Epox!

Hello and welcome back to Epox.

As I promised last time, I would continue the story of Verdun.

Unfortunately, because of timings and because I started the breakfast show this morning,

because I didn't manage my time perfectly this week,

I'm going to have to do one more filler episode before I finish off the Verdun story.

So anyone that's waiting for the last episode of the Verdun story, many apologies.

But this week, because I thought last time was such a roaring success, I thought it was anyway,

the SAS story.

And people seem to like it.

It said more special forces, missions and raids, if anything.

I've got to fill one more week.

I'll do it with another special forces raid.

There's so many to choose from so many brilliant ones.

But I've decided to talk about Operation Ike or Operation Oak. And if anyone who doesn't know what Operation Oak is, was,

it was the 1943 German, Nazi German mission to rescue Mussolini. So I'm going to talk to you

all about that today. And I'll tell the story as though you've never heard of it before.

You know, people that know their stuff and are into World War II history and special forces stuff will probably know all about it because it's quite famous in those terms.

But I think a lot of people might never have heard of it at all.

So I'll tell the story as though it's entirely new to you.

All right, let's jump straight in. So what happened was Mussolini in 1943,

i.e. two years before the end of World War II, was actually deposed and removed from power

...