Hitler S Secret Commandos

An extensive history of the amphibious attack unit created by Nazi Germany during World War II. Hitler’s Secret Commandos is the history of the K-Verband naval commando unit, established in 1943 to wreak havoc amongst invading allied forces involved in amphibious landings or actions, against German-occupied coasts. Following the Italian and British example, the basic idea was for a small, exceptionally well-trained and reliable commando force using the maximum element of surprise. Midget U-boats and small torpedo-carrying craft along the lines of the “explosive boats” used by the Italian Navy were designed for individual operations while a naval assault troop was formed for missions against important enemy operational targets near the sea after being landed from naval vessels offshore. Using German archive material, first-hand accounts and other published material this is the first comprehensive history of the K-Verband. It charts the development, structure, selection, training and equipment the Commando unit used together with a detailed narrative of the operations undertaken. The material has been translated from a German text, previously published in Germany with wide acclaim.

WALL STREET JOURNAL BOOK OF THE MONTH "This is the incredible World War II saga of the German-Jewish commandos who fought in Britain’s most secretive special-forces unit—but whose story has gone untold until now." —Wall Street Journal “Brilliantly researched, utterly gripping history: the first full account of a remarkable group of Jewish refugees—a top-secret band of brothers—who waged war on Hitler.”—Alex Kershaw, New York Times best-selling author of The Longest Winter and The Liberator The incredible World War II saga of the German-Jewish commandos who fought in Britain’s most secretive special-forces unit—but whose story has gone untold until now June 1942. The shadow of the Third Reich has fallen across the European continent. In desperation, Winston Churchill and his chief of staff form an unusual plan: a new commando unit made up of Jewish refugees who have escaped to Britain. The resulting volunteers are a motley group of intellectuals, artists, and athletes, most from Germany and Austria. Many have been interned as enemy aliens, and have lost their families, their homes—their whole worlds. They will stop at nothing to defeat the Nazis. Trained in counterintelligence and advanced combat, this top secret unit becomes known as X Troop. Some simply call them a suicide squad. Drawing on extensive original research, including interviews with the last surviving members, Leah Garrett follows this unique band of brothers from Germany to England and back again, with stops at British internment camps, the beaches of Normandy, the battlefields of Italy and Holland, and the hellscape of Terezin concentration camp—the scene of one of the most dramatic, untold rescues of the war. For the first time, X Troop tells the astonishing story of these secret shock troops and their devastating blows against the Nazis. “Garrett’s detective work is stunning, and her storytelling is masterful. This is an original account of Jewish rescue, resistance, and revenge.”—Wendy Lower, author of The Ravine and National Book Award finalist Hitler’s Furies

Otto Skorzeny, Germany’s top commando in the Second World War, is one of the most famous men in the history of special forces. His extraordinary wartime career was one of high risk and adventure and here he tells the full story. Skorzeny quickly proved his worth in Yugoslavia and then Russia. In 1942 he was awarded the Iron Cross, and in April 1943 he was promoted to captain and named “Chief of Germany's Special Troops, Existing or to be Created in the Future.” When Mussolini was imprisoned in Italy in 1943, it was Skorzeny who successfully led the daring glider rescue, winning the Knight’s Cross and promotion as a result. Skorzeny’s talents were brought into play again when he was sent to Budapest to stop the Hungarian regent Admiral Horthy from signing a peace with Stalin in 1944. Now dubbed “the most dangerous man in Europe” by the Allies he was awarded the German Cross in Gold. A few months later he took a critical role in the Ardennes offensive with a controversial plan to raise a brigade disguised as Americans with captured Sherman tanks. His captured colleagues spread a false rumor that he was planning to assassinate Eisenhower, who was consequently confined to his headquarters under guard for protection. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

‘A fitting tribute to Germany's clandestine warriors, and a guarantee that their extraordinary efforts have not been relegated to comparative obscurity or entirely forgotten’ - David R Higgins. Hitler's daring and pioneering Brandenburgers special forces served in every German theatre of action. This is the most comprehensive account of an unusual and profoundly successful band of men. Lawrence Paterson traces the origins of the small unit, before the outbreak of war in 1939, as the brainchild of Admiral Canaris and part of his Abwehr intelligence unit through through to its breaking up in 1944 when it was largely converted to a, conventional Panzergrenadier division. At that point, many Brandenburgers transferred to Otto Skorzeny’s SS Jägdverbände. It is well-known that German troops disguised themselves as Allied troops for the Battle of the Bulge - but less well known the Brandenburger operations used such disguises - more effectively -in in advance of the Blitzkrieg in 1939-41. Despite their profound success as commando raiding troops their history has been overshadowed by equivalent Allied units and largely ignored. However, within North Africa the Brandenburgers employed similar techniques to the SAS and LRDG, at first earning Erwin Rommel’s disapproval for their unorthodox methods until he began to feel the effect of similar Allied raids. Paterson details the roles of key individuals, such as Theodor von Hippel, along with forensic details of key operations. He explodes many of the myths about the unit and provides a clear and comprehensive history of this key part of the Wehrmacht.

As the Allied invasion of Italy wore on through the summer of 1943, Mussolini was unexpectedly overthrown and imprisoned by his own people in a remote mountaintop resort. Hitler was furious when he heard the news and swore to rescue his ally and friend. On September 12, a small convoy of glider aircraft suddenly began crash-landing near the hotel where Mussolini was being held and German commandos poured out of the half-wrecked planes. The soldiers quickly overwhelmed the hotel and seized Mussolini, who had watched the drama unfold from a second-story window. "I knew my friend Adolf Hitler would not abandon me," said a grinning Mussolini to his rescuers. Hitler's daring rescue mission to free Mussolini was one of the most famous commando operations of the twentieth century, and it shocked the Allies. It was also the dramatic culmination of the bizarre relationship between Hitler and Mussolini. In this vivid narrative filled with action, intrigue, and some of history's most disreputable characters- among them the infamous leader of the raid, Otto Skorzeny, who was catapulted to worldwide fame as a result of the exploit-Greg Annussek recounts the incredible story of the secret six-week operation in all its drama and suspense.

The memoirs of the legendary Skorzeny appear here in its first unabridged English edition. Skorzeny's fame began with the successful raid to free Benito Mussolini from the Gran Sasso, Italy in 1943. His elite commandos surprised Italian guards in a daring daytime raid. Hitler presented Skorzeny with the Knight's Cross for this operation. Not only is this raid explained in minute detail, many of Skorzeny's previously unknown operations in all European and Russian theatres of World War II are given in detailed accounts. Operation Griffin - the innovative use of German Kommandos dressed as American soldiers working behind enemy lines - during the Ardennes Offensive in 1944 is given in-depth coverage, as is Skorzeny's rememberances on the Malmedy massacre. Skorzeny also offers his insights into the mysterious Rudolf Hess mission to England in May 1941, and offers a behind the scenes look at German and Russian secret military intelligence, and the workings of Canaris and Gehlen.

Otto Skorzeny, Germanys top commando in the Second World War, is one of the most famous men in the history of special forces. His extraordinary wartime career was one of high risk and adventure and here he tells the full story. Skorzeny quickly proved his worth in Yugoslavia and then Russia. In 1942 he was awarded the Iron Cross, and in April 1943 he was promoted to captain and named Chief of Germany's Special Troops, Existing or to be Created in the Future. When Mussolini was imprisoned in Italy in 1943, it was Skorzeny who successfully led the daring glider rescue, winning the Knights Cross and promotion as a result. Skorzenys talents were brought into play again when he was sent to Budapest to stop the Hungarian regent Admiral Horthy from signing a peace with Stalin in 1944. Now dubbed the most dangerous man in Europe by the Allies Skorzeny was awarded the German Cross in Gold. A few months later he took a critical role in the Ardennes offensive with a controversial plan to raise a brigade disguised as Americans with captured Sherman tanks. His captured colleagues spread a false rumour that he was planning to assassinate Eisenhower, who was consequently confined to his headquarters for weeks.

"He was Hitler's favorite commando -- and a frightening menace to the Allied forces. With a handful of German Special Troops, Otto Skorzeny performed the impossible by snatching Mussolini from an 'impenetrable' mountain. He astounded the world and gave a brilliant demonstration of the new warfare, which extends beyond the lines of battle, beyond even the 'rules of war.' Here is the inside story of the abduction of Horthy from Budapest, the 'disguised brigade' behind American lines in the Ardennes, the destruction of the Nymegen bridge and the incredible rescue of the 'doomed' German division in the Balkans. Here is the complete and astounding saga of Skorzeny, the greatest adventurer of World War II."--Back cover