HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Operation Ladbroke was a glider landing by
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
airborne troops Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in ai ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
near
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas * Syracuse, Mi ...
,
Sicily Sicily ( it, Sicilia , ) is the list of islands in the Mediterranean, largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. The Strait of Messina divides it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. I ...
, that began on 9 July 1943 as part of
Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
, the
Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It beg ...
. The first Allied mission using large numbers of the aircraft, the operation was carried out from
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
by
glider infantry Glider infantry (also referred to as airlanding infantry esp. in British usage) was a type of airborne infantry in which soldiers and their equipment were inserted into enemy-controlled territory via military glider. Initially developed in the l ...
of the British 1st Airlanding Brigade, commanded by
Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
Philip Hicks, with a force of 136 Hadrians and eight
Airspeed Horsa The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War. It was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Limited, alongside various subcontractors; the type was named after Horsa, the legendary 5th-century ...
s. The objective was to establish a large invasion force on the ground near the town of Syracuse, secure the Ponte Grande Bridge and ultimately take control of the city itself with its strategically vital docks, as a prelude to the full-scale invasion of Sicily. En route to Sicily, sixty-five gliders released too early by the American towing aircraft crashed into the sea, drowning approximately 252 men. Of the remainder, only eighty-seven men arrived at the Pont Grande Bridge, although they successfully captured the bridge and held it beyond the time they were to be relieved. Finally, with their ammunition expended and only fifteen soldiers remaining unwounded, the Allied troops surrendered to Italian forces. The Italians, having gained control of the bridge, sought to destroy the structure, but were frustrated by troopers of the 1st Airlanding Brigade who had removed the previously attached explosive charges. Other troops from the brigade, who had landed elsewhere in Sicily, aided further by destroying communications links and capturing gun batteries.


Background

By December 1942, with Allied forces advancing through Tunisia after landing there the month before in
Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
, the North African Campaign was coming to a close; with victory there imminent, discussions began among the Allies regarding the nature of their next objective.Warren, p. 21 Many Americans argued for an immediate invasion of Northern France, while the British, as well as then-
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
, argued that the island of
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian language, Italian, Corsican language, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese dialect, Algherese and Catalan languag ...
was the best subsequent target of the Allied forces. In January 1943 the
British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
and
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...
settled at the
Casablanca Conference The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) or Anfa Conference was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. In attendance were ...
on the island of
Sicily Sicily ( it, Sicilia , ) is the list of islands in the Mediterranean, largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. The Strait of Messina divides it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. I ...
, whose invasion and occupation could potentially provide the Allies with Mediterranean shipping routes and airfields nearer to mainland Italy and Germany. The codename
Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
was decided upon for the
Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It beg ...
, and planning for ''Husky'' began in February. Initially the
British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forc ...
, under the command of
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Sir Bernard Montgomery, were to land on the south-eastern corner of the island and advance north to the port of
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas * Syracuse, Mi ...
. Two days later the U.S. Seventh Army, commanded by Lieutenant General
George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in Franc ...
, would land on the western corner of the island and move towards the port of
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...
. In March it was decided that the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, under
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Matthew Ridgway, and the British 1st Airborne Division, under
Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
George F. Hopkinson, would be dropped by
parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, wh ...
and glider just prior to the
amphibious landings Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...
; they would land a few miles behind the beaches and neutralize their defenders, thereby aiding the landing of the Allied ground forces. However, in early May these directives were radically changed at the insistence of the Eighth Army commander, General Montgomery; he argued that with Allied forces landing separately at either end of the island, the defending Axis forces would have the opportunity to defeat each Allied army in turn before both could unite. Instead, the plans were altered to land both the Eighth and Seventh Armies simultaneously along a stretch of coastline on Sicily's south-eastern corner. At the same time, the plans for the two airborne divisions, the British 1st and U.S. 82nd, were also adjusted; Montgomery believed that the airborne troops should be landed near Syracuse, so that they could seize the valuable port. The commander of the
82nd Airborne Division Artillery The 82nd Airborne Division Artillery (DIVARTY) is the divisional artillery command for the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army, stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was organized in 1917, during World War I, was inactivated ...
,
Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...
Maxwell D. Taylor Maxwell Davenport Taylor (August 26, 1901 – April 19, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer and diplomat of the mid-20th century. He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Airborne Division, n ...
, further asserted that dropping behind the island's beaches and overcoming its defences was not a suitable mission for the airborne troops, as they were only lightly armed and vulnerable to the '
friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...
' of the planned Allied naval bombardment.Warren, p. 22 In the revised blueprint for the airborne divisions, a reinforced
regimental combat team A regimental combat team (RCT) is a provisional major infantry unit which has seen use by branches of the United States Armed Forces. It is formed by augmenting a regular infantry regiment with smaller combat, combat support and combat service ...
(the 505th Parachute Infantry, under
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
James M. Gavin James Maurice Gavin (March 22, 1907 – February 23, 1990), sometimes called "Jumpin' Jim" and "the jumping general", was a senior United States Army officer, with the rank of lieutenant general, who was the third Commanding General (CG) of the ...
, with the 3rd Battalion of the 504th PIR and numerous other units attached) from Major General Ridgway's U.S. 82nd Airborne Division would be dropped by parachute north-east of the port of Gela to block the movement of Axis reserves towards the Allied
beachhead A beachhead is a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a landing beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. Th ...
s. Major General Hopkinson's British 1st Airborne Division was now to conduct three brigade-size airborne operations: the Ponte Grande road bridge south of Syracuse was to be captured by the 1st Airlanding Brigade, under
Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
Philip Hicks, the port of Augusta was to be seized by Brigadier
Ernest Down Lieutenant-General Sir Ernest Edward Down KBE CB (1902–1980) was a senior officer of the British Army, who saw active service during the Second World War. Military career Ernest Down was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Dorse ...
's 2nd Parachute Brigade, and finally the Primasole Bridge over the River Simeto was to be taken and secured by Brigadier
Gerald Lathbury General Sir Gerald William Lathbury, (14 July 1906 – 16 May 1978) was a senior British Army officer who fought during the Second World War, serving with distinction with the British Army's airborne forces, commanding the 1st Parachute Brig ...
's 1st Parachute Brigade.


Planning

As there were insufficient transport aircraft for all three brigades to conduct their operations simultaneously, it was decided that the first operation would be ''Ladbroke'', whose objective was the capture of the Ponte Grande Bridge. The mission, under the command of
Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
Philip Hicks, was conducted just prior to the amphibious landings, on the night of 9 July, while the remaining two operations took place on successive two nights.Thompson, p. 97 The 1st Airlanding Brigade was also given the additional tasks of capturing Syracuse harbour and the urban area that adjoined it, and either destroying or confiscating a coastal artillery battery that was in range of the amphibious landings. When training began for the operation, difficulties immediately arose. The original plan for the airborne operations had called for all three to employ parachutists, but in May Montgomery altered the plan; after determining that airborne troops would be at a considerable distance from Allied ground forces, he believed that the force sent to capture Syracuse would be served best by gliders in order to provide them with the maximum possible amount of firepower.Warren, p. 23 His airborne advisor, Group Captain Cooper of the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) a ...
, argued that a glider landing conducted at night with inexperienced aircrews was not practical, but the decision was left unchanged. Montgomery's orders raised several issues, the first with the transport aircraft of the Troop Carrier Wings assigned to the airborne operations. When they had arrived in North Africa, it had been decided that the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing would operate with 1st Airborne Division and its counterpart, the 51st, with 82nd Airborne Division. A few weeks later this arrangement was switched, with the 52nd now operating with 82nd Airborne Division and the 51st with 1st Airborne Division; this seemed a logical decision, as each Wing had operational experience with the division it had been paired with. However, the decision to turn the Syracuse assault into a glider-based one was problematic; the 51st had practically no glider experience, whilst the 52nd had much more but was already training for a parachute-based mission. To switch both was impractical and would have led to a number of problems, which left 1st Airborne Division, and thus 1st Airlanding Brigade, with an inexperienced Troop Carrier Wing.Warren, p. 26


Glider problems

Further problems were encountered with the gliders to be used in the operation, and the glider pilots themselves. Until a few months prior to the operation, there was a notable shortage of serviceable gliders in North Africa. In late March a small number of Wacos arrived at
Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, ...
on the Gold Coast, but pilots sent to ferry them to North Africa found that they were in poor condition. Due to neglect and the deleterious effects of tropical weather, the pilots were able to assemble only a small number of Wacos and fly them back on 22 April.Warren, p. 27 On 23 April, a larger number of the American gliders began to arrive in North African ports, but were not immediately available for use as the crates holding them were unloaded haphazardly, instructions were often found to be missing, and those men assigned to assemble the gliders were often inexperienced. However, when the decision was made to conduct a glider-borne assault with 1st Airlanding Brigade, assembly was improved, and by 12 June 346 gliders had been put together and delivered to the Troop Carrier Wings. A small number of
Horsa Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent. Most modern scholarly consensus now rega ...
gliders were transported to North Africa for use by the brigade. Thirty took off from England and undertook a trip of approximately in Operation Turkey Buzzard. After attacks from ''
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' fighter patrols and experiencing often turbulent weather, a total of 27 Horsas were delivered to North Africa in time for the operation. When sufficient gliders had arrived in North Africa, however, they were not all usable even in training; on 16 June, most of the gliders were grounded for repairs, and on 30 June, large numbers of them had developed weaknesses in their tail-wiring, necessitating another grounding period of three days. Given these problems and delays, 51st Troop Carrier Wing was not able to conduct a large-scale glider exercise until mid-June. On 14 June, fifty-four Wacos were flown over and then released to land at an airfield, and a larger exercise was conducted on 20 June; but even these limited exercises were unrealistic, as they were conducted in broad daylight. The British glider pilots themselves also caused difficulties; although there were a sufficient number of them to conduct the operation, they were highly inexperienced. Detached from the
Glider Pilot Regiment The Glider Pilot Regiment was a British airborne forces unit of the Second World War, which was responsible for crewing the British Army's military gliders and saw action in the European theatre in support of Allied airborne operations. Establish ...
for the operation, they had no experience with the Waco gliders and night operations involving them, as British doctrine had deemed such operations impossible. On average, the pilots had eight hours of flight experience in gliders. Few were rated as being 'operationally ready' and none had combat experience. Colonel George Chatterton, the commander of the Glider Pilot Regiment, had protested their participation as he believed they were entirely unfit for any operation. When the training period for the brigade ended with a total of two exercises completed, the glider pilots had an average of 4.5 hours training in flying the unfamiliar Waco, which included an average of 1.2 hours night flying.


1st Airlanding Brigade

The units of the 1st Airlanding Brigade were: the 1st Battalion,
Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service i ...
; 2nd Battalion,
South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...
; 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance and 9th Field Company,
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the '' Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...
. The Staffords were tasked with securing the bridge and the area to the south, while the Borders were to capture Syracuse.Cole, p. 36 For the mission the 1st Airlanding Brigade were allocated 136 Waco and eight Horsa gliders. With the shortage of space in the gliders—Wacos could only accommodate fifteen troops, half that of the Horsa, thus the whole brigade could not be deployed. Six of the Horsas carrying 'A' and 'C' companies from the Staffords were scheduled to land at the bridge at 23:15 on 9 July in a coup-de-main operation.Tugwell, p. 159 The remainder of the brigade would arrive at 01:15 on 10 July using a number of landing-zones between away, then converge on the bridge to reinforce the defence.


Italian forces

The Ponte Grande Bridge was immediately outside the area defended by the Italian 206th Coastal Division, which would oppose the British seaborne landing. The fortress commander was
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regard ...
Priamo Leonardi, with
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
Mario Damiani in command of the army contingent. The Augusta-Syracuse Naval Fortress Area, which included the Coastal Division, was protected by six medium and six heavy coastal artillery batteries, with eleven additional dual-purpose coastal and anti-aircraft batteries, with six batteries only of anti-aircraft guns. Finally the Fortress contained an armoured train with four 120 mm guns.Mitcham, p. 334 The army contingent was the 121st Coastal Defence Regiment, which included four battalions. There were also naval and air force battalions available, while the
54th Infantry Division "Napoli" The 54th Infantry Division "Napoli" ( it, 54ª Divisione di fanteria "Napoli") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Napoli was formed on 15 April 1939 in Caltanissetta and named for the city of Naples. The ...
was in a position to send reinforcements if required.


Mission

On 9 July, a contingent of 2,075 British troops, along with seven
jeeps Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motors ...
, six anti-tank guns and ten mortars, boarded their gliders in Tunisia and took off at 18:00, bound for Sicily. In the hours that preceded the landing, twelve Boeing B-17 and six Vickers Wellington equipped with radar jamming devices flew back and forth along the coast in the Siracusa-Licata sector; between 21:00 and 21:30, 55 Wellingtons of 205th Group carried out a diversionary bombing of the port and airport of Syracuse, causing a number of civilian and military casualties, including the commander of the Italian naval base, Commander Giuseppe Giannotti.Ferdinando Pedriali, ''L'invasione dal cielo'', on ''Storia Militare'' no. 210 (May 2011), p. 6. 280 puppets dressed in paratrooper uniforms were launched north of the landing area, in order to deceive the Italian defense. En route, the gliders encountered strong winds, poor visibility and at times were subjected to anti-aircraft fire. To avoid gunfire and searchlights, pilots of the towing aircraft climbed higher or took evasive action. In the confusion surrounding these manoeuvres, some gliders were released too early and sixty-five of them crashed into the sea, drowning around 252 men. Of the remainder, only twelve landed in the right place. Another fifty-nine landed up to away while the remainder were either shot down or failed to release and returned to Tunisia.Mitcham, pp. 73–74 About 200 American paratroopers, having been mistakenly parachuted in the area assigned to the Eighth Army, were captured by the Italian 146th Coastal Regiment (206th Coastal Division) in the early hours of 10 July. Only one Horsa with a platoon of infantry from the Staffords landed near the bridge. Its commander, Lieutenant Withers, divided his men into two groups, one of which swam across the river and took up position on the opposite bank. Thereafter the bridge was captured following a simultaneous assault from both sides. The Italian defenders from the 120th Coastal Infantry Regiment abandoned their pillboxes on the north bank.Mitcham, p. 74 The British platoon then dismantled some demolition charges that had been fitted to the bridge and dug-in to wait for reinforcement or relief. Another Horsa landed roughly from the bridge but exploded on landing, killing all on board. Three of the other Horsas carrying the ''coup-de-main'' party landed within of the bridge—their occupants eventually finding their way to the site. Reinforcements began to arrive at the bridge, but by 06:30 they numbered only eighty-seven men.Mitcham, p. 75 Elsewhere, about 150 men landed at
Cape Murro di Porco A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. T ...
and captured a radio station. Based on a warning of imminent glider landings transmitted by the station's previous occupants, the local Italian commander ordered a counter-attack but his troops failed to receive his message. The scattered nature of the landings now worked in the Allies' favour as they were able to cut all telephone wires in the immediate area. The glider carrying the brigade deputy commander, Colonel O. L. Jones, landed beside an Italian coastal artillery battery; at daylight the staff officers and radio operators attacked and destroyed the battery's five guns and their ammunition dump. Other isolated groups of Allied soldiers tried to aid their comrades, assaulting Italian defences and targeting reinforcements. Another attack by a group of paratroopers on three 149/35 mm Italian coastal batteries failed, and the batteries were able to open fire on Allied landing craft and troops at 6:15 on 10 July. At 9:15, the 1st Battalion of the Italian 75th Infantry Regiment ("Napoli" Division) captured another 160 American paratroopers on the
Palazzolo Acreide Palazzolo Acreide ( Sicilian: ''Palazzolu'', in the local dialect: ''Palazzuolu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy). It is from the city of Syracuse in the Hyblean Mountains. History The area aroun ...
–Syracuse road. Another group of paratroopers attacked an Italian patrol led by Major Paoli, commander of the 126th Artillery Group; Paoli was killed and his unit fell in disarray, and was thus unable to intervene in the later fight against British tanks near the bridge. The first counterattack on the bridge was by two companies of Italian sailors, who were repulsed by the British. As the Italians responded to the Allied landings, they gathered more troops and brought up artillery and mortars to bombard the Allied-controlled Pont Grande Bridge. The British defenders came under attack from the Italians while the expected British 5th Infantry Division relief did not appear at 10:00 as planned. At 11:30 the Italian 385th Coastal Battalion arrived at the bridge, followed soon afterward by the 1st Battalion, 75th (Napoli) Infantry Regiment. The Italians were positioned to attack the bridge from three sides. By 14:45 there were only fifteen British troops defending the bridge that had not been killed or wounded (four officers and eleven soldiers). At 15:30, with their ammunition consumed, the British stopped fighting. Some men on the south side of the bridge escaped into the countryside, but the rest became
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
. With the bridge back in Italian hands, the first unit from 5th Infantry Division, the 2nd Battalion,
Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...
, of 17th Infantry Brigade, arrived at the bridge at 16:15 and mounted a successful counter-attack, which had been made possible by the prior removal of demolition charges from the bridge, preventing its destruction by the Italians.Tugwell, p. 161 The 1st Battalion of the 75th Infantry Regiment, having no artillery, was unable to oppose the British tanks and had to retreat after suffering heavy losses. The survivors from the 1st Airlanding Brigade took no further part in the fighting and were withdrawn back to North Africa on 13 July.Mitcham, p. 78 During the landings, the losses by 1st Airlanding Brigade were the most severe of all British units involved. The casualties amounted to 313 killed and 174 missing or wounded. Fourteen accompanying glider pilots were killed, and eighty-seven were missing or wounded.


Aftermath

After an enquiry into the problems with the airborne missions in Sicily, the British Army and Royal Air Force submitted recommendations in the aftermath of Operation Ladbroke.Tugwell, p. 167 Aircrew were to be trained in parachute and glider operations, and pathfinders were to be landed before the main force, to set out their beacons. The landing plan was simplified with complete brigades landing on a drop zone, instead of the smaller battalion landing areas used on Sicily. Gliders were no longer released at night while still over water, and their landing zones would be large enough to accommodate the aircraft with room to spare. Following a friendly fire incident over an Allied convoy, more training was given to ship's crews in aircraft recognition; Allied aircraft were also painted with three large white stripes. Training for pilots of the Glider Pilot Regiment was increased, and improvements to the gliders were implemented, including better inter-aircraft communication.Nigl, p. 69 To provide another method of delivering jeeps and artillery by air, the Royal Air Force started experimenting with how to use parachutes to drop them into combat, the jeeps and guns being carried in aircraft's bomb bays.Lake, p. 81 A second Royal Air Force transport group, No. 46, was formed and equipped solely with Douglas Dakotas, instead of the mixture of aircraft in No. 38 Group.Tugwell, p. 202 Together, the Royal Air Force groups were capable of supplying eighty-eight Albermarles, eighty-eight Stirlings, thirty-six Halifaxes and 150 Dakotas, a total of 362 planes which did not include aircraft held as reserves.


Notes


Footnotes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ladbroke, Operation Airborne operations of World War II Allied invasion of Sicily Battles and operations of World War II involving Italy Land battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom Glider Pilot Regiment operations July 1943 events