightfall, Troina belongs to the Allies, and CO M has carried itself through the smoke and stone into history.
          
          ✨ Page 49 is not just a chapter — it’s a reckoning. Step inside the fire and the fog

⚔️ Announcement — Page 48
          Date: August 6, 1943 Location: Troina, Sicily
          
          ✦ The Fight for Troina Intensifies. The second‑to‑last day of battle. Rifle squads of the 1st Infantry Division entered first, clearing alleys and doorways under fire. Every street was a killing ground, every rooftop a sniper’s nest.
          
          ✦ Company M’s Role: Heavy weapons followed close behind the riflemen. BARs, water‑cooled machine guns, and light Stuart tanks laid down suppressive fire to break German strongpoints. Company M’s crews hugged walls, set up nests wherever cover could be found, and kept the rifle squads moving forward.
          
          ✦ Orders from Command
          
          Capt. Howlin: “Lancet, push your platoon forward! Clear those buildings — secure the street!”
          
          Staff Sgt. Cragg relayed: “Redding right flank, Deluca left, Dillon center. Door to door, no gaps!”
          
          ✦ Status Report
          
          Rifle squads engaged in close‑quarters fighting.
          
          Company M's heavy weapons are providing suppressive fire and anti‑fortification support.
          
          German MG‑42s, mortars, and anti‑tank guns were entrenched throughout the town.
          
          Objective: Drive the enemy out. Troina must fall today.
          A man is down.

 Press Release
          The Battle of Troina (47)
          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/1593479728-the-perfumed-letter-the-fire-and-the-fog-of-wwii
          
          Columbia, Missouri — Visionary author Olan L. Smith (publishing as Cotton Jones) unveils a gripping new chapter in his WWII manuscript: The Battle of Troina.
          This installment immerses readers in the brutal cadence of Sicily, where volcanic ridges and relentless heat press down on Company M as they claw their way toward Troina. Through vivid dialogue and visceral detail, Smith captures the paradox of war: soldiers battling not only enemy fire but also the smallest adversaries—mosquitoes carrying malaria that could strip a man from the line as surely as a bullet.
          Highlights of the chapter include:
          • 	Authentic battlefield dialogue that humanizes Walter, Pete, and Sgt. Redding as they joke, curse, and pray under fire.
          • 	Historical resonance, weaving in the devastating impact of malaria on Mediterranean campaigns.
          • 	Command under chaos, as Lt. Lancet and Sgt. Cragg steady the squads for the morning push into Troina.
          • 	Cadence of exhaustion, where tangled belts, sleepless nights, and whispered prayers become the rhythm of survival.
          Smith’s work continues to blend disciplined research with poetic cadence, transforming logistical detail into living manuscript geometry. The Battle of Troina stands as both historical tribute and creative artifact, honoring resilience in the face of impossible terrain.

 Announcement
          Page 46 — Chapter Four: The Battle of Troina
           Strategic Geometry ➤ Allied regiments converge from multiple axes:
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/1593342861-the-perfumed-letter-the-fire-and-the-fog-of-wwii
          
          18th Infantry downslope, pivoting east then north
          
          26th Infantry sweeping from the north
          
          16th Infantry anchoring the western hills
          
          60th Infantry with Moroccan Goums pressing from high ground
          
           Engineers’ Backbone ⚙️ Clearing mines, repairing roads, bridging ravines ⚙️ Training legacy: Fort Leonard Wood ⚙️ Convoy discipline—artillery and supply lines pulled forward by sweat and steel

 Announcement — The Perfumed Letter: The Fire and the Fog. p. 45
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/1593161163-the-perfumed-letter-the-fire-and-the-fog-of-wwii
          
          ✨ Summit Secured Company M has taken the high ground at Mt. Nebrodi. The ridge is no longer a place of rest but a fortress.
          
           Squad Cadence Squad 3, under Sergeant Redding, holds the line. Dusty spits chaw, Walter steadies belts, the runner, Pvt. Hensley crouches, ready to sprint. Each man’s rhythm is alive in the dawn.
          
          ⚔️ Enemy Resumes The Germans press back with rifle fire, echoes rolling down the slopes. Rest is gone; the gods of war demand more.
          
          ️ Command Shift Staff Sergeant Cragg steps forward, voice slicing through exhaustion: “No one rests yet. Dig in, hold the ridge.”
          
           Convoy Discipline The men bunch along the ridge, machine gun nest in position, eyes scanning the valley. Air support roars overhead, heavy weapons engaged in one hell of a show of strength.

✨ — Chapter Four: The Battle of Troina✨
          August 6th, 1943 — Nebrodi Ridge
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/1592910401-the-perfumed-letter-the-fire-and-the-fog-of-wwii
          
          ⚔️ We held the ridge through thunder and dust. The ground trembled beneath us, not only from the mortars but from the weight of our own fear. Cigarettes burned down to ash in our fingers, and Dusty said twice, “Keep low, keep low,” as if repeating it might keep the bullets from finding us. 
          
          ⚔️ The soldiers cursed the Hitler Buzz Saw, Wilkerson steadied the BAR, and Walter’s voice carried like a cadence line through the smoke. We were only twenty‑four days into the war, yet already it felt like years.
          
          ✍️The ridge shook again, and I thought of home — cigars, sons, women, wine — all the things we swore we’d chase when heaven was ours. But heaven was far off, and Sicily was not yet finished with us. 
          
           ️ Walter pressed forward, his steps heavy, his eyes fixed on the valley. He did not know that his war would end not with a bullet, but with the sting of a mosquito. For now, he marched with us, and the ridge trembled still.

✨ RANKINGS UPDATE — The Perfumed Letter: The Fire and the Fog ✨
          ⚔️ Military Drama — #1 
           Sicily — #1 
           Malaria — #1 
           Unanswered Love — #1 
           Literary Fiction — #7 
          ⚔️ Warfare — #44 
          ➡️  Italy — #64 
          ➡️  France — #38 
           Historical Fiction — #429

✨ ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PAGE RELEASE ✨
          ⚔️ THE BATTLE OF TROINA ⚔️ ️ August 2, 1943 — Sicily
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/1592731545-the-perfumed-letter-the-fire-and-the-fog-of-wwii
          
          Squad 3 climbs the ridge. Walter and Jack trade words of home, mail, and hearth. The Etna Line looms above — the enemy entrenched, fighting for time. Air strikes roar overhead: P‑40 Warhawks, Spitfires, A‑20 Havocs. Then — the ridge erupts. Machine guns bark, tracer fire slashes smoke, olive branches tremble. The cadence of men and machine stitched into rubble and thunder.
          
           Page 43 is live. Step by step, the convoy advances.

 Page 42 Update of the PERFUMED LETTER✨ 
          https://www.wattpad.com/1592517439-the-perfumed-letter-the-fire-and-the-fog-of-wwii
          
          ⚔️ The Battle of Troina intensifies. On August 1, 1943, the 18th Regiment crawls eastward under relentless fire. Squad 3 braces for another day in the grind—rifles cracking, machine guns smoking, survival measured in seconds. Jack and Walter share a moment of raw soldier banter in the nest before silence snaps them back to the deadly rhythm: kill or be killed.
          
          ➡️ Meanwhile, back in Missouri, Louise clings to hope. She tends the neighbor’s horse, whispers her fears into the November wind, and prays Walter’s letters will break the silence. The homefront and battlefront pulse together—two worlds bound by mail, memory, and uncertainty.
          
          ➡️ Page 42 is live—step into the dual cadence of war and waiting.

 NEW RELEASE — PART TWO, CHAPTER THREE 
          
            Title: The Battle of Troina Date: July 31, 1943 Cadence: Twenty days in. Walter rejoins. 
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/1592321757-the-perfumed-letter-the-fire-and-the-fog-of-wwii
          
            ⚔️ The ridges ignite.⚔️    
          
          Enemy: 15th Panzergrenadier + Aosta Division Allies: 
          
           ️ U.S. 1st Infantry + Moroccan Goumiers Scene: Reunion by fire. 
          
          Suppression by rhythm. 
          
          Sleep rationed. Status: Live now. 
          
          ✨ Read the chapter. Feel the dust.