55. Without the need for a bloody clash: Student, 419.
56. Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 155.
57. Twin-engine Mitchells: Whiting, Hunters from the Sky, 107. Dropping bombs on the airport: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 92. Note: Student, 423, claimed that the enemy planes did not drop bombs during this raid.
58. Dashed for cover in the bushes and trees as the sound of explosions and AA guns filled the air: Radl, 237–241.
59. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 92.
60. None of the gliders had been hit: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 92–93. Minor damage: Ibid.; and Radl, 237–241.
61. Radl, 240.
62. Soleti made an attempt to shoot himself: Student, 424; and Radl, 238–242.
63. Trouble controlling their bladders: Radl, 239–243.
64. Tubular steel rods surrounded by a fabric skin: Green, Warplanes, 104.
65. Length of thirty-seven feet and a wingspan of seventy-two feet, and it weighed less than one ton when empty: Ibid., 107.
66. Particularly vulnerable to enemy fire: Ibid., 105.
67. Came equipped with machine guns: Ibid.
68. Not planning to fire these glider guns: Student, 422.
69. A little more than 4,600 pounds: Green, Warplanes, 107.
70. Straddle a long bench that ran down the center: McRaven, 41.
71. Jettison its wheels (two-wheel dolly): Green, Warplanes, 104.
72. Barbed wire: Student, 423; and Radl, 240–244.
73. Parachute beneath rear fuselage: Green, Warplanes, 105.
74. At 1:00 P.M., they began lifting off: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 93; and Student, 424.
75. Langguth was flying in the lead chain: Student, 423.
76. Skorzeny flew in the fourth chain: Ibid.
77. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 93.
78. The hotel was seventy-five miles from Rome: Lamb, War in Italy, 23.
79. Normal towing speed was about 112 miles per hour, but could be increased to 130 miles per hour: Green, Warplanes, 107.
80. Former cavalry officer: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 263.
81. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 93.
82. One of the commandos in Radl’s glider vomited: Radl, 241–245.
83. Langguth decided to swing around in a circle: Student, 424.
84. Langguth flew a loop: Ibid.
85. None of the other Ketten were following suit: Ibid.
86. Ibid.
87. Bank of clouds near Tivoli: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 93–94.
88. No radio contact between chains: Student, 424.
89. Failed to understand the significance of the course change: Ibid.
90. Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 266.
91. Small plastic windows: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 265. Cut slits in the fuselage: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 94.
92. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 94.
93. Meyer relayed the information to the tug: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 266.
94. Spotted L’Aquila: Ibid.
95. Dust storm: Ibid.
96. Winding road that led to the cable car station: Ibid.
97. Timing was perfect: Ibid.
98. Altitude of 9,843 feet: Note: According to Student, 425, the gliders were flying at 9,843 feet right before the tow cables were released.
99. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 95.
100. Rocks and boulders: Ibid., 96.
101. “Steep approach!”: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 266. Told the pilot to land close to the hotel: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 95.
102. Radl, 244.
103. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 96.
104. Fifty feet from the corner of the hotel: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 266. Near the rear corner on the hotel’s right shoulder: McRaven, 186 (in a diagram).
105. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 133. Note: Due to the location of Mussolini’s suite, it is unlikely that the Duce saw Skorzeny’s glider land; he is probably referring to one of the other DFS 230s.
106. Door was torn off: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 96.
107. Skorzeny followed: Ibid.
108. “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot!”: Radl, 244–248. Note: Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 250, make a similar claim.
109. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 97.
110. Saw a face at a window: Ibid.
111. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 134.
112. Ibid.
113. Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 267.
114. Radl’s glider landed in front: Ibid. Three hundred feet from the hotel: Radl, 244–248.
115. Could see Skorzeny and his men moving along the front: Radl, 242–246.
116. Soleti was with them: Ibid.
117. Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 267.
118. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 97.
119. Only three or four minutes: Ibid., 98.
120. Two Germans appeared at the window: Ibid.
121. Not a shot fired: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 267.
122. Ibid.
123. Several gliders appeared from the clouds: See Student, 425.
124. Berlepsch was among the new arrivals: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 268; and Patricelli, 85. His chain had rejoined the convoy: Patricelli, 77. Note: Contrary to Student’s account, Skorzeny claimed that Berlepsch rode in the fifth glider—not the first.
125. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 98.
126. Shots in the distance: Ibid.
127. Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 267.
128. Ibid.
129. Ibid.
130. Treated by German and Italian medics: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 269.
131. Not life-threatening: Ibid.
132. Ibid.
133. Minor Italian casualties: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 269.
134. Deakin, 547.
135. It was signed by Senise: Ibid.
136. Shortly after Skorzeny’s glider landed, Gueli gave the order not to open fire: Ibid.; and Davis, Who Defends Rome, 473.
137. Gave them the authority to surrender the Duce: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 473.
138. Student, 425.
139. Traveling overland was too risky: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 100.
140. Fearful of angry civilians: McRaven, 188.
141. To be flown back to Pratica in a Stork: Student, 426.
142. Hover in mid-air: Green, Warplanes, 166.
143. A second Stork would transport Skorzeny: Student, 425–426.
144. Ibid., 426.
145. Gerlach was thirty: Whiting, Hunters from the Sky, 106. Headwind and an incline: Student, 426.
146. Had landed in the valley and damaged its undercarriage: Student, 427.
147. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 102.
148. Student, 427.
149. No enthusiasm for the flight, with or without Skorzeny: Ibid., 426–427.
150. Be allowed to return to Rocca: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 270; Radl, 250–254; and Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 251.
151. Mors was in charge of the entire operation: Student, 425; and Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1987 (in this article, Mors claimed that he was in charge of the rescue operation).
152. Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1987.
153. Cameraman by way of the cable car: After the Battle, 29.
154. Dark overcoat, which was too big for him, and black felt hat: Hibbert, 266.
155. German soldiers and some of the carabinieri raised their arms in the Fascist salute and chanted “Duce!”: Iurato and Antonelli, “With Mussolini at the Campo Imperatore,” 252; and Hibbert, 265.
156. At 3:00 P.M.: Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 135.
157. The “runway” was a downward slope: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 270; and After the Battle, 25, in a photo caption. Two hundred yards long: After the Battle, 29; and Whiting, Hunters from the Sky, 111.
158. The 240-horsepower engine: Green, Warplanes, 168.
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159. Some German soldiers were holding the plane: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 104; and Hibbert, 266.
160. Rolled over half-buried stones: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 104.
161. Ibid., 105.
162. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 135.
163. Radl, 261.
164. An eerie silence swept through the crowd: Radl, 259–263.
165. Ibid., 261.
166. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 105.
167. Student, 427.
168. Southwesterly course: Hibbert, 266. Skimming the treetops: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 105.
169. The engine was not functioning properly: Student, 428.
170. Placed a hand on Mussolini’s shoulder: Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 105.
171. Ibid.
172. Two-point landing due to damaged left wheel: Ibid., 106.
173. Ibid.
174. Student, 428.
175. Aspern airport: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 272; and Student, 429. At about 11:00 P.M.: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 246 (in a footnote).
176. Hotel Imperial: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 272.
177. Close to midnight, a colonel appeared: Ibid., 246 (in a footnote).
178. McRaven, 187–188 (from “Mussolini Event”).
179. First time it was earned and awarded on the same day: Whiting, Skorzeny, 43; Patricelli, 128; and Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1987.
180. Himmler, Goering, and Keitel spoke to Skorzeny: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 272–273.
181. Thanked Hitler briefly and went directly to bed: Hibbert, 267.
182. Goebbels, 450 (from an entry dated September 13).
183. Skorzeny walked off with Mussolini’s papers: Hoettl, 232–233. Note: According to Hoettl, Skorzeny stole Mussolini’s papers during the journey from Rome to Vienna.
184. Copied, translated, and presented to Hitler: Ibid., 233.
Epilogue
1. New York Times, September 13, 1943.
2. Boost to German morale: Wiskemann, 311; and Toland, Hitler, 755.
3. Bullock, Hitler, 417.
4. New York Times, September 13, 1943.
5. Ibid., September 14, 1943.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Churchill, Onwards to Victory, 200.
10. Ibid.
11. Air Force Medal in Gold from Goering: Whiting, Skorzeny, 44.
12. Order of the Hundred Musketeers: Ibid.
13. Radl was promoted to captain: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 276.
14. Hoettl, 230.
15. Goebbels, 451 (from an entry dated September 14).
16. Ibid., 452 (from an entry dated September 15).
17. Never thanked Student or the paratroopers: Student, 429.
18. Student, 430.
19. The one organization he could trust: See Irving, Hitler’s War, 617. Note: Irving points out that Hitler’s trust in Himmler and the SS was absolute by this point.
20. To restage the rescue: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 281.
21. New York Times, September 13, 1943.
22. Hitler had tears in his eyes: Hibbert, 269.
23. Goebbels, 471 (from an entry dated September 23).
24. Demanded that Ciano and the others pay with their heads: Monelli, 230.
25. Goebbels, 468 (from an entry dated September 23).
26. Ibid., 471 (from an entry dated September 23).
27. To avoid civil war: Monelli, 230.
28. Would reflect badly on Germany: Monelli, 230.
29. Goebbels, 470, 471 (from an entry dated September 23).
30. Goebbels was jealous: Hibbert, 271; and Wiskemann, 312.
31. Goebbels, 472 (from an entry dated September 23).
32. Wiskemann, 313.
33. Dollmann, Interpreter, 280.
34. Rachele Mussolini, 277.
35. On the western shore of Lake Garda: Deakin, 607.
36. Never saw the Eternal City again: Shirer, 1005; and Dombrowski, 73.
37. Under pressure from Hitler: Shirer, 1005; and Monelli, 235.
38. Ciano turned around to face his executioners: Monelli, 286.
39. The Villa Feltrinelli in Gargnano: Deakin, 607.
40. Monelli, 232.
41. Liked to refer to Wolff as his jailer: Ibid.
42. Dombrowski, 144.
43. Clark, Modern Italy, 310.
44. Churchill, Closing the Ring, 187.
45. The 80,000 or so Partisans: Clark, Modern Italy, 315. More than half of the Partisans (50,000) had joined the Communist-controlled Garibaldi brigades: Clark, Modern Italy, 312.
46. Assassinations, sabotage, and surprise attacks: Ibid., 311.
47. Dollmann, Interpreter, 322.
48. Goering, Doenitz, and Ribbentrop began to squabble: Shirer, 1056.
49. Crumbling a piece of cake and creating sculptures: Dollmann, Interpreter, 323.
50. Ibid.
51. Schmidt, 276–277.
52. Looked Mussolini in the eye and reaffirmed his friendship: Hibbert, 301.
53. Deakin, 713 (from Die Gebrochene Achse by E. F. Moellhausen).
54. Hitler drew aside Rahn: Deakin, 713.
55. Dollmann, Interpreter, 325.
56. Deakin, 800 (from volume 3 of Tamaro’s Due Anni di Storia, 1943–1945, 514).
57. Outside the village of Dongo: Monelli, 257.
58. Wearing an overcoat, helmet, and sunglasses: Ibid.
59. Near the hamlet of Mezzegra: Deakin, 816. On the western shores of Como: Wiskemann, 338.
60. Piazzale Loreto: Denis Mack Smith, Modern Italy, 420.
61. Left the Wolf ’s Lair for good in November 1944: Hoffmann, Hitler’s Personal Security, 257.
62. In January 1945, he ordered that it be destroyed: Hoffmann, Hitler’s Personal Security, 257. Not enough explosives to finish the job: Ibid., xii.
63. Junge, 177.
64. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 139.
65. Succumbed to their illusions like madmen: Hibbert, 291; and Dombrowski, 148.
66. McRaven, 195.
67. Bradley, 467–468.
68. Summersby, 202–203.
69. New York Times, May 18, 1945.
70. Ibid.
71. Whiting, Skorzeny, 104.
72. Worked as a temporary agent of the Mossad: Jerusalem Post, September 20, 1989.
73. To foil an Egyptian plan to develop a missile program: Ibid.
74. Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1987.
75. Ibid.
76. Ibid.
77. Ibid.
78. McRaven, 192 (in a footnote).
79. Lamb, War in Italy, 1.
80. Westphal, 153.
81. Liberate Naples by Day Three: Liddell Hart, Second World War, 461.
82. Took them three weeks: Ibid. Naples fell on October 1: D’Este, 110. Fifth Army suffered 12,000 casualties: Liddell Hart, Second World War, 469.
83. Could be captured by the end of October 1943: D’Este, 115.
84. The 140-mile distance from Salerno to Rome: Lamb, War in Italy, 19; and Garland and Smyth, 449.
85. D’Este, 117.
86. About eighty miles south of Rome: Katz, Battle for Rome, 65.
87. Berlepsch was killed in action there: Los Angeles Times, December 26, 1987.
88. Katz, Death in Rome, 6.
89. Katz, Battle for Rome, 181.
90. Ultimately, 335 men were shot dead: Katz, Battle for Rome, 254.
91. Deakin, 725 (from a Kesselring order dated August 4, 1944).
92. Gothic Line was in the mountains north of Florence: D’Este, 181.
93. D’Este, 89.
The Story of Operation Oak
1. Deakin, 543.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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