Operation Oak
| Operation Oak | |
|---|---|
| Part of World War II | |
 Mussolini rescued by German commandos from his prison in Campo Imperatore on 12 September 1943. |
|
| Operational scope | Operational |
| Location |
Campo Imperatore, Italy 42°25′34″N 13°31′42″E / 42.42611°N 13.52833°ECoordinates: 42°25′34″N 13°31′42″E / 42.42611°N 13.52833°E |
| Planned | Kurt Student |
| Planned by | Harald Mors |
| Target | Campo Imperatore |
| Date | 12 September 1943 |
| Executed by | Fallschirmjäger-Lehr-Bataillon of the 2. Fallschirmjägerdivision, 1/FJR 7; SS-Sonderverband z.b.V. Friedenthal; Polizia di Stato |
| Outcome | Rescue of Benito Mussolini |
| Casualties | Italian: two killed German: 10 injured |
The Gran Sasso raid refers to Operation Eiche ("Oak"), the rescue of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini by German paratroopers led by Major Otto-Harald Mors and Waffen-SS commandos in September 1943, during World War II. The airborne operation was personally ordered by Adolf Hitler, planned by Harald Mors, and approved by General Kurt Student. Gerhard Mertins was among the paratroopers who participated in the raid.
On the night between 24 and 25 July 1943, a few weeks after the Allied invasion of Sicily and bombing of Rome, the Italian Grand Council of Fascism voted a motion of no confidence (Ordine del Giorno Grandi) against Mussolini. On the same day, the king replaced him with Marshal Pietro Badoglio and had him arrested.
Mussolini was being transported around Italy by his captors (first to Ponza, then to La Maddalena, both small islands in the Tyrrhenian sea), while Hauptsturmführer (SS captain) Otto Skorzeny—selected personally by Hitler and Ernst Kaltenbrunner to carry out the mission—was tracking him.
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Wikipedia