Rescuing Mussolini: Gran Sasso 1943 (Raid)

Rescuing Mussolini: Gran Sasso 1943 (Raid)

Robert Forczyk

Language: English

Pages: 64

ISBN: 1846034620

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


The successful rescue of imprisoned Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from atop the Gran Sasso plateau by German glider-borne troops on 12 September 1943 was one of the most dramatic Special Forces operations in military history. Arrested by his own officers in July 1943, Mussolini had been whisked away to an isolated and heavily-guarded mountain-top resort, the Hotel Campo Imperatore at Gran Sasso, which could only be reached by a heavily guarded cable car station. It was clear to the Germans - who wished to rescue Mussolini in order to keep at least the appearance that Italy was still on the Axis side - that any conventional rescue operation would have to fight its way through too much opposition and that Mussolini's captors would have ample time to execute him before he could be rescued. Once Mussolini's location at Gran Sasso was confirmed, Hitler ordered General der Fallschirmtruppe Kurt Student to organize a rescue mission. The actual raid was planned and led by paratrooper Major Otto Mors from the Fallschirmjager-Lehr Bataillon, but SS Haupsturmführer Otto Skorzeny grabbed much of the laurels of this operation.

Despite unfavorable terrain for a gliderborne landing - including large boulders and steep cliffs near the landing zone - most of the German gliders succeeded in landing atop the Gran Sasso and the assault force was able to move in before the stunned Italian defenders could organize a response or eliminate Mussolini. This volume shows how Skorzeny failed to follow the plan and jeopardized the operation with his rash behavior, including a risky decision to fly Mussolini off the mountain using a light Fiesler Storch aircraft. The German raiding force achieved all their objectives without firing a shot. Although the rescue of Mussolini failed to keep Italy on the Axis side, it did serve as a valuable propaganda boost for Germany in the face of defeats in Italy and the Soviet Union, as well as pointing toward a new dimension in warfare.

This title details the strategic context of this daring raid, the origins of the plans, and the initial strategy adopted by the German Special Operations forces, before going on to describe in full detail the plan, execution and final outcome of the operation. It also details Skorzeny's propaganda-laden version of the raid and what actually happened at the Gran Sasso, including the rarely-mentioned ground component and extraction phase.  Discover the history of this classic wartime raid, which continues to fascinate military history enthusiasts and lovers of adventure, in this new addition to the Raid series by Robert Forczyk.

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Raid the rest of Skorzeny’s men, including Obersturmführer Ulrich Menzel and Obersturmführer Karl Radl. The tow planes approached Gran Sasso from the southwest, passing near L’Aquila, where they ran into strong gusts of wind and heavy cloud cover. Although the plan had called for an approach altitude of 3,200 meters, the tow planes decided to stay under the cloud cover, which was at 2,800 meters. Some of the Fallschirmjäger later claimed that they spotted Mors’ ground column moving toward Assergi

Instead, the security detachment was composed of both carabinieri military police and civil polizia. Inspector General Giuseppe Gueli was in charge of the 30-man police unit at Gran Sasso, which included a team of watchdogs, but their combat capability against regular troops was negligible. Indeed, Gueli later said that most of his policemen acted as if they were on a holiday. Gueli had made a name for himself in the Trieste area, suppressing socialist labor union activities and civil unrest, but

of the raid is not clear, and the existing accounts are contradictory. It is clear that the Italians did not fire a shot and that at least some were allowed to retain their weapons after the hotel was occupied. Not only did the Italians help to clear the runway for Gerlach’s plane, but they helped to bring in the wounded from glider no. 8. There was also a certain amount of drinking going on – off camera – between Italians and Germans. Indeed, it does not appear that the Italians actually

101I567-1503D-21, Fotograf: Toni Schneiders) 55 Rescuing Mussolini: Gran Sasso 1943 Major Mors’ column had to take all the raiding force back to Frascati, including Skorzeny’s men. Here the column has paused for rest. Mors wisely decided not to try and drive back through the mountains in the dark with his tired troops. (Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I567-1503D-25, Fotograf: Toni Schneiders) Once Mussolini was gone, Mors and Berlepsch ordered their Fallschirmjäger to gather up their equipment and get

Although relations between them were beginning to strain due to the deteriorating Axis position in Russia and North Africa, Hitler still regarded Mussolini as his only real ally. For his part, Mussolini recognized that the war was going against them and urged Hitler to negotiate an armistice with the Soviets in order to concentrate their efforts against the Western Allies. (Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-B23938, Fotograf: Gerhard Baatz) 8 Kidnapping Mussolini By the summer of 1943 Benito Mussolini,

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