They would then capture the bridge and secure the surrounding area until relieved by the advance of British XIII Corps, which had landed on the south eastern coast three days previously.

Because the bridge was the only crossing on the river and would give the British Eighth Army access to the Catania plain, its capture was expected to speed the advance and lead to the defeat of the Axis forces in Sicily.

Despite this and the defence by German and Italian forces, the British paratroops captured the bridge, repulsed attacks and held out against increasing odds until nightfall.

The relief force led by the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division, under Major-General Sidney C. Kirkman, which was short of transport, were still 1 mile (1.6 km) away when they halted for the night.

By this time, with casualties mounting and supplies running short, the parachute brigade commander, Gerald Lathbury, had relinquished control of the bridge to the Germans.

The bridge was not finally secured until three days after the start of the operation, when another battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, led by the paratroopers, established a bridgehead on the north bank of the river.

After the Axis powers were defeated in North Africa, the Allied armies' next logical objective was to cross the Mediterranean, landing in either the south of France, the Balkans, Sicily or Italy.

[5] The second British airborne mission, Operation Glutton, was to have been undertaken by the 2nd Parachute Brigade, under Brigadier Ernest Down, on the night of 10–11 July, aiming to capture a bridge beside Augusta.

[5] The third British airborne mission planned was Operation Fustian, to be carried out by the 1st Parachute Brigade, under Brigadier Gerald Lathbury, and scheduled for the night of 13–14 July.

[16] Owing to the complexity of the landing plan and the short time between inception and execution, the pathfinders belonging to the 21st Independent Parachute Company, Army Air Corps, would be deployed to mark the correct drop zones.

The remainder of the field ambulance, comprising the headquarters with two surgical teams, would be co-located with the brigade and establish their main dressing station in farm buildings to the south of the bridge.

The British Eighth Army consisted mainly of infantry, tanks and heavy weapons but were light on any form of mechanical transport, so any advance by the 50th Division would have to be conducted on foot.

[27] The 1st Fallschirmjäger Machine Gun Battalion commanded by Major Werner Schmidt had landed at Catania during an Allied air raid early on 13 July.

[28] Forewarned in this way, the machine gun battalion started to dig in and prepare a defence around 2,000 yards (1,800 m) to the south of the bridge once they arrived, well located to deal with any parachute or glider landing in that area.

[20] When the planes arrived off Sicily, they were supposed to stay 10 miles (16 km) offshore until reaching the Simeto River, when they would head inland for the drop zones.

[7] Some of the inexperienced pilots now refused to go any further, and on his aircraft Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Pearson, commanding officer of the 1st Parachute Battalion, realising his plane was flying round in circles, had to threaten to shoot the crew to make them continue.

[25][nb 2] In the confusion of the landing, 50 men of the 1st Parachute Battalion had assembled, assaulted and managed to capture the bridge before the 50 Italian defenders could destroy it with the attached demolition charges.

Lieutenant Colonel John Frost, in command of the 2nd Parachute Battalion, immediately counterattacked, but his men were repulsed after sustaining a number of casualties.

[39] At 09:00 a forward observation officer attached to the 2nd Parachute Battalion managed to make radio contact with the British cruiser HMS Newfoundland, which then used its 6-inch guns to target the Fallschirmjäger positions.

[42] To the north of the bridge, a German scratch-built battle group of 350 men, including the 1st Company, 1st Fallschirmjäger Signal Battalion, an anti-aircraft battery and some anti-tank guns, was gathered under the command of Captain Franz Stangenberg, supported by the 113rd Light Trucks Company of the 10th Arditi Regiment (the "Commandos" unit of the Italian Army) with 56 men and six heavily armed SPA-Viberti AS.42,[43] Stangenberg was in position to launch his first assault on the bridge at 14:00.

Running short of supplies and with his casualties mounting, Brigadier Lathbury made the decision to relinquish control of the bridge to the Germans, and the parachute brigade moved back 1,200 yards (1,100 m).

[44] An Italian officer entered the station, and informed the medical staff they were now prisoners of war, but since they were treating casualties from both sides, they were allowed to remain and continue operating.

[45] During the night of 14–15 June, the Italians mounted several counterattacks with an armoured car squadron (under Captain Paradisi Romolo) reinforced with Blackshirt Commandos aboard the motorized column penetrating the British sector and in a suicidal raid very nearly overran the headquarters of 9th Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry.

[52] It was not until 17:00 that the 5th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, part of the 69th Infantry Brigade, eventually reached Malati Bridge, although by now the commandos had been forced to withdraw[53] after being overwhelmed during what proved to be largely an Italian counterattack[54] from Gruppo Tattico Carmito comprising the 4th Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion (under Lieutenant-Colonel Francesco Tropea),[55] the 553rd (under Captain Giovanni Sartor) and 554th (under Captain Fausto Clementi) Motorcycle Companies[56] on 13 July.

[4] In an attempt to recapture Primosole Bridge the 9th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, supported by the 44th Royal Tank Regiment, carried out a number of costly assaults in the face of withering fire from the German and Italian defenders resulting in 100 British casualties, including 34 killed.

However, an error in communication caused the Fallschirmjäger Engineer Battalion to withdraw to the north bank of the river, and this allowed the Durhams to establish a position at the southern end of the bridge.

[check quotation syntax] Leaving the British Eighth Army to continue their advance, at 07:00 16 July the 1st Parachute Brigade were transported in trucks to Syracuse, where they embarked on a LST.

Its 13th Infantry Brigade had to establish another bridgehead across the Simeto,[69] but the Germans had brought in more troops and prepared defensive positions, and after hard fighting it was not until 5 August 1943 that the Eighth Army entered the city of Catania itself.

[75] After these changes, the Royal Air Force groups could supply 88 Albemarles, 88 Stirlings, 36 Halifaxes and 150 Dakotas, a total of 362 planes, in addition to aircraft held as reserves.

Lessons were learned from the near-disastrous parachute drops on Sicily and paved the way for larger and more successful operations in Italy, Normandy and Southern France.