Save Il Duce!
Mussolini had been deposed and an allied friendly government set up that was moving Italy's resources to the Allies, an intolerable situation to Hitler's plans for the Axis forces...
He ordered the rescue of the old fascist leader, picking Otto Skorzeny, the Austrian SS Commando to lead the daring rescue. Skorzeny chose a handpicked group of his own Waffen-SS, but the bulk of the party were regular Luftwaffe paratroopers, regularly equipped.
Using the DFS230 glider rather than parachutes, the German forces swooped on the isolated hotel at San Grasso, overwhelming the dazed and confused Italian guards who were reluctant to open fire on both previous allies and a band of men who looked like they meant business!
The Luftwaffe troops were armed with the latest weaponry MG42s, MP40 SMGs and the latest wonder weapon, the FG42 (an advanced design that coupled the advantages of the rifle with the firepower of an LMG, at least in theory...). Interestingly, Skorzeny™s SS, and indeed Skorzeny himself, carried MP28s, the early machine pistol with a magazine to the side, similar in look to the British Sten, but properly built!
The daring raid rescued Hitler's ally and prolonged the war in Italy, Skorzeny claimed all the glory for himself the SS, though recent research seems to show that it was the Luftwaffe boys who did most of the hard work and reconnaissance.
Be that as it may, small, elite units of the Fallschirmjager could, and did, hit hard. Who would not like to refight scenes from the classic movie ˜The Eagle has landed™" on the table top and change the course of the war?
The ˜Save Il Duce!™ deal contains:
- 1 Fallschirmjager boxed set
- 1 Fallschirmjager MG42 team
- 1 Fallschirmjager 81mm Mortar team
- 1 x 11 man Fallschirmjager squad
- 1 x 6 man Fallschirmjager Recce team
£50 saves you £8 off buying them separately!
