During World War II, Operation Cold Comfort was a failed SAS raid that began with a parachute drop north of Verona on February 17, 1945. The 12 man ski team under Capt. Littlejohn, and their equipment were widely scattered in the drop, and thereafter found themselves among hostile locals of essentially German origin. Their mission was to block by landslide the main rail lines through the Brenner Pass, thus having a dramatic effect on German reinforcements moving south.