79 U S A ( To l l - f r e e ) 1- 877- 381- 2 9 14 E m a i l inf o@the culturalexperience.com Second World War Dirillo, where 82nd Airborne Division took on an Italian bunker complex, can still be seen. Day 3 - B ritish & C anadian landings. The strategywillbetalkedthroughbeforewegoto the ancient site of Castello Eurialo to oversee the beaches where it was put into practice. The Special Raiding Sqn’s attack on Porco di Murro will start an in-depth examination of this extensive and complex area, followed by air landing operations at Ponte Grande. We then turn our attention to Operation Ladbroke. The difficult combination of glider, parachute, commando and amphibious raiding operations will be examined by studying the defences that remain as well as the glider landing sites which proved so difficult to assess before the aircraft were launched. Day 4 - Exploitation. The British attempt to push forward quickly to capture Catania and exploit northwards will take up the whole of this busy day. Modern developments mean that it has been hard to trace the exact site of the Primosole Bridge but the parachute landings, the first attempt by the British to seize the bridge and the Germans’ counter attack against the ‘Johnny’ hills, are all there to be seen. Similarly, the course of the final actions by the Durham Light Infantry Brigade, and by 10 Bn Royal Berkshire Regiment, will be walked followed by visits to the Durham’s memorial and to that at Berkshire Farm. At the end of another full day we will drive to our hotel near Catania for three nights. Day 5 - C racking the Etna Line. Once the Germans had decided to evacuate Sicily they established the Etna Line of defences and fell back behind them. We will visit 51st Highland Div's battles for Gerbini and Sferro, the first part of Montgomery’s ‘left hook’ into the foothills of Etna, and climb to the extraordinary 51st Division’s Memorial. From there we will twist our way upwards towards the 1st Canadian Division’s mountainous assaults on Assoro, Regalbuto and Adrano and marvel at their achievements. Finally, the CWGC Cemetery at Agira will be visited - the only completely Canadian cemetery in this theatre. Day 6 - T he End Run. Our penultimate day will start with a scene-setting lecture in the German evacuation plans and then a visit to Forte Cavali to get a grandstand view of the whole operation. Then the reasons why the Allies failed to stop the evacuation will be discussed at the quayside in Messina before we head back to both the German and Commonwealth Cemeteries in Catania. Day 7 – A ftermath. The aftermath of Operation Husky will be described from the top of Mount Etna to which we will ascend by cable car. From here the full majesty of Sicily can be appreciated as well as the need to dominate it as a stepping stone to the rest of the Mediterranean. The strengths, limitations and faults of the campaign will be discussed from here as well as a frank overview of what came next for the Allies in two more years of gruelling fighting up mainland Italy. Fly Catania to London. “Attack both by day and night to the limit of human endurance and then continue to attack.” Patton in Sicily. Cafe Antoniera, Mount Etna Mount Etna