The Rescue of Benito Mussolini During the Grand Sasso Raid Known as Operation Eiche

On September 12, 1943, Waffen-SS officer Otto Skorzeny freed Benito Mussolini at Gran Sasso. An excerpt from the article:

"On September 12, 1943, German paratroopers captured the rail line that ran from the valley floor up the mountain. This was done to ensure that no Italian reinforcements would interfere with the rescue attempt. Skorzeny’s gliders with its men made landings near the hotel and effectively surprised and captured Mussolini’s guards. They did this without firing a single shot. They then proceeded to escort the dazed and frail former dictator to the waiting plane.

The main reason why Skorzeny and his special troopers were able to overwhelm Mussolini’s well-equipped captors who numbered over 200 men was simple; General Fernando Soleti of the Italian African Police, who flew in with Skorzeny, told the Italian troops to stand down. After securing the radio station, Skorzeny stormed into the hotel with his troopers and escorted Mussolini to the Fieseler Fi 156 STOL plane. This happened withing ten minutes of his entry into the building.

Skorzeny insisted on accompanying Mussolini in a plane rated to carry two adults at the maximum. This could have endangered the success of the mission had the light Fieseler Fi failed to take off and crashed. However, after an extremely dangerous but successful take-off, they flew to Pratica di Mare. There, they switched to a Heinkel He 111 bomber and flew to Vienna. The next day Mussolini was at Munich and on September 14, he met Hitler at the Führer Headquarters Wolf’s Lair."