Gran Sasso raid

Gran Sasso raid
Part of World War II
Mussolini with German commandos
TypePrison escape with outside help
Location
42°26′32.73″N 13°33′31.66″E / 42.4424250°N 13.5587944°E / 42.4424250; 13.5587944
Planned byHarald Mors
TargetCampo Imperatore
Date12 September 1943; 81 years ago (1943-09-12)
Executed by
OutcomeBenito Mussolini escaped from prison
Casualties2 Italians killed, 10 Germans wounded

During World War II, the Gran Sasso raid (codenamed Unternehmen Eiche, German pronunciation: [ʊntɐˌneːmən ˈaɪ̯çə] , literally "Operation Oak", by the German military[1]) on 12 September 1943 was a successful operation by German paratroopers and Waffen-SS commandos to rescue the deposed Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini from custody in the Gran Sasso d'Italia massif. The airborne operation was personally ordered by Adolf Hitler, approved by General Kurt Student and planned and executed by Major Harald Mors.

  1. ^ López 2018, pp. 17–19.