Who really rescued Mussolini?

[Kyt]

Taking a short break from my usual diet of air foce and aircraft books, I've been readibng a very interesting book about the Nazi attempts to create resistence and sabotage groups before the end of the war:

The SS Hunter Battalions

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 streching the truth beyond the real situation. Have a read and let me know what you think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Eiche

I'm only a 100 pages into the 400 page tome, and though it's a hard slog because most the material is new to me, I'm gripped the stories of departmental fighting, the building of the Skorzeny myths, the manipulation of the Nazi belief in racial-purity for pragmatic alliances with old enemies, and the failure of so many schemes.

[spidge]

Originally Posted by Kyt

Taking a short break from my usual diet of air foce and aircraft books, I've been readibng a very interesting book about the Nazi attempts to create resistence and sabotage groups before the end of the war:

The SS Hunter Battalions

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 streching the truth beyond the real situation. Have a read and let me know what you think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Eiche

I'm only a 100 pages into the 400 page tome, and though it's a hard slog because most the material is new to me, I'm gripped the stories of departmental fighting, the building of the Skorzeny myths, the manipulation of the Nazi belief in racial-purity for pragmatic alliances with old enemies, and the failure of so many schemes.

I have just seen the documentary on the extraction and subsequent return if Il Duce to Hitler.

Politics in the SS............Surely not! Just like the normal office environment.

[morse1001]

Charles Whiting wrote a book called "Werewolf" about the left behind groups of the nazi resistance. Its been a long time since I read it and so details are sketchy!

[Kyt]

Perry Biddiscombe, writer of the above book, also wrote a book about the Werewolves. But this one is more detailed, and concentrates on the 1944/45 period (i.e. when the shift in Nazi policy occurred during their retreats).

I shall post more snippets later.

[PeterG]

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

[Kyt]

Originally Posted by PeterG

Not often I defend an SS officer, but it really is stretching it a bit to refer to the Skorzeny 'myth'. Some myth!

Virtually everything written about Skorzeny, before this book, has been based, to some degree, on his autobigraphy and on Foley's Commando Extraordinary. Neither book is reliable nor does either critically analyse his achievements. So I believe the term myth is wholey acceptable because the book from which the scans come from disentangles fact from propaganda. Strip away the propaganda and the facts show that his achievements were minimal, and his military "genius" was overblown.

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.

Being chosen by Hitler is not an indicator of being a competant or appropriate military leader or planner. He chose Himmler to lead the defence of Berlin after all! Skorzeny was a nobody who got his big break because he was a friend of Kaltenbrunner. The real question should be what was Kaltenbrunner's game? He was an intriguer and used any means possible to further himself in the SS.

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.

As the scans show there was absolutely no need for Skorzeny to have gone on the mission himself. He and his group had wasted tme chasing after leads, and when the plan for the final rescue was put forward it di not require SS involvement. It was only because he had the authority to over-ride the plan from Hitler. How do you define major role? It was the paratroopers who landed and did all the work? Skorzeny and the SS contingent played a part but it wasno way crucial.

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.

I don't think it does imply that. It states that he was also awarded the promotion and medal. Either way, the date is immaterial to the overall pictureof what happened.

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.

At that time this may well been the case but as I have stated neither his autobiography or Foley make any attempts at correcting any of the propaganda.

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.

I have not read Moseley's book but I wouldn't call Mussolini's Memoirs reliable. For one thing he would, of course highlight the "role" played by the very man that Hitler had promoted and rewarded for his rescue. And he would not have been the true nature of the planning that went on before, except that told to him.

Peter, you may need to reduce the size of the scan before you can post. The limit for jpgs is 1.5 mb but there is a height and width limit.