As a desperate last-minute attempt, German soldiers dress as US soldiers and barge into the Allied region to kidnap General Eisenhower.
A checkpoint in allied occupied Europe stopped a US army jeep with 4 American soldiers in it. When asked for their pass and password, the American soldiers sat shell shocked.
American soldiers in Europe were issued with a pass to travel and also a password to identify themselves. The guards at the checkpoint doubted a foul play and checked the jeep and found German arms, 2,000 British pounds, and a Swastika badge.
It was the last attempt of Hitler to stop the advancing allied army towards Germany- Operation Grief. (Like the famous scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds but the other way around).
Movie buffs will recognize a similar scenario from the 1967 classic The Dirty Dozen. In that movie commandos disrupt a training exercise by taking a general and his staff hostage.
The Last Offensive by Germany:
After the D-Day landing in Normandy,famed SS commando Otto Skorzeny was recalled by Adolph Hitler for a critical mission.
Skorzeny had just kidnapped Miklos Horthy Jr, son of Hungary regent Miklos Horthy. The kidnap pressurized Miklos Horthy to resign and brought Hungary under Nazi Germany control.
Skorzeny was also the mastermind behind the escape of Mussolini from the Italian army. Hitler immediately summoned Skorzeny on a new dangerous mission.
As the Red Army advanced towards Berlin, Hitler planned for one last offensive to bring the Allies to the negotiation table. Hitler collected all of the Wehrmacht’s Panzer divisions and gave orders for The Battle of Bulge or Ardennes offensive.
The USA and the British offensive line was stretched out and weak at some points. The Ardennes offensive was to put the entire panzer strength at one spot and break the allied line.
The Panzer divisions will then head towards Antwerp and secure it, thereby blocking supplies to Allied troops from sea. The Operation will reduce the Allied invasion’s intensity and might start a negotiation with Germany to end the war. But for the Operation to be successful, some dirty inside job had to be done.
Operation Grief Preparation:
Hitler gave orders to Skorzeny to form a Panzer unit of Germans fluent in English. The unit will receive US army soldiers uniform and US or British vehicles.
They need to penetrate deep inside the Allied region as US soldiers and capture bridges so that the Ardennes offensive can be a quick success. In war, the usage of enemy uniforms is against the Geneva Convention.
If caught, the German soldiers faced execution. That’s why Skorzeny didn’t join the division but only trained them.
The Wehrmacht advertised among German soldiers for people with excellent English communication skills. However, ot of 1,500 applied, only four were fluent in English.
As Hitler insisted on the Operation, the unit received instructions on the English language and US culture. The team got lessons on precise details like US slang, how to light a cigar etc.
Some were sent to prison camps to learn from US prisoners of war to get hands-on experience. The promised USA and UK vehicles didn’t materialize, so German cars were modified to look like the US and British vehicles.
Execution of the plan:
US intelligence sensed such infiltration was possible and ordered stricter scrutiny in the checkpoint in the Allied region.
The guards at the checkpoints usually mix nativity questions like who won Major League Baseball games or the name of the president’s dog in casual conversations while they checked the vehicles. The tests were to find out whether the person is a US soldier or not.
Sometimes even a seasoned US solider would fail to answer the question. They were detained for investigation and released later.
Members of the Operation Grief teams came in a jeep to a checkpoint towards Antwerp and stopped for an inspection. US guards were quick to find the fraudsters.
A search of the vehicle revealed German guns, 2,000 pounds, and a swastika badge. The captured Germans announced the plan that their task was to kidnap Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The kidnapped Eisenhower can be used as a bargaining chip by Germany to end the war. The US Army beefed up Eisenhower’s security after the investigation. Eisenhower commented that he felt like he is in prison due to the increased security.
Aftermath:
The German plan for the Battle of the Bulge had some initial success, but it failed due to severe Allied resistance.
The German soldiers in US uniforms faced execution. Otto Skorzeny brushed aside the mission and stated that the German personnel would have removed their US uniform before the combat.
He highlighted how the Royal Navy converted their ships to look like German Kreigmarine ship and even flew a German flag to enter St Nazaire. As per the Geneva convention, Otto Skorzeny’s team act was a violation of International law.
In the Nuremberg Triasl, Otto Skorzeny argued his action as a Ruse de guerre. Interestingly some ex-Nazi officers dressed as American soldiers helped in the escape of Otto Skorzeny from prison.
Skorzeny traveled around the world and helped governments in military tactics. Otto Skorzeny died of lung cancer at the age of 67 in Madrid, Spain.
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