Gran Sasso Raider Otto Skorzeny, he led the raid to rescue captured Italian Head Mussolini from his mountain top prison. The Rescue of Il Duce Skorzeny appeared before Adolf Hitler on July 26, 1943. The Fuhrer had a special mission for the scar-faced commando: a day earlier, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had been forced to resign and arrested by his own people. Skorzeny's new mission would be to find Mussolini and rescue him before the new Italian government surrendered and offered up Mussolini to the Allies. The following day, Skorzeny was in Italy, where he and his men spent over a month trying to locate their quarry. On September 8, Skorzeny learned that Mussolini was being held prisoner in a resort hotel sitting some 6000 feet atop the Gran Sasso, the highest peak of the Appenine mountain range, some eighty miles northeast of Rome. After reconnoitering Gran Sasso by plane, Skorzeny realized that assaulting the peak by glider was his best option. The Luftwaffe experts consulted by Skorzeny warned that such a feat was "technically impossible," (5) due to the high altitude and bad landing conditions, but Skorzeny ignored their advice. On September 12, 1943, Skorzeny kidnaped Italian general Ferdinando Soleti in Rome. The commando leader feared that Mussolini would be killed by his captors should the Italian guards delay Skorzeny's men for too long. The big Austrian hoped Soleti's presence would ensure that the guards cooperated. That afternoon, the twelve gliders left for Gran Sasso, with Skorzeny's the first to reach its destination. After a rough landing, Skorzeny, followed by his men and Soleti, rushed into the hotel. They first entered the radio room, where Skorzeny smashed the radio with the butt of his pistol. Soon they were confronted by several armed guards. Seeing Soleti among the invaders, the guard captain ordered his men to hold their fire. Within minutes, Skorzeny had located Mussolini. "Duce, the Fuhrer has sent me to set you free," (6) he said. "I knew my friend Adolf Hitler would not abandon me," replied Mussolini, embracing Skorzeny. (7) A small spotter plane was called in and the fascist dictator was evacuated from the mountain. Skorzeny had pulled off the impossible-without firing a shot. |
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