The Battle of Centuripe was fought from 2 to 4 August 1943, as part of the Allied invasion of Sicily during World War II. The 78th Battleaxe Division, of the British Eighth Army, was engaged in fierce fighting around the town of Centuripe in the central portion of Sicily in the hill country between the Rivers Dittaìno and Salso. Centuripe, a hill town set on a very high rocky pinnacle and approached by only one steep and twisty road, itself was the key to the whole Adrano position, the capture of which would in turn force the Germans to withdraw to new positions. The British troops captured the town after heavy fighting and as a result caused the Germans to start contemplating abandoning Sicily altogether.