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Originally Posted by Kyt  The most commonly held belief is that it was Skorzeny and small plucky band of commandos who rescued Mussolini, and thus, he is the one who received all the acclaim. As the attached scans show this isn't exactly the whole truth. Even the wiki article only mentions that he was "part" of the rescue - which seems to be stretching the truth beyond the real situation. Have a read and let me know what you think. |
Not often I defend an SS officer, but it really is stretching it a bit to refer to the Skorzeny 'myth'. Some myth!
Skorzeny was personally selected and entrusted with the task by Hitler on 26 July, on the recommendation of Kaltenbrunner, and Himmler frequently radioed Skorenzy seeking news of his progress and then, when Mussolini was finally located by Skorzeny, urged him to take immediate action. It was at this stage that General Student was briefed by Himmler.
The paratroopers involved in the action were under the command of Lieutenant Count Otto Berlepsh, not Major Harald Mors - Major Mors planned the operation. The SS contingent, about 40, were under the command of Skorzeny. It was Skorzeny's idea to take along an Italian general and it was Skorzeny who played the major role in the rescue. To say that 'he insisted in tagging along' is misleading.
The operation took place in the afternoon of 12 September 1943, and by evening Himmler had telephoned its success to Hitler. The next morning Hitler personally telephoned Skorzeny, after speaking to Mussolini, congratulated him, promoted him to SS Sturmbannfürer, and awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The book section quoted wrongly implies that he was awarded and promoted after the 14 September broadcast.
The brouhaha about who did what occurred after Mussolini's rescue and really arose from General Student complaining that the radio report had made no mention of the army paratroopers and had only mentioned the SS, but this was due to Himmler and Goebbels, not to Skorzeny.
The best account in English of this episode is in
The Last Days of Mussolini by Ray Moseley, and of course in Mussolin's Memoirs written shortly after this event. I scanned some pages from both books but was unable to attach them.
Peter