The History of WWII Podcast · Ray Harris Jr

Episode 588-Operation Ladbroke

December 10, 2025·29 min·2 clips

Only one Horsa glider landed near the Pont Grande bridge, and Lieutenant Leonard Withers attacked with 15 platoon.

1. The History of World War II Podcast episode 588 covers Operation Ladbroke, the glider element linked to the Sicily invasion. 2. The episode is narrated by Ray, who frames the landing as part of the wider Husky invasion and the debate over what the Allies would do next. 3. The episode asks whether the British glider assault could seize bridges and road junctions before the main landings reached Sicily. 4. Allied planning already involved 66,000 American GIs and 115,000 British troops, with more than 3,200 ships, 400 tanks, 1,800 artillery pieces, and over 14,000 vehicles. 5. Admiral Bertram Ramsey handled the Eastern Task Force for Monty’s 8th Army, while Vice Admiral Henry K. Hewitt led the Western Task Force for Patton’s 7th Army. 6. The air plan under Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder used nearly 200 squadrons and staged bombing in phases before the assault. 7. The transcript says the last 24 hours before the invasion were treated as the most dangerous for Allied ships near Sicily. 8. The planner’s problem set included new landing craft, such as the landing craft infantry and the landing ship tank Mark II, plus delayed order writing in General Truscott’s 3rd U.S. Division. 9. Hitler and Rommel are mentioned as they planned for possible moves into Italy and reassigned divisions amid Operation Citadel and Kursk. 10. On July 9, 1943, Allied convoys left North Africa, met off Malta, and were hit by a storm. 11. An Italian reconnaissance aircraft spotted the fleet from Pantelleria, and German and Italian forces in Sicily went on alert that evening and early the next morning. 12. The airborne force is described as the largest in the war so far and the first night jump. 13. Husky 1 included Colonel James Gavin’s Combat Team 505 of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, reinforced by men from the 504th PIR, for a total of 3,405 paratroopers. 14. Only 15% of those paratroopers landed near their targets, but dummy parachutists and B-17 radar jamming created useful confusion. 15. Company I of the 504th PIR captured the Nesemi Road Junction, while other men ended up scattered across the British and Italian sectors. 16. The glider assault faced worse results, because 109 C-47s and 27 Albemarles towed 136 Hadrians, while the operation also used eight Horsa gliders. 17. Strong headwinds and release errors sent 76 gliders into the water, and about 326 men died before the mission even began. 18. Lieutenant Leonard Withers and 15 platoon of the 2nd South Staffordshire Regiment took the Pont Grande Bridge, and later reinforcements from the 5th Infantry Division retook it. 19. The episode’s tone is detailed and chronological, with Ray shifting between ship counts, unit designations, and battlefield outcomes. 20. Listeners who like Sicily invasion planning and airborne operations will get the most from it, while people wanting short character-driven storytelling may skip it.

As heard by us

A Sicily assault measured in storms, alerts, and airborne trouble.

Operation Ladbroke tracks the Allied push toward Sicily with clear momentum, moving from the North African coast to the Malta assembly area and into the first signs of trouble from weather, reconnaissance, and command timing.

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You get a Sicily invasion plan that runs into a storm before it reaches the shore.

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