Operation Strangle was a series of
air interdiction operations during the
Italian Campaign of
World War II by the
United States Fifteenth and
Twelfth Air Forces to interdict
German supply routes in Italy north of
Rome from March 24, 1943, until the fall of
Rome in spring 1944. Its aim was to prevent essential supplies from reaching German forces in central
Italy and compel a German withdrawal. The strategic goal of the air assault was to eliminate or greatly reduce the need for a ground assault on the region. Although the initial goal of forcing the enemy to withdraw was not achieved, the air interdiction of Operation Strangle played a major role in the success of the subsequent ground assault
Operation Diadem.