The Gran Sasso Raid: Freedom for Mussolini

Mussolini with his rescuers Sept. 12, 1943

It was the fall of 1943. Italy was being invaded by the Allies after the loss of North Africa. Benito Mussolini is deposed by the Italian Fascist Council, replaced by Piedro Badoglio, and arrested by order of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel. However, Hitler does not intend on abandoning his fellow fascist leader so easily.

A plan is devised, codename Operation Eiche ("oak"), by Otto Skorzeny. They know that Mussolini is being held in the Hotel Campo Imperatore in the Apennines Mountains. The plan involves nine gliders of troops to land on the surrounding the hotel and then airlift Mussolini in a Fieseler Fi156, a small reconnaissance plane able to take off and land in very short distances.

A Fieseler Fi156

The plan goes off without a hitch. The nine gliders land, the paratroopers, both Waffen-SS and Fallschirmjager (regular army versus SS), take the hotel without firing a shot. Mussolini graciously receives his liberators and they proceed to leave. The only problem in the plan was that the Fi156 was meant only for two people, and the extra weight of Mussolini on board almost made the plane too heavy to take off.

Fortunately for Mussolini, he arrived safely in Vienna and after meeting with Hitler was soon appointed the ruler of German-occupied Italy, or the Italian Social Republic. This would ultimately prove to be Hitler's last successful gamble of the war. It also would prove to be one of the last great PR messages for Hermann Goering of the Luftwaffe.

The rescue of Mussolini was played on by the German propagandists for months, and as it would soon become apparent there would be little if any German successes to gloat about in the final days of the war. Until next time, take care, and thanks for reading. 

WWII Movie Review: "Red Tails"

As the inaugural 2012 blog post, it seemed fitting to do a review of one of the first movies of 2012. "Red Tails", a George Lucas film, attempts to summarize the legacy that is the Tuskegee Airmen. Serving in a white man's army and deemed to be not intelligent enough to fly combat missions, the men of the all-black 332nd Fighter Group went on to prove themselves to their white superiors and they soon became a legend.

"Red Tails" is set primarily in Italy, as that is where the 332nd was based in late 1944. The movie shows how these pilots were flying outdated fighters such as the P-40 Warhawk and were frustrated at being constantly assigned menial tasks. In Washington, the commander of the 332nd tries to explain to his superiors that the reason that their record is disappointing is that they never get to prove themselves.

This changes when the 332nd is assigned as air cover for Operation Shingle, or the Anzio landings. Their exploits over the Italian beaches prove to the higher-ups that the Tuskegee Airmen are able pilots. This prompts a general to assign the 332nd to bomber escort, since white pilots had been trained to shoot down German planes rather than protect the bombers at all costs.

This eventually leads white bomber pilots to slowly accept the black pilots, as their appreciation for sticking with the formation all the way through outweighs their prejudices. Over time, the 332nd sees more bombers home than most other fighter groups, and later in the war they are distinguished as being one of a select few groups to shoot down multiple Me-262s. The heroism of these pilots as well as black infantry units would later prompt President Truman to desegregate the armed forces.

A vintage 332nd Fighter Group P-51 C

As far as this movie is concerned, in my opinion this movie does a good job in portraying the conditions of aerial combat as well as creating  believable 1940s Italy setting. The only flaw that I could see in the film was when the 332nd is given newer P-51s. While the 332nd did use such aircraft during the war, the models used in the film were D variants rather than the historically accurate C variant. The C variant did not have the bubble canopy that the D variant was so famous for. The 332nd was given C variants because their superiors were still not completely over their prejudices at that time.

All in all, however, the main message of the film, and of the Tuskegee program, is clearly shown. The film does an excellent job of showing the greatest insult to the Germans: that the mighty Aryan race was  defeated in part by those even their enemies considered inferior. Until next time take care, and thanks for reading.