wwalter
On September 12, 1943 a group of German paratroopers rescued Benito Mussolini from the ski resort where he was being held captive. The raid involved commandos infiltrating the resort by hang glider, and taking the guards unawares. Mussolini subsequently returned to power in Italy as the “Duce of the Nation” of the Italian Social Republic, which would fight against the Allies on Germany’s behalf until the very end of the War.
What if the raid had failed, and Mussolini had either remained in captivity or been killed in the raid? Could this have allowed the Western Allies to drive through the “soft underbelly of the Axis” into either France or Austria? Or would the Germans have managed to halt the Allies at some point south of the Alps even without the assistance of Mussolini’s puppet regime?
What if the raid had failed, and Mussolini had either remained in captivity or been killed in the raid? Could this have allowed the Western Allies to drive through the “soft underbelly of the Axis” into either France or Austria? Or would the Germans have managed to halt the Allies at some point south of the Alps even without the assistance of Mussolini’s puppet regime?