Biography. See what “Skorzeny, Otto” is in other dictionaries Otto Skorzeny and his operations

REQUIRED NOTICE

This publication is in no way an apology for the SS, the Hitler regime, the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) and (or) propaganda of the national socialist, fascist or other totalitarian misanthropic symbols, movements, parties, views and ideas, anti-Semitism or Judeophobia, having an exclusively popular informational character.

My father fought for the Transvaal,
Then he filled the chains in the Drozdovsky regiment.
Again, like in the eighteenth, February.

The NKVDeshnik is already in sight.
Suddenly I see Friedenthal Castle,
Where he awarded me the Skorzeny Cross.

Priest Anatoly Kuznetsov.

In them is the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

SS Standartenführer Otto Skorzeny, certified engineer, athlete (196 cm tall), security officer (SD) of the Schutzstaffel (SS), leader of sabotage units, liberator of Mussolini and kidnapper of Horthy, “man with scars”, “black cyclops”, “ the most dangerous man in Europe" and the "king of Hitler's saboteurs", considered the founder of modern commando troops (special forces), was born on June 12, 1908 (according to other sources - 1906) in Vienna in a family of Austrian Germans of Czech origin.

The future “Hitler king of sabotage” graduated from the University of Vienna with flying colors, receiving a diploma in civil engineering. During his studies, he joined the student corporation "Markomania", the "Styrian Academic (Student) Volunteer Corps", and then the paramilitary anti-Bolshevik organization "Geymwehr", whose members were called "green fascists" for the color of their uniforms (in contrast to " brown fascists" - members of the Austrian NSDAP). From a young age, Otto Skorzeny was friendly with Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the future chief of the SD, his friend at the university (but who studied at the Faculty of Law and was hanged in 1946 by the verdict of the international Nuremberg Tribunal).

After graduating from university, Skorzeny founded his own company and worked as a civil engineer. For 14 facial scars received in saber martial arts (“mensurs”), widespread among students who were part of right-wing conservative university corporations (and not “1 scar received in a drunken brawl in a pub,” as other “experts” claim! ) Skorzeny received the nickname “Scarface” (German: “Das Narbengesicht”). In 1932 (according to other sources - in 1930), the young engineer joined the NSDAP (party card No. 1,083,671), and in February 1934, he joined the 89th standard (regiment) of the SS Fridolin Glass (SS service card No. 29,579) .

Looking extremely impressive in a black SS uniform, the almost two-meter tall brute received another nickname - “black Cyclops” (although he was not one-eyed, as, according to Homer, a real Cyclops is supposed to be). As part of the 89th SS Standard, Skorzeny took part in the attempted National Socialist coup d'etat in Austria in 1934 (he was part of the "SS Shock Detachment", whose militants killed the "Austrofascist" dictator Engelbert Dollfuss, nicknamed his small stature, combined with exorbitant political ambitions, “Millimetternich”).

Despite the fact that the conspirators managed to kill Dollfuss, their uprising was suppressed by the troops and police of the “Austrofascist” regime with the support of the paramilitary units of the “Gamewehr”, since the assault troops (SA) of the Austrian National Socialists (embarrassed by the recent defeat of the German SA and the execution of their leadership by the forces The SS, German police and army did not support the putschists on the “Night of the Long Knives” on June 30, 1934. The Fuehrer of the German state Adolf Hitler also did not support the National Socialist putsch in Austria, since the fascist dictator (Duce) of Italy Benito Mussolini, who patronized the “Christian-social class (corporate)” regime established by Dollfuss in Austria on the Italian model, threatened military intervention and pulled together large military forces to the Italian-Austrian border at the Brennero Pass (Brenner).

After the prohibition of the NSDAP and the SS in Austria, Otto Skorzeny was part of the semi-legal paramilitary formations of the National Socialists, disguised as sports societies. During the period of events preceding the annexation of Austria to the German state (“Anschluss”) in 1938 (Operation Otto, named after the Austrian Crown Prince Otto von Habsburg, who was supposed to be captured, thereby preventing the proclamation of Austria as a separate authoritarian-clerical monarchy, which was planned “Austrofascist” dictatorship of Kurt Edler von Schuschnigg and Wilhelm Miklas in order to prevent the reunification of Austria with Germany), Skorzeny (also Otto!) headed one of the “mobile teams” (“Rollkommandos”) of the Austrian SS and as such led the arrest of the last “Austrofascist” President Wilhelm Miklas.

In 1939, Otto Skorzeny was enlisted in the ranks of the selective SS formation - Adolf Hitler's Leibstandarte SS, with which he participated in military operations in France and Yugoslavia in 1940. According to other sources, Skorzeny was already transferred from Adolf Hitler's Leibstandarte SS to the 2nd SS Division "Reich" in March 1940. In the spring and summer of 1941, the “man with scars”, already with the rank of SS Untersturmführer and as part of the artillery regiment of the 2nd SS Division “Reich”, participated in military operations on the Eastern Front, including, according to his memoirs, in the capture of Brest fortresses and in the Battle of Smolensk, and reached Moscow.

As part of a platoon of self-propelled assault guns “Sturmgeschutz” of the SS artillery regiment of the “Reich” division, Otto Skorzeny took part in the assault on the Soviet Brest Fortress (which was stormed by the 45th Infantry Division of the German Wehrmacht, consisting of fellow countrymen of the “Black Cyclops” - the Austrians). According to his memoirs, Soviet snipers accurately shot from cover, at which SS self-propelled guns fired direct fire. During the assault on Brest, the Germans lost more than 1,000 people wounded and 482 killed (of which 80 were officers). Although the Germans captured 7,000 Red Army soldiers in Brest (including over 100 commanders), and although the Soviet border guards, who were part of the NKVD units, fought much harder than ordinary Red Army soldiers, who surrendered en masse, their own losses, amounting to 5 percent (!) of the total number of all German losses in the first 8 days of the war on the Eastern Front, forced many Germans to think about the nature of the upcoming campaign.

Paying tribute to the fortitude and heroism of the Russian soldier (even if dressed in a Red Army uniform), Otto Skorzeny (being himself an Austrian German of Czech, that is, Slavic, origin), like so many soldiers of the German Wehrmacht and the “green (front-line) SS,” never shared the ideas of the Nazi elite about the Slavs and, in particular, Russians, as representatives of a certain “inferior race”. Very characteristic in this regard is the following statement of the “black cyclops” made by Skorzeny in his memoirs “The Unknown War”:

“If anyone considered the Russians subhuman, it was the Bolshevik leaders, who forced them to live in villages and work in cities in bestial conditions.”

On one of the days of fighting near Yelnya at the end of July 1941, the commander of the 6th battery of the 2nd battalion (division) of the artillery regiment of the 2nd SS division "Reich", SS-Hauptsturmführer Joachim Rumor, at the sight of Soviet T-34 tanks approaching the position His batteries, jumping on a motorcycle, began to ride between the SS self-propelled guns, calmly commanding his artillerymen. The last T-34 was hit by a shell from a 105-mm Sturmgeschütz cannon just 15 meters from German positions. For this battle, Joachim Rumohr was promoted to the rank of SS Sturmbannführer, and his subordinate Otto Skorzeny was awarded the Iron Cross II degree.

On December 2, 1941, units of the SS Reich Division entered Nikolaev (located just 15 kilometers from Moscow). In sunny weather, the domes of Moscow churches were visible through binoculars. The batteries of the SS artillery regiment of the Reich division fired at the suburbs of Moscow from Nikolaev, but the artillery regiment no longer had a single serviceable gun tractor left.

In his war memoirs “My Secret Missions” (German: “Meine Kommandounternehmen”) Skorzeny, among other things, mentions the Germans’ use of unprecedented weapons of mass destruction - “liquid air” missiles (“mit fluessiger Luft”). According to his memoirs, these missiles were first used by the Germans in battles near Moscow in December 1941, causing shock among the Soviet troops. According to Skorzeny, the Reds announced over the loudspeaker that if the Germans continued to use these missiles, the Red Army would respond with poison gas. After which the Germans stopped using these missiles. What can I say? “The water is dark in the clouds...”

Shortly before the planned transition of the SS division "Reich" and other German formations into a full-scale final offensive against the "Headquarters of the World Revolution", they found themselves completely paralyzed by another sharp deterioration in weather conditions. On December 10, 1941, SS Obersturmführer Otto Skorzeny wrote in his diary (pedantic Germans kept diaries under any circumstances!) with the following entry:

“Nikolaev, 12/10/41. Soon, even in our unit, it will become clear to everyone: the forward movement is over. Our offensive power has dried up. Our neighbors, the 10th Panzer Division, have only a dozen combat-ready tanks left.”

When German tanks had already approached Moscow itself and nothing seemed to be able to restrain their triumphal entry into the capital of the “Fatherland of the Proletarians of the Whole World” (as the extremely denationalized USSR was quite officially called at that time), a strong Russian frost suddenly struck at night, which froze machine oil. And that was enough...

A few days later, a new, no less gloomy entry appeared in Otto Skorzeny’s diary:

“Since it turned out to be completely impossible to bury our dead in the frozen ground, we piled the corpses near the church. It was simply scary to look at them. The frost shackled their arms and legs, twisted in the death agony, and assumed the most incredible positions. To give the dead the so often described expression of peace and tranquility supposedly inherent to them, the corpses would have to break out the joints. The glassy eyes of the dead looked blindly into the cold gray sky. Having detonated the tola charge, we placed the corpses of the dead in the resulting large crater and hastily covered them with frozen earth...”

With severe frostbite and dysentery, the “black cyclops” (by that time awarded the Iron Cross of the 1st degree and the “Order of Frozen Meat”, which, by his own admission, he could now wear with good reason!) was sent from the front for treatment. After his recovery, Otto Skorzeny was transferred to the VI department of the Main Directorate of Imperial Security (RSHA), which was engaged in military intelligence, in which he was appointed head of department IV C (S). The tasks of the department, headed by the “black cyclops,” included conducting operations in the field of material, moral and political sabotage abroad.

Otto Skorzeny quickly established large-scale production of counterfeit US dollars and British pounds sterling to undermine the financial and economic systems of “Western plutocracies” (Operation Bernhard, named after Skorzeny’s subordinate, directly responsible for its implementation, Bernhard Kruger).

On July 29, 1943, Skorzeny received from Hitler the task of releasing from prison Benito Mussolini, who was removed from power and arrested by military conspirators led by Marshal Badoglio, who wanted to take Italy out of the war. The operation to free Mussolini was codenamed “Eiche (Oak)”, since the oak was traditionally considered by the Germans to be a symbol of unity and loyalty (in this case, loyalty to the Italian ally).

On September 13, 1943, a detachment of SS paratroopers under the command of Otto Skorzeny landed from gliders in the Apennines near the Campo Imperatore ski hotel, where the arrested Mussolini was kept. Subsequently, Skorzeny recalled how, during the kidnapping of Mussolini, he jumped over the hotel fence and unexpectedly found himself two steps away from the Italian carabinieri standing at his post. If he had hesitated even for a minute then, he would certainly have died. But without hesitation he finished off the carabinieri, remained alive and completed the task. Having rescued Mussolini from prison, Skorzeny, together with the freed Duce, flew to Rome (already occupied by German troops), and from there to Berlin to see Hitler.

The brilliantly executed Operation Eiche made Skorzeny a hero of Goebbels's propaganda. For the successful completion of the task, he was awarded by the Fuhrer himself the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and by Imperial Marshal of the Third Reich Hermann Goering - the Golden Pilot Badge with a platinum eagle and swastika, decorated with diamonds. Rescued by the “man with scars,” Benito Mussolini awarded his liberator the Order of the Hundred Musketeers (the highest fascist military order, which could be awarded for outstanding achievements to no more than 100 military personnel of the Italian and allied armies). Waffen-SS General Paul Gausser, commander of the 2nd Panzer-Grenadier (Motorized Infantry) Division of the SS "Reich", on behalf of his colleagues, presented his former subordinate with a luxury sports car.

Subsequently, Skorzeny carried out other, no less dangerous secret missions. Thus, he organized an operation to physically eliminate the Big Three (Soviet dictator Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill and American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt) during their meeting in Tehran in 1943 (“The Big Leap”). Operation Big Leap, the direct leadership of which was carried out by Skorzeny's subordinates Ortel and Ober, ended in failure (due to the betrayal of Abwehr agent Ernst Merser, who also worked for British intelligence), but Skorzeny's agent Kurmis managed to rebel against the Anglo-Soviet occupation forces in Iran, local nomadic tribes led by Nasr Khan (to whom he gave a personal gift from Adolf Hitler - a Walther pistol, cast, with the exception of a few steel parts, from pure gold, with the inscription of the Fuhrer of the Third Reich) and disable several oil pipelines using floating min. Wounded in the shootout and captured by the British, Kurmis committed suicide in the prison hospital by cutting his veins with a pencil.

Another Skorzeny agent, Franz von Wimmer-Lamke, was sent to the British East African colony of Tanganyika and committed a number of successful acts of sabotage there at the head of a detachment consisting of local residents.

Otto Skorzeny himself took an active part in the suppression of the anti-Hitler conspiracy of the German Wehrmacht generals on July 20, 1944 in Berlin and in the arrest of Colonel Klaus Schenck, Count von Stauffenberg and other military conspirators.

According to some reports, in the summer of 1944, Skorzeny and his friend, the commander of the X Italian flotilla of combat swimmers (Decima MAS) Prince Giunio Valerio Borghese, restored the secret Order of the Bucentaur (Ordo Bucintoro), which claimed succession to the secret circle of the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ (more widely known as name of the Order of the Templars).

In September 1944, under the leadership of Skorzeny, an attempt was made to eliminate Comrade Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin at the hands of the terrorist agent Politov-Tavrin, abandoned in the USSR, which ended in failure.

In October 1944, Otto Skorzeny commanded a special forces detachment (streifkor), who kidnapped on October 15, 1944 in Budapest and brought to Germany the Locum Tenens of the Hungarian Royal Throne, Admiral Miklos Horthy von Nagybagno, who tried, through separate negotiations with Comrade Stalin and with Western “allies,” take Hungary out of the war. Admiral Horthy’s attempt to come to an agreement with the Soviets was stopped by Skorzeny at the very last moment (Operation Panzerfaust, or “Armored Fist”, also known in Russian-language military historical literature as “Faustpatron”).

During the first stage of Operation Panzerfaust, the son of the Hungarian regent, Miklós Horthy Jr., was kidnapped by the “black cyclops” in Budapest and taken hostage in order to blackmail the elderly admiral. But SS Sturmbannführer Skorzeny, as an enterprising and creatively thinking person, not content with capturing Horthy Jr., once again took the initiative and decided to capture, in addition, the regent of the Kingdom of Hungary himself (which was not included in the original plan of the operation). To do this, it was necessary to capture Budapest Castle Hill, where the Hungarian ministries of defense and internal affairs, the seat of the Hungarian government and the German embassy were located.

At “Hour X,” an SS parachute rifle battalion subordinate to Sturmbannführer Skorzeny entered the underground passages under Castle Hill through a tunnel in the drawbridge. At the same time, Skorzeny himself was at the head of an armored column, consisting of several Panther tanks (according to other sources, Tiger tanks) with ranks of the “Central Fighter Unit (Jagdverband Mitte) SS” (including Russian White emigrants) on the armor, with the support units of the SS cavalry division rushed to storm the ancient castle. The lead tank jokingly rammed the gate, but was met by rapid fire from the Hungarians. The surprise factor could not be ensured. The battalion of the Hungarian Guard guarding the castle offered resistance to the SS tank landing (however, not too stubbornly).

Having burst into the castle at the head of his men, Skorzeny rushed through the corridors of the ancient citadel, in a thunderous voice demanding that the defenders drop their weapons, shooting in all directions and spreading panic among the stunned Magyars. Having knocked down the door of the office of the commander of the Horthy Life Guards, Lieutenant General of the Hungarian Army Károly Lazar, Skorzeny put his assault rifle to his chest and demanded by telephone to order the officers of the Honvéd Guards Battalion (Hungarian Army) and the Crown Guard Battalion, who were still resisting the tank landing and riflemen -SS paratroopers, lay down their arms immediately. Karoly obeyed. Skorzeny tore the telephone wire out of the wall, took possession of the layout of the castle and ran on, not paying attention to the pistol shot that sounded behind him (it was Károly, on reflection, who shot himself in the forehead).

During Operation Armored Fist, both sides lost 7 people killed and 27 wounded - the price, in essence, is not that great for stopping Horthy's attempt to take Hungary out of the war. Under the control of Otto Skorzeny (promoted to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer and appointed Commandant of Budapest Castle), Horthy's former ministers and government officials handed over affairs to the new Hungarian government, formed from functionaries of the Arrow Cross party ("Nilashists"), led by Ferenc Szálasi (Salsiyan - by the way, Armenian by origin). In a personal meeting with Hitler, Ferenc Szalasi-Salcian fully expressed his determination to hold the Hungarian capital Budapest at any cost. Meanwhile, the 76-year-old elder Horthy was taken to Germany under the supervision of Skorzeny.

For the successful kidnapping of Admiral Horthy, which prevented Hungary’s exit from the war and the subsequent transition of this country to the camp of Germany’s opponents (which, despite the release of Benito Mussolini, could not be prevented in the case of Italy), the “Black Cyclops” was awarded the Golden German Cross.

During the German winter offensive in the Ardennes - Operation Watch on the Rhine (Wacht am Rhein, also known as the Ardennes Breakthrough or Battle of the Bulge) in December 1944, SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny was appointed commander of the 150th tank brigade - sabotage detachments (numbering about 2000 people), which were supposed to, dressed in the uniform of the US Army, commit sabotage behind the lines of American troops (up to the kidnapping of the Anglo-American commander in chief, General Dwight Eisenhower). The operation that Skorzeny was entrusted with was codenamed “Greif” (“Griffin”).

The actions of Skorzeny's brigade caused considerable confusion and panic in the ranks of the Anglo-American troops. During Operation Griffin, 2/3 of Skorzeny's agents involved in it were killed. However, the damage they caused to the enemy was so great that in January 1945, Otto Skorzeny was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

In the same January 1945, the fearless Austrian led a similar sabotage operation on the German-Soviet Oder Front. His right hand was a Russian White emigrant, the “Baltic” Baron Adrian von Felkersam (grandson of the Rear Admiral of the Russian Imperial Fleet, hero of the Battle of Tsushima, Dmitry Gustavovich von Felkersam), who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for military merits and died while performing a combat mission, like many of his Russian compatriots who put on the German uniform (Ivan Chelebiev, Pavel Sukhachev, Igor Jung, etc.). In February 1945, Otto Skorzeny was appointed commander of the sabotage and assault “fighter” unit “SS-Jagdverband II” and in this capacity led the defense of the strategically important Schwedt-on-Oder bridgehead. For his merciless attitude towards deserters and alarmists, shown in this post, the “black Cyclops” received the nickname “Otto the Hangman” (German: Haenge-Otto).

In April 1945, Skorzeny was entrusted with ensuring the security of the last stronghold of the Third Reich - the fortified area of ​​​​the Alpine Fortress (Alpenfestung), located in the inaccessible mountains of Tyrol. In early May 1945, the “man with scars” was appointed head of the Military Department of the Main Directorate of Imperial Security of the RSHA.

On May 15, 1945, the “black cyclops” (promoted to the rank of SS Standartenführer by the time described) was arrested by American military police in the Austrian province of Styria (Steiermark). In September 1947, Skorzeny was tried by the American military tribunal in Dachau (converted at the time being described from a German camp to an American one) on charges of war crimes, but was acquitted for lack of proof of the charge and released, after which he worked for some time in the archives of the American occupation forces.

In April 1948, the “black cyclops” was arrested again (this time by German authorities) and placed in an internment camp for war criminals in Darmstadt, from which he managed to escape on July 26, 1948. In 1949, Skorzeny created the underground organization “Spinne” (“Spider”), which helped former Schutzstaffel officials hide from the punishing Themis of the victors. Through secret Spinne channels, more than 500 SS ranks accused of committing war crimes left post-war Germany.

Since 1950, Otto Skorzeny settled in Spain, where, like the leader of the Walloon volunteers of the “green (front) SS” Leon Degrelle, he enjoyed the patronage of caudillo Francisco Franco. Having become a private entrepreneur, the “black cyclops,” along with his commercial activities, actively participated in the creation of the “Organization for Mutual Assistance of Former Waffen-SS Soldiers (SS Troops)” - HIAG, which was later renamed the “Union of Former Waffen-SS Soldiers.”

In April 1951, Skorzeny's name was officially removed from the list of German war criminals wanted by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany. Soon after this, Skorzeny, who headed the Sedade company, began to represent in Spain the interests of the state-owned Austrian concern FOST-Alpine, which until 1945 was called the Hermann Goering Works (German: Hermann-Goering-Werke).

“In recent days, German newspapers and on Saturday German television have spread false reports about me, which I strongly refute:

1. It was reported that I met Eichmann in Austria in 1949 and helped him escape. Both statements are untrue.

2. A message allegedly came from Israel that I set fire to five synagogues in Vienna. This is also not true.

3. According to reports, a certain Friedman said in Tel Aviv that he would kidnap me in the same way as Eichmann. Since 1945, every official location of mine has been known. If Friedman decides to visit me, I will give him a worthy welcome.

4. I never had anything to do with the persecution of the Jews.

5. Any similar publication that has already occurred or may occur in the future will be prosecuted by all legal means at my disposal. I have already given the appropriate authority to my lawyers.

Signed: Otto Skorzeny."

In early April 1961, Skorzeny, under the guise of the Lebanese fascist Kataib party, also known as the Phalanx (at the time being described, this Maronite Catholic party maintained close relations with the West German CDU/CSU party; then a member of the Kataib party leadership "and the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Sheikh Pierre Gemayel, in the summer of 1961, invited to Lebanon as a financial consultant the former President of the German Imperial Bank of the Third Reich, Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht, the only one of the main accused at the Nuremberg trials, acquitted and released by the International Tribunal, on one of whose nieces was, by the way, married to Otto Skorzeny), gathered in the Lebanese capital Beirut for a meeting with the top Waffen-SS veterans. At the Beirut meeting, they discussed taking measures to legally and propaganda isolate the Eichmann trial, which was taking place in Jerusalem at the time being described. The meeting took place alternately in several places - at the Gordon Hotel, in the El Morocco night bar, in the Al Mataan restaurant, but all this took place in Beirut, at a distance of only 230 kilometers from Jerusalem, where Adolf Eichmann listened to his death sentence while sitting in an Israeli courtroom in a bulletproof glass cage. In addition to Otto Skorzeny himself, the meeting was attended by SS Obergruppenführer and Waffen-SS General Felix Steiner (SS service card No. 253 351), SS Brigadeführer Werner Naumann (SS service card No. 1607) and several of Skorzeny’s proxies from Argentina, the USA, and Italy and France.

At the same time, the “man with scars” (like many others) could not escape accusations of secret collaboration with the intelligence services of the Jewish state of Israel...

In the post-war years, the “black Austrian cyclops” published a number of books of memoirs (“Skorzeny’s Secret Team,” “Secret Missions,” “The Unknown War”) and died in Madrid on July 5, 1975.

The list of awards of the “man with scars”, along with the Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz) II and I degrees, the Eastern Front Medal, or the Eastern Medal (ironically called the “Order of Frozen Meat”, German: Gefrierfleischorden), the Assault Badge (Badge for attack, German: Sturmabzeichen), Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernes Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub), Order of the Hundred Musketeers (Italian: 100 Muscetieri), Golden Airman's Badge with platinum eagle and swastika , decorated with diamonds (German: Fliegerabzeichen in Gold und Platin mit Brillanten) and the Golden German Cross (German: Deutsches Kreuz in Gold), also included such unique awards as a gold ring with the skull of the Imperial SS Leader (German: Totenkopfring in Gold des Reichsfuehrers SS) and a gold cigarette case with a facsimile signature of Adolf Hitler.

Let us conclude with a poem by the modern Russian skald Evgeniy Bobolovich, dedicated to the hero of this short military-historical miniature.

"SONG ABOUT THE SABOTIST"

Through the darkness of the horde and bullets
Hjortrimuhl flew,
Otto, the giant, goes into battle with her,
Led the northern landing!

Among the best - equal,
The glorious boar swords,
Well, tell me, brother,
Tsverga ring drag:

The wolf cubs drink from heaven
The spirit of the father of the peal,
From the valley of fire
They are rushing to Mussolini.

That's not Ragbane's sword
Spun over the Rhine -
That's a battle landscape
Received heavy fire.

Not for awards
He knocked down the shaft skillfully.
And the imperial ice grew
The oak of deeds is daring.

Did the Magyars know the bell?
Captivity of Faustpatron?
But they broke the tusks
Showers of tank tracks.

But into the palm of the swamp
The song flows about Otto,
In the heart of an emigrant -
Loyalty of a saboteur.

Colors indigo blue
Your pain, amigo,
Herra oak leaves
Let them burn like faith!

NOTES:

Hjortrimuhl is the name of one of the Wawlkyries.

The sword is a glorious boar - in his student years, Otto Skorzeny was fond of duels with swords.

Braga (Suttung's honey) - skaldic poetry.

The central drag ring is Mjollnir (the hammer of the thunder god Thor-Donar).

Ragbein's sword is a hurricane (Ragbein is a giant).

The oak of daring deeds - Operation "Oak" ("Eiche") - the rescue of Mussolini.

Faustpatron - Operation Faustpatron (Panzerfaust, or Armored Fist) with the aim of capturing Horthy.

Indigo blue is the blue color of the Falangist uniform shirt (Skorzeny spent the end of his life in Francoist Spain, whose ruling party was the “Spanish Phalanx” - not to be confused with the Lebanese “Phalange” - the Kataib party of Sheikh Pierre Gemayel).

Oak leaves Herr - Knight's cross with oak leaves (Herr - master).

This is the end and glory to our God!

One of the sensational personalities of the Second World War is Otto Skorzeny. “The Man with the Scar,” that was his other name. Otto is Polish by nationality. He is known in the world as the most professional intelligence officer, for whom there were no boundaries or boundaries. This man had no conscience. Worked for Hitler. After the defeat of Germany, he went over to the side of the Americans. He gave preference to working for those who would pay the most. An interesting and eventful life that is full of unsolved secrets. The biography of Otto Skorzeny will be described in the article.

Skorzeny's youth

Otto Skorzeny (years of life 1908-1975) was born in Vienna. His father was a simple engineer. His height was, by many standards, enormous and amounted to 196 cm. As a student, Otto often performed in duels (“musketeer duels”). They took place like in the old days, with swords. It was during one of these fights that he received his mark on his face. As a student, he met a man who introduced him to the NSDAP

In 1934, as part of the 89th Standard, Skorzeny took part in the putsch. As a result, he earns the reputation of an unsurpassed leader.

The widespread destruction of the Jews. Throughout Germany, the so-called “Crystal Night”. Here Otto also shows his best side. He takes Jewish-owned businesses and gives them to his father-in-law. And he took for himself the villa of one of the vanquished.

Beginning of the war

When the war began, Skorzeny enlisted as an engineer. But this did not suit him, and he joined the army. But I didn’t see any military action. At first he sat in the reserves, then he simply worked as a driver. In general, his military career did not work out from the very beginning.

In 1941, he managed to take part in the fighting, but he became seriously ill and was sent to his hometown for treatment. Immediately after his departure, decisive actions began on the part of the Soviet Union. Fate itself saved his life, not allowing him to die on the battlefield, for more important matters in his difficult life. After treatment, he was left in a simple position in Berlin.

Skorzeny was eager to fight. He tried to master tanker courses. But here, too, nothing worked out for him. Since 1943, he became a saboteur, working for special purpose departments. It was this work that made him famous throughout the world.

Special operations carried out by a saboteur

• The operation, which was called “Oak”, or “Aikhe”, is the most famous. Candidates for its implementation were selected with special care by Hitler himself. Skorzeny's concern was not only to find out where Mussolini was being held, but also to be able to rescue him and deliver him to Hitler. No matter how the Italians confused their tracks, the location was found. Photos taken on site showed that it would be very difficult to get to, as the hotel was surrounded by rocks. It was decided to go in a small group. We got to the place by gliders, two of which crashed. Otto himself personally controlled the glider and the entire operation. During its implementation, 40% of the group died. This is despite the fact that the operation took place practically without a single shot being fired. They decided to fly Mussolini to Hitler on a two-seater plane. The pilot was categorically against it, but Skorzeny flew with them anyway. With great difficulty the plane was lifted into the air. The operation was completed successfully. Mussolini was delivered to his destination.
• "Long Jump" was an operation that ended in failure. Otto was supposed to kill or kidnap Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. Thanks to Russian intelligence, nothing worked out for him.
• Attempt on Hitler. Otto Skorzeny suppressed the rebellion, brutally exterminating everyone who dared to oppose the Fuhrer. This successful operation was marked by another award for the saboteur.
• Battles for Pomerania. For carrying out this operation, Hitler awarded him a special order with oak leaves.

The operations that Skorzeny carried out mostly ended in failure. But for those that were carried out especially brilliantly, he was awarded special orders personally from Hitler. He received numerous awards for his espionage and sabotage activities.

Skorzeny's most unsuccessful operation

One of the most disastrous operations in the biography of Otto Skorzeny was helping a non-existent partisan detachment. whom the Germans considered one of their own, gave information that a detachment of about 2,000 people was stuck. They managed to survive and are asking for help. The detachment was led by Sherhorn, who at that time was a recruited agent of the USSR. Otto decided to check the accuracy of the information. He sent there 8 paratroopers from among the best and most devoted. They were immediately captured by the Soviet Union. Skorzeny received an answer from them. A report of a regular signal came, and then a special one, which said that everything was fine with them and they had not been captured. Skorzeny began to actively help the detachment, cut off from its allies. After 8 months, 22 intelligence officers from Germany, radio stations, food, weapons and about 2 million rubles were sent there. Otto never realized that he had been cruelly deceived.

Otto Skorzeny: children, family

He was married three times. He had one daughter who claims that she never abandoned her father and did not hide her relationship with him. Difficulties did not arise even when she openly said her last name. The daughter, Waltraud Riess, gave birth to two boys, Otto's grandchildren, of whom he was very proud. They say that he dreamed of a boy, and he wanted to name his unborn daughter Klaus. He had no idea that he might not be born a boy. But, in general, Otto Skorzeny’s family is shrouded in mystery. Very little is known about his personal life.

Life after the end of World War II

The fate of Otto Skorzeny after the war was not the best. He was arrested and taken into custody. But he did not languish in prison for long and was acquitted by the Americans. And he immediately went into their service. Then he left the country using a false passport and began helping prisoners like him to officially leave the country without fear of persecution. He was part of the secret society ODESSA.

Another group, Palladin, was founded by Otto in 1970 as a neo-fascist organization. She brought together into one whole everyone who was part of secret associations of different times, and helped to hide from justice.

He spent part of his life, about 10 years, in Ireland, where he acquired a house and some land for himself.

Involvement and cooperation with Mossad

Until some time, the general public was not aware of the fact that Otto was involved in the Mossad. But when the data was published in the newspaper, the sensation shocked everyone. In the confrontation between Israel and Egypt there was an eternal race for primacy and power. When Egypt began to attract German specialists, Israel became concerned. Egypt could not be allowed to strengthen its position, and they began their own recruitment of former Nazis. Their goal was to take control of as many people as possible who were able to obtain the necessary secret archives of documents.

Otto Skorzeny, whose biography is filled with not the most commendable actions, was one of these people. He was offered freedom from fear for his life. Eichmann's murder made Otto wonder if he might be next. He agreed, but no one ever knew about it.

Otto Skorzeny: memoirs and other books

It is believed that Otto himself wrote his biography. But due to the fact that many issues turn out to be controversial, one might think that some achievements are simply attributed. Many of his facts do not fit with the real story. Therefore, you should think about whether to trust his words or not.

The memoirs written by Otto Skorzeny are a large work called “Secret Assignments of the RSHA.” The annotation to it says that this is a huge collection of incredible adventures that befell the officer. The progress of all secret operations of the Reich is reflected in his book. This is fascinating and very interesting because, in fact, the man was not of high rank, but he achieved such fame that not every ruler of the state achieves.

“The Unknown War” is another book by “The Man with the Scar” by Otto Skorzeny, in which he talks about what it was like to serve in the SS, revealing details that were previously unknown to anyone.

“Why didn’t we take Moscow” - reasoning from his memoirs about where and how mistakes were made, and why the final goal of the war was not achieved. What was the reason that Moscow was not taken immediately in 1941?

Otto Skorzeny's books have not been fully translated into Russian. The translation mainly affected those pages on which the progress of a particular operation was described in detail.

The end of the life of a “super saboteur”

How did Otto Skorzeny die? In 1970, cancer cells were found in him. Then an operation was performed, as a result of which he again lived a normal life. But in 1975, the disease began to progress with renewed vigor. It was no longer possible to save him. He died in hospital and his body was cremated. The ashes were sent to Austria.

There are a lot of incomprehensible things in the biography of Otto Skorzeny; the memoirs that he left behind are worthy of becoming the plot of an adventure film. He lived an interesting life, but, unfortunately, not the most worthy one. Many today are interested in his biography and achievements. We hope that the article answered many questions regarding the personality of Otto Skorzeny.

Otto Skorzeny was called a “super saboteur,” but most of his sabotage efforts ended in failure. He escaped prosecution for his service to Nazi Germany, and after the war he went into business and even worked for the Mossad.

Hoaxer

Skorzeny was the man who wrote his biography. Because of this, many of her “heroic” points still seem very controversial. Otto generously took credit for his efforts. For example, he claimed that as part of the SS division “Reich” he participated in the assault on the Brest Fortress. But this does not fit in with the historical truth, which is that the Brest Fortress was stormed by the 45th Wehrmacht Infantry Division. On the first day of the Great Patriotic War, the SS Division "Reich" was part of the reserve of Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group - the 46th Motorized Corps, which was stationed 50-80 km from the border.
Skorzeny also did not participate in the battle of Moscow, because, as he himself wrote, “he was struck down by a severe attack of inflammation of the gallbladder.” He received treatment in his native Vienna. In principle, this was the end of the front-line career of the “elusive Otto,” which, however, did not stop Skorzeny from boldly fantasizing about “why we didn’t take Moscow” and talking about military strategy.

Operation Eiche

The most famous operation carried out by Otto was the release of Mussolini, who was detained and put under arrest on July 25, 1943. Skorzeny had to find out where he was imprisoned first of all. Confusing potential liberators, the Italians changed the location of the odious prisoner several times.

Mussolini managed to sit on the corvette Persephone, and on La Madalena, and on the Pontine Islands. Finally, the Campo Imperatore Hotel was chosen as the place for the Duce’s imprisonment. Skorzeny, no matter how adventurer he was, could not rely on luck. A preliminary reconnaissance of the area was carried out and photographs were taken. The result of the inspection was disappointing - the hotel was located in a mountainous rocky area, which was extremely difficult to reach. It was necessary to act decisively and in a small group.

Gliders were chosen as a means of delivering saboteurs. Due to the crash of two gliders, including the navigator's, which fell into an air crater and crashed, Otto had to take control into his own hands. He coped with “great blood” - 31 paratroopers died, 16 were seriously injured. That is, during the non-combat operation, losses amounted to 40%. As the German General Tippelskirch wrote in his “History of the Second World War,” it was an “adventurous operation that brought many victims.” However, the surviving gliders landed just 18 meters from the hotel.
The takeover was swift. Almost without shots being fired, the Italian guards were neutralized - the Italian general Scoletti, who was taken on the operation, convinced his fellow tribesmen to lay down their arms. According to Otto, in honor of the surrender, the Italians even brought him a glass of red wine.
Freeing Mussolini is half the battle. Now Skorzeny was faced with an equally difficult task - to deliver the Duce to Hitler's headquarters. It was decided to carry out the transfer on a two-seater Storch aircraft. The landing site was promptly cleared of boulders.
No matter how the pilot refused, Skorzeny decided to personally accompany the Duce. The overloaded plane barely took off. Soon he was landed at an airfield in Rome, from where Mussolini was taken to Hitler's headquarters.

Mossad agent

For a long time, Otto Skorzeny was considered the “ideal Nazi,” but in 2006 his reputation was seriously “tarnished.” The Maarif newspaper published an article authored by Mikhail Kheifetz, which stated in black and white that the legendary Otto worked for Israeli intelligence in the 60s. Of course it was a sensation!
It was all about the eternal confrontation between Israel and Egypt, in which the military program was actively developing. German specialists from among the former Nazis worked for Egypt. The strengthening of Egypt was dangerous for Israel and the Mossad began its operation.
The head of the intelligence service, Meir Amit, began recruiting among German military specialists in Egypt. The operation was led by Rafi Eitan. The Mossad was looking for an “ex-Nazi” who could obtain important documents. Skorzenny became such an “ex-Nazi”. He was recruited by the Mossad in exchange for "freedom from fear." The previous murder of Eichmann made Skorzeny understand that he might be next.

The Mossad also recruited “Valentin”, also a former Nazi, an acquaintance of Skorzeny. He oversaw Egypt's hiring of German specialists and ensured their safety. That is, he had full access to all documents. “Valentin” photographed the documents and gave them to Skorzeny. Skorzeny to Meir. The Mossad made a knight's move. Lists of all Germans working illegally in Egypt were delivered to German Defense Minister Strauss. To avoid an international scandal, Strauss chose to recall the scientists. They were simply “bought” - they were offered compensation greater than their future fees. Of course, in his memoirs, Otto Skorzeny did not say a word about his “friendship” with Israeli intelligence.

"Berezino". Failure

There were also catastrophic failures in Skorzeny’s life. This was his “heroic” assistance to a detachment of fascists lost in the area of ​​the Berezina River. The failure was that there was no fascist detachment, and Otto fell for the bait of Soviet disinformation.
Here is how it was. On August 18, 1944, Soviet intelligence officer Alexander Demyanov, whom the Nazis knew as their agent “Max,” radioed: in the Berezina area, a large Wehrmacht detachment, numbering more than two thousand people, survived, miraculously avoiding defeat and hiding in a swampy area. At the head of the “detachment” was Lieutenant Colonel Sherhorn (“Shubin”), recruited by the 4th Directorate of the NKVD.
Skorzeny, of course, was no fool. He immediately began checking information through his channels. He even sent 8 paratroopers to the indicated area, who were supposed to collect information and make sure that it was not a “duck”. All 8 agents were caught, and some of them were recruited by the NKVD.

In his memoirs, Skorzeny proudly wrote: " Our radio picked up the answer. First, a setup signal passed, then a special signal, which meant that our people got in touch without interference (a useful precaution: the absence of a signal would mean that the radio operator was captured and was forced to get in touch). And more great news: Scherhorn’s detachment exists.”

Skorzeny began to actively help the “Scherhorn detachment.” It turned out that his supply talent was missing. Over the course of 8 months, thanks to the efforts of Otto, 39 sorties were made to the area where the “detachment” was deployed and 22 German intelligence officers were dropped (all of them were arrested by Soviet counterintelligence officers), 13 radio stations, 255 pieces of cargo with weapons, uniforms, food, ammunition, medicines, and 1,777,000 rubles.

Skorzeny was deceived, but did not even know about it, and the “heroic detachment” was given Iron Crosses and empty award sheets with one of the parcels in March 1945, while Scherhorn himself was promoted by Hitler and awarded the Knight's Iron Cross.

"Long Jump" Another failure

Another “failure” of Skorzeny was the organization of an assassination attempt on the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition during the Tehran Conference. The operation was poetically called "Long Jump". The operation was developed by Otto Skoczeny. Kaltenbrunner himself coordinated.

German intelligence learned of the time and location of the conference in mid-October 1943 by deciphering the American naval code. Soviet intelligence quickly uncovered the plot.

A group of Skorzeny’s militants underwent training near Vinnitsa, where by that time Soviet intelligence officers had already been transferred. According to one version of the development of events, intelligence officer Kuznetsov established friendly relations with German intelligence officer Oster. Having owed Kuznetsov, Oster offered to pay him with Iranian carpets, which he was going to bring to Vinnitsa from a business trip to Tehran.

This information, transmitted by Kuznetsov to the center, coincided with other data about the impending action. 19-year-old Soviet intelligence officer Gevork Vartanyan gathered a small group of agents in Iran, where his father, also an intelligence officer, posed as a wealthy merchant. Vartanyan managed to discover a group of six German radio operators and intercept their communications. The ambitious operation failed, the Big Three remained unharmed.

The liquidation of the Third Reich left behind dozens of unsolved mysteries and mysterious personalities. One of these individuals was the German saboteur and commander of special units of the Third Reich - Otto Skorzeny. Almost all the operations that Skorzeny developed or carried out were successful. Otto’s “signature” was speed, audacity and surprise. The order for all Otto’s operations was given personally by Adolf Hitler.

Becoming

The future saboteur himself was born in Vienna, into a fairly wealthy family of an engineer. He first studied at the gymnasium, after which he entered the university. From his youth, Otto had a cocky character and often got into fights. While studying at the university, he paid attention to the doctrine of the NSDAP, and soon joined one of the pro-fascist organizations, and later the Union for the Defense of the Motherland. This organization was engaged in the fight against various labor movements. However, Skorzeny was attracted precisely by the German National Socialist Party, so in 1930 he joined its ranks, which brought him very close to the Austrian Nazis. After graduating from university, Otto entered the service of a construction company, at the same time he begins to carry out secret tasks for the Reich.

After the inclusion of Austria into Germany, German intelligence services, in particular the SD, became interested in Otto. In 1939, Otto was enlisted in the SS, in the Fuhrer's personal guard regiment. He fit perfectly into the ranks of the SS men - tall, physically fit, with impeccable pedigree. All of Otto Skorzeny's talents were fully appreciated during the war.

It is worth saying that numerous documents relating to his work were carefully destroyed at the end of the war. Many researchers believe that Otto Skorzeny wrote most of his biography himself. So many of its points still remain controversial. For example, the statement that Otto took part in the capture of the Brest Fortress, being part of the SS Reich division. However, it is known for certain that the 45th Infantry Division was storming the fortress, and the SS Reich Division was at that time 70 km from the border.

Beginning of the war

After the start of the war, Otto took part in military operations in the French and Soviet directions. In 1939 he served as a sapper in Hitler's personal battalion, and from May 1940 in the French campaign he served as a car driver in the SS "Germany". In 1941 he was awarded the rank of SS Untersturmführer. Since 1941, Skorzeny was transferred to the eastern front, but did not stay there long; in August he was hospitalized with dysentery, and in December he was again in the hospital with inflammation of the gall bladder. After this, Skorzeny was no longer at the front, and until the spring of 1942 he was sent to Vienna for treatment.

After Vienna, Skorzeny decided to go to a tank training course, but never sat at the helm of a tank; at that time, his leadership recommended him for the position of head of a special SS unit that would engage in reconnaissance and sabotage behind enemy lines. Having received this position in 1943, Skorzeny developed a special operation to free the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini. Hitler personally decided that Skorzeny would lead this operation, choosing him from six candidates.

Operation Oak

Skorzeny spent two months developing this operation, called “Oak”. In September, a detachment of paratroopers led by Otto Skorzeny stormed the Campo Imperatore hotel in the Gran Sasso mountains, where Mussolini was located. The operation took place without firing a single shot, and the fascist leader was taken to Munich. The reward for success was the Knight's Cross and world fame (though already in 1960).

Operation Long Jump

In 1943, Skorzeny was developing a rather daring Operation Long Jump, the essence of which was the murder or kidnapping of three world leaders at the Tehran conference. There was no attempt to implement the operation, as Soviet intelligence became aware of it.

Operation "Knight's Move"

At the beginning of 1944, Skorzeny received orders to develop and carry out Operation Knight's Move. It meant the capture of the leader of the Balkan partisans, Broz Tito. The operation failed, after reaching Tito’s secret place of residence, the paratroopers no longer found anyone there, since the partisans managed to leave through cave passages. Later, in his memoirs, Skorzeny categorically denied his participation in this operation.

In parallel with conducting special operations, Skorzeny gives lectures and trains future saboteurs and intelligence officers. Hitler highly valued Skorzeny, so it is not surprising that he was included in the number of SS men dealing with the consequences of the unsuccessful assassination attempt on Hitler in 1944. Skorzeny worked very quickly, and for thirty-six hours before contact was restored with Hitler's headquarters, he kept under control the reserve army, which was to become the fighting unit of the conspirators.

In August 1944, one of Skorzeny's operations ended in failure. Otto fell for the bait of misinformation about the need to help the German detachment near Berezino, led by Colonel Scherhorn, by the way, recruited by the NKVD. This information came from a recruited Soviet radio operator. Eight paratroopers were sent to Berezino and fell into the hands of the NKVD; some of them began working for Soviet intelligence. Having received an answer that a detachment of two thousand Germans was alive, Skorzeny began to actively help them. Over the course of eight months, more than thirty sorties were made here, twenty reconnaissance officers who were captured by the Soviets, weapons, food and medicine were dropped. And in 1945, this detachment was even given Iron Crosses and blank award lists.

Operation Faustpatron

In the summer of 1944, information reached Hitler that Hungary was conducting secret negotiations with the USSR about peace. Skorzeny developed Operation Faustpatron, during which the son of the Hungarian regent Miklós Horthy was kidnapped. In order to prevent the murder of his son, Horthy gave power to the pro-German leader Szalasi, and Hungary continued the war on the side of the Reich.

At the end of 1944, Operation Grif ended in failure. Skorzeny's detachment was supposed to capture General Eisenhower, but the complete failure resulted in very heavy losses among the soldiers.

"Occult" tasks

Skorzeny also had “occult” assignments. So one of the secret tasks was the search for the so-called “Holy Grail” in France and Spain. Moreover, during the operation, the Fuhrer constantly hurried Otto, the detachment climbed all over the Pyrenees, but of course the Grail was not found. Moreover, there is information that Skorzeny did not stop these searches even after the war.

Arrest

A week after Germany's surrender, Otto Skorzeny was arrested by the Americans and sent to Oberursel under heavy guard. Otto happily responded to the offer to cooperate with the Americans, and even trained American agents in 1948, using the call sign “Able.” Later, Otto returns to France, after which he appears in Germany, where he is on the list for the investigation of war crimes. Moreover, he was accused of killing 27 residents of the village of Ploshtina in the spring of 1945.

Otto Skorzeny and his later life

A few years later, he legally appears in Spain, where he receives a citizen’s passport from the hands of Franco. While under Franco's protection, Skorzeny was a prominent figure in the ex-Nazi organization ODESSA. In the 60s, he worked for Israeli intelligence, on whose orders he killed the scientist Heinz Krug. In 1970 he founded a neo-fascist organization with anti-communist ideas. In the last years of his life, he served as a consultant to Egyptian President Nasser and Argentine President Peron. Otto Skorzeny died of cancer in 1975 in Spain.

More than half a century after the end of the Second World War, a book of memoirs by SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny, one of the most famous SS officers, the organizer and leader of many spectacular actions of German special forces units, fell into your hands.

The last world war involved the use of forces and means unprecedented in history. It would seem that against the backdrop of the struggle of millions of people, the actions of any individual did not matter, that individual soldiers or small detachments were a secondary element of the armed forces. However, during combat operations it often turned out that the decisive role was played not only by the number of troops, their equipment and technical means, but also by the personal qualities, ingenuity and skill of individual soldiers, especially those serving in elite units intended to perform reconnaissance missions and commit sabotage in the rear. enemy and capture the most important objects.

Special forces soldiers were required to have extraordinary strength of spirit, excellent physical training and training, enormous courage and dedication. As a rule, they participated in operations with a high degree of risk. They could die at any moment. During the training course, they were taught to use various types of weapons and technical means and act in various situations. In order to develop immunity to ordinary human fear and unexpected situations, soldiers were introduced to the methods of conducting combat operations using enemy fire weapons.

Special forces units were created by both the Allies and the Axis states. The first separate airborne companies were created in Great Britain in the spring of 1940. A year later, in March 1941, British paratroopers took part in a raid on the Lofoten Islands, and in August 1942 on the port of Saint-Nazaire. They also took part in all major Allied amphibious operations. Tasks of this kind in the American army were carried out by units of the “Rangers”.

In the German armed forces, the first special forces units appeared before the start of the Second World War - their creation was facilitated by the head of the Abwehr (military intelligence and counterintelligence) Admiral Wilhelm Canaris. These units were formed in the city of Brandenburg near the Havel River, so the soldiers who served in them were called “Brandenburgers.” The units were controlled by the II Department of the Abwehr.

In 1939–1940, thanks to the formation of new airborne companies, it became possible to create the “Special Purpose Battalion 800” in Brandenburg. In May 1940, soldiers of this battalion participated in numerous actions in Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern France, facilitating the German offensive in Western Europe.

Successes in combat contributed to the decision to create in October 1940 an entire regiment intended for special missions, which was called the “Brandenburg Special Purpose Regiment.” In 1941–1942, soldiers of this regiment repeatedly took part in combat operations on the Eastern Front.

In 1941–1943, the Brandenburgers also carried out numerous special operations in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia.

In November 1942, the Brandenburg division was created for special operations, which became part of the strategic reserve of the Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht. A year later, the soldiers of this unit achieved significant success, contributing to the capture of the British-owned island of Leroe in the Aegean Sea.

In the SS troops, special forces units began to be created after the situation on the fronts changed in a direction unfavorable for Germany. The turning point came on April 18, 1943 after the appointment of SS Hauptsturmführer Otto Skorzeny as commander of the Friedenthal special forces unit. The unit, stationed at the Friedenthal center near Berlin, was quickly deployed and converted into a combat battalion.

During the training of soldiers, they used methods and standards developed earlier by the Brandenburgers. The center in Friedenthal was subordinate to the VI Department of the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA), which was led by SS-Brigadeführer Walter Schellenberg. However, after the war, Skorzeny was not very willing to admit his connections with the foreign intelligence service of the Security Service (Sicherheitsdienst, SD). He always emphasized that he was a front-line SS officer and not a security officer.

Before the outbreak of the Second World War and in its first years, there are few facts indicating that Skorzeny's activities in his new role quickly gained fame.

Skorzeny was born on June 12, 1908 in Vienna, into the family of a middle-class entrepreneur. He graduated from a higher technical school with a degree in engineering. He belonged to one of the traditional German-Austrian student corporations, which he was proud of until the end of his life.

In 1932, he joined the ranks of the National Socialist Party of Germany and became a supporter of National Socialist ideology. He did not change his views after the Second World War, when the crimes committed by the Hitler regime became public. His opinion regarding the political history of Europe may be shocking to many readers, especially in our country.

During the Anschluss of Austria in March 1938, Skorzeny, together with SA units, captured the residence of Austrian President Wilhelm Miklas, but his role remains unclear. When, after the start of the war, his attempt to get into one of the aviation schools training Luftwaffe pilots ended in failure, he voluntarily joined the SS troops. First he was assigned to the reserve battalion of the SS Life Standard unit "Adolf Hitler". In May - June 1940, as a non-commissioned officer of an artillery regiment of an SS reserve division, he participated in combat operations in Holland, Belgium and France. In April of the following year, he fought in Yugoslavia in the ranks of the Reich division. By a happy coincidence, he was twice promoted to military rank with lightning speed, first to SS-Untersturmführer (lieutenant), and then to SS-Obersturmführer (senior lieutenant). From June 1941 to the beginning of 1942, Skorzeny served on the Eastern Front in the same Reich division. Due to health reasons, he was sent to the Reich for treatment. In the spring of 1943, as a convalescent, he was assigned to the reserve battalion of the SS Life Standard Division “Adolf Hitler” stationed in Berlin.

At that moment, for Skorzeny, who took command of the special battalion, a turning point came in his hitherto lackluster military career. At the same time, he received the rank of SS Hauptsturmführer (captain). Just six months later, showing undoubtedly great ingenuity and energy, this tall (195 cm), broad-shouldered man with a scar on his face became one of the most famous officers of the SS troops. After the successful lightning strike to free Benito Mussolini in September 1943, his photographs appeared in many German newspapers. The propaganda of the Third Reich created the image of another military hero, an officer - a role model for German youth. After the war, the same press called him "the most dangerous man in Europe."

After the arrest of the Duce in Italy on July 25, 1943, Germany came to the conclusion that the Italian government intended to sever allied relations with the Third Reich. To prevent this, it was necessary, first of all, to free Mussolini. Hitler chose Skorzeny for this task, who coped with it brilliantly. The operation was codenamed “Oak”, and SS Hauptsturmführer Skorzeny led it directly. The soldiers who attacked the Campo Imperatore hotel in the Gran Sasso mountain range were, for the most part, soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 7th Luftwaffe Airborne Regiment under the command of Major Otto-Harold Morse, and not SS soldiers. The first to inform Hitler about the successful outcome of the action was Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, who attributed all the credit for the liberation of Mussolini to Skorzeny and his soldiers, passing over in silence the efforts of the machine gun paratroopers. After the action in Gran Sasso, Skorzeny was promoted and received the next military rank of SS Sturmbannführer (major), as well as the Knight's Cross to the already existing Iron Cross.