Operation Ladbroke

E43337

Operation Ladbroke was a World War II Allied glider-borne assault in July 1943 aimed at capturing key bridges and positions near Syracuse in Sicily ahead of the main invasion landings.

Aliases (1)

Statements (45)
Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II battle
airborne operation
military operation
aircraftUsed Airspeed Horsa glider
Waco CG-4 glider
belligerent Allies
Axis powers
conflict World War II
countryInvolved Germany
Italy
United Kingdom
United States
date 10 July 1943
9 July 1943
endDate 1943-07-10
forceTypeUsed airborne troops
glider infantry
transport gliders
front Sicilian front
location Sicily
Syracuse
notableFeature high number of glider losses at sea
large-scale night glider assault
objective capture of key bridges near Syracuse
facilitate amphibious landings in Sicily
seizure of positions around Syracuse
opponent German forces in Sicily
Italian coastal defenses
partOf Allied invasion of Sicily
Operation Husky
partOfCampaign Italian Campaign
precedes ground advance on Syracuse
primaryTarget Ponte Grande bridge
bridges south of Syracuse
relatedOperation Operation Fustian
Operation Husky amphibious landings
result Allied tactical success with heavy losses
Ponte Grande bridge captured and later temporarily lost
startDate 1943-07-09
strategicPurpose protect Allied beachheads in southeastern Sicily
secure approaches to Syracuse
supportedOperation Allied amphibious landings near Syracuse
theatre Mediterranean theatre of World War II
typeOfOperation air-landing operation
glider-borne assault


Please wait…