On 9 July, 2,075 men of the brigade along with seven Willys MBs, six artillery guns and ten mortars, boarded their gliders in Tunisia and took off at 18:00 bound for Sicily. En route they encountered strong winds, poor visibility and at times were subjected to anti-aircraft fire. To avoid gunfire and searchlights, pilots of the towing aircraft climbed higher or took evasive action. In the confusion surrounding these manoeuvres, some gliders were released too early and 65 of them crashed into the sea, drowning around 252 men. Of the remaining gliders only 12 landed at the correct landing-zones. Another 59 landed up to away while the remainder were either shot down or failed to release and returned to Tunisia. Only one Horsa with a platoon of infantry from the Staffords landed near the bridge. Its commander, Lieutenant Louis Withers, divided his men into two groups then swam across the river with half of them to take up positions on the opposite bank. Thereafter the bridge was captured following a simultaneous assault from both sides. The platoon then dismantled demolition charges that had been fitted to the bridge and dug in to wait for reinforcement or relief. Another Horsa landed about from the bridge but exploded on landing, killing all on board. Three of the other Horsas carrying the coup-de-main party, landed within of the bridge—their occupants eventually finding their way to the site. Reinforcements began to arrive at the bridge but by 06:30 they numbered only 87 men.