Operation Hasty

Operation Hasty was a mission behind German lines in Italy, during the Second World War. The operation was carried out in June 1944, by a small force of 60 men drawn from the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade.

Their objective was to land behind German positions in the Abruzzo region near Trasacco and interdict supply lines and the movement of troops as they withdrew from Sora to Avezzano. The operation had mixed fortunes, the Germans responded in force, using a brigade of troops to hunt down the parachutists and a division was held in reserve instead of moving to the front. However the British parachutists were almost immediately after landing attacked and had to evade the German searchers. Little over a week later, when the mission ended less than half the force returned safely to British lines.

Background
The 1st Airborne Division landed in Italy in September 1943, during Operation Slapstick. By the end of the year the majority of the division had been withdrawn to England, for operations in Northern Europe. Leaving the 2nd Parachute Brigade behind as an independent formation. Without a dedicated air force transport aircraft formation, opportunities for parachute operations were limited and the brigade was used in a ground role as normal infantry, taking part in fighting in the Moro River Campaign and the Battle of Monte Cassino.

In May 1944, the brigade was withdrawn to a rest area near Salerno, and three officers and 57 men, were selected to carry out Operation Hasty. The mission was planned by the commander of the British Eighth Army Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese. The objective was to disrupt the Germans from carrying out the destruction of bridges, and other infrastructure as they withdrew from Sora to Avezzano in the Abruzzo region of Italy to the Pisa–Rimini section of the Gothic line. During the planning stage it had been originally intended to use a complete battalion for the mission, but Brigadier Pritchard in command of the brigade decided to use a smaller unit and at the same time attempt to convince the Germans a larger force was being deployed by dropping dummy parachutists. The smaller detachment commanded by Captain Fitzroy-Smith was drawn from the 6th (Royal Welch) Parachute Battalion, supported by medics from the 127th (Parachute) Field Ambulance and signallers from the Brigade Signals Company.