At this time, the other three gliders also landed safely, but they were all damaged when sliding over the rocks. ""/""/The crew of each aircraft gathered together, and no one was injured. However, one glider was not found.
The glider crashed into the jungle and rocks at the landing site, causing heavy casualties. The remaining five gliders slid towards the valley and the cable car station.
Wang Ding led the team into the courtyard. In the wing room near the door, an Italian soldier was sitting in front of the radio station, preparing to send a report. Wang Ding kicked his seat over and destroyed the radio station with the butt of his gun. At this time,
When Wang Ding saw a balcony outside, he stepped on the shoulder of a team member and jumped out.
Suddenly, he found that at the opposite window, Mussolini was watching the attack in a daze like a soldier guarding him. Since his arrest, he had been detained in many places and felt numb to everything.
, Wang Ding hurriedly shouted in German:
"Jump out of the window!"
Mussolini was stunned, with a puzzled look on his haggard face. The commandos who arrived later rushed into the hotel in groups, exchanged fire with the guards, and dispersed the reinforcements rushing from the mountain. The Italian army could not resist.
It'll be over in a moment.
Wang Ding ran up the nearby steps, rescued Mussolini from the hands of two young Italian officers, and ordered the commando Lieutenant Scheiber to protect Mussolini and go to a room to rest first.
At this time, all 10 gliders had landed, and all Italian soldiers surrendered under the leadership of a colonel. At this point, the entire rescue process only took 4 minutes.
Wang Ding came to the room where Mussolini was sitting, ran up to the old bearded former head of the Italian government, and saluted with a military salute: "Dear leader, my President Wang Hengyue and the German leader Hitler ordered me to rescue
You, you are free!"
Mussolini was ecstatic, hugged Wang Ding tightly and said: "I know that my friends Wang and Adolf will not abandon me!"
He choked with sobs and could no longer speak.
Interestingly, General Cuyeri, who was in charge of guarding Mussolini, accidentally came to the Gran Sasso Mountain that day and unfortunately became a prisoner of the German army.
The remaining question now was how to get Mussolini from the mountain top to Hitler.
Wang Ding failed to contact Aquila Airport via radio, so he did not know whether the rescue plane was indeed waiting there, so he had to call a light "Lufthansa" plane to land near the cable car station in the valley below according to the backup plan. The plane arrived.
However, the landing gear was damaged during landing and could not take off again. Now there is only one chance left: the German low-card pilot Captain Glock is flying a "Fuseller Bird" aircraft to circle the top of the mountain for reconnaissance. Wang
Ding sent him a signal to prepare for a trial surrender.
Everyone, including Mussolini, started to clear the wreckage of the crashed glider and some small pebbles from this small area, and then the Glock made a trial landing. In the thin air, the "Veseler Bird"
The plane soon skidded in at almost stall speed, and then skidded to a stop facing the uphill slope on the sloping landing site without being damaged. What a blessing. Wang Ding let out a long sigh.
.
If the plane is damaged and cannot take off, then this small landing site will really become a garbage dump, and they will really not be able to leave.
The next step was to let Mussolini escape on this plane. Glock believed that this small plane could only carry one person, and it was impossible to accommodate two "heavyweight" figures, Mussolini and Wang Ding, at the same time.
However, Wang Ding did not want the honor he had already received to be distributed to others. He insisted on flying away with the plane. After negotiation, the pilot Glock realized that the backstage of this daring weirdo must be a tough person, so...
Three people climbed into the plane, which was parked on the edge of the sloping landing field.
The site was too small, and it was impossible for the aircraft to reach the speed required for takeoff. We had to find other ways. Glock asked 12 soldiers to gather around the small fuselage, grab the wings with force, spread their legs, and pull the aircraft back.
An airplane. Glock stepped on the brakes and increased the engine throttle to the maximum. When he released the brakes and sent a signal for the 12 soldiers to let go, the airplane suddenly surged forward, then roared and slid downhill.
.
The landing gear of the plane hit a big pebble, but Glock finally kept the plane steady. Before it could fully accelerate, the plane skidded off the edge of the cliff and fell towards the valley!
Mussolini covered his eyes in horror.
This is the only method that Glock thinks is feasible. Forcibly pulling up the aircraft without fully accelerating will only cause the aircraft to stall and crash. Only by first letting the aircraft dive to the bottom of the mountain to gain flight speed can the aircraft be effectively controlled. Glock is indeed an ace pilot.
, slowly, the nose of the aircraft finally pulled up.
The "Veseler Bird" aircraft was small and slow. When it arrived at Platek Mare Airport, it was almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Mussolini and Wang Ding hurriedly transferred to a German "Henry" aircraft.
Kerr bomber, flying towards Vienna.
That night, they checked into the Imperial Hotel. Chiang Baili, Hitler, Himmler, Goering, Keitel, etc. called one after another to congratulate them.
The next day, Mussolini flew to Munich and met his wife and two children who had fled Italy. On October 8, he reunited with Hitler in Rastenberg.
The raid was successful. Wang Ding was awarded the Knight's Cross by Hitler. Telegrams of congratulations poured in to him, and celebration meetings were held one after another in Berlin and Vienna. Berlin newspapers called Wang Ding's surprise attack "the devil's masterpiece."
"You did a good job." Jiang Baili also had a smile on his face: "This is a successful rescue. Chunxuan, I congratulate you!"
"Thank you!" Wang Ding stood upright and said. Then he raised his own question: "Marshal, what I don't understand is why Mussolini must be rescued? I agree with Fritz Klingenberg.
I think Italy might be better off if it were led by someone else."
"Maybe it's worse?" Jiang Baili asked him back: "We need to maintain the status quo in Italy. What we need is not how brave the Italian army is on the battlefield, but a dictator who continues to rule this country."
"Yes, I understand." Wang Ding replied loudly.
Mussolini was rescued, but Badoglio's government surrendered to the Allies, and the time had come for a complete solution to the Italian problem.
Although Badoglio secretly surrendered to the Allies, he still swore to China and Germany that Italy would never betray the Axis powers.
But Italy has lost the trust of China and Germany.
These stupid Italians, Germany was previously at a disadvantage, but with the strong intervention of the Chinese Army, the European battlefield has undergone extremely significant changes. Italy chose to betray its allies at this time. Their behavior is simply unacceptable.
Logical metaphor.
However, this kind of unreasonable stupidity is what China and Germany want to see most.
On October 9, the day after Mussolini escaped from danger, the former Italian dictator established a new government on the shores of Lake Salo, 500 kilometers north of Rome, with the support of the Chinese and German governments.
"March to Rome!"
Under the call of such slogans, a large number of Chinese and German troops began to deploy an offensive posture against Rome.
The Badoglio government, which had completely misjudged the situation, was in panic all day long. They hurriedly expressed their allegiance to the Chinese and German sides, but this was of no use.
The Badoglio government, which had lost the trust of China and Germany, hurriedly sought support from the Allies. But under the current situation, what support could the Allies give him?
The Badoglio government, which was displeased on both sides, organized an army in desperation to defend Rome. But what can you expect from those generals who only brag on the battlefield and the soldiers who collapsed when they encountered artillery fire?
The Sino-German coalition did not intend to turn the Rome attack into a stalemate. They needed to quickly solve the Italian problem and retake Rome.
Wang Ding's successful rescue of Mussolini inspired the Chinese and German generals, and the airborne troops would become a key to solving the Italian problem.
The airborne operation against Rome begins!
The air defense of the city of Rome was very weak, and it was completely unable to stop the appearance of the Chinese and German air forces.
The Chinese and German air forces did not show any courtesy to the capital of their former ally. They launched a violent bombing campaign against Rome that terrified the Italians. A large number of bombs rained down on the city.
Rome was bombed on a scale unprecedented in history.
This is the most horrific scene.
But this was only the beginning, and a greater disaster for Rome was still far away.
The bombing continued for two days. On the third day, the "assault" operation finally showed its ferocious fangs.
The person responsible for the airborne landing was the Chinese First Paratrooper Division, which had just arrived on the European battlefield.
Under the cover of fighter jets, the young paratroopers took a large number of gliders. The transport plane appeared over Rome, and then a scene that shocked Italy appeared:
Blossoming white umbrella flowers appeared in the sky!
One can fully imagine the shock this brought to the Italians. They had never seen such a scene before, including their soldiers.
The soldiers forgot to shoot these paratroopers. They fled in panic and allowed the Chinese paratroopers to land in Rome calmly, then calmly completed the assembly and calmly controlled the city.
It was a successful airborne, but only thanks to the incompetence of the Italian army.
Wang Ding appeared in Rome. The son of the president of the Republic of China, he was always tireless and fearless of danger, appearing on any occasion that required his presence.
He was responsible for commanding a regiment to attack the seat of Badoglio's government.
The resistance they encountered was also minimal, but when they attacked the target, they found that the officials of the new Italian government had already fled.
They have only been sitting in this position for a few days.
Poor and pathetic Italy, their destiny can never be controlled in their own hands. They can be overthrown at any time, just to see if their enemies are willing to do so.
On October 13, the Chinese Army completely took control of Rome with only one paratrooper division. They did not even wait for reinforcements to arrive and became the masters of the city.
The process was so smooth that even the Chinese military officials found it a bit incredible. In their view, the Italians would resist fiercely, and they had even made contingency plans including preparations in case the airborne landing failed.
But now it seems that all this is no longer necessary.
Italy seems very calm. In their opinion, it makes no difference whether the city is occupied by the Allies, the Germans, or the Chinese. As long as they can eat bread, they can live a peaceful life.
That's fine for the day.
As for the rest? Never mind it.
The large army entered Rome calmly. The tanks were advancing on the streets of Rome as if there were no one around. The infantry were walking listlessly. Their rifle bolts had been opened, but they were of no use.
Adolf Hitler sent a warm congratulatory message to the Chinese Army. In the congratulatory message, he highly praised the Chinese Army's outstanding performance in Rome and said that retaking Rome was the greatest victory of the Axis powers.
All honors are coming to the Chinese ** team.
On October 16, Mussolini, who had been overthrown but took power again, returned to Rome where he had left shortly, and crazy revenge began immediately.
In Rome Mussolini met his daughter Ada and son-in-law Count Ciano. At the fateful meeting of the Grand Council of the Fascist Party, Ciano, despite voting against his father-in-law, still hoped
Relying on the influence of his wife, he reconciled with Mussolini.
But even if Mussolini agreed, China and Germany were unwilling to agree.
The leaders of the old fascist regime who had voted against Mussolini in 1943 were all arrested and immediately tried in Rome, including Ciano. Without exception, they were all sentenced to death!
Despite Ada's various pleas and threats, Mussolini refused to pardon her.
This group of people, including not only Ciano, but also the 78-year-old Marshal de Bonno, a partner who had marched to Rome with Mussolini, were all executed as traitors.
Mussolini regained his power and executed those who betrayed him. On the surface, he seemed to be victorious.
But now it is not Mussolini himself who controls the fate of Italy, but the Chinese and Germans. They can do whatever they want to do in this country and arrest anyone they want to arrest.
This was a huge disappointment to the Allies. Italy had secretly surrendered during the Badoglio government, but now everything has come to nothing.
China and Germany have regained Italy, and the largest offensive battle is about to begin!