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Rescuing Mussolini - Gran Sasso 1943 (Raid) |  | Author: Robert Forczyk
Creator: Howard Gerrard
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
Buy New: $10.79
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New (21) Used (6) from $10.79
Seller: stonewallarmory
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 155606
Media: Paperback
Pages: 64
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 7 x 0.3
ISBN: 1846034620
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5421571
EAN: 9781846034626
ASIN: 1846034620
Publication Date: April 20, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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. However, the Waffen SS had begun to develop the genesis of a commando-style raiding force that appeared suitable for the mission. Once Mussolini's location at Gran Sasso was confirmed, Hitler ordered the assault force, led by SS Haupsturmführer Otto Skorzeny, to conduct a rescue mission to extract Mussolini alive from the mountaintop.
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. Adding to the successful assault, Skorzeny was able to organize a desperate and ad hoc extraction plan using a light Fiesler Storch aircraft, when failed communications scuttled the pre-planned extraction method. At great risk, Mussolini was flown off the mountain and Skorzeny's raiding force had 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. Forczyk also offers a complete and comprehensive analysis of the events and their aftermatch, along with suggestions for further reading. 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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| Customer Reviews:
EXcellent overview of this neglected affair July 3, 2010
lordhoot (Anchorage, Alaska USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Well, we now know who is NOT Robert Forczyk's favorite Nazi is. That Otto Skorzeny has been exposed as an overrated phony is no mean effort on the part of the author who made it plain in this book that Skorzeny's role was pretty minimal at best in developing and planning the daring rescue of Benito Mussolini from the mountain top hotel where he was held. The book describing this rescue proves to be well written, very well researched and highly entertaining to read. Book come well illustrated with maps, drawings and photos although that one of Kurt Student appears to be grossly overexposed. I also found the photos of the German gliders quite interesting as to the narrowness of the craft and its cramp conditions. It must not have been comfortable for a tall guy like Skorzeny to sit in one of the seats.
Dr. Forczyk is basically rewriting history in 62 pages and he does a pretty good job at it. The book explained in detail the planning and intelligence work done to rescue Mussolini after his fall from power. But the book also focused on Otto Skorzeny in many details. The book basically went about exposing Skorzeny's bumblings as he basically conned himself to fame and fortune as the hero of the Third Reich. (Mussolini who is pilot himself, must have been horrified to see big Skorzeny crawling into that Storch after him, overloading the plane considerably.) Of course this goes against nearly 65 years of World War II history on Skorzeny, most historians uses his memoirs as a primary source to his activities, a source the author explained as more lies then truth. Probably one of these "must read" books among the Osprey collection.
Mussolini Rescue June 21, 2010
Clarence L. Putnam (El Paso, Texas)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
For a long time I thought that Otto Skorzeny was the commando extraordinaire the mastermind and leader of successful commando raids and one whose name alone caused fear and apprehension during the Ardennes Offinsive. This book sets the record straight, it was interesting reading, highly believable
and opened my eyes to the fact that Skorzeny was a strap hanging phony and opportunist much like many high ranking U.S. Military types past and present. They have alot of medals and merit badges but no substance or integrity. This is the first book that I have read in the "Raid" series and I was interested in reading a factual account of the rescue. Osprey has shown that they are right on.
A more accurate picture of the event June 5, 2010
James D. Crabtree (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Clouded by Otto Skorzeny's account of the rescue of Benito Mussolini from his Gran Sasso prison, the operation has been characterized as a daring raid by SS "Commandos." Now, thanks to Dr. Forczyk, we have not just a more accurate picture of the raid, how it was planned and Skorzeny's TRUE role in the operation but we have it in a book which is well-written and informative without being boring.
The 1943 German raid on the Gran Sasso was an effort to rescue the deposed fascist dictator Mussolini in order to keep at least part of Italy on the Axis side of the war. Ground and parachute drops were impractical so gliders were employed to bring in a rescue team in a daring operation which succeeded at least in part because Mussolini's captors were hesitent and unsure of how to proceed. Skorzeny's role, hyped in his postwar memoirs, may have actually endangered the mission and would certainly have done so had the circumstances been slightly different.
Well-illustrated with photographs, maps and artwork this is a superb work on this subject. At the very least it rates as an excellent introduction to this subject.
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