Operation Slapstick Operation Slapstick was the code name for a British landing from the sea at the Italian port of Taranto during the Second World War . The operation , one of three landings during the Allied invasion of Italy , was undertaken by the British 1st Airborne Division in September 1943 . Planned at short notice , the mission followed an offer by the Italian government to open the ports of Taranto and Brindisi on the heel of Italy to the Allies . The airborne division was selected to undertake the mission , but at the time they were located in North Africa . A shortage of transport aircraft meant the division could not land in their traditional way by parachute and glider , and all the landing craft in the area were already allocated to the other landings : Operation Avalanche at Salerno on the western coast , and Operation Baytown at Calabria . Instead , the division had to be transported across the Mediterranean by ships of the Royal Navy . The landing was unopposed and the airborne division successfully captured the ports of Taranto , and later Brindisi on the Adriatic coast in working order . The only German forces in the area were elements of the 1st Parachute Division ( " 1 . Fallschirmjäger Division " ) , which engaged the advancing British in ambushes and at roadblocks during a fighting withdrawal north . Eventually , by the end of September , the 1st Airborne Division advanced to Foggia . Reinforcements from two infantry divisions had by then been landed behind them , which allowed the airborne troops to be withdrawn to Taranto . Soon after , they sailed for England . Background . In May 1943 , the Axis powers of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy were defeated in the North African Campaign . Two months later , the Allied powers of Great Britain and the United States , successfully invaded Sicily . The island being completely occupied by the end of August , the Allies next turned their attention to the invasion of Italy . On 3 September 1943 , the British Eighth Army crossed the Straits of Messina from Sicily and landed in Calabria during Operation Baytown to seize the ports of Reggio and San Giovanni . The main invasion was planned for 9 September , with the US Fifth Army landing at Salerno on the western coast in Operation Avalanche , with Naples their immediate objective . The Allies hoped that the invasion would persuade the Italian forces to surrender . If they did , the five Italian divisions in France and the 29 in the Balkans would have to be replaced by German formations . Also , if the Germans then decided to continue the fight in Italy , they would have to redeploy some of their divisions engaged on the Eastern Front or on occupation duties in France . During secret surrender negotiations with the Allies in early September , the Italian government offered to open the ports of Taranto and Brindisi on the eastern coast . German forces in that area were very weak and would be expected to withdraw rather than fight if the Allies landed there . General Eisenhower , the Supreme Allied Commander , quickly planned a third landing , codenamed Slapstick , to take advantage of the offer . Slapstick was in part an operation of deception , to divert German forces away from the main Allied landings at Salerno on the same day , while also attempting to capture Taranto and Brindisi intact . The main value of Taranto was its large port . Its seizure would , with the expected capture of Naples in the west by the Americans , give the Allies supply points on both Italian coasts . The military operation played a major political role , since the King Vittorio Emanule III of Italy , the queen Elena , the crown prince and future king Umberto , the prime minister Generale Badoglio , and other high ranking Italian officers hastily escaped from Rome and the German danger , early in the morning of the 9th of September , embarked the Corvetta Baionetta in Ortona , and arrived the same day into the port of Brindisi . The town of Brindisi was at the time controlled only by the Italian army , but it was soon to be protected by the British forces , supporting the diplomatic , political and military contacts between the Italian government and the allied forces , leading to the declaration of war by Italy against Germany . Taranto . First founded by the Spartans almost 3 , 000 years before , Taranto had been fought over numerous times . Combatants had ranged from the Arab and Byzantine empires to the Normans in the Middle Ages . It later became part of the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples . After the unification of Italy , Taranto became the home of the Italian Navy . Taranto is also the capital city of the Province of Taranto in the region of Apulia and has a large dock area . It includes the two islets of St . Peter and St . Paul , which protect the bay , called the Mar Grande ( Big Sea ) , where the commercial port is located . The military port was located in another bay , the Mar Piccolo . As it was the base of the Italian Navy , in November 1940 Taranto was attacked by the Royal Navy in what became known as the Battle of Taranto . During the attack by carrier - borne aircraft , in one night , the Italian fleet lost around half its strength ; the next day , their undamaged ships were transferred from Taranto to Naples to try to protect them from similar attacks . Prelude . German forces . The German High Command fully expected Italy to surrender and , in preparation , had secretly established a new Army Group headquarters commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at Munich . Rommel would have six divisions transferred from the Eastern Front , two divisions from France that had just been reformed , and two parachute divisions based in Germany in his new command . However , a Russian offensive in the east prevented the release of all the units promised . Adolf Hitler came to the conclusion that , without the backing of the Italian Army , it would be impossible for the Germans to defend the whole of Italy . In Italy , German Field Marshal Albert Kesselring , unaware of what was happening in Germany , had been building up the strength of his forces . He was aided in this by the escape from Sicily of three divisions , which managed to cross the Straits of Messina without serious loss of men or equipment . In August , five infantry and two panzer divisions moved into northern Italy . After the loss of Sicily , Hitler amended the German plans , deciding to hold the Salerno - Naples area with five infantry divisions , while the 1st Parachute Division was ordered to the Apulia region . Commanded by Major - General Richard Heidrich , the 1st Parachute Division consisted of the 1st , 3rd and 4th Parachute Regiment s , with an artillery regiment , tank - destroyer , anti - aircraft , and engineer battalions , and other support units . The division was the successor of the original German airborne force , the 7th Air Division , and was highly experienced . It had spearheaded the German invasion in the west in 1940 , and fought in the battles of Greece and Crete , and in the Soviet Union . Withdrawn from the Soviet Union in 1943 , the division had already fought against British paratroops during operations in Sicily . However , on 9 September only three combat battalion s and the headquarters were in Apulia . British forces . Plans were formulated on 6 September to transport the 1st Airborne Division to Taranto from their base in North Africa . They would take advantage of the Italian surrender to capture the port and establish anti - aircraft defences . What was left of the Italian fleet still using the harbour was expected to have left beforehand . The Allies believed that the division would face only minimal opposition and would be able to overcome any resistance with the limited naval support available , as Taranto was outside the range of Allied fighter aircraft based in Sicily . Although it had been formed in 1941 , the 1st Airborne Division , commanded by Major - General George F . Hopkinson , had never fought as a division . The only units with any combat experience were the 1st Parachute Brigade , which had fought as an independent brigade in North Africa and in Operation Fustian during the Allied invasion of Sicily , and the 1st Airlanding Brigade which had also fought in Sicily during Operation Ladbroke . Both brigades had suffered heavy casualties in Sicily and were in no condition to undertake any further assault landings . Of the division ' s other brigades , the 2nd and 4th Parachute Brigades , were untried in battle . Also , the 2nd Parachute Brigade was the only full strength unit , the 4th Parachute Brigade having only two battalions while its third battalion was still forming in Palestine . There was only sufficient troop transport aircraft to support one division - sized operation , and that was allocated to the American 82nd Airborne Division as part of the Salerno landings . As a result , the 1st Airborne Division had to be carried to Italy by sea . With no landing craft available on such short notice , the division was carried across the Mediterranean by four cruiser s , HMS " Aurora " , HMS " Penelope " , HMS " Dido " and HMS " Sirius " of the Royal Navy ' s 12th Cruiser Squadron , accompanied by the minelayer HMS " Abdiel " and the American cruiser USS " Boise " , all commanded by Commodore W . G . Agnew . If the landing was successful , the 78th Infantry Division in Sicily and the 8th Indian Infantry Division in the Middle East , would be sent to reinforce the airborne division , under the command of V Corps . 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 battleship s 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 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 , from Taranto . From there , the airborne division was withdrawn to Taranto . By November , most of the division had left for England . Aftermath . Operation Slapstick did not provide the diversion Eisenhower had hoped for . The decision by Heidrich not to oppose the landings was made without reference to Kesselring ' s headquarters . Heidrich had expected to be confronted by an overwhelming Allied force and had withdrawn his units north , although he endeavoured to delay the Allied advance where possible by ambushes and roadblocks . The German division went on to frustrate the Allied attempt to advance on Rome during the Battle of Cassino in 1944 . The British 1st Airborne Division only fought in one other battle during the war . Almost a year to the day , on 17 September 1944 , they took part in Operation Market Garden , the airborne assault crossing of the River Rhine in the Netherlands . Trapped behind German lines with their backs to the river and surrounded by parts of two panzer divisions , the division was virtually destroyed in the Battle of Arnhem ; only 2 , 100 men of the 10 , 000 that had started the mission were evacuated south of the Rhine .