Benito Mussolini's last jailer on the
Gran Sasso in Abruzzo before a daring September 12 1943 German
air raid plucked him to safety after two months of captivity
following the Fascist Grand Council's vote of no confidence in
July that year has died aged 101 in his home in Citta' di
Castello near the Umbrian capital of Perugia.
Former Carabiniere Ferdinando Tascini told local media recently
"I was in my room when I heard people shouting 'they're coming'.
"Mussolini was expecting the Americans, but it turned out to be
the Germans".
The Gran Sasso raid (codenamed "Operation Oak", by the German
military was a successful operation by German paratroopers and
Waffen-SS commandos to rescue the deposed Fascist dictator from
custody in the Gran Sasso d'Italia massif.
The op was personally ordered by Adolf Hitler.
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