0713_01: The First "Bridge Too Far" - PzC 08 Sicily '43

Primosole Bridge, July 13th 1944: Montgomery was not known for dashing thrusts, but he was confident that a "coup de main" was possible to take the Primosole Bridge. He made an audacious plan to drop the 1st Parachute Brigade to capture the vital crossing of the Simeto River, 7 miles south of Catania, a bottleneck for any Allied advance north along the coast. 3rd Commando battalion was also part of the plan, they were to capture the Ponti di Malati, another bridge just north of Lentini, to enable the 50th Infantry Division and 4th Armored Brigade to sweep north, over both bridges, and then on to Catania. It was not to be the last time in the war that the 1st Para went "a bridge too far" [Size medium]