 The only German forces in the area were elements of the German 1st Parachute Division , which engaged the advancing British in ambushes and at roadblocks during a fighting withdrawal north . By the end of September , the 1st Airborne Division had advanced 125 miles ( 201 km ) to Foggia . Reinforcements from two infantry divisions , the 8th Indian and British 78th , had by then been landed behind them , which allowed the airborne troops to be withdrawn back to Taranto . Despite casualties for the 1st Airborne Division in Italy being relatively light , the General Officer Commanding ( GOC ) , Major @-@ General George Hopkinson , was killed while watching an assault by the 10th Parachute Battalion where he was mortally wounded by a burst of machine gun fire . He was replaced by Brigadier Ernest E. Down , previously the commander of 2nd Parachute Brigade . 
