 Mussolini was being transported around Italy by his captors (first to Ponza, then to La Maddalena, both small islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea).Intercepting a coded Italian radio message, Skorzeny used the reconnaissance provided by the agents and informants (counterfeit British bank notes with a face value of £100,000 forged under Operation Bernhard were used to help obtain information) of "SS-Obersturmbannführer" Herbert Kappler to determine that Mussolini was being imprisoned at Campo Imperatore Hotel, a ski resort at Campo Imperatore in Italy's Gran Sasso massif, high in the Apennine Mountains.On 12 September 1943, Skorzeny and 16 SS troopers joined the "Fallschirmjäger" to rescue Mussolini in a high-risk glider mission.