HistoryIn 1943, the World War II Allies launched Corkscrew, a military operation whose aim was to seize the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria. It was an armed action meant to pave the way
for an Allied invasion of Sicily and then the Italian mainland, but it turned out to be far more than that. By the time Corkscrew was finished, it had become a case study in the devastating
uses of airpower and a major milestone in the exploits of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.
The importance of Pantelleria Island itself stemmed from its location--smack in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Some 53 miles to the west was Tunisia. To the northeast, 63 miles
away, was Sicily. Thus, Pantelleria lay astride the route from North Africa, where the Allies earlier in 1943 had routed Axis forces, and Italy, the next target for invasion. Between May 8
and June 11 in 1943, Allied aircraft flew 5,285 bombing sorties against targets on Pantelleria and dropped 6,313 tons of bombs on Italian and German forces
ensconced there.
The operation called for using sustained aerial bombardment to crush enemy power on the island and therefore reduce the number of Allied ground forces needed to capture and hold it.
The plan succeeded--dramatically so. In fact, the aerial offensive marked the first time in history that an enemy land force was compelled to surrender in the absence of an accompanying
ground invasion. Saturation bombing, plus limited shelling by the Royal Navy, broke the enemy's defenses and will to resist.
Each frame starts at 8pm in the UK, 9pm in France/Germany, 10pm in Finland/Estonia and 3pm EST. The planned length of a single frame is 2 hours.
This is an
UNLIMITED life and
NO ICON event.
December 1st - Allied Air Assault
December 8th - Retaliation
December 15th - A fight to the Death
