<P> Operation Baytown was the preliminary step in the plan in which the British Eighth Army would depart from the port of Messina on Sicily, to cross the Straits of Messina and land near the tip of Calabria (the "toe" of Italy), on 3 September 1943 . The short distance from Sicily meant landing craft could launch from there directly, rather than be carried by ship . The British 5th Infantry Division (Major - General Gerard Bucknall) of XIII Corps, under Lieutenant - General Miles Dempsey, would land on the north side of the "toe" while its 1st Canadian Infantry Division (Major - General Guy Simonds) would land at Cape Spartivento on the south side . Montgomery was strongly opposed to Operation Baytown . He predicted it would be a waste of effort since it assumed the Germans would give battle in Calabria; if they failed to do so, the diversion would not work, and the only effect of the operation would be to place the Eighth Army 300 miles (480 km) south of the main landing at Salerno . He was proved correct; after Operation Baytown the British Eighth Army marched 300 miles north to the Salerno area against no opposition other than engineering obstacles . </P> <P> Plans for the use of Allied airborne forces took several forms, all of which were cancelled . The initial plan to land glider - borne troops in the mountain passes of the Sorrento Peninsula above Salerno was abandoned 12 August . Six days later it was replaced by Operation Giant, in which two regiments of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division (Matthew Ridgway) would seize and hold crossings over the Volturno River . This was at first expanded to include the entire division, including an amphibious landing by the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, then deemed logistically unsupportable and reduced to a two - battalion drop at Capua to block the highway there . The Italian surrender on 3 September cancelled Operation Giant I and replaced it with Operation Giant II, a drop of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment on Stazione di Furbara and Cerveteri airfields, 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Rome, to aid Italian forces in saving Rome, possibly the most historically important city in the world, from German razing, a condition of the Italian armistice . Because the distance from the Allied beachheads precluded any substantial Allied support of the airborne troops, Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor, the acting assistant division commander (ADC) of the 82nd Airborne Division, was spirited into Rome to assess the willingness of Italian troops to cooperate with the Americans . Taylor's judgment was that the operation would be a trap and he advised cancellation, which occurred late on the afternoon of 8 September after pathfinders had already taken off aboard their troop carrier aircraft . </P> <P> The main landings (Operation Avalanche) were scheduled to take place on 9 September, during which the main force would land around Salerno on the western coast . It would consist of the U.S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, comprising the U.S. VI Corps under Major General Ernest J. Dawley, the British X Corps under Lieutenant - General Richard McCreery, with the 82nd Airborne Division in reserve, a total of eight divisions and two brigade - sized units . Its primary objectives were to seize the port of Naples to ensure resupply, and to cut across to the east coast, trapping Axis troops further south . The naval task force of warships, merchant ships and landing craft totaling 627 vessels came under the command of Vice Admiral Henry K. Hewitt . Following the disappointing air cover from land - based aircraft during the Sicily landings, Force V of HMS Unicorn and four escort carriers augmented the cruisers USS Philadelphia, Savannah, Boise, and fourteen destroyers of Hewitt's command . Cover for the task force was provided by Force H, a group of four British battleships and two fleet carriers with destroyers in support, which was directly subordinate to the C--in--C Mediterranean Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham . </P> <P> In the original planning, the great attraction of capturing the important port of Taranto in the "heel" of Italy had been evident and an assault had been considered but rejected because of the very strong defenses there . However, with the signing of the armistice with the Italians on 3 September the picture changed . It was decided to carry the British 1st Airborne Division (Major - General George F. Hopkinson) to Taranto using British warships, seize the port and several nearby airfields and follow up by shipping in Lieutenant - General Charles Allfrey's British V Corps and a number of fighter squadrons . The airborne division, which was undergoing training exercises in two locations 640 kilometres (400 mi) apart, was ordered on 4 September to embark on 8 September . With such short notice to create plans, Operation Slapstick was soon nicknamed Operation Bedlam . </P>

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