On June 12 the materiel and morale effect of the air bombardment of Pantelleria was such that Admiral Pavesi surrendered this island fortress of 12,000 men to the Allies after losing only 56 killed and 116 wounded. According to Mussolini, Pavesi had deceived him by giving the reason for his request to surrender as lack of water. According to Admiral Bernotti it was not so much the water which was short as the means of distributing it. There were only four tanker-lorries and three wells for 10,000 civilians and 12,000 troops. Add to this the physical shock of the explosion of 6,550 tons of bombs in six days and it will be seen that the capitulation of June 12 was understandable.
At the same time, the Allied air forces redoubled their attacks on Sicily, particularly on the aerodromes and the harbours. Messina alone received 5,000 tons of bombs. Communications with the mainland were severely affected and feeding the civilian population began to bring enormous problems to the administration. At the end of June there were only 30 days’ supplies of flour left.
On June 8, Generals Eisenhower and Alexander and Admiral Cunningham went to Malta. All was going well apart
A On the alert as the Allied armada surges onward.
The total command of the air which the Allies enjoyed meant that the Axis powers could hardly impede this invasion force.
V Moment of truth. American tanks hit the beach at Licata.
From the deteriorating weather. The meteorological office reported Force 4 to 5 winds over the sea but there was no going back.
World History
