Hitler’s Fallschirmjager’s Daring Attack on the Italian Army Headquarters in 1943

On 3 September 1943, Italy surrendered to the Allies. This was an immediate threat to Germany’s southern flank and Hitler acted swiftly. As part of what was codenamed Operation Achse, on 8 September 1943 the 2. Fallschirmjäger Division was ordered into Rome to take control of the city, disarm those Italian units based there, and crush any resistance. However, the Italian Army headquarters in the nearby town of Monterotondo refused to surrender. The task of dealing with this outpost, as well as capturing the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army, General Mario Roatta, was handed to one battalion of German paratroopers, the II./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6, commanded by Major Walter Gericke. Gericke’s men were dropped onto Monterotondo on 9 September. The paratroopers soon encountered fierce opposition from the Italian defenders. The latter stubbornly held out all day until the headquarters was finally captured. Three combat war correspondents had jumped with the Fallschirmjäger. Between them they took hundreds of photographs, most of which had never been seen in print before. Drawing on their reports and first-hand accounts from those involved in the fighting, a vivid and comprehensive picture of the battle has been constructed. Each of the main actions in the battle for the town is described. These included the battles for Monterotondo’s railway station, the Santa Maria stadium and the Osteria del Grillo, the Capuchin Convent, and culminating in the desperate struggle and eventual capture of the Italian headquarters at the Orsini Palace. The book also includes analysis of losses on both sides, biographies of the main commanders and the original plan of what was considered to be the ‘perfect’ drop. Despite the success of Major Gericke’s battalion, it would prove to be one of the last airborne landings undertaken by Hitler’s Fallschirmjäger in the Second World War.