The German Rescue of Mussolini - Gran Sasso Raid 1943

In 1943 Benito Mussolini was voted out of office by the Grand Council of Fascism, throwing Italy into an even bigger mess than it was already in. King Victor Emmanuel III was also in on the plotting and he had Mussolini arrested and locked up, ready to be transported to the Allies. Adolf Hitler could not bring himself to sit idly by and watch his friend be executed and he also needed a propaganda victory at home. There was only one man he trusted to pull off the impossible, Otto Skorzeny. Operation Oak or Unternehmen Eiche in German was the rescue of Benito Mussolini from a mountain top hotel in the Apennines. On paper, it seemed impossible. In reality, the daring raid came off without a single man killed. It was truly one of the most impressive feats of the war. Let's find out what happened and the situation surrounding it.

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