~Koschei~
The Gran Sasso Raid, 1943
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had previously been deposed by the Italian government after the Allied forces invaded Sicily and bombed Rome in July 1943. The new government run by Pietro Badoglio began negotiations with the Allies to surrender, which coincided with the Allied invasion of Italy on September 3rd, 1943. Hitler was frustrated by this and immediately ordered the German invasion of Italy known as Operation Achse. He then ordered Operation Oak soon after to rescue Mussolini from prison. Mussolini had been imprisoned in the Gran Sasso Mountain range of Southern Italy in a resort guarded by 200 Carabinieri. On September 12th, SS commando Otto Skorzeny and his team joined with the Fallschirmjager to rescue Mussolini. The group would fly in using gliders and would land nearby. They were able to free Mussolini without firing a shot as they had brought captured Italian General Fernando Soleti, who ordered the Carabinieri to stand down. Skorzeny and Mussolini then flew out on a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch safely to Vienna. Mussolini would meet with Hitler two days later where he was installed as the leader of the Italian Social Republic or the Salo Republic. This would begin the Italian Civil War that was part of the wider Italian Campaign for the following two years of the war until his death in April 1945.
The Gran Sasso Raid, 1943
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had previously been deposed by the Italian government after the Allied forces invaded Sicily and bombed Rome in July 1943. The new government run by Pietro Badoglio began negotiations with the Allies to surrender, which coincided with the Allied invasion of Italy on September 3rd, 1943. Hitler was frustrated by this and immediately ordered the German invasion of Italy known as Operation Achse. He then ordered Operation Oak soon after to rescue Mussolini from prison. Mussolini had been imprisoned in the Gran Sasso Mountain range of Southern Italy in a resort guarded by 200 Carabinieri. On September 12th, SS commando Otto Skorzeny and his team joined with the Fallschirmjager to rescue Mussolini. The group would fly in using gliders and would land nearby. They were able to free Mussolini without firing a shot as they had brought captured Italian General Fernando Soleti, who ordered the Carabinieri to stand down. Skorzeny and Mussolini then flew out on a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch safely to Vienna. Mussolini would meet with Hitler two days later where he was installed as the leader of the Italian Social Republic or the Salo Republic. This would begin the Italian Civil War that was part of the wider Italian Campaign for the following two years of the war until his death in April 1945.