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Otto Skorzeny: the Scar-Faced Commando

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Otto Skorzeny: the Scar-Faced Commando Otto Skorzeny: The Scar-Faced Commando Rob Vest Few in the Third Reich cut as colorful a figure as Otto Skorzeny, Hitler's favorite commando. At one time considered "the most dangerous man in Europe," by the Allies, Skorzeny was responsible for rescuing Benito Mussolini from a mountaintop resort in Italy, kidnaping the son of Hungarian regent Miklos Horthy, wreaking havoc at the Battle of the Bulge, and preventing Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D Eisenhower from leaving his headquarters in Versailles during Christmas week of 1944 for fear of an alleged assassination plot. At the end of the war, Skorzeny surrendered to the Allies, but was only interned for a few years before managing to escape. Skorzeny's post-war exploits rivaled, and in many ways, surpassed his accomplishments during wartime. He was courted during the Cold War by both the Americans and the Soviets, served as an advisor in the Peron government in Argentina, and helped to relocate and protect several of his fellow Nazis. Skorzeny also developed terrorist tactics used to this day by organizations as diverse as the IRA, PLO, and the Symbionese Liberation Army. This paper will provide a brief overview of Otto Skorzeny's life before, during, and after World War II. The Making of Scarface The man who would one day be celebrated as the greatest adventurer of the Third Reich came from a rather unexceptional background. Otto Skorzeny was born June 12, 1908, in Vienna, Austria. Otto's father owned a successful engineering firm, and the family lived quite comfortably until the depression that ravished Austria at the end of World War I. When the teenaged Otto once complained that he'd never tasted real butter, his father's response was prophetic: "There is no harm in doing without things. It might even be good for you not to get used to a soft life." (1) Otto entered the University of Vienna on his eighteenth birthday, and graduated in 1931 with an engineering degree, after which he started his own firm. Though Skorzeny's skill as an engineer would later prove quite useful in planning his missions of terrorism and sabotage, his time in the Schlagende Verbindungen (dueling society) would prove the most influential part of his college experience. (2) Skorzeny fought his first duel during his freshman year, and in 1928 earned the coveted Schmisse-the "scars of honor," which would earn him the nickname of "Scarface" among the Americans during World War II. Skorzeny would later credit his success in war to his experiences in the dueling society: "My knowledge of pain, learned with the sabre, taught me not to be afraid. And just as in dueling when you must concentrate on your enemy's cheek, so, too, in war. You cannot waste time on feinting and sidestepping. You must decide on your target and go in." (3) In 1930, Skorzeny joined the Austrian Nazi Party and strongly advocated union with Germany. By 1938 he was very active in the party and was a member of both the SS and the Gestapo. Skorzeny even played a minor role during the Anschluss, the German takeover of Austria on March 12, 1938. In order to prevent a bloodbath, Skorzeny was ordered by Artur Seyss-Inquart, Austria's leading Nazi and its newly-appointed chancellor, to intercept several armed Nazis determined to take the Austrian palace by force. Skorzeny arrived just in time to prevent a shoot-out between the Nazis and Austrian guards, and quite likely saved the life of Austrian President Wilhelm Miklas. Skorzeny the Soldier World War II broke out in September of 1939. Skorzeny volunteered for the Luftwaffe, but at 6',4" and thirty- one years of age, was considered too tall and too old for flight training. Instead, Skorzeny's superiors assigned him to train as a communications expert, an assignment he hated. Five months later, Skorzeny transferred to the Waffen SS, the military arm of the SS, where he hoped to become an officer. He was classified as an officer-cadet, and would be commissioned if he proved himself. Skorzeny was put in charge of keeping his division's (Division Reich) tanks and other equipment operational. He was successful, but his unorthodox methods often got him into trouble. Skorzeny was not above stealing equipment from other divisions, and once even took tires from a depot at gunpoint. His chances for a commission were tabled indefinitely when he shot down a portrait of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (who had denounced Hitler) from the wall of a Dutch café after the owner refused to remove it. Skorzeny's fortunes turned in April 1941 when his regiment was sent to Yugoslavia to quell a revolt. The rebellion was engineered by Yugoslav military officers who overthrew the government of Prince-Regent Paul on March 26-27 because they felt their ruler was getting too close to Hitler. Three days after the invasion, Skorzeny and his men managed to capture fifty-four Yugoslav soldiers and three officers. Skorzeny marched his prisoners to his regiment's headquarters and was commissioned on the spot. But fortune would again turn her back on Otto. In June of 1941, Division Reich participated in the invasion of the Soviet Union, where it suffered heavy casualties. One day in early winter of that year, Skorzeny was hit in the back of the head by shrapnel when a Soviet artillery shell struck near his position some 200 yards from the front line. Taken to a nearby aid station, he refused all treatment except for a few aspirin, a bandage, and a glass of schnapps. A few hours later, Skorzeny rejoined his regiment, but his health only deteriorated. By January 1942, he was headed back to Germany on a hospital train, promising to return in a few weeks. By the time he recovered, however, the Third Reich would have other plans for Skorzeny. Commando Days After recovering for a few months in an army hospital, Skorzeny was summoned to Berlin in April of 1943 to meet with Walter Schellenberg, head of the SD (the SS foreign intelligence service). Schellenberg needed someone to take charge of the schools being organized to train special agents in sabotage, espionage, and paramilitary skills. Skorzeny, though relatively unknown at the time, had been recommended for the position by Ernst Kaltenbrunner, chief of the RSHA (Reich Central Security Office), whom Otto had known since his early days in the Austrian Nazi Party. Skorzeny readily accepted the position, and training commenced. The men of what would become known as Jagdverbande (Hunting Group) 502 were culled from the best of the best of the Reich's various military units. Each member was expected to have a basic knowledge of firearms, grenades, and artillery. They also had to know how to operate automobiles, motorcycles, watercraft, and locomotives. They had to be expert swimmers and be able to parachute from aircraft. Many were also trained in foreign languages, such as English, Italian, Russian, and Persian. Skorzeny, for his part, studied the techniques found in captured British commando documents, and learned even more from captured British commandos who were willing to switch sides. He also attended a course on espionage taught by an Abwehr (army intelligence) officer. Jagdverbande 502's first mission, "Operation Francois," took place in the summer of 1943. The group parachuted into Iran, where they made contact with the dissident mountain tribes. These insurgent forces were used to sabotage US and British supplies of materiel bound for the Soviet Union. However, within a few months, interest waned among the rebel tribes. Skorzeny, who remained behind to train more recruits, characterized Operation Francois as "a failure," (4) due mainly to inadequate reinforcements and supplies needed for the mission. Though Jagdverbande 502 had gotten off to a shaky start, greater things lay in store. While his commandos were implementing Operation Francois in Iran, Skorzeny was ordered to appear before the Fuhrer himself. The Rescue of Il Duce Skorzeny appeared before Adolf Hitler on July 26, 1943. The Fuhrer had a special mission for the scar-faced commando: a day earlier, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had been forced to resign and arrested by his own people. Skorzeny's new mission would be to find Mussolini and rescue him before the new Italian government surrendered and offered up Mussolini to the Allies. The following day, Skorzeny was in Italy, where he and his men spent over a month trying to locate their quarry. On September 8, Skorzeny learned that Mussolini was being held prisoner in a resort hotel sitting some 6000 feet atop the Gran Sasso, the highest peak of the Appenine mountain range, some eighty miles northeast of Rome. After reconnoitering Gran Sasso by plane, Skorzeny realized that assaulting the peak by glider was his best option. The Luftwaffe experts consulted by Skorzeny warned that such a feat was "technically impossible," (5) due to the high altitude and bad landing conditions, but Skorzeny ignored their advice. On September 12, 1943, Skorzeny kidnaped Italian general Ferdinando Soleti in Rome. The commando leader feared that Mussolini would be killed by his captors should the Italian guards delay Skorzeny's men for too long. The big Austrian hoped Soleti's presence would ensure that the guards cooperated. That afternoon, the twelve gliders left for Gran Sasso, with Skorzeny's the first to reach its destination. After a rough landing, Skorzeny, followed by his men and Soleti, rushed into the hotel. They first entered the radio room, where Skorzeny smashed the radio with the butt of his pistol. Soon they were confronted by several armed guards.
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