Taranto and the operations surrounding a successful strike

The attack on Taranto is used to explain why a successful strike needs to be studied within the surrounding operations. Concurrent British convoys moved east and west and toward Crete and Greece, while other ship movements gave Italian observers many competing indications. In this interpretation, that activity diverted attention and helped the attack achieve surprise. The comparison with modern strikes cautions against assuming that four hits mean only four weapons were launched. Other weapons and supporting actions may have created the confusion that allowed the successful attackers through.