Harald-Otto Mors, to the right of Mussolini. Campo Imperatore, 12 September 1943

Harald-Otto Mors (18 November 1910 – 11 February 2001) was a German Luftwaffe officer (1934–1945) during the Second World War. In the summer of 1943 he commanded a battalion of Fallschirmjäger and planned and led the Gran Sasso raid to rescue Benito Mussolini following his arrest in September 1943. He received the German Cross in Gold on 26 September 1943. He became a Bundeswehr officer from 1955 until his retirement in 1965.[1]

Mors played a key role in planning the raid, and participated as commander of the secondary force that secured the lower cable-car station at the foot of the Gran Sasso mountain as the airborne raid was underway at the mountain top, where Mussolini was held.[2][3]

References

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Citations
  1. ^ Patzwall 2001, p. 316.
  2. ^ "SS Officer Skorzeny Wrongly Credited With Deed, Historian Says : Mussolini Rescue: A New Version". Los Angeles Times. 1987-12-26. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  3. ^ Budanovic, Nikola (2017-07-01). "'Scarface' – The Elite Nazi Commando Who Hitler Sent To Rescue Mussolini". War History Online. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
Bibliography
  • Patricelli, Marco. Liberate il Duce! La vera storia dell'Operazione Quercia, Mondadori, Milano 2001 / ried. Hobby & Work, Milano 2012, ISBN 9788878519909.
  • Annussek, G. Hitler's Raid To Save Mussolini, Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-306-81396-3
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
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