Hitler's Raid to save Mussolini
by Greg Annussek

List Price: $26.00  Hardback: 325 Pages
Publish Date: September 2005

Review by Brian Williams  

Hitler's Raid to save Mussolini - The most infamous commando operation of World War II  by Greg Annussek is a book about Hitler and Mussolini's relationship, their histories with each other, and the September 12 glider rescue.

The book is much more than just about the glider rescue -- it is an insightful study of the relationship between Hitler and Mussolini.  We learn about Mussolini's true feeling towards Hitler and the awkward relationship between the two.  Hitler had a deep admiration for Mussolini, but Mussolini's admiration was with the German war machine.  The book does a wonderful job of describing this relationship in great detail and also creating the 'behind-the-scenes' talks between Hitler and his group and also with Mussolini.

Eight or so chapters in the book are spent dealing with the tracking and chasing of Mussolini as he is moved by the Italian government to the various houses and prisons.  Of particular interest is the awkward position that the new Italian government found itself in.  They were forced into accepting an alliance on paper with Hitler and trying to secure a secret deal with the Allies.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Mussolini or the Hitler/Mussolini pact or WWII post-Mussolini Italy.  I came away with a much better understanding of Mussolini, Hitler, and the Italian government after the Mussolini coup.

Review by Brian Williams (militaryhistoryonline@hotmail.com)