Operation Slapstick - Landing

Landing

Before leaving Tunisia, the 1st Airborne Division was divided into two halves. The first half, consisting of the divisional headquarters, the 1st and 4th Parachute Brigade groups and the 9th Field Company Royal Engineers, boarded the Royal Navy ships at Bizerta. The ships departed at 17:00 on 8 September, their decks loaded with the division's vehicles and stores. Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Cunningham was concerned that the Italian battle fleet based at Taranto might sortie and attack the cruisers which would be unable to defend themselves adequately, overloaded as they were with troops and equipment. He therefore ordered the battleships HMS Howe and HMS King George V and their six escorting destroyers, commanded by Vice Admiral Arthur Power, to leave their base in Malta and join the flotilla. At 18:30 8 September, while the convoy was at sea, General Eisenhower broadcast the details of the Italian surrender.

To support the British landings early on 9 September, Scanzano was attacked by American B-26 Marauders from the 17th and 310th Bombardment Groups. Then, just as the Allied flotilla approached Taranto, the Italian battleships Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio and three cruisers were observed leaving the harbour. The flotilla went to action stations, but the Italian ships just sailed past them en route to Malta to surrender in accordance with the agreement between the Allies and the Italian government. At 15:00, the flotilla reached the minefield guarding the entrance to Taranto. The destroyer escort HMS Javelin negotiated the minefield and entered the harbour. Two hours later, Javelin returned with an Italian harbour pilot on board. HMS Penelope and USS Boise were guided safely into the harbour and alongside the jetty, where they disembarked the troops they were carrying, while the other ships in the flotilla remained outside the port and used small ship's boats to take their soldiers ashore. The port's facilities were all in working order and were soon unloading the ships.

The first units ashore were the headquarters of the 4th Parachute Brigade and the 10th Parachute Battalion, which were directed to move inland to guard against a German attack. When the airborne division troops entered the city, they were welcomed by the Italian defenders and informed that the German forces had already departed. When the two brigades were offloaded, they passed through the city and set up defensive positions to the north. At the same time, Hopkinson established his divisional headquarters in the Albergo Europa Hotel and accepted the Italian surrender from the military governor.

After safely landing the first half of the division, the 12th Cruiser Squadron returned to Bizerta to collect the remaining troops, consisting of the 2nd Parachute Brigade, the 1st Airlanding Brigade and the Glider Pilot Regiment. The only casualties in the landing occurred on 10 September when HMS Abdiel, while manoeuvring alongside the dock, struck a mine and sank. Casualties totaled 58 killed and 154 wounded from the 6th (Royal Welch) Parachute Battalion, and 48 dead among Abdiel's crew. Abdiel was also carrying twelve 6 pounder anti-tank guns of the 2nd Anti-tank Battery, and the division's reserve ammunition supply.

Overnight, the 4th Parachute Brigade led the advance inland. By daybreak on 10 September, they had reached Massafra, where they were welcomed by the population. The next town they reached was Mottola, which was still occupied by the Germans. The Germans put up some resistance to the 156th Parachute Battalion's assault, but withdrew soon after. The division's first combat casualties resulted from this action. The wounded were evacuated to Taranto, where the 133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance had established an 80-bed main dressing station at the Rendinella hospital.

The German paratroop rearguard tried to delay the British advance with several ambushes and roadblocks. At a roadblock beside the town of Castellaneta, Hopkinson was hit by a burst of German machine gun fire while observing the 10th Parachute Battalion's attack. He died of his wounds the following day. Hopkinson was replaced as the divisional commander by Brigadier Ernest Down, previously the commander of the 2nd Parachute Brigade.

Within 48 hours of landing at Taranto, the airborne division reached and occupied the port of Brindisi and Bari on the Adriatic coast without opposition from the Italian defenders. On 11 September on the division's left, contact was made with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, the leading unit of the Eighth Army which had arrived in the area from Calabria. By the evening of 12 September, the 1st Airborne Division had advanced 20 miles (32 km) inland on foot.

The airborne division's next objective was now the airfield at Gioia del Colle. The Royal Air Force needed the airfield to bring in fighter aircraft from Sicily and support the landings at Salerno, which had not gone as expected. The Germans continued their withdrawal, and Gioia was reached over the night of the 16/17 September, by the 10th and 156th Parachute Battalions. The Royal Air Force took over the airfield and 48 hours later, six squadrons were flying from the base in support of Allied operations. Between 20 and 24 September, the 1st Airborne Division was ordered to halt and construct defences on the approaches to Taranto, due to concerns that the Germans might launch a counterattack against the overextended unit.

The V Corps headquarters landed at Taranto on 18 September and prepared for the arrival of its two divisions. The first was the 78th Infantry Division, which started arriving at Bari on 22 September, followed by the 8th Indian Infantry Division at Taranto the next day. On 24 September, the 1st Parachute and 1st Airlanding Brigades took over the advance for the airborne division. By 27 September, they and the 78th Division reached Foggia, 125 miles (201 km) from Taranto. From there, the airborne division was withdrawn to Taranto. By November, most of the division had left for England.