Operation Corkscrew
| Operation Corkscrew | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean and the Allied invasion of Sicily | |||||||||
Men of the 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade of the 1st Division, advancing inland during Operation Corkscrew. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| United Kingdom | Italy | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Walter Clutterbuck | Gino Pavesi | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 14,000 | 12,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 15 aircraft shot down |
40 killed 150 wounded 11,000 prisoners | ||||||||
Operation Corkscrew was the code name for the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria (between Sicily and Tunisia) on 11 June 1943, prior to the Allied invasion of Sicily, during the Second World War. There had been an early Allied plan to occupy the island in late 1940 (Operation Workshop) but it was cancelled when the Luftwaffe arrived in the Mediterranean.