Operation Ladbroke

Allied Forces

• 1^st Airborne Division
  • 1^st Airlanding Brigade
    • 1^st Battalion, The Border Regiment
    • 2^nd Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment
    • 9^th Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 1^st Parachute Brigade
    • 1^st Battalion, Parachute Regiment
    • 2^nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment
    • 3^rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment
    • 16^th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
    • 1^st Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery, Royal Artillery
    • 1^st (Airborne) Divisional Provost, Corps of Military Police
• The Glider Pilot Regiment
  • No. 2 Wing

Axis Forces

• Coastal Troops Command
  • 136^th (Autonomous) Coastal Regiment, responsible for the coast from the East of Palermo to including Cefalù
    • CIII Coastal Battalion
    • CDLXV Coastal Battalion
  • 202^nd Coastal Division, responsible for the coast from Mazara del Vallo to Sciacca
    • 124^th Coastal Regiment
      • CCCLXXVI Coastal Battalion
      • CCCLXXXVI Coastal Battalion
      • DXLIII Coastal Battalion
    • 142^nd Coastal Regiment
      • CCCLXXVII Coastal Battalion
      • CDXXVII Coastal Battalion
      • CDLXVI Coastal Battalion
      • CDXC Coastal Battalion
    • 62^nd Coastal Artillery Grouping
      • LVI Cannons Group (105/32 Field Guns)
      • LXXVI Coastal Artillery Group (149/35 heavy guns)
      • CLXXI Coastal Artillery Group (105/28 Howitzers)
      • CLXXII Coastal Artillery Group (105/28 Howitzers)
    • 63^rd Coastal Artillery Grouping
      • LV Cannons Group (105/32 Field Guns)
      • CXLI Coastal Artillery Group (75/27 Field Guns)
      • CXLIII Coastal Artillery Group (149/35 Howitzers))
      • CLVII Coastal Artillery Group (149/19 Howitzers)
    • CCCIII Coastal Battalion
    • CIX Static Machine Gun Battalion
    • 151^st Bersaglieri Motorcyclists Company
    • 102^nd Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • Division Services
  • 207^th Coastal Division, in Agrigento, responsible for the coast from Sciacca to Punta Due Rocche to the East of Licata
    • 138^th Coastal Regiment
      • CCCLXXX Coastal Battalion
      • CCCLXXXVIII Coastal Battalion
      • CDXX Coastal Battalion
    • 139^th Coastal Regiment, in Licata
      • CDXIX Coastal Battalion
      • CCCXC Coastal Battalion
      • DXXXVIII Coastal Battalion
    • 177^th Mobile Territorial Bersaglieri Regiment (attached)
      • DXXV Bersaglieri Battalion
      • DXXVI Bersaglieri Battalion
      • DXXVII Bersaglieri Battalion
      • CIV Anti-tank Battalion (47/32 anti-tank guns; detached from 12^th Army Corps Artillery Grouping)
      • 1^st Motorized Machine Gun Company (attached)
    • 12^th Coastal Artillery Grouping
      • XXXV Coastal Artillery Group (3x 105/28 and 1x 75/27 Batteries)
      • CXLV Coastal Artillery Group (2x 105/28 and 1x 75/34 Batteries)
      • CLX Coastal Artillery Group (2x 149/35 and 1x 105mm/27 Batteries)
      • CCXXII Coastal Artillery Group (2x 100/22 Batteries)
    • CIV Coastal Battalion
    • CV Static Machine Gun Battalion
    • 103^rd Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 Mortars)
    • Division Services
  • 208^th Coastal Division, responsible for the coast from Palermo to Trapani
    • 133^rd Coastal Regiment
      • CCXLIV Coastal Battalion
      • CDXXIII Coastal Battalion
      • CDXCVIII Coastal Battalion
    • 147^th Coastal Regiment
      • CCCLXXVIII Coastal Battalion
      • CDXXXVIII Coastal Battalion
      • DXXXIX Coastal Battalion
    • 28^th Coastal Artillery Grouping
      • CXXIV Coastal Artillery Group (105/14 howitzers
      • CCXV Coastal Artillery Group (100/17 Howitzers)
    • CXII Machine Gun Battalion
    • 164^th Anti-tank Company (47/32 Anti-Tank Guns)
    • 101^st Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 Mortars)
    • 517^th Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 Mortars)
    • Division Services
  • 230^th Coastal Division, responsible for the coast from the South of Trapani to Mazara del Vallo, augmented with units of the 202^nd Coastal Division
    • 120^th Coastal Regiment
      • CCXLV Coastal Battalion
      • DCCCLVII Coastal Battalion
      • DCCCLXXX Coastal Battalion
    • 184^th Coastal Regiment
      • CCCLXXXVII Coastal Battalion
      • CDXCVII Coastal Battalion
    • 43^rd Coastal Artillery Grouping
      • VII Coastal Artillery Group (1x 149/35 and 1x 155/36 Batteries)
      • XX Coastal Artillery Group (1x 149/35 and 1x 155/36 Batteries)
      • XXII Coastal Artillery Group (105/28 Howitzers)
      • CCXVIII Coastal Artillery Group (100/22 Howitzers)
    • 712^th Machine Gun Company
    • Division Services
  • XXIX Coastal Brigade – Harbour Defence Command “N”, in Palermo – Generale di Divisione Giuseppe Molinero
    • CCCIV Coastal Battalion
    • CCCXLIV Coastal Battalion
    • CDLXXVI Coastal Battalion
    • XXX Dismounted Squadrons Group/ Regiment “Cavalleggeri di Palermo”
    • I Group/ 25^th Artillery Regiment “Assietta”/ 26th Infantry Division “Assietta” (100/17 Howitzers)
    • XLI Coastal Artillery Group
      • 121^st Battery, at Punta la Barbara (2x 152/45 Cannons)
      • 122^nd Battery, at Aspra (2x 152/45 Cannons)
      • 2x batteries (1x with 75/27 field guns, 1x with 105/28 Howitzers)
    • 51^st Heavy Artillery Battery

Operation

Operation Ladbroke is a glider landing mission undertaken by British airborne troops near Syracuse, Sicily, beginning on July 9^th, 1943, as part of Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily during the Second World War. It is the first large-scale Allied glider operation, launched from Tunisia by the British 1^st Airlanding Brigade under the command of Brigadier Philip Hicks. The mission involves a force of 136 Waco Hadrian gliders and eight Airspeed Horsa gliders, with the objective of landing near Syracuse to secure the Ponte Grande Bridge and ultimately capture the city, including its strategically important docks, as preparation for the full-scale invasion of Sicily.

Preperations

By December 1942, with Allied forces advancing through Tunisia, the North African campaign is drawing to a close. As victory in North Africa becomes imminent, discussions among the Allies turn to determining their next objective. Many American commanders advocate for an immediate invasion of Northern France, while the British, as well as General Dwight D. Eisenhower, argue that the island of Sardinia would be a more suitable target. In January 1943, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt meet at the Casablanca Conference and decide that Sicily will be the next Allied target. The invasion is expected to open up key Mediterranean shipping routes and provide airfields closer to mainland Italy and Germany. The codename for this invasion is Operation Husky, and planning commences in February.

Initially, the British Eighth Army, under General Sir Bernard Montgomery, is assigned to land on the southeastern corner of Sicily and advance north towards Syracuse. Two days later, the U.S. Seventh Army, commanded by General George S. Patton, is to land on the western coast and advance towards Palermo. However, in March, the plan is revised to have both armies land simultaneously along a 160-kilometre stretch of coastline to maximise their impact and prevent Axis forces from defeating the Allied armies in turn. In support of these amphibious landings, Major-General George F. Hopkinson’s British 1^st Airborne Division and Major General Matthew Ridgway’s U.S. 82^nd Airborne Division are tasked with conducting airborne operations behind enemy lines. General Montgomery revises the plans again in early May, insisting that airborne troops should be landed near Syracuse to secure the valuable port. Consequently, the British 1^st Airborne Division’s mission is expanded to include three key objectives: capturing the Ponte Grande Bridge, securing the port of Augusta, and taking the Primasole Bridge over the River Simeto.

Due to a shortage of transport aircraft, it is decided to carry out the glider operations in stages, beginning with Operation Ladbroke, aimed at capturing the Ponte Grande Bridge. The 1^st Airlanding Brigade is also tasked with securing Syracuse harbour and neutralising a coastal artillery battery within range of the amphibious landings. Training for the glider operation proves to be a significant challenge. Initially planned as a parachute drop, General Montgomery changes it to a glider-based assault to provide maximum firepower. However, the 51^st Troop Carrier Wing, assigned to the mission, has little glider experience, while the 52^nd Troop Carrier Wing, which has more glider expertise, is assigned to a parachute mission, leading to considerable logistical difficulties.

The 1^st Airlanding Brigade faces additional setbacks due to a shortage of serviceable gliders. Although a number of Waco gliders are eventually assembled and delivered to North Africa, they are initially found to be in poor condition due to neglect and tropical weather damage. Ultimately, 346 gliders are made operational by June, including 27 Horsa gliders flown from England as part of Operation Turkey Buzzard, an ambitious mission involving long-distance towing of gliders to North Africa. Despite the availability of gliders, the ongoing need for repairs and technical issues results in insufficient training opportunities for pilots, leaving them with an average of only 4.5 hours of flight time in the unfamiliar Waco gliders.

Operation Ladbroke

The 1^st Airlanding Brigade is equipped with 136 Waco gliders and eight Horsa gliders. These gliders transport 2,075 British soldiers, along with seven jeeps, six anti-tank guns, and ten mortars. The brigade departs from Tunisia on the evening of July 9^th, 1943. The initial wave of six Horsa gliders is scheduled to land at the bridge at 23:15 to attempt an immediate capture, followed two hours later by the main force, landing within a five-kilometre radius of the bridge. Prior to the attack, fifty-five Wellington bombers conduct raids on targets around Syracuse, resulting in the death of the Italian naval base commander, Giuseppe Giannotti. To further confuse the defenders, nearly three hundred dummy paratroopers are dropped north of the landing zone.

Adverse weather conditions and anti-aircraft fire create confusion. Sixty-five gliders are released prematurely by American towing aircraft, resulting in crashes at sea and the tragic loss of approximately 252 soldiers. Only a small number of gliders manage to reach their designated landing zones, with just twelve successfully landing at their intended target. At the Ponte Grande Bridge, a single Horsa glider lands, carrying a platoon of infantry from the South Staffordshire Regiment. With approximately fifteen men on board, the infantry, led by Lieutenant Whiters, is split into two groups. One group swims across the river, allowing for a coordinated assault from both sides. The Italian guards of the 120^th Coastal Infantry Regiment abandon their posts, and the bridge is captured. The British quickly remove the demolition charges, preparing to hold the bridge until reinforcements arrive. Only four Horsa gliders land within a three-kilometre radius of the bridge, one of which explodes upon landing, killing all on board. By half past six in the morning, the British defenders number only eighty-seven men.

Despite limited reinforcements arriving, only eighty-seven men are present at the bridge by morning. The British defenders face repeated counterattacks by Italian forces, who bring reinforcements throughout the day. The first Italian counterattacks begin at around ten in the morning, launched by the 385^th Coastal Battalion and a battalion from the 75^th Infantry Regiment. Initially, the defenders manage to repel several attacks using their limited ammunition and hold their position against overwhelming odds. The Italians launch mortar and artillery bombardments to weaken the British position, followed by infantry assaults. The British troops dig in and take up defensive positions on both sides of the bridge, using what little cover they can find.

The fighting becomes increasingly desperate as Italian forces continue their efforts to recapture the bridge. The British defenders, outnumbered and low on supplies, use captured Italian weapons and ammunition to hold off the attacks. At one point, the defenders resort to hand-to-hand combat as Italian troops attempt to overrun their positions. Despite their exhaustion, the British troops continue to fight tenaciously, determined to hold the bridge until reinforcements arrive.

By midday, the British are nearly out of ammunition, and their numbers have dwindled due to casualties. Only fifteen soldiers remain unwounded, and they are forced to make a final stand. Italian forces, now reinforced with additional troops and artillery, launch a coordinated assault from multiple directions. By half past three in the afternoon, the British defenders, with no remaining ammunition, are overwhelmed and forced to surrender. However, their efforts have delayed the Italians long enough to prevent the destruction of the bridge, as the earlier removal of explosives by the British troops ensures its survival.

Just an hour after the Italians retake the bridge, the first units of the British 5^th Infantry Division, which had landed that morning, arrive at the site. For the second time, the bridge falls into British hands intact, and this time it remains so permanently.

Elsewhere, about 150 men from the 1^st Airlanding Brigade land at Cape Murro di Porco and successfully capture a radio station, cutting off local communications and further disrupting Italian coordination. In other instances, isolated groups of British troops manage to destroy Italian gun positions and ammunition stores, adding to the overall disarray among the Italian defences.

Aftermath

The 1^st Airlanding Brigade returns to North Africa on July 13^th, 1943. The losses during Operation Ladbroke are significant: 314 soldiers are killed, and 174 are reported missing or wounded. Fourteen glider pilots are killed, with an additional eighty-seven missing or wounded. In the aftermath of the operation, an inquiry is conducted, and several recommendations are made to improve future airborne operations, leading to changes in training procedures, coordination strategies, and glider tactics for subsequent missions. The lessons learned from Operation Ladbroke pave the way for more effective airborne operations in the future, including better training for aircrews, improved coordination between gliders and towing aircraft, and more comprehensive planning to prevent the issues experienced during this crucial mission.

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