Dare Devil Operation: Rescue of Mussolini from Captivity

What is bravery? It is an act of attempting to do the impossible. One such episode has caught my imagination. The man who carried out this act was a German Para Major named Skorzany. He was specially selected by Hitler for this act. A man of infinite courage and a dare devil, he was asked by Hitler to rescue Mussolini the Italian dictator from a mountain ski resort in Central Italy. The Italians who made Mussolini retire were aware that an attempt would be made to rescue Il Duce and so were shifting his residence every 2 months.

However German Intelligence was able to pinpoint that Mussolini was held at the ski resort in Central Italy. Major Skorzany assured Hitler; he would rescue Mussolini and get him back to lead the Axis powers. In real terms Hitler was well aware that the Italians were just waiting to make peace with the Allies and would also hand over his best friend to them.

Thus in September 1943 Skorzany made a daring plan to free Mussolini. It must be noted that the ski resort was only accessible by cable car and there was no road. So a decision was taken to land Gliders on the resort. The Major himself led the assault as the Gliders were airborne. It was a risky operation to land a glider on the small ground of the resort, but the German Para troopers did just that. Only one paratrooper lost his life in the landing. A master stroke was to take a senior Italian police official who on emerging from the glider shouted in Italian 'don't fire... don't fire '.This sowed confusion in the hearts of the guards who were quickly over powered and Mussolini was freed without firing a shot.

Mussolini and his girlfriend Clara were then whisked away by a small German light plane to Germany. It was feat without parallel in terms of audacity and bravery. Somehow this feat is not given much importance and Hollywood which has been making all sorts of war movies has conspicuously ignored this romantic saga of bravery. Maybe, because they would not like to propagate an episode of bravery from the Nazi era. But then Hollywood has never been known to be objective.

The Major was involved in a few other attempts of dare delivery. One of these was his assignment to assassinate the 3 leaders Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt at Yalta. But the task was too gigantic and he gave up the plan, after it was compromised.

What about the famed Major? He was arrested after the war, but escaped to Spain, where General Franco gave him refuge. He died in 1975.

Mussolini, From National Idol to most Hated man in Italy

 As a boy I was fascinated with Benito Mussolini. Over the years I have wondered how Mussolini who was  a leader in his own right and was the senior of Hitler, went to seed.. He was the man who ushered in Fascism in Italy and led his 'Brown shirts' to seize power in Rome. 

At that time he was a role model for Hitler, but his charisma began to wane after Italian defeats in the Second World War and this came to a head in 1943 when he was deposed and arrested on orders of the King of Italy. .
By this time Mussolini of the thirties, a man had led the brown shirts in the famous march on Rome was dead and in his place had emerged a broken man. Hitler however had vowed to rescue Mussolini and accordingly he launched plans to save Mussolini. Intelligence reports told the Germans that Mussolini was kept imprisoned in a mountain Chateau in North Italy. This was an inaccessible place , but a daring operation by glider borne troops rescued Mussolini.

But the Mussolini who was rescued was a shadow of the earlier Mussolini and all he desired was to be with his young mistress Clara. He abdicated all responsibility and despite being re-installed as Il Duce in North Italy did everything at the behest of Hitler. He on orders of Hitler had his own son-in-law Count Ciano executed. He was now a real puppet and in all meetings with his German advisors he just sat and listened and signed decrees as desired by them. This was a far cry from the man who sat in an imposing office in Rome and created the aura of power and invincibility.

Italians were incensed and looked to capture him. He was captured in early 1945 by the members of the Italian resistance and shot dead with his beloved Clara. It was a sad end to a great man who had plummeted to the depths of despair. The last phase of Mussolini’s life when he became a de-facto puppet of Hitler is very sad indeed. But one reason could be the hypnotic and mesmerizing character of Hitler. If Chamberlain could be charmed by it , so could Mussolini be faulted. But Mussolini's descent from leader to puppet is something that just happened and shows that man can have many facets in his character.Sad End