55. Many Italian Jews were Fascists and looked fondly on Mussolini: Brendon, 553; and Lamb, War in Italy, 35.
56. Starhemberg, 92 (Mussolini made this remark in 1932).
57. Ibid. (Mussolini made this remark in 1932).
58. Ibid., 24 (Mussolini made this remark in 1930).
59. Hibbert, 98–99.
60. World war was inevitable within three or four years: Shirer, 436.
61. Wring a few concessions by playing the peace card: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 224.
62. Ciano, Diary, 146 (from an entry dated October 23, 1938).
63. Referred to Hitler as untrustworthy and considered aligning himself with the Western powers: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 228.
64. Jealous: Ibid., 230.
65. Bumbling and meaningless adventure: Ibid., 230–231.
66. Was aware in the spring of 1939 (i.e., April and May) that Hitler was planning to invade Poland: Ibid., 232; and Shirer, 482.
67. Assured the Italians in May that Germany did not want war for four years: Wiskemann, 143; and Shirer, 482.
68. The king disapproved, but Mussolini brushed off his reservations: Monelli, 174.
69. Mussolini dubbed it the Pact of Steel: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 231.
70. Patto di Sangue: Wiskemann, 145.
71. Documents on German Foreign Policy, vol. 6, 562.
72. Ibid., 618–619.
73. Hitler’s father was a civil servant: Shirer, 6. Mussolini’s was a blacksmith: A.J.P. Taylor, War Lords, 17.
74. Made deals with big business: Wiskemann, 342.
75. Neither knew much about economics: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 69.
76. Monelli, 119.
77. Mussolini made it known he wanted men killed: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 115; Denis Mack Smith, Modern Italy, 387; and Monelli, 172.
78. Both praised The Crowd: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 127.
79. Five feet six inches: Hibbert, 88; and Monelli, 122.
80. Duodenal ulcer first surfaced in 1925: Wiskemann, 9.
81. Good for most of his life and began to fail in 1943: Bullock, Hitler, 420.
82. Kesselring, 180.
83. Worked tirelessly: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 111; and Monelli, 123. At the expense of his personal comfort: Hibbert, 52.
84. Man of culture and learning, and had a tendency to exaggerate his erudition: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 131–132.
85. Mussolini insisted on writing a thesis paper: Monelli, 103.
86. Irving, Hitler’s War, xxxi.
87. Ribbentrop, 28, 30–31.
88. Wiskemann, 342.
89. Hibbert, 11.
90. Alfieri, 92.
91. Never had real friends and considered this fact a virtue: Dennis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 4, 299.
92. Ibid., 11.
93. Imitation of the Duce’s gestures: Ibid., 216. Used rouge: Hibbert, 115; and Dollmann, Interpreter, 109.
94. Had little regard for the Italians: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 240.
95. Kampfzeit: Trevor-Roper, Hitler’s Table Talk, xiv.
96. Ibid., 10 (this remark was made on the evening of July 21–22, 1941).
97. Ibid., 266 (this remark was made on January 31, 1942).
98. Ibid., 135 (this remark was made on November 20, 1941).
99. Mussolini was a former Socialist: Hibbert, 37.
100. Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 240.
101. A.J.P. Taylor, War Lords, 24.
102. Trevor-Roper, Hitler’s Table Talk, 10 (this remark was made on the evening of July 21–22, 1941).
103. Ibid., 3 (this remark was made on July 5, 1941).
104. Rachele Mussolini, 152.
105. Alfieri, 93.
106. His alliance with Italy was a burden: Bullock, Hitler, 460.
107. Fuehrer Conferences, 67 (this remark was made on May 14 at the Wolf ’s Lair).
108. Deakin, 799–800 (from Testament of Adolf Hitler).
109. Trevor-Roper, Testament, 85.
110. Too many guitar players, not enough warriors: Ciano, Diary, 72–73.
111. Dollmann, Interpreter, 315.
112. Ciano, Diary, 332 (from an entry dated March 18, 1940).
113. Rachele Mussolini, 153.
114. Ciano, Diary, 333 (from an entry dated March 19, 1940).
115. Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 260.
116. Ciano, Diary, 590 (from an entry dated December 23, 1943).
117. Bullock, Hitler, 368.
118. Gilbert, 33 (from a May 20, 1943, Hitler conference).
119. Ciano, Diary, 258 (from an entry dated August 13, 1939).
120. Ibid., 330 (from an entry dated March 12, 1940).
121. Made his subordinates run to his desk: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 202. Distance to his desk was twenty yards: Ibid., 125.
122. Monelli, 211.
123. Schmidt, 65.
Chapter 4
1. Goebbels, 407.
2. Near the Gulf of Genoa: Liddell Hart, Rommel Papers, 432 (Rommel mentions this point in a diary entry dated July 26).
3. Warlimont, 362 (from a July 26, 1943, Hitler conference).
4. Liddell Hart, Rommel Papers, 432.
5. Trevor-Roper, Bormann Letters, 16. (The letter is dated July 26.)
6. Within a week unless the Nazis seized Rome: Goebbels, 408, 416.
7. Goebbels, 405–406.
8. Semmler, 95.
9. By the time Hitler’s advisors arrived: Bullock, Hitler, 414. Note: Bullock wrote that Hitler had these plans at the ready at least in theory by July 26.
10. Operation Oak was the mission to find and rescue Mussolini; Operation Student called for the armed takeover of the Italian capital: Shirer, 1000; and Martienssen, 184.
11. Operation Black was the military occupation of the Italian peninsula: Shirer, 1000; and Martienssen, 184.
12. Operation Axis was the capture or destruction of the Italian fleet: Shirer, 1000; and Martienssen, 184.
13. Goebbels, 416.
14. Goering and Ribbentrop adopted Hitler’s point of view: Fuehrer Conferences, 104.
15. Ibid.,103–104.
16. Ibid., 104.
17. Ibid.
18. Nicknamed “Smiling Albert”: Barnett, Hitler’s Generals, 276. Kesselring had a reputation for being an Italophile: Plehwe, 86.
19. Fuehrer Conferences, 104.
20. Gilbert, 31 (from a May 20, 1943, Hitler conference).
21. Trevor-Roper, Bormann Letters, 14.
22. Goebbels, 411.
23. Shirer, 343.
24. Dissolved the Fascist Party on July 27: Delzell, 238.
25. Deakin, 495 (from a Mackensen telegram dated July 26).
26. Alfieri fled to Switzerland: Dombrowski, 112.
27. Deakin, 495 (from a Mackensen telegram dated July 27).
28. Goebbels, 417–418.
29. Deakin, 498 (from a Mackensen telegram dated July 29).
30. Ibid. (from a Mackensen telegram dated July 29).
31. Deliver Hitler’s birthday present to the Duce: Plehwe, 66.
32. The gift would be conveyed by the Italians: Ibid.
33. Badoglio had given the Germans a letter: Ibid., 49–50. Note: According to Plehwe, Badoglio told the Germans about this letter on July 26.
34. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 84.
35. Goebbels, 415.
36. Units from France and the Eastern front: Plehwe, 67–68.
37. Goebbels, 408.
38. The Allies were caught off guard by the coup: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 163.
39. Ibid., 40 (this remark was made by Galeazzo Ciano to a friend).
40. Lacked experience as a politician: Lamb, War in Italy, 13.
41. Sacked in 1940: Lamb, War in Italy, 14.
42. A pint of champagne daily, card games and frequent naps: Lamb, War in Italy, 14.
43. Rarely made a move without the monarch’s approval: Garland and Smyth, 267, 281.
44. Neither had developed a str
ategy for getting out of the war: Delzell, 233.
45. Several attempts to contact the West: Lamb, War in Italy, 12.
46. Inclined to reject such a harsh stance: Ibid.
47. Held out hope that they could come to an understanding with Hitler and thereby exit the war: Garland and Smyth, 282, 287.
48. Plehwe, 125.
49. Contacted Hitler and requested a summit meeting: Garland and Smyth, 286.
50. Badoglio, 55.
51. Churchill, Onwards to Victory, 143, 145.
52. Created uncertainty in the minds of the Allies: Delzell, 243; Denis Mack Smith, Modern Italy, 417; and Lamb, War in Italy, 13.
53. Dozens wrote letters to Badoglio: Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 307; and Plehwe, 73, 75.
54. Badoglio, 46.
55. Its 4 million members: Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 306.
56. Units were beginning to mass near the Italian frontier: Plehwe, 66.
57. Some of Badoglio’s own generals believed that Italy should make a clean break: Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 307; and Delzell, 257. Never gave this option consideration: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 210.
58. Badoglio, 66.
Chapter 5
1. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 57.
2. Put it on hold before canceling it altogether: Note: According to Garland and Smyth, 368, OKW cancelled Operation Student on August 5.
3. Student, 392–393.
4. About 20,000: Ibid., 394.
5. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 48.
6. Sometime after 11:00 P.M.: Radl, 22–26.
7. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 48.
8. Every half an hour: Radl, 22–26.
9. Forty commandos from Friedenthal: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 236.
10. Ten intelligence officers from Amt VI: Ibid.
11. Assigned to Skorzeny to aid in the search: Ibid., 233, 236.
12. Paratrooper garb and bogus IDs: Radl, 23–30.
13. A set of civilian clothes: Ibid., 23–27.
14. Dye their hair black: Ibid., 27–31.
15. Chalked up the idea to Himmler: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 233.
16. Radl ignored the hair dye order: Radl, 29–33.
17. Monk’s robes: Ibid., 25–29.
18. Early on the morning of July 27: Student, 393–394.
19. Gerlach was an ace: Patricelli, 67.
20. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 52.
21. Ibid., 53.
22. Ten miles from Rome: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 363.
23. Had worked with them for more than a year and a half: See ibid., 87.
24. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 54.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Goebbels, 410.
28. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 44.
29. Similar lecture about secrecy: Student, 393–394, 412.
30. Keep Kesselring out of the loop: See Ibid., 393–394; and Deakin, 544.
31. Kesselring, 171.
32. Liddell Hart, Rommel Papers, 434.
33. Over the next several days: Garland and Smyth, 286, 293.
34. Without the consent of the Italians: Student, 394; and Liddell Hart, Second World War, 452. Would be transferred to Sicily or southern Italy: Ibid.
35. On the evening of July 28: Radl, 48–52.
36. Detour to France on July 27: Ibid., 35–42.
37. Quartered near the airport: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 234.
38. Showed up on July 29 and informed his men: Radl, 55–56.
39. Ibid., 55.
40. One of the commandos fainted: Ibid., 56.
41. Ibid.
42. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 55.
43. Worked with Langguth: Radl, 87–91; and Patricelli, 23.
44. Blue eyes: Dollmann, Interpreter, 241. Kappler was thirty-six: Katz, Battle for Rome, 46; and Davis, Who Defends Rome, 89. Dueling scars: Dollmann, Interpreter, 239; and Katz, Battle for Rome, 83. Training in espionage and security: Ibid., 51.
45. Spying on the Italian police: Katz, Battle for Rome, 51.
46. Dogs, roses, and Etruscan vases: Ibid.
47. Fondness for Rome: Ibid. Posted to Rome in 1939: Ibid.
48. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 55.
49. Dollmann was in the General SS: Dollmann, Interpreter, 76.
50. Excellent knowledge of Italian: Katz, Death in Rome, 26. Blond: Ibid. Dapper: Katz, Battle for Rome, 291. Confidant of Eva Braun: Katz, Death in Rome, 26.
51. Elegant manners and knowledge of Italian culture: Katz, Death in Rome, 26.
52. Flair for intrigue: Ibid.
53. Dollmann, Interpreter, 239.
54. Ibid.
55. Ribbentrop urged the German embassy staff to arrest the “wire-pullers”: Plehwe, 60; also see Hoettl, 225.
56. Three men and one female secretary: Plehwe, 60.
57. Kappler and Dollmann disliked each other: Dollmann, Interpreter, 237, 241; and Plehwe, 63. Kappler believed that rescuing Mussolini was a bad idea: Katz, Battle for Rome, 51.
58. Dollmann, Interpreter, 249.
59. Kappler was convinced that Fascism was finished: Plehwe, 63.
60. Ibid.
61. Kappler flew to see Himmler: Ibid., 91–92.
62. Dollmann, Interpreter, 240.
63. Dollmann and Mackensen drew up the list of victims: Plehwe, 84, 89; also see Radl, 72–76.
64. Resented Skorzeny as an intrusion: Dollmann, Interpreter, 241. A stickler for orders: Ibid; and Katz, Battle for Rome, 51.
65. Priebke spoke fluent Italian: Goni, Real Odessa, 252. Priebke was Kappler’s second-in-command: Katz, Battle for Rome, 61.
66. He had made connections among the Italians: Radl, 71–75. Italian operatives on his payroll: Note: Radl, 87–91, indicates that Kappler used his “agents” to help find Mussolini, but it is not clear whether Radl is referring to Kappler’s tiny staff or to possible Italian operatives.
67. Kappler was actively involved: Ibid., 87–91.
68. Student, 410.
69. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 57.
70. Hoettl, 231.
71. Schellenberg, 386.
72. Wulff, Zodiac, 85 and 87.
73. Student, 408.
74. About 5,000 pounds in forged British banknotes: Skorzeny, My Commando Operations, 221.
75. New York Times, July 26, 1943.
76. A wave of popular feeling rippled through Rome: Wiskemann, 303.
77. People sang songs in the streets and wept: Ibid. They declared that the end of Fascism had arrived and cursed the name of Mussolini: Hibbert, 229.
78. Plehwe, 41.
79. Monelli, 224–225.
80. Little physical violence: Monelli, 224.
81. Shop windows already bore photographs of the king and Badoglio: Monelli, 225.
82. Badoglio, 50.
83. Outdid the Fascists regarding repressive measures: Katz, Battle for Rome, 27.
84. A 9:00 P.M. curfew, and meetings involving more than three people were outlawed: Plehwe, 49.
85. One of the best organizations of its kind: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 59.
86. Planted by Italian agents: Radl, 87–91; and Davis, Who Defends Rome, 286.
87. Skorzeny, Secret Missions, 56.
88. Student, 409.
Chapter 6
1. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 83.
2. Captain Paolo Vigneri: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 135, 141.
3. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 82.
4. Ibid.
5. A seat on a stretcher: Monelli, 219.
6. Hoettl, 237 (from Mussolini’s Pontine and Sardinian Musings).
7. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 82.
8. Courtyard of the Podgora barracks in Via Quintino Sella: Hibbert, 227.
9. Thrust out his chin, hands on hips: Ibid.
10. Shown to the officers’ mess, bided his time for forty-five minutes: Ibid.
11. Carabinieri cadet barracks in Via Legnano: Ibid. Arriving at 7:00 P.M.
: Davis, Who Defends Rome, 147.
12. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 83.
13. Large white letters: Hibbert, 232. “Believe, Fight, and Obey” was a popular Fascist slogan: Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini, 124.
14. Green-colored envelope, “War Office,” and handwritten note: Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 83.
15. Ibid., 83–84.
16. Ibid., 84.
17. Ibid., 85.
18. Goebbels, 415.
19. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 84.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid., 86.
22. About eighty miles southeast of Rome: Maugeri, 125.
23. Costanzo Ciano Wharf: Hibbert, 235. Named after the father of Galeazzo Ciano: Dombrowski, 62.
24. Maugeri, 125.
25. Ibid., 129.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid., 130.
28. Ibid., 131.
29. Ibid.
30. Twenty-five miles northwest of Ventotene: Hibbert, 237.
31. Maugeri, 134.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid., 135–136.
34. Ibid., 139.
35. Ibid., 139–140.
36. Ibid., 140.
37. Ibid.
38. Criticized the Italians for being too soft and artistic: See, for instance, Monelli, 181.
39. Santa Maria was a village: Hibbert, 238.
40. Gray-colored house with green shutters: Ibid.
41. Benito Mussolini, Memoirs, 87–88.
42. Ibid., 226 (from “In the Ras’s House,” an article compiled by the editors of the Rome periodical Politica Estera).
43. Ibid. (also from “In the Ras’s House,” an article compiled by the editors of the Rome periodical Politica Estera).
44. Ibid., 88.
Chapter 7
1. Speer, 308.
2. Approximately 30,000 German soldiers: Garland and Smyth, 371.
3. “Viva il Duce” on their helmets: Lamb, War in Italy, 14.
4. Badoglio was confident that he could talk the Anglo-Americans down: Badoglio, 56. The king also believed that Italy could get better terms: Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 308.
5. Churchill, Closing the Ring, 100.
6. Stalling for time: Note: According to Denis Mack Smith, Italy and Its Monarchy, 308, even at this stage while they were sending peace feelers to the Allies, the Italians were still hoping that Hitler would allow them to withdraw from the Axis.
7. Churchill, Closing the Ring, 101–102 (from a telegram dated August 7).
8. Goebbels, 412.
9. Fuehrer Conferences, 121 (Hitler said this to Doenitz).
Hitler's Raid to Save Mussolini Page 29
