Hitler's Raid to Save Mussolini

by Greg Annussek

  25. Two main guardians were Gueli and Faiola: Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 94; and Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 245.

  26. Retrieved the knives and forks after his meals: Hibbert, 250.

  27. At the beginning of September: Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 95; and Hibbert, 250. Nearby cable car station: After the Battle, 15.

  28. A ten-minute ride: Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 245. Spanned 3,000 feet: Hibbert, 249; and After the Battle, 16 (map). First look: Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 248.

  29. Almost 7,000 feet: After the Battle, 16 (map).

  30. At 9,500 feet, it was the highest peak in the Apennines: Encyclopedia Britannica online.

  31. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 95.

  32. Guests were evacuated: Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 245. Note: Hibbert, 250, claimed that Mussolini was kept at La Villetta only because the Italians needed time to evacuate the Imperatore.

  33. There were two hundred or so Italians guarding Mussolini: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 255. Police and carabinieri: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 288.

  34. Comfortable second-floor suite: Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 245; and After the Battle, 15. No. 201: Ibid.

  35. Listening to the radio and playing card games such as Scopone with his captors: Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 247. One of his new privileges: Hibbert, 250.

  36. Allowed to take walks: Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 246.

  37. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 116.

  38. Special treatment reserved for men facing the gallows: Ibid., 115.

  39. Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 250. Note: Other sources also indicate that Badoglio ordered that Mussolini was not to be taken alive by the Nazis: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 300; Hibbert, 254; and Davis, Who Defends Rome, 473.

  40. On August 31: Edda Ciano, 197. Welled up with tears: Ibid., 122.

  41. Ibid., 122–123.

  42. Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 253. Note: Radl claimed that Student admitted that there were men on his own staff who doubted that the war could still be won. Radl, 79–81.

  43. Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 253.

  44. Ibid.

  45. Barnett, Hitler’s Generals, 477.

  46. Ibid., 474.

  47. In Africa, Russia, Sicily, Italy, France, Holland, and Germany: Ibid., 473.

  48. One “trustworthy” source placed Mussolini in a Roman hospital: Radl, 157–161.

  49. Eugen Dollmann dispelled a rumor suggesting that Mussolini was being held in the Villa Savoia: Ibid.

  50. Hints that Badoglio had hidden Mussolini somewhere near Lake Trasimene: Ibid., 160–164.

  51. Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 254. Note: Radl, 158–162, and Student, 414, also mention this intercept.

  52. Did not attach much value to Kappler’s discovery: Student, 414–415.

  53. Was not convinced that he was on the mainland: Ibid.

  54. On September 4 or 5: Radl, 160–164. Note: Student, 415–416, also mentions this visit.

  55. In preparation for the Maddalena rescue: Student, 414–415.

  56. Heard a story from the squadron captain: Ibid., 415.

  57. Seemed to confirm that he was on the mainland: Ibid., 414–415.

  58. If it were not for the secrecy: Ibid., 415–416.

  59. “Racking his brains” for weeks: Ibid., 415.

  60. Ibid., 415–416.

  61. Supported by a car crash involving two Italian officers: Radl, 158–162.

  62. Student, 416.

  63. Brochure provided some details, including a photo: Radl, 160–162.

  64. Student, 414. Note: Student seems to be referring to the period between September 3 and September 8.

  65. Krutoff spoke fluent Italian: Ibid., 417. Krutoff was a charmer: Ibid.; and Radl, 168–172.

  66. About seventy-five miles from Rome: Lamb, War in Italy, 23.

  67. At least one agent had done some snooping: Radl, 159–162.

  68. Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 254.

  69. About 230 miles per hour and its altitude was 16,400 feet: Ibid.

  70. Temperature was 18 degrees Fahrenheit: Ibid.

  71. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 76.

  Chapter 12

  1. Goebbels, 429.

  2. Around noon: Garland and Smyth, 522. More than 10,000 people, and almost four hundred tons: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 363.

  3. Thousands of Frascati’s residents lay dead or injured: Ibid.

  4. 150 German soldiers had been killed: Katz, Battle for Rome, 30.

  5. Kesselring was uninjured: Garland and Smyth, 522–523.

  6. Kesselring, 176.

  7. Minor damage: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 363.

  8. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 79.

  9. At 5:45 P.M. on the American radio: Deakin, 529.

  10. The U.S. media had broken the story prior to Eisenhower’s announcement: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 372.

  11. Garland and Smyth, 508.

  12. At noon: Deakin, 529.

  13. Ibid. (from a Rahn telegram).

  14. After hearing the first broadcast: Deakin, 529–530.

  15. British propaganda: Ibid.

  16. Ibid. (from a Rahn telegram).

  17. Ibid. (from a Rahn telegram).

  18. Believed D-day was set for September 12: Badoglio, 71; and Garland and Smyth, 490. Note: Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 317, asserts that this so-called confusion regarding the date of the invasion was merely used as an excuse by the king and Badoglio, who had no intention of providing military support.

  19. On the evening of September 7–8: Garland and Smyth, 501; and Davis, Who Defends Rome, 349.

  20. Victor Emmanuel convened a council: Garland and Smyth, 511.

  21. Considered denying the existence of the armistice: Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 315.

  22. At 7:45 P.M.: Garland and Smyth, 513.

  23. Ibid., 509, 513.

  24. Eisenhower was left guessing: Ibid., 509.

  25. Could have been disastrous: Ibid., 465.

  26. Italian aircraft attacked the invasion force: Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 315.

  27. Prevented at the last minute: Ibid., 315–316.

  28. Caught the Nazis by surprise: Bullock, Hitler, 415; Garland and Smyth, 514; Dollmann, Interpreter, 255; and Plehwe, 122.

  29. Times (London), September 9, 1943.

  30. Kesselring had anticipated a landing in the Salerno area: Liddell Hart, Second World War, 456.

  31. Kesselring, 186.

  32. Strong, Intelligence at the Top, 164–165.

  33. Thanks to naval gunfire, air power, and desperate fighting: D’Este, 109.

  34. Cooks and typists: Ibid., 107.

  35. Strong, Intelligence at the Top, 164–165.

  36. Clark admitted that Salerno was almost a disaster: Liddell Hart, Second World War, 456.

  37. Garland and Smyth, 508.

  38. About 140 miles: Lamb, War in Italy, 19; and Garland and Smyth, 449.

  39. Would spook the Nazis: Garland and Smyth, 478; and Plehwe, 143–144.

  40. Series of airdrops and landings: Garland and Smyth, 498–499.

  41. On September 7: Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 314; and Delzell, 255. Downed airman: Katz, Battle for Rome, 29; and Garland and Smyth, 500.

  42. Strong, Intelligence at the Top, 159.

  43. Dubious assertions involving lack of fuel and ammunition and German troop positions: Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 317.

  44. Strong, Intelligence at the Top, 161.

  45. Five divisions in the Rome area: Garland and Smyth, 532; Shirer, 1001; and Liddell Hart, Second World War, 452, 459.

  46. The Third Panzergrenadier Division and the Second Parachut
e Division: Garland and Smyth, 523.

  47. Badoglio, 82.

  48. Badoglio did not give the Italian Army specific orders: Garland and Smyth, 513; Delzell, 258; Clark, Modern Italy, 303; Denis Mack Smith, Modern Italy, 417.

  49. On September 11, the Italian people received a call to arms (the message from Churchill and Roosevelt): Garland and Smyth, 535; and Davis, Who Defends Rome, 468.

  50. United States and Italy, 1936–1946: 68.

  51. Cementing their control over most of Italy at this time: Bullock, Hitler, 415.

  52. Goebbels, 444.

  53. De Courten met with Kesselring on September 7: Westphal, 147.

  54. Ibid., 147–148.

  55. Arrived in Malta on September 11: Churchill, Closing the Ring, 115.

  56. Ibid.

  57. Executed several Italian commanders: Garland and Smyth, 533.

  58. Goebbels, 432 (from an entry dated September 10).

  59. Four-fifths of Italy: Garland and Smyth, 540; and Lamb, War in Italy, 21.

  60. Liddell Hart, Second World War, 455 (from the Other Side of the Hill by Liddell Hart).

  61. Aircraft carriers were unavailable in quantity: Garland and Smyth, 261.

  62. Goebbels, 429.

  63. Ibid.

  64. New York Times, September 11, 1943.

  65. Ibid.

  66. Ibid.

  67. Ibid.

  68. Seventeen thousand civilians were killed: Shirer, 826.

  Chapter 13

  1. Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1987.

  2. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 83.

  3. Student, 417.

  4. Liddell Hart, Second World War, 454 (from Other Side of the Hill by Liddell Hart).

  5. Italians put up a fierce resistance: Student, 402.

  6. By September 10, the task force was turning its attention to the Gran Sasso: Ibid., 417.

  7. Ibid.

  8. On the evening of September 10, Student decided to spring the Duce: Ibid.

  9. Ibid., 416.

  10. Just a mule track: Patricelli, 64.

  11. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 84.

  12. Ibid.

  13. Four inches square: Ibid.

  14. Student, 416.

  15. Concept originated with Hitler: McRaven, 33.

  16. On a 150-foot ridge: Lucas, Kommando, 53. Designed to withstand artillery shelling and aerial bombardment: McRaven, 66.

  17. Student and his staff developed a detailed plan: McRaven, 41, 60.

  18. Eben Emael was their debut: McRaven, 62.

  19. German Institute for Gliding Research: Edwards, German Airborne Troops, 44.

  20. Early on the morning of May 10: McRaven, 45–47.

  21. Dodging antiaircraft fire: Ibid., 47.

  22. Shaped charges were a novelty: Ibid., 62.

  23. Student’s sixty-nine-man team was outnumbered by ten to one: Ibid., 55. Within twenty minutes: Ibid., 58.

  24. Germans had six fatalities, the Belgians twenty-five: Ibid., 55.

  25. Rehearsed for months on end: Ibid., 57, 64.

  26. Had good intelligence, including blueprints: Ibid., 61.

  27. Four or five acres: Ibid., 195.

  28. Did not possess proper schematics: Ibid., 193.

  29. Worked out many of the details himself: Student, 418, 434.

  30. Mors was the primary architect: Patricelli, 60–61 and 65–66; and the Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1987.

  31. Led troops during the invasion of the Low Countries and the assault on Crete: Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1987.

  32. Mors received the assignment on September 11: Patricelli, 58–59.

  33. Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1987.

  34. Student, 434.

  35. Berlepsch was given command of the assault team: Student, 434.

  36. Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1987.

  37. Student, 419–420.

  38. Cutting telephone and telegraph lines: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 258.

  39. To prevent reinforcements from aiding the Italians: Student, 418.

  40. Scheduled to take place at the same time: Ibid.

  41. Ibid.

  42. The two hundred or so Italians: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 255.

  43. Student, 419. Student was a glider pilot: McRaven, 33.

  44. It was a worthy “challenge”: Student, 419.

  45. The FG-42 was a new type of automatic rifle built especially for the paratroopers: Edwards, German Airborne Troops, 29–30; and McRaven, 180, 193 (in a footnote).

  46. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 86.

  47. Ibid., 87.

  48. Student, 421.

  49. Soleti was contacted on September 11: Radl, 214–218.

  50. Not told the real reason: Ibid., 215–217.

  51. Goebbels, 439–440 (from an entry dated September 10).

  52. Had assured Eisenhower that the dictator would be in a secure location: Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 316.

  53. Butcher, 407.

  54. Made no effort: Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 316.

  55. Had driven through the Abruzzi region not far from the Hotel Imperatore: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 429.

  56. Gueli was Mussolini’s senior jailer: Hibbert, 248; and Deakin, 547. Enhanced security measures: Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 117; and Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 248. A few machine guns: Dombrowski, 68.

  57. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 133.

  58. On the evening of September 10 while listening to Berlin radio: Ibid., 117; and Davis, Who Defends Rome, 473.

  59. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 117. Which he missed: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 472.

  60. New York Times, September 10, 1943.

  61. United States and Italy, 1936–1946, 61.

  62. Kept secret until 1945: Garland and Smyth, 550 (in a footnote).

  63. Later that evening on September 10, Mussolini tried to slit his wrists with a Gillette razor blade: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 473.

  64. It is not clear whether the Duce was really trying to commit suicide: Note: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 300, casts doubt on whether Mussolini really intended to commit suicide.

  65. Faiola removed the razors and other sharp objects: Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 133.

  66. More likely the Nazis would attempt to snatch Mussolini: Hibbert, 254.

  67. The Nazis were not to take Mussolini alive: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 300; Hibbert, 254; and Davis, Who Defends Rome, 473.

  Chapter 14

  1. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 105.

  2. Goebbels, 443 (from an entry dated September 11).

  3. September 12 was a Sunday: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 88.

  4. Swoop down at 7:00 a.m: Ibid.

  5. Operation would have to be postponed: Student, 420.

  6. Mors wanted to be certain: Ibid.

  7. Mors wanted a margin for error: Ibid.

  8. Student pushed Zero Hour back to 2:00 P.M.: Ibid.

  9. During the early hours of September 12, Mors left for Assergi in a motorized column: Ibid., 420, 418.

  10. Ibid., 420.

  11. Ibid.

  12. Around 7:30 A.M.: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 262.

  13. Appeared at 9:00 A.M. and agreed to accompany Radl: Radl, 225–229.

  14. Student took Soleti aside: Ibid., 229–233.

  15. Gave his consent without much fuss: Ibid.

  16. Scheduled to fly from Grosseto to Pratica: Student, 422.

  17. About an hour later, the gliders and tugs appeared: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 92.

  18. Student, 422.

  19. Soleti was eating with Radl in an airport building: Radl, 231–235.

  20. Student had not gone into great detail: Radl, 229–233.

  21. Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 262.

  22. Ibid.

  23. Ibid.

  24. Soleti thought Radl was making a joke: Ibid., 263.

  25. Soleti became ill and a doctor was summo
ned: Radl, 232–236.

  26. Made an appeal to Student and Kappler: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 263.

  27. Ibid.

  28. Was kept under guard: Ibid.

  29. Gave a briefing for the pilots and selected officers in an office of the airfield: Radl, 233–237.

  30. Also present were Berlepsch, Langguth, Skorzeny, and Radl: Ibid.

  31. Most were surprised: See Whiting, Hunters from the Sky, 105.

  32. Student, 422.

  33. The shock value of the raid would be great: Ibid.

  34. Main job of the pilots was to put the paratroopers on the ground: Ibid.

  35. Was regrettable that the pilots would have to make their landings in the afternoon: Ibid.

  36. No guarantee that Mussolini was still on the mountain: Patricelli, 76; and Whiting, Hunters from the Sky, 105.

  37. Italian morale was low: Student, 422.

  38. The Germans were bringing Soleti: Ibid.

  39. Student returned to Frascati: Ibid.

  40. Langguth and Skorzeny offered additional details: Radl, 236–240; and Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 92.

  41. Hard to discern the slope: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 254; and Radl, 193–197.

  42. Ridge east of Tivoli that rose to a height of 4,265 feet: Student, 422.

  43. Not certain whether the aircraft could gain enough altitude: Ibid.

  44. A horizontal 360-degree turn: Ibid., 424.

  45. Henschel aircraft: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 260.

  46. The Hs 126 was doing a lot of glider towing: Green, Warplanes, 389.

  47. The 131-foot-long tow cable: Green, Warplanes, 105. Note: This type of cable was typical, but the Germans occasionally used a rigid-tow arrangement that was much shorter. It is not clear which was used during the Gran Sasso raid of September 12.

  48. Rate of one per minute: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 260.

  49. Berlepsch was in command of the assault team: Student, 419, 434; and Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1987 (in this article, Mors identifies Berlepsch as the commander).

  50. Twelve glider groups: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 260–261.

  51. Langguth would fly the leading tug: Student, 423.

  52. Berlepsch would ride in the glider attached to Langguth’s plane: Ibid.

  53. Skorzeny would fly in the first DFS 230 of the second Kette: Ibid.

  54. FG–42 paratrooper rifles, machine guns, and light mortars: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 260–261.