'Pancake' (ii) was the US bombing offensive against German supply dumps in the region of Bologna in northern Italy in conjunction with 'Olive' (iii) (October/December 1944).

Bologna was the focal point of all the major road and rail communication in the area, allowing the Germans to bring up men and matériel for the reinforcement of their defences facing Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark’s US 5^th Army on the western side of Italy and Lieutenant General Sir Richard McCreery’s British 8^th Army on the eastern side, and also permitting German forces to be switched relatively easily from one sector of the defensive front to another. Bologna thus became a primary target after the Allied breakthrough of the 'Gotisch-Linie' defences in August and September 1944, resulting in this air campaign against German supply dumps.