The History of WWII Podcast · Ray Harris Jr

Episode 586-Operation Corkscrew

December 2, 2025·25 min·1 clip

The selection of Sicily was made official at the Casablanca Conference of January 1943.

1. The History of WWII Podcast episode 586 covers Operation Corkscrew, the Allied air and amphibious attack on Pantelleria before the invasion of Sicily. 2. Ray names Dwight Eisenhower, General George C. Marshall, Admiral Ernest J. King, and General Alan Brooke as the officers whose choices shaped the Mediterranean strategy. 3. The episode asks what the Allies should do next after Tunisia: strike Sardinia, Sicily, or keep pushing toward a cross-channel attack. 4. Marshall wants a direct blow at the Axis and rejects a long delay, while Brooke argues the Western Allies are not yet strong enough for France in 1943. 5. The Casablanca Conference of January 1943 makes Sicily the official target, with Marshall agreeing as long as troops earmarked for France are not diverted. 6. The discussion also explains why Sardinia was considered, since it threatened Rome and opened routes toward Corsica and southern France. 7. Sicily wins because Allied fighters in Tunisia can cover the invasion, unlike a larger Sardinian operation. 8. Eisenhower then focuses on the smaller islands around Sicily, especially Pantelleria and Lampedusa. 9. Pantelleria matters because Mussolini fortified it in the late 1930s and used it as an air and naval base near Malta and North Africa. 10. The plan becomes Operation Corkscrew, a bombing campaign meant to force a surrender and avoid an amphibious landing. 11. Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz’s North African Strategic Air Force carries out the attack with four B-17 heavy bomber groups and five medium bomber groups. 12. The bombing begins on May 18 and intensifies on June 1 when heavy bombers join the effort. 13. By June 6, the episode says the Allies have flown more than 1,700 sorties and dropped 1,300 tons of bombs. 14. Between June 7 and June 11, another 5,425 tons fall on the island while the Royal Navy adds bombardment on June 8. 15. The civilians on Pantelleria, about 12,000 people, are described as enduring daily bombing and rubble as the assault date approaches. 16. On June 10, Rome still does not authorize surrender, even after Admiral Gino Pavese says the defense is practically finished. 17. The episode notes that the British 1st Division leaves North Africa and that the island finally receives permission to surrender on June 11. 18. The narration also shows Axis strain more broadly, with Italy replacing Ugo Cavallero with Vittorio Ambrosio and Germans led by Field Marshal Albert Kesselring distrusting their Italian partners. 19. The style is chronological and campaign-focused, with Ray moving from grand strategy to bombardment counts, command decisions, and the on-the-ground approach of British troops. 20. Listeners interested in Allied strategy, Mediterranean campaigns, and Sicily should listen; listeners wanting a short, character-driven battle story may skip it.

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