Mussolini was imprisoned, but this was exactly what China and Germany expected.
Codename - Assault!
"Take over Italy without hesitation and put Italy on the right track." Jiang Baili, who is visiting Germany, put forward China's request: "There are many people in Italy who oppose Mussolini, and no one will do anything for his ouster."
His appearance has well illustrated this issue. If everything that is happening in Italy is allowed to happen at this time, it will be a very complicated problem for our victory, head of state."
"Yes, Germany thinks so too." Adolf Hitler said the same thing: "So military occupation is inevitable. Mr. Chang, the top priority is to rescue Mussolini first."
"The commando team is ready." Jiang Baili smiled: "I think they will be very happy working together."
Adolf Hitler also laughed.
Indeed, if we were to talk about the best combination to rescue Mussolini, then there is no doubt that it would be the pair of Wang Ding and Klingenberg who once occupied Belgrade with seven people and successfully killed Montgomery.
As early as August, Wang Ding and Klingenberg had been transferred back from North Africa. China and Adolf Hitler had placed unlimited expectations on the Sino-German combination that had achieved many miracles.
Wang Ding was not surprised when he heard that the person to be rescued was Mussolini.
To him, Mussolini was no different from any other ordinary person. This was just an ordinary mission.
He selected 80 Chinese and German soldiers from among his men who had participated in the ambush of Montgomery as operators of this rescue plan.
This is October 1, 1943.
Wang Ding immediately flew to Rome and made contact with the German airborne troops stationed in Italy.
There were many difficulties in rescuing Mussolini. The most urgent thing that troubled Wang Ding the most was that no one knew where Mussolini was being detained. The Italian government had fully considered the possibility of the Germans kidnapping Mussolini, so
The place of detention is not only highly confidential, but also constantly moved.
After Mussolini was arrested, he was first taken to the gendarmerie dormitory on Coincino Serra Street for about an hour, and then sent to the police dormitory on Ingnano Street. On the second day Mussolini
Rini asked Marshal Badoglio to return to his hometown of Romagna, but was refused. The new government believed that the possibility of assassination and kidnapping of him had not been eliminated, and he needed strict protection.
On September 27, he was transferred by a supply truck to Gaeta, southeast of Rome. The next day, he was secretly transferred to Ponca Island, a small island in the Gulf of Gaeta between Rome and Naples. It is sparsely populated and is less likely to leak news.
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Soon, Wang Ding's communications personnel intercepted a telegram from the Italian Ministry of the Interior, which stated: "Security measures in the Gran Sasso Mountain area have been completed." The end of the telegram was signed "Cuyeri."
Cuyeri was the general in charge of guarding Mussolini, and this telegram was sufficient to prove that Mussolini had been transferred to Monte Gran Sasso.
Gran Sasso is located 120 kilometers northeast of Rome and is the highest peak of the Apennine Mountains. On the mountainside at an altitude of 1,800 meters, there is a winter sports center, including the Hotel General Campo, where Mussolini was imprisoned. The hotel is surrounded on three sides
It is a sheer cliff, and there is a cable car between only one side and the village valley below. Although there is a path up the mountain, it is rugged and steep, so people usually take the cable car to the hotel. The Italians imprisoned Mussolini in this "one man for every man"
Fumo really put a lot of effort into opening the "Cliff Hotel".
On October 2, Wang Ding took a plane to reconnoiter the terrain near the hotel and the Italian defense situation. All the roads up the mountain had been blocked by the Italian army. If he attacked by force, at least one division of troops would be needed, and it would take time. Even if
Success, Mussolini had already been killed by random gunfire.
Wang Ding discovered that there was a small triangular open space overgrown with weeds and an abandoned small shooting range next to the hotel. This was a good airborne ground. But the problem came again. The wind in the high mountains was very strong, so it was difficult to guarantee a parachute landing.
Accurate landing point. The plane landed, facing the glider! Wang Ding's mind immediately came up with a plan to use the glider to rescue Mussolini.
After returning to the base, he immediately began to formulate a specific rescue plan. The opinion of the Air Force staff was: "If it is difficult to implement a force attack from the ground, there are only two options to choose from: one is to use paratroopers to parachute, and the other is to use a glider to land."
However, the landing field behind the hotel is too small for both methods, and the number of participants can only be limited to about 20 people. To deal with the hotel's 250-person security force, at least the same number of troops must be used."
Wang Ding, who had participated in two bold military operations, the assault on Belgrade and the ambush on Montgomery, was very dissatisfied with the above opinions. He decided to boldly adopt a glider landing method.
German Air Force Commander Stolten transferred 12 gliders and 90 paratroopers to him from France. Ding's specific plan was a bit like a thrilling stunt. Aircraft No. 1 and No. 2 landed first, covering the follow-up landing.
Plane No. 3, together with Plane No. 4, rescued Mussolini. The other planes carried paratroopers to support and capture the cable car platform as appropriate to prevent the Italian army from reinforcing the mountain. Then a light aircraft landed on the top of the cliff and landed Mussolini.
Ni was sent to the Aquila Airport in the western lowlands of the mountains, and from there he was sent to Hitler's headquarters. He also further studied the key points of operations such as entering the hotel, withdrawing from the battle, covering support, and details of related issues.
On the eve of the attack, Wang Ding gathered 128 attack team members and all pilots, explained in detail the action plan and its huge dangers, and then said: "We must strive for success."
October 6 was the day of the scheduled attack. We originally planned to fly in the morning when the airflow over the mountains was relatively stable, but the glider failed to arrive on time. In order to avoid the attacks of Allied fighter jets, the German pilots made several time-consuming long-distance roundabout flights.
, landed at the Plateco de Mare base 25 kilometers south of Rome with a towed aircraft and 12 gliders at 11 o'clock, and immediately received an order to attack. The take-off time was scheduled for 1 o'clock in the afternoon.
Italians have the habit of taking a lunch break, which is a favorable opportunity. Taking advantage of the delay in the attack, Wang Ding sent his deputy Klingenberg to Rome, found the pro-German Italian General Suleti, and told him about the upcoming attack plan.
, asking him to cooperate and convince the Italian guards who imprisoned Mussolini not to resist!
General Suleti was shocked when he heard this bold plan, but he had to agree to Klingenberg's request. He was immediately put into a jeep waiting at the door by two big men.
The action finally begins.
The propeller of the tractor rotated slowly, driving the gliders to take off one by one. But when the plane broke through the clouds at 1,500 meters, Wang Ding discovered that gliders 1 and 2 were missing. It turned out that they were trapped in the crater on the runway.
This meant that only 20 people were left to directly participate in the attack, and there would be no one to cover them when they landed. Since there was no communication between the aircraft, the tow plane and glider could not change the plan once they were airborne.
The glider used in this operation was the ds-230 glider, the best in the German Air Force. The ds-230 was a high-wing monoplane with a length of 22 meters and a wingspan of 22 meters. It had a circular steel frame covered with wood.
It carries a pilot and 10 crew members and has a maximum towing speed of 210 kilometers per hour. This kind of glider has to throw off its extra large wheels after taking off and rely on a main skid when landing. Because its landing speed is low, it is very easy to
Popular. In order to reduce the sliding distance for landing, the Germans often wrap some barbed wire around the skid.
In Italy in October, the weather was still humid, and the cabin became even more stuffy. The team members were faint, and the fat General Suleti was pale and panting. When flying over the Apennine Mountains, Wang Ding discovered that he was in the glider.
The position had poor visibility and he could not clearly see the situation below. He took out a knife and cut a hole in the cloth bilge between his legs. From time to time, he bent down to observe the ground and loudly told the pilot what he saw.
A breath of fresh air was blown into the cabin, and everyone felt much better. General Suleti's face gradually returned to normal.
Half an hour later, Wang Ding saw the Aquila Valley through the hole in the bilge, and the Gran Sasso Mountain was approaching. Since planes 1 and 2 were not there, he decided that plane 3 would land first and asked the team members to put on their helmets.
, get ready. After guiding the pilot to the predetermined mountain peak, Wang Ding told the pilot to decouple the glider from the tow plane. So, they slowly circled and landed in a circle from an altitude of 3,660 meters, with the other gliders following behind.
The driver turned to Wang Ding with a look of surprise. He didn't believe that what he saw was the scheduled landing site. If they hit the cliff, they would all be doomed. Ding bent down and checked carefully again, and then asked the driver
The officer scolded: "That's right, it's right here. If you make any noise again, we'll throw you down!"
The glider continued to land. The open space behind the hotel was too small, and the slope was much steeper than expected. There were rocks and loose pebbles everywhere. But now that it was impossible to return, the pilot began to pull the lever to slow down the glider.
Then there was a dull "thunk" sound, and the glider landed heavily on the ground and swayed forward. The bilge cracked and the wings were damaged when it hit the ground. However, it finally landed safely and no one was injured. The plane landed 18 meters away from the hotel.
Retreat from the place.
Wang Ding was the first to jump out of the cabin and rushed towards the door. The guards at the door didn't know what was going on. They thought the plane was in danger of landing, so they ran over to prepare for rescue. They were immediately disarmed. The four commandos behind quickly
The machine gun position at the door was occupied. There was a sentry on the mound to the left of the door. He seemed to have just reacted and raised his gun and was about to shoot.
At this time General Suleti shouted: "Don't shoot!"