Eddie plans to use the "Lufthansa" light * * * Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The specific tasks of each glider are as follows: No. 1 and No. 2 aircraft land first to cover the landing of follow-up aircraft; Eddie takes plane 3 and rescues Edward with plane 4; Aircraft from No. 8 to the bottom were responsible for suppressing enemy fire.

In addition, Eddie further studied the essentials of ground operations such as entering the hotel, withdrawing from the battle, and covering support, as well as the relevant details such as the time of entry, the place of entry, the essentials of landing, and the equipment to be carried. As for the method of withdrawal, he decided that the "direct flight commando" would first suppress the Aquila airfield, 20 kilometers south of Mount Grand Sasso, and then respond with "Lufthansa" light * flying * aircraft or Fiseller Monster Bird contact planes.

The glider, which was supposed to fly from Rivera, did not reach the Pratek, 28 kilometers south of Rome, on time? Morality? The Mare base, which led to the early morning sneak attack, could not be carried out, and had to be changed to a strong attack during the day, which was a great opportunity for the attack because the Italians had a habit of resting for a long time in the afternoon.

Add immediately began to devise a rescue plan, feeling that the triangle was the solution to all problems, because the terrain made it impossible to enter from the ground, and the thin air and strong winds in the mountains made it impossible for ordinary "direct commandos" to land at this altitude.

So Eddie came up with a bold plan: use 12 gliders, each carrying 10 commandos (including the pilot), to descend from the sky, use this triangle as a landing point, storm the hotel and rescue Edward.

In the same way, the commandos landed in the valley, captured the cable car platform, prevented the Italians from reinforcing the mountaintop, and then sent Edward to Aquila Airfield in the lowlands of the mountains, where he was transferred to Hitler's high command.

The rescue plan was reported to General Student, and the battle-hardened veteran couldn't help but be secretly surprised when he saw it. He submitted the plan to the headquarters for discussion, and almost no one believed that it would succeed, but no one else could think of another way for a while, and he did not want to offend the commando leader personally appointed by Rommel.

In the end, Student brought in the 1st Group of the 2nd Glide Wing, which was already operating in Italy, to provide the necessary aircraft for the operation.

However, Eddie believes that the go242 glider is too large to land on the ground next to the hotel. To this end, Student immediately ordered the DFS230 gliders of the 3rd Group of the 1st Glider Wing to be transferred from its base in the south of France. Each of the 12 DFS230 assault glide planes used to carry out the mission can carry nine heavily armed paratroopers. This could transport a total of 108 soldiers, which is equivalent to 2/3 of the hotel's defenders.

In Studenter's view, the tactics of a surprise attack and the superior firepower of the Germans could more than compensate for the lack of personnel. It was agreed that Eddie would lead the team in search of Edward in the hotel, with Belpsch's paratroopers in charge of suppressing the defenders. Stud assigned gliders 3 and 4 to Eddie and his men.

This is undoubtedly a very risky operation. The night before the operation began, Eddie rallied his team and said:

"This operation is fraught with danger and there is a risk of death at any time. If any of you do not wish to participate, you can leave, and I will never make any record of it, nor will I despise you for it. I will personally participate in and direct this operation, and those who wish to participate please take a step forward. ”

As a result, all the team members took a step forward, which made Eddie very satisfied. The action plan began at dawn on Sunday, August 22, but was delayed for several hours.

Due to the short range of the 12?/LLG1 Henschel HS-126 tow, the flight from Valence in southern France to Rome required several stops, and it was not until 10:00 a.m. that day that it reached Platica Air Base on the southern outskirts of Rome.

However, there is also an advantage to delaying the take-off, as it will be noon on the arrival of the Grand Sasso, and the Italians have a habit of taking a nap, which is bound to reduce the possibility of resistance.

Taking advantage of this time, Eddy sent his adjutant Radel to Rome to summon General Soletti, who had a good opinion of the Germans, believing that the presence of the pro-German Italian official in the hotel with the attacking troops would help persuade the defenders to give up resistance.

There are different theories as to whether the general was willing to take part in the operation, with some sources saying that he was willing to act as an intermediary, only to be dumbfounded after listening to their plan, but still agreed to go with him and share the plane with Eddie; There are also reports that he boarded the glider under the threat of Eddie's pistol.

At 11 o'clock in the morning, the first team of gliders from France arrived at the airport, Student briefly briefed the pilots of the gliders on their mission, the HS-126 tractor was quickly filled with fuel, and the glide planes were lined up for takeoff, but at 12:00 the airport sounded an air raid siren, and after a while, a group of American B-25 bombers swept over the airport and dropped more than 10 bombs.

Thankfully, none of the planes on the ground were damaged. At 13:05, the leading pair of HS-126 tractors finally took off with No. 1 and No. 2 gliders, and then took off every 2 minutes, and then took off a group every 2 minutes, and another 5 pairs took off.

Except for the No. 11 and No. 12 gliders, which took off last to take off, crashed into the crater on the runway, the rest of the gliders were successfully lifted into the air.

Sitting behind the pilot in the lead tractor No. 1 was Captain Langeert, Studenter's intelligence officer, who had been flying with Eddie on a HE-111 four days earlier, and was therefore the only one among the tractor's crew who had actually seen the landing area.

However, the two planes towing glide planes No. 1 and No. 2 got lost in the dense fog and thick clouds and had to return halfway.

In this way, the No. 3 glider that Eddie and Soletti were flying in became the pilot. The plane flew up and down in the clouds, the glide * glider * inside the plane was not very good, and it was very hot, and General Soletti and several members of the team had developed motion sickness.

Eddie decisively pulled out the paratrooper knife he carried with him, cut several holes in the cloth wall of the glide *glider* plane, let cool air into the cabin, and observed the ground through this breach, informing the pilot of the correct route from time to time.

About an hour later, the group arrived at the predetermined area, Eddie ordered the glider to disconnect from the tractor, and the eight glider planes began to descend from an altitude of 3,600 meters, and when they were about 1,000 meters above the ground, the troops pounced on their respective targets in two directions.

(To be continued.) )