(robert arndt) wrote in message . com...

The German Tito raid was carried out by the SS Parachute Battalion 500
which was mostly a low morale penal unit. Yugoslavia with its rugged
mountails and poor rail & communications structure also made it an
excellent partisan stronghold.

You fail to mention that a large number of Tito's partisans were
killed in the assault

That is a myth invented by the Germans. Tito's partisans suffered
light casualties. The slow-witted SS paratroops had plenty of help
from a mountain division and other Nazi units, but they were no match
for the partisans.

In general, the Germans were not very good at counterguerrilla warfare.



Tito himself was almost caught.


Almost doesn't count.

If you want to see a job done better, look at the US special forces
operation against the guerrilla chief Che Guevera. They assisted the
Bolivian patrol who killed the bugger. Intended as a slap in the face
to Castro.


the Germans DID rescue/recapture Mussolini from Gran Sasso...


Only because there was no significant opposition.

If there was, you would see a repeat of the slaughter that visited
German troops and their stooges around Tito's headquarters.