One of the most highly touted German successes of the mid war was the rescue of deposed dictator Benito Mussolini from the 'impenetrable' redoubt at Gran Sasso. It was this mission, carried out with great success, that rocketed SS Captain Oskar Skorzeny to prominence and fame. Yet Skorzeny had very little to nothing to do with the planning and actual execution of the operation. One of those long held myths that was all part of the German propaganda machine.

in this first book of their 'Wars and Battles' series, AF Editions has chosen to bring to light the reality of the mission to rescue Mussoline from the Alpine hotel at Gran Sasso where he was being held. Gran Sasso was chosen as it was quite difficult to reach. Situated in the Apennines, the only real access was by cable car. No roads were in existence to reach the hotel at that time, though one has since been built. There was also no room to land a standard aircraft. While not the 'hanging on a precipice' sort of place that many of us pictured in our minds, it was easily defensible by minimal troops.

German intelligence was able to piece together clues gathered from Italian sources as to where the dictator was held and soon General Kurt Student and his highly trained Fallschirmjäger troops were asked to carry out the rescue mission. A two point plan was devised where glider borne troops would land at the site, while ground forces would capture and hold the cable car station at the bottom of the mountain. The man chosen to lead the mission was Major Harald Mors and much planning went into the mission. It had to be done fairly quickly for fear that Mussolini would be moved before the operation commenced.

Of course, Hitler wanted to put some of his people in with the mission and here is where Otto Skorzeny came into play. Skorzeny was a devious, lying  grandstander who made sure that he was prominent in all the publicity around the event. In fact, the real work of Mors and his men has been completely overshadowed by Skorzeny's self-aggrandizement.

Here is the full story of the Gran Sasso mission which succeeded beyond everyone's expectations. No soldiers were killed and only one shot was fired. The book is filled with a superlative collection of period photos and interviews with many of the men who took part in the mission. The images include many of the gliders that participated and had to be burned in place as there was no way to remove them from the mountain. There are also a number of photos of Mussolini's departure in the over laden Fieseler Storch (thanks to Skorzeny's insistence that he go along).

In all, it is a superbly researched and fascinating read that puts to rest decades of misinformation and brings the truth of the mission to full light. I give it my highest recommendation.

June 2008

Review book courtesy of  Casemate Publishing, where you can order your copy of this and many other superb books.

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