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.
Battle Elements and Event Schedule• October 14th 2012
• October 21st 2012
• October 28th 2012
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 event.
