43-9-12 Gran Sasso Raid - Rescue of Benito Mussolini

Hitler's Secret Mission to Free Benito Mussolini | The Gran Sasso Raid (1943) > .
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In early 1943, the Second World War was in full swing, the fortunes of the Axis Powers seemed to have turned. On July 25th that year, two weeks after the Allied powers invaded Sicily, the King of Italy Victor Emanuel the Third ordered the arrest of Benito Mussolini, following a vote of no confidence from the Fascist Grand Council. This new government, under Marshal Pietro Badoglio started secret peace negotiations with the Allied powers. Now, to the Germans, it was of vital importance that this new government not sue for peace, or even worse, switch sides to the Allied powers. Hitler figured the only way to prevent this from happening, was to have Benito Mussolini rescued, and put him back in power... What followed was one of the most daring special operations and, admittedly, incredible stories of the Second World War: the rescue ... of Benito Mussolini.

The Gran Sasso raid was the rescue of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini by German Fallschirmjäger led by Major Harald Mors and Waffen-SS commandos (notably Otto Skorzeny) in September 1943, during World War II. The airborne operation was personally ordered by Adolf Hitler, planned and executed by Mors, and approved by General Kurt Student.

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On 12 September 1943, Skorzeny and 16 SS troopers joined the Fallschirmjäger to rescue Mussolini in a high-risk glider mission. Ten DFS 230 gliders, each carrying nine soldiers and a pilot, towed by Henschel Hs 126 planes started between 13:05 and 13:10 from the Pratica di Mare Air Base near Rome.

The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (Stork) was a small German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II. Production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. It remains famous for its excellent STOL performance and low stall speed of 31 mph (50 kmph); French-built later variants often appear at air shows.

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41-12-7 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 ..

41-12-11 Nazi Germany declares war on USA ..

42-1-1 Declaration by United Nations ..

42-1-1 Edward R. Murrow on the streets of wartime London at night .. 

42-1-26 American Soldiers in UK ..

42-2-27 to 28 Bruneval Raid - Operation Biting ..
42-3-4 2nd Pearl Harbor Attack .. 

42-4-18 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo ..

42-4-23 Baedecker Blitz 42-6-1 ..

42-5-27 Assassination Reinhard Heydrich 42-6-4 .. 

42-6-10 Aleutian Islands campaign 43-8-15 .. 

42-7-2 Destruction of Convoy PQ17 42-7-25 ..

42-7-27 Japanese Bomb Port Darwin ..

42-8-17 USAF bombs Rouen ..  

42-10-24 El Alamein - day 3 ..  

42-11-16 End of the Beginning Speech ..

42-11-27 Toulon Scuttling by French Navy .. 

43-1-14 Casablanca Conference ..

43-3-31 Rotterdam bombed by USAF ..

43-7-9 Operation Husky - Allied Invasion of Sicily ..

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43-7-9 Operation Husky - Allied Invasion of Sicily

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43-7-9 Operation Husky (Sicily) - 1943, 9 July - BrMo > .

Bloody battle for Italy (Full WW2 Doc) - IWM > .

The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II, in which the Allies took the island of Sicily from the Axis powers (Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign, and initiated the Italian Campaign.

To divert some of the Axis forces to other areas, the Allies engaged in several deception operations, the most famous and successful of which was Operation Mincemeat. Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943, and ended on 17 August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners; the Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island and the Mediterranean sea lanes were opened for Allied merchant ships for the first time since 1941. The Italian leader, Benito Mussolini, was toppled from power in Italy and the way was opened for the Allied invasion of Italy. The German leader, Adolf Hitler, "canceled a major offensive at Kursk after only a week, in part to divert forces to Italy", resulting in a reduction of German strength on the Eastern Front.[15] The collapse of Italy necessitated German troops replacing the Italians in Italy and to a lesser extent the Balkans, resulting in one fifth of the entire German army being diverted from the east to southern Europe, a proportion that would remain until near the end of the war.

43-1-14 Casablanca Conference

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1943-1-14: Roosevelt, Churchill - Casablanca Conference in Morocco - HiPo > .

1943-5-15 Stalin dissolves the Comintern: promoter of worldwide communism > .

On 14 January 1943 the Casablanca Conference began in Morocco.

The conference saw the Combined Chiefs of Staff join American President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to discuss the future strategy for fighting the Second World War. Representing the Free French forces, Generals Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud were also in attendance although they took a minor role in the discussions.

Roosevelt’s attendance at the conference marked the first time a President had left American soil during wartime. Meanwhile, Joseph Stalin did not attend as he felt his presence was needed at home during the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad.

The Casablanca Conference saw the national leaders agree to invade Sicily after the completion of the North African Campaign. This was intended to divert Axis forces away from mainland Europe and weaken the German defence ahead of a later Allied invasion of France. In return, Churchill agreed to send more troops to the Pacific to help in the fight against the Japanese. The leaders also agreed to launch combined bombing missions against Germany and to destroy German U-boats in the Atlantic.

Details of the conference were kept from the public until the participants left Casablanca, although a number of journalists had been invited to a press conference on 24 January where vague details of the discussions were announced by Roosevelt.

Coming as a surprise to Churchill, Roosevelt announced his demand for the ‘unconditional surrender’ of the Axis powers. This had been discussed at the conference, but had not been fully embraced by the British Prime Minister.

43-7-9 Operation Husky - Allied Invasion of Sicily ..

The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) or Anfa Conference was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War 2. In attendance were United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill. Also attending were the sovereign of Morocco, Sultan Muhammad V, and representing the Free French forces, Generals Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud, but they played minor roles and were not part of the military planning. USSR general secretary Joseph Stalin declined to attend, citing the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad as requiring his presence in the Soviet Union.

The conference's agenda addressed the specifics of tactical procedure, allocation of resources, and the broader issues of diplomatic policy. The debate and negotiations produced what was known as the Casablanca Declaration, and perhaps its most historically provocative statement of purpose, "unconditional surrender". That doctrine came to represent the unified voice of implacable Allied will and the determination that the Axis powers would be fought to their ultimate defeat.

42-11-27 Toulon Scuttling by French Navy

French Navy Scuttles Ships > .