Mussolini was imprisoned.

Codename - Assault!

"Don't hesitate to take over Italy and put Italy on the right track." Jiang Baili, who was visiting Germany, made a request from the Chinese side: "There are many opponents of Mussolini in Italy at present, and his resignation has been well illustrated by the fact that no one has come forward for him, and if what is happening in Italy is allowed to happen at this time, it will be a very complicated question for our victory, Führer." ”

"Yes, Germany thinks so too." Adolph. Hitler said the same: "So the military occupation is inevitable." Mr. Chief, it is imperative that Mussolini be rescued first. ”

"The commandos are ready." Jiang Baili had a smile on his face: "I think they will be very happy to work together." ”

Adolph. Hitler also laughed.

Indeed, if the best combination to rescue Mussolini is undoubtedly the combination of Wang Ding and Klingenberg, who once occupied Belgrade with seven men and successfully killed Montgomery

As early as August, Wang Ding and Klingenberg had already been transferred back from North Africa. This pair of Sino-German combinations, which have created many miracles, was defeated by the Chinese side and Adolf. Hitler had unlimited expectations.

When he heard that the object to be rescued was Mussolini, Wang Ding was not surprised.

For him, Mussolini was no different from any other ordinary person, it was just an ordinary mission.

He selected 80 Chinese and German soldiers from among his subordinates who had participated in the ambush of Montgomery as the operatives of the rescue plan.

It was October 1943

Wang Ding immediately flew to Rome and made contact with the German airborne troops stationed in Italy.

Rescuing Mussolini was difficult. The most urgent and troublesome thing for Wang Ding is that no one knows where Mussolini is being held. The Italian government had fully taken into account the possibility of Mussolini being taken by the Germans, and the place of detention was kept in a high degree of secrecy and constantly transferred.

After Mussolini's arrest, he was first taken to Coincino. He spent about one hour in the gendarmerie quarters on Via Serra before being transported to the police quarters on Via Ingnano. On the second day, Mussolini asked Marshal Bardolio to return to his native Romagna, but was refused. The new government believes that the possibility of his assassination and abduction has not been cleared and needs to be strictly protected.

On 27 September, he was transferred by van to Gaeta, southeast of Rome. The next day, it was secretly transferred to Ponta Island, a small island in the Gulf of Gaeta halfway between Rome and Naples, which was sparsely populated and not easy to get around.

Soon after, Wang Ding's communications personnel intercepted a telegram from the Italian Ministry of the Interior, which said: "The security measures in the area of the Great Sasso Mountain have been completed. The end of the newspaper is signed "Cujeri".

Cujeri was the general in charge of guarding Mussolini, and this telegram is enough to prove that Mussolini has been transferred to the Great Sasso Mountains.

Located 120 km northeast of Rome, the Great Sasso is the highest peak in the Apennines. On the mountainside at an altitude of 1,800 meters, there is a winter sports center, including one of the General Camp Hotel, where Mussolini is imprisoned. The hotel is surrounded by cliffs on three sides, and only one side has a cable car connecting it to the village valley below. Although there is a trail up the mountain, the path is rugged and steep, and people usually take the cable car to reach the hotel. The Italians imprisoned Mussolini in this cliff hotel, which is "a man who is a man and a man is not open", is really a painstaking effort.

On October 2, Wang Ding took a plane to reconnoiter the terrain near the hotel and the defense of the Italian army. All the gates up the hill had been blocked by the Italians, and if they were to attack, it would take at least one division, and it would take time, and even if they succeeded, Mussolini would have died at the hands of the guns.

Wang Ding found a small triangular clearing overgrown with weeds next to the hotel, a small abandoned shooting range, which was a good airborne field. However, the problem is again, the wind is very strong in the high mountains, and it is difficult to ensure the accurate landing point of the parachute. Airborne, yes, glider! Wang Ding's plan to rescue Mussolini with a glider immediately came to his mind.

Upon returning to the base, he immediately began to develop a concrete rescue plan. The opinion of the Air Force staff officers was: "If it is difficult to carry out a strong attack from the ground, there are only two options: one is to parachute with paratroopers and the other is to land with gliders." However, the landing field at the back of the hotel was too small for both methods, and the number of participants was limited to about 20 men, and against the hotel's 250-strong guard force, at least the same number of troops would be used. ”

Wang Ding, who had participated in the two bold military operations of the raid on Belgrade and the ambush of Montgomery, was very dissatisfied with the above opinion, and he resolutely decided to boldly adopt the method of glider landing.

The commander of the Luftwaffe, Stolten, transferred 12 gliders and 90 paratroopers to him from France. Wang Ding's specific plan is a bit like playing a thrilling stunt, with No. 1 and No. 2 planes landing first and covering the landing of follow-up planes; He took the No. 3 plane, together with the No. 4 plane, to rescue Mussolini, and the rest of the planes carried paratroopers to support and capture the cable car platform as the situation was possible, preventing the Italian army from reinforcing the mountain, and then landed on the top of the cliff with a light plane to transport Mussolini to the Aquila airfield in the western lowlands of the mountains, from where he was transported to Hitler's high command. He also further studied the main points of action such as entering the hotel, withdrawing from the battle, covering support, and the details of the relevant issues.

On the eve of the attack, Wang Ding gathered 128 members of the attack team and all the pilots to explain in detail the plan of action and its great danger. In conclusion, he said: "We must strive for success. ”

October 6 was the day of the scheduled attack. Wang Ding had planned to fly in the morning when the air flow on the mountain was more stable, but the glider did not arrive on time. In order to avoid the attack of Allied fighters, the German pilots made several time-consuming long detours before landing at 11 a.m. in towed aircraft and 12 gliders at Platke, 25 kilometers south of Rome. Morality. Mare base, immediately received an order to attack. Departure is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Italians have a habit of taking a lunch break, which is a favorable opportunity. Taking advantage of the postponement of the attack, Wang Ding sent his deputy Klingenberg to Rome, found the pro-German Italian general Suleiti, told him the plan of the upcoming attack, asked him to cooperate, and persuaded the Italian guards who imprisoned Mussolini not to resist!

General Sulaiti was stunned to hear this bold plan, but had to accede to Klingenberg's request. He was immediately stuffed into the jeep waiting at the door by two big men.

The action has finally begun.

The propeller of the tractor slowly rotated, driving the glider into the air one by one. But when the plane broke through the clouds at 1,500 meters, Wang Ding found that gliders 1 and 2 were missing. It turned out that they were stuck in a crater on the runway, which meant that only 20 people were left to participate in the attack directly, and there would be no cover for them when they landed. Due to the lack of communication between the aircraft, the tow and glider could not change their plans once they had taken off.

The glider used in this operation was the DS-230, the finest in the Luftwaffe. The DS-230 is an upwing wing with a length of 11.3 meters and a wingspan of 22 meters, it has a circular steel frame covered with wood, can carry a pilot and 10 crew members, and has a maximum towing speed of 210 kilometers per hour. The glider drops its oversized wheels after take-off and lands on a single main sled. It is popular due to its low landing speed. In order to reduce the landing distance, the Germans often wrapped some barbed wire around the sled.

In Italy in October, the weather is still humid, and the cabin is even hotter. The team members were dazed, and the obese General Sulaiti was pale and panting. When flying over the Apennines, Wang Ding found that his position in the glider was not good and he could not see the situation below, so he drew his knife and cut a hole in the cloth bilge between his legs, he bent down from time to time to observe the ground, and told the pilot loudly what he saw. At the same time, a breath of fresh air blew into the cabin, everyone felt much better, and General Sulaiti's face gradually returned to normal.

Half an hour later, Wang Ding saw the Aquila Valley through the hole in the bilge, and the Great Sasso Mountain was almost there. Since the No. 1 and No. 2 planes were not available, he decided that the No. 3 planes would be the first to land, and asked the team members to put on their helmets and get ready. After guiding the driver to the predetermined peak, Wang Ding told the driver to decouple the glider from the tractor. So, they landed slowly in a circle from an altitude of 3,660 meters, with the rest of the gliders following behind.

The driver turned to Wang Ding, showing a look of surprise, he didn't believe that what he saw was the predetermined landing field, if they hit the cliff, then they would all be doomed. Wang Ding bent down again and cautiously checked again, and then scolded the driver: "That's right, this is it, let's throw you down again!" ”

The glider continued to land, and the clearing behind the hotel was too small, and the slope was much steeper than expected, with 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 "bang", and the glider fell heavily to the ground, swaying and gliding forward, the bilge cracked, and the wings were damaged to the ground, but finally landed safely and the personnel were not injured. The plane came to a stop 18 meters from the hotel.

Wang Ding was the first to jump out of the cabin and rushed towards the door. The guards at the gate didn't know what was going on, thinking that the plane was in danger of making a forced landing, but instead ran over to prepare for the rescue. They were immediately disarmed. The 4 commandos in the back quickly occupied the machine-gun position at the door. There was a sentry on the mound to the left of the door, who seemed to have just reacted, raising his gun and preparing to shoot.

At this time, General Sulaiti shouted: "Don't shoot!" ”

Soon, he was also caught!