his massive, six-foot, four-
inch frame and a bucca-
neering disposition to
match, Skorzeny seemed
perfectly suited for the
role.
After the fall of France
in May 1940, Skorzeny re-
ceived special training
for the anticipated inva-
sion of Great Britain.
However, that operation
was canceled, and he
found himself transferred
to Yugoslavia. There
Skorzeny distinguished
himself by rash bravery
and coolness under fire,
winning his promotion to
lieutenant. He thereafter
served in Russia through
the summer of 1942,
when severe injuries—
and gallstones—required
convalescence at home. For almost a year he
chafed behind a desk, having been declared
unfit for active duty. Hitler thought otherwise,
and on April 18, 1943, Skorzeny was pro-
moted to captain and selected to lead the
newly created department of German special
forces.
Imposing and physically robust, Skorzeny
was an ideal choice for the task, athletic,
quick-witted, and personally fearless. He then
closely studied the techniques and equipment
of the famous British commandos, incorpo-
rating several and improvising others. Skor-
zeny’s first—and most famous—test occurred
two months later in July 1943. The Allied inva-
sion of Italy triggered an uprising against dic-
tator Benito Mussolini, who was arrested.
Once the Italian monarchy was restored, Mus-
solini remained under house arrest at a small
ski resort in the Abruzzi Mountains of central
Italy. This was situated on a 6,000-foot plateau
in the Gran Sasso Massif, accessible only by
railcar. On September 12, 1943, Skorzeny, as-
sisted by a detachment of gliders provided by
Gen. Kurt Student,
stealthily landed near the
hotel undetected. He then
stormed the hotel with 90
commandos, securing
Mussolini without firing a
shot. Grateful and some-
what surprised, il duce
was then whisked away
by light airplane to Rome
and installed as the
leader of northern Italy.
This was one of the most
daring commando mis-
sions of the war—flaw-
lessly executed. For his
role, Skorzeny received
the prestigious Ritter-
kreuz (Knight’s Cross)
and a promotion to
major. Hitler also author-
ized him to raise several
battalions of commandos
for use along every front.
Skorzeny’s next assignment was to kidnap
Marshal Philippe Petain, the leader of occu-
pied Vichy France, and prevent him from join-
ing the Allies. Before this mission could
begin, Skorzeny was sidetracked back to Yu-
goslavia to apprehend the wily guerrilla
leader Josef Bronz Tito. Skorzeny, accompa-
nied by two men, spent several weeks in the
mountains before they located Tito’s secret
hideout. They were then about to move in on
him when the regional German commander
refused to cooperate as requested and Tito es-
caped. Following the failed bomb plot against
Hitler on July 20, 1944, Skorzeny raced back
to Berlin and organized several police units to
maintain order. A grateful Hitler then dis-
patched him on another covert escapade to
Hungary. The Germans suspected that the
country’s regent, Adm. Mikos Horthy, was
about to sign a separate peace with the Sovi-
ets, and Skorzeny was detailed to kidnap him.
On October 14, 1944, his commandos success-
fully captured the admiral’s son and, the fol-
lowing afternoon, stormed the admiral’s cas-SKORZENY, OTTO
Otto Skorzeny
Imperial War Museum