Operation Husky No. 2

Allied Forces

• 82^nd Airborne Division
  • 504^th Parachute Infantry Regiment
    • 1st Parachute Infantry Battalion
    • 2nd Parachute Infantry Battalion
    • 3rd Parachute Infantry Battalion
    • 376^th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion

Axis Forces

Operation

The objective of Operation Husky Number Two is to reinforce the beachhead established by Lieutenant General George S. Patton’s US 7th Army during Operation Husky. The mission is assigned to Colonel Reuben Tucker’s 504^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which is tasked with being dropped in the area already secured by Operation Husky Number One, with the same fundamental objectives. On July 11^th, 1943, it is decided that the entire regiment will be deployed to reinforce the American-held area. Every precaution is taken to ensure that naval guns and anti-aircraft artillery on the ground do not engage the incoming aircraft. Orders are widely distributed, with Ridgway himself visiting the island to inform artillery units, and the aircraft being directed along a known corridor 3.2 kilometres wide at an altitude of 305 metres, running east to west along the coast.

Despite these precautions, things go awry, largely due to the fact that the anchorage had come under heavy Axis air attack on July 11^th, 1943, resulting in several ships being sunk or damaged, and nerves running high. When the first flights approach the gun-defended area at around 23:40, they are initially allowed to pass without incident. However, as the sky becomes filled with aircraft, a single gun crew on one ship fires a few shots, triggering a surge of panic throughout the fleet, which opens fire on the incoming planes.

The outcome is devastating: 23 of the 144 aircraft are destroyed, with 81 men killed and 148 wounded or missing. Some paratroopers are mistakenly shot by friendly forces on the ground, who believe they are part of a German airborne counterattack. Of that the 376^th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion suffers 24 killed and 11 missing.

Adding to the problems, the parachute landings are widely scattered, with only one company and one light battery landing on the correct drop zone. By the evening of July 12^th, 1943, just 37 officers and 518 men have managed to assemble.

The rest of the campaign

On July 13^th, 1943, the 504^th Parachute Infantry begins its advance, leading the 82^nd Airborne Division on a 240-kilometre push northwest along the southern coast of Sicily. Utilising captured Italian light tanks, trucks, motorcycles, horses, mules, bicycles, and even wheelbarrows, the 82^nd Airborne Division faces only light resistance and manages to capture 22,000 prisoners of war during its initial encounters with enemy forces.

Although the Sicilian campaign proves costly in terms of both lives and equipment, the regiment gains valuable combat experience and deals significant damage to the enemy. The 504^th Parachute Infantry Regiment returns to its base in Kairouan to prepare for the upcoming invasion of mainland Italy.

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