 On the way to Sicily , 65 gliders were released too early by the towing aircraft and crashed into the sea , drowning around 252 men . Of the remainder , only 87 men arrived at the Pont Grande Bridge , which they successfully captured and held beyond the time they were to be relieved . Finally , with their ammunition expended and only 15 soldiers remaining unwounded , they surrendered to the Italian forces . The Italians sought to demolish the bridge after regaining control of it , but were unable to do so because the airborne forces had removed the explosive charges . Other troops from the airlanding brigade , who had landed elsewhere in Sicily , destroyed communications links and captured artillery batteries . 
