Corkscrew.

This is coolbert:

As extracted from a previous blog entry those comments of General Eisenhower:

* "'It wearies me to be thought of as timid,' . . . 'when I've had to do things that were so risky as to be almost crazy.'"

One of those "things" as had in mind by Ike was the invasion of Pantelleria.

Ike speaking of Operation Corkscrew.

Corkscrew a military operation during World War Two [WW2] I was not familiar with.

Pantelleria that Italian occupied and fortified island located half-way between Sicily and the African continent, seen as an impediment to Operation Husky!

Those Axis radar installations and airfields considered as a risk to allied forces, capture of the island seen as essential to Husky!

"Operation Corkscrew was the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria (between Sicily and Tunisia) on 11 June 1943."

"The radar installations and airfield on the island were seen as a real threat to the planned invasion of Sicily. The Italian garrison on the island was 12,000 strong in well-entrenched pillboxes and 21 gun batteries of a variety of calibres"

The capture intact of those airfields also deemed as a major plus within the context of Husky.

Pantelleria subjected to an intense and sustained ten-day aerial and naval bombardment, the Italian garrison as prepared as it was surrendering en masse with the only casualty to the allied invasion force being "a man bitten by a mule".

Such major, abject and absolute surrender of troops NEVER occurring in the Pacific theater, intense and sustained bombardment by air and naval assets NOT EVER resulting in mass surrender.

The Japanese with their bushido code of honor much more resolute than the Italians.

That Italian military enigma again!!

coolbert.