Operation Fustian Operation Fustian was a British airborne forces mission during the Allied invasion of Sicily in the Second World War . The operation was carried out by the 1st Parachute Brigade , part of the 1st Airborne Division . Their objective was the Primosole Bridge across the Simeto River . The intention was for the brigade , with glider - borne forces in support , to land on both sides of the river . They would then capture the bridge and secure the surrounding area until relieved by the advance of 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 Eighth Army access to the Catania plain , its capture was expected to speed the advance and lead to the eventual defeat of the Axis forces in Sicily . The operation encountered multiple obstacles and met heavy opposition . Many of the aircraft carrying the paratroopers from North Africa were shot down or were damaged and turned back , due to both friendly fire and enemy action . The evasive action taken by the pilots scattered the brigade over a large area , and only the equivalent of two companies of troops were landed in the correct locations . Despite this and the defence by German and Italian forces , the British paratroops captured the bridge . Resisting all attacks , they held out against increasing odds until nightfall . The relieving force led by the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Infantry Division , which was short of transport , had their own problems trying to reach the parachute brigade and were still 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 following day the British units joined forces , and the 9th Battalion , Durham Light Infantry with armour support attempted to recapture the bridge . 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 northern bank of the river . The eventual capture of Primosole Bridge did not lead to the expected rapid advance , as by this time the Germans had gathered their forces and established a defensive line . It was not until early the following month that the Eighth Army captured Catania . By this time the 1st Parachute Brigade , which had taken no further part in the conquest of Sicily , had been withdrawn back to Malta . However , many lessons had been learned during the operation , which were put into practice for future Allied airborne operations . Background . 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 . The objective chosen was Sicily , with the landing scheduled for 10 July 1943 . The Allied 15th Army Group was commanded by General Harold Alexander . It consisted of the American Seventh Army , commanded by Lieutenant General George S . Patton , which would land in the west between Licata and Scoglitti , and the veteran British Eighth Army , commanded by the experienced General Bernard Law Montgomery , which would land in the south east between Cape Passero and Syracuse . In addition to the seaborne landings , there were also airborne landings during the invasion . The American 82nd Airborne Division would land in support of the Seventh Army , while the British 1st Airborne Division conducted brigade - sized landings along the eastern coast to support the Eighth Army . The first British airborne landing was Operation Ladbroke , which was carried out by the 1st Airlanding Brigade during the night of 9 – 10 July . Their objective was to seize and hold the Ponte Grande bridge just outside Syracuse . The second British airborne mission , Operation Glutton , was to have been undertaken by the 2nd Parachute Brigade on the night of 10 – 11 July , aiming to capture a bridge beside Augusta . However circumstances changed and the second operation was cancelled . The third British airborne mission planned was Operation Fustian , to be carried out by the 1st Parachute Brigade , and scheduled for the night of 13 – 14 July . The 1st Parachute Brigade ' s objective was the Primosole bridge , crossing the Simeto River , south of Catania . The bridge was a vital objective , as it was the only crossing point over the Simeto . Its capture would give the Eighth Army access to the Catania plain , to enable them to continue their advance northwards ; its destruction would seriously hamper the advance . Once the parachute brigade had captured the bridge , they would then have to defend it until relieved by units of the Eighth Army advancing from the landing beaches . British forces . The 1st Parachute Brigade was commanded by Brigadier Gerald Lathbury and comprised the 1st Parachute Battalion , the 2nd Parachute Battalion , the 3rd Parachute Battalion , the 16th ( Parachute ) Field Ambulance , the 1st ( Parachute ) Squadron Royal Engineers and the 1st ( Airlanding ) Anti - Tank Battery , Royal Artillery . The airlanding anti - tank battery were equipped with the Brigade ' s only anti - tank guns , the British 6 pounder . Despite the formation being a parachute brigade , the only way to transport the anti - tank guns and the jeeps required to pull them when they had landed , was by glider . Transporting artillery by air was something new to the British or any other army , and this would be the first time that any artillery guns had ever been flown into combat . The 1st Parachute Brigade was an experienced formation , which had just taken part in the Operation Torch landings in Algeria and the subsequent Tunisian Campaign , during which each of the brigade ' s three parachute battalions had taken part in their own battalion - sized parachute landings . It was during this campaign that the 1st Parachute Brigade had been given their nickname the " Red Devils " by the Germans . A British parachute battalion had an establishment of 556 men in three rifle companies . Each of the companies were divided into a small headquarters and three platoon s . The platoons had three sections ; each section had a Bren machine gun and a 2 - inch mortar as well as the men ' s own personal weapons . The only heavy weapons in the parachute battalion were in the 3 - inch Mortar platoon and the Vickers machine gun platoon which were part of the battalion headquarters . It was decided that the brigade ' s paratroops would land on four separate drop zones and that the gliders would land at two landing zones . The paratroops of the 1st Parachute Battalion were divided into two groups , one of which would land at ' Drop zone One ' to the north of the river , and the second at ' Drop zone Two ' to the south of it . Once they had landed the two groups would head for their assembly points , before conducting an assault on the bridge from both sides simultaneously . The 2nd Parachute Battalion were to be landed south of the bridge on ' Drop zone Three ' , in the area between the Gornalunga Canal and the main highway . The 2nd Battalion then had to assault and occupy three small hills , which had been given the codenames ' Johnny I ' , ' Johnny II ' and ' Johnny III ' . The hills were believed to be occupied by an Italian force of around platoon strength . Once the battalion had secured the three hills , they were to dig in and prepare to defend the hills against an attack from the south . The 3rd Parachute Battalion would land at ' Drop zone Four ' , north of the bridge . Their objective was to secure the ground in this area , defending against any counterattack from the direction of Catania . The brigade ' s glider force had two landing areas , ' Landing zone Seven ' north of the river and ' Landing zone Eight ' south of the river . 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 . This was the first occasion this had been done in British airborne operations . The pathfinder company had special marker lights and Rebecca and Eureka beacons that the transport aircraft and gliders would be able to identify and home in on . The senior officers of the 1st Airborne Division had estimated that there would be around 450 casualties during the capture of the bridge , of which 25 per cent would be killed or missing , and the other 75 per cent wounded . It was appreciated that by themselves the three battalions ' medical officers and staff would be unable to cope with the expected numbers of casualties , so one section from the 16th ( Parachute ) Field Ambulance , consisting of one doctor and 16 other ranks , would be attached to each of the parachute battalions . 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 . After problems with the first two airborne operations in Sicily , the Royal Air Force advisor assigned to the 1st Airborne Division suggested that the American C - 47 pilots adopt the Royal Air Force bomber stream formation . This entailed the aircraft flying in pairs one behind the other with one minute between each aircraft , instead of flying in their normal ' V ' formation . The suggestion was dismissed by the American pilots , who were mostly pre - war airline pilots , not least because their training had not included any instruction in night time navigation and the inexperienced crews relied heavily on following the aircraft in front . Unconnected with Operation Fustian , but being conducted at the same time , the British No . 3 Commando would carry out a separate operation to the south of the Simeto River . The commando unit were to carry out an amphibious landing from the sea , then assault and capture the Malati Bridge over the Leonardo River . The relieving force for both the commandos and paratroopers would be from the British XIII Corps , commanded by Lieutenant - General Miles Dempsey . The corps consisted of the 5th Infantry Division , 50th ( Northumbrian ) Infantry Division and the 4th Armoured Brigade . The armoured brigade , with three tank regiment s , was equipped with the American built Sherman tank . Early on 13 July the commander of the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Infantry Division , Major - General Sidney Kirkman , was called to General Montgomery ' s headquarters . Here he was informed about the two missions by the British Commando s and the 1st Parachute Brigade , and the requirement for the bridges to be captured intact . Montgomery ' s intention was for the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Infantry Division to lead the Eighth Army ' s advance and relieve the commandos and the paratroopers . To assist General Kirkman in the task , Montgomery placed the 4th Armoured Brigade under his command . Montgomery was insistent that he wanted the infantry division to relieve the parachute brigade early on 14 July , which would require the division to advance around in 24 hours . The 50th Division had landed on 10 July and by this time had been fighting for three days non - stop . With the daily temperature most of the time reaching , many of the men in the division were physically exhausted and suffering from heat exhaustion . The division ' s situation was not improved by a grave error of judgement by Montgomery . During the planning for the invasion , he had overestimated the strength of the German and Italian resistance to the Allied landings . 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 . Axis forces . The Italian Army force in the area of Primosole Bridge came from the 213 Coastal Division commanded by General Carlo Gotti . Coastal divisions were second line divisions , usually formed from men in their forties and fifties , and were intended to perform labour or other second line duties . Recruited from the local population , their officers were mostly men who had retired but had then been called up again . Their morale was low , not least because of their second rate equipment and weapons . It had been intended to improve their armaments with equipment seized from the recently disbanded Vichy French army , but when the arms arrived in Sicily , many of them had been made unusable , and some had the wrong type of ammunition or no ammunition at all . The Italians were supported by the German 1st Fallschirmjäger Division , who were ordered to move to Sicily from France , and if necessary were to parachute in on 9 July . The 1st Fallschirmjäger Machine Gun Battalion commanded by Major Werner Schmidt had landed at Catania during an Allied air raid early on 13 July . Their aircraft and anti - tank guns were destroyed during the raid , so the battalion left on foot for Primosole Bridge . When Schmidt informed the divisional commander of his intentions , he was warned to expect a sea or airborne landing that night . If the Allies landed to the rear of the Fallschirmjäger division , Schmidt ' s battalion had to hold Primosole Bridge so that the division could escape . Forewarned in this way , the machine gun battalion started to dig in and prepare a defence around to the south of the bridge once they arrived , well located to deal with any parachute or glider landing in that area . Primosole Bridge . The Primosole Bridge is built from steel girder s . It has a span of , and is raised above the Simeto River . The land to the north of the bridge is mainly olive and almond groves in tree - lined fields . Immediately to the south of the bridge is the Gornalunga canal , and beyond that three prominent hills . The road crossing the bridge is Highway 114 , running from Lentini to the south to Cantini to the north . To assist the Italians defending the bridge , four pillbox bunkers had been constructed , two on the north bank and two on the south bank . Fustian . At 19 : 30 on 12 July 1943 , the first aircraft carrying the 1 , 856 men of the 1st Parachute Brigade took off from North Africa . The aircraft used consisted of 105 C - 47 Dakota s belonging to the 51st Troop Carrier Wing , 51 each from the 60th and the 62d Troop Carrier Group s , while the 64th Troop Carrier Group supplied the other three . No . 38 Wing Royal Air Force supplied eleven Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle s . Following behind the parachute force were the glider towing aircraft . These aircraft , again supplied by No . 38 Wing , comprised 12 Albemarles and seven Handley Page Halifax es , towing 11 Horsa gliders and eight Waco gliders . The gliders were used to carry 77 men , mostly from the anti - tank battery , ten 6 pounder anti - tank guns and 18 jeeps . The aircraft ' s flight path took them around the south eastern corner of Malta and up the eastern coast of Sicily . The route was measured to ensure that the first planes arrived over the drop zones at 22 : 20 . When the planes arrived off Sicily , they were supposed to stay offshore until reaching the Simeto River , when they would head inland for the drop zones . Somehow , 33 aircraft strayed off course and approached an Allied convoy . The naval gunners had been warned to expect an air raid , and opened fire on the American and British aircraft . Two of the planes , trying to avoid the unexpected anti - aircraft fire , collided and crashed into the sea . Another two were shot down , and nine were so badly shot up , with wounded crew and passengers , that they were forced to turn back towards their airfields in North Africa . Those aircraft that did reach the Sicilian coast were engaged by Axis anti - aircraft guns , which shot down 37 of them . Another ten were damaged and were forced to abort their mission . Some of the inexperienced pilots now refused to go any further , and on his aircraft Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Pearson , commander of the 1st Parachute Battalion , realising his plane was flying round in circles , had to threaten to shoot the crew to make them continue . The anti - aircraft fire and the evasive action taken by the pilots had dispersed the aircraft formations , and the parachute drop was scattered over a large area . The violent evasive manoeuvring left some of the paratroopers in heaps on the aircraft floor , and they were unable to jump when ordered . When safely back out to sea , some of the pilots refused to try again , considering the risk too great . Of the surviving aircraft which carried on with the mission , only 39 managed to drop their paratroops within of the correct drop zone . The furthest off course were some groups from the 3rd Parachute Battalion and Royal Engineers who landed to the south of the bridge , while another four aircraft landed their paratroops on the slopes of Mount Etna to the north . Those men of the 1st Parachute Brigade that landed on the southern drop zone were well within range of the 1st Fallschirmjäger Machine Gun Battalion . In the darkness , the Germans initially thought that the paratroopers were their own reinforcements landing , but they soon realised their mistake and opened fire . Some of those who escaped the machine gun fire were rounded up on the drop zone , and about 100 of them became prisoners of war as soon as they had touched ground . 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 . The Italians were taken prisoner , just as a second group of 40 paratroopers led by Brigadier Lathbury arrived at the bridge . Lathbury organised the safe removal of the demolition charges and set up a defensive perimeter . More paratroopers continued to gather at the bridge , and soon they numbered around 120 men , who dug in to the north and south . The Brigade Headquarters and the field ambulance main dressing station were established to the south of the bridge , where the brigade ' s casualties started arriving for treatment . Away from the main dressing station , the medics on the 2nd Battalion drop zone had 29 wounded as a result of the parachute drop , and there were 15 wounded on drop zone one from the 1st Battalion . The first glider casualties had occurred on take off , when two aircraft towing Waco gliders crashed . While on route , one of the gliders was released early by its towing aircraft , and crashed into the sea . When they did arrive over Sicily , the element of surprise was gone , and four gliders were shot down by the coastal anti - aircraft batteries . By the time the gliders arrived at their landing zones , two hours had lapsed since the parachute landings had started . One glider pilot later commented that they did not need the pathfinders , as the tracer and lights from explosions were brighter than any of the landing markers . Of the surviving glider force , only four gliders managed to land relatively unscathed , all the others being caught by the Fallschirmjäger machine gun fire and destroyed on their approach . The four intact gliders had been carrying three of the anti - tank guns , which were now included in the bridge ' s defences . Including the men from the gliders , the 1st Parachute Brigade had 295 men at the bridge . Shortage of manpower was not their only problem ; their only support weapons were the anti - tank guns , two 3 - inch mortars and a Vickers machine gun . Daybreak . By 04 : 30 on 14 July , the 1st Parachute Battalion was in control of Primosole Bridge , but the Fallschirmjäger Machine Gun Battalion were well dug in to the south . Beyond them , 140 men of the 2nd Parachute Battalion had occupied the three small hills , and taken 500 Italian prisoners . In numbers , both battalions had little more than company strength . The 3rd Parachute Battalion had suffered the worst in the scattered parachute drop , and only a few of their men had arrived at the bridge . With no command structure , they were attached to the 1st Parachute Battalion to help defend the bridge . To the north , the Italian 372nd Coastal Battalion and the Blackshirt Arditi Battalion had been informed of the parachute landings . Many of the 372nd Battalion had disappeared , while the Blackshirts mounted the first of a number of attacks on the British positions . Without the support of any heavy weapons , they were easily fought off . Also at dawn the first attack by the Fallschirmjäger Machine Gun Battalion to the south began , when they opened fire with their machine guns and mortars . Their first assault was against the 2nd Parachute Battalion ' s positions , and was unsuccessful . However , their next assault , later in the morning , succeeded in capturing Johnny II , the second of the small hills . Lieutenant - Colonel John Frost , in command of the 2nd Parachute Battalion , immediately counterattacked , but his men were repulsed after sustaining a number of casualties . 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 . The naval gunfire had the desired effect , causing the Germans some casualties and keeping them under cover . From then on , German resistance from the south was restricted to harassing machine gun fire . A grass fire they started did force the 2nd Parachute Battalion to abandon Johnny I , and the remnants of the battalion now concentrated on Johnny III . To the north of the bridge , a German 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 Strangenberg . Strangenberg was in position to launch his first assault on the bridge at 14 : 00 . This first attack was driven off by the British paratroopers . For his second attempt Strangenberg brought up three 88 mm anti - aircraft guns in support . This assault was more successful , taking some prisoners , and almost succeeded in reaching the bridge . It also secured a position for the 88s to engage the two pillboxes on the north bank . By 17 : 00 the men of the 1st Parachute Battalion were almost out of ammunition , and were forced to withdraw to the southern side of the bridge . The German 88s were moved forward again , and this time demolished the pillboxes on the south side . 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 . Of the 295 men who had been at the bridge , 115 had become casualties . The 16th ( Parachute ) Field Ambulance main dressing station could not be moved or evacuated , and remained behind in no man ' s land . 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 . Treatment of the wounded continued all day , and by 22 : 00 the surgeons had carried out 21 surgical operations and were looking after 62 British and 29 German or Italian patients . At 18 : 30 , in the darkness , Lathbury led the remainder of his men to join the 2nd Parachute Battalion . By dawn , the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Infantry Division had only managed to advance , and were still from No . 3 Commando at the Melati bridge and from Primosole Bridge . 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 . The bridge was quickly captured ; the commandos had dismantled the demolition charges so that it could not be demolished . With their first objective secured , the British infantry continued their advance on foot towards the parachute brigade . The tanks and small amount of motor transport belonging to the 4th Armoured Brigade had been held up even further back . They had been stopped in Carlentini by a destroyed bridge , and the 4th Armoured Brigade did not start moving again until after 19 : 00 . The 50th ( Northumbrian ) Division eventually reached Lentini , about half way from their start point to Primosole Bridge , in the afternoon . Here the streets were blocked by debris , covered by sniper s and machine gunners left as a rearguard by the retreating Germans . By nightfall only one of the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Division ' s infantry battalions , the 6th Durham Light Infantry , with some tanks in support , had reached a position from Johnny II . Despite their orders to advance at all speed , they halted for the night . Recapture of the bridge . After the parachute brigade withdrew , the Axis forces gathered at the bridge . They now comprised the Italian 372nd Coastal Battalion and the Blackshirt Arditi Battalion , with the German 1st Fallschirmjäger Machine Gun Battalion and Captain Stangenberg ' s Battle group . The German High Command was aware of the importance of holding the bridge , and overnight they dispatched reinforcements who arrived by parachute . These came from the 1st Fallschirmjäger Division , and consisted of the 1st Fallschirmjäger Engineer Battalion , the 1st Battalion , 4th Fallschirmjäger Regiment and a battalion of the 1st Fallschirmjäger Artillery Regiment . The Fallschirmjäger engineers started to form a defensive line to the north of the bridge , and a smaller one on the southern bank . Early on 15 July , the 1st Parachute Brigade heard tank fire to the south of their position . Brigadier Lathbury sent out a patrol to investigate , which located the tanks and infantry of XIII Corps that had halted just south of them the previous night . The 1st Parachute Brigade and 50th ( Northumbrian ) Division now moved forward together . The main dressing station , which had continued to operate after being captured , was liberated by the 2nd Parachute Battalion . 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 assaults . At one stage they managed to cross the bridge , but three Sherman tanks accompanying them were knocked out by the German 88s , and with no armoured support the infantry were forced to withdraw . 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 . At the main dressing station the surgeons had operated on another 14 wounded by the time ambulances arrived from XIII Corps at 17 : 00 to evacuate the wounded . At 18 : 00 the Main Dressing Station was closed and the men moved to Johnny I . During the time the main dressing station had been active , the surgeons had completed 31 operations , and the medics had treated 109 wounded . The Germans were aware that the British paratroopers had dismantled the explosive charges attached to Primosole Bridge , and now attempted to destroy it by driving trucks laden with explosives onto it . This was unsuccessful . During the night the 9th Battalion , Durham Light Infantry continued trying to capture the bridge . Their attacks also provided a distraction for the Germans while Lieutenant - Colonel Pearson of the 1st Parachute Battalion led two companies of the 8th Battalion , Durham Light Infantry across the Simeto River using a small ford to establish another bridgehead on the northern bank . During the day ' s battle both the British and Germans suffered heavy casualties , but the bridge was eventually retaken by the British infantry . Leaving 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 Landing Ship Tank . Here they remained overnight , sitting through a two hour air raid , and sailed for Valletta at 12 : 00 on 17 July . In Operation Fustain they had suffered around 141 dead , and 168 missing or wounded . Aftermath . The recapture of Primosole Bridge did not result in the rapid advance over the Catania plain envisioned by Montgomery . The by now exhausted 50th ( Northumbrian ) Infantry Division was holding a position based on the bridge . The 5th Infantry Division took over the lead , but after a number of attacks could not make any further progress . Its 13th Infantry Brigade had to establish another bridgehead across the Simeto , 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 . Further hard fighting followed , and they entered Messina just after the American Seventh Army on 17 August 1943 . After an enquiry into the problems with the airborne missions in Sicily , the British Army and Royal Air Force submitted some recommendations . Aircrew had to be trained in parachute and glider operations , and pathfinders landing before the main force had to have enough time to set out their beacons . The landing plan was simplified , with complete brigades landing on one drop zone , instead of the smaller battalion landing areas used in Sicily . Gliders were no longer released at night while still over water , and their landing zones would be large enough to accommodate the aircraft with room to spare . Following the friendly fire incident over the convoy , more training was given to ships ' crews in aircraft recognition , and Allied aircraft were painted with three large white stripes on their wings . Training for pilots belonging to the Glider Pilot Regiment was increased , and improvements to the gliders were implemented , including better inter - aircraft communication . For transporting paratroops , to avoid relying solely on American aircraft and pilots , No . 38 Wing Royal Air Force was expanded , becoming No . 38 Group with its Halifax squadrons , now supported by four squadrons of Albemarles and four squadrons of Stirlings . To provide another method of delivering jeeps and artillery guns by air , the air force started experiments on parachuting them into combat , carrying the jeeps and guns in the aircrafts ' large bomb bays . A second Royal Air Force transport group , No . 46 Group , was formed , and was equipped solely with C - 47 Dakotas , instead of the mixture of aircraft in No . 38 Group . After these changes , the Royal Air Force groups could supply 88 Albermarles , 88 Stirlings , 36 Halifaxes and 150 Dakotas , a total of 362 planes , in addition to aircraft held as reserves .