tle, taking the regent alive—and back to Ger-
many. Hungary was thus kept allied long
enough for German forces to escape across
the Carpathian Mountains. Hitler subse-
quently promoted his giant commando to lieu-
tenant colonel and awarded him the German
Cross in Gold. As Skorzeny’s renown grew, Al-
lied intelligence also branded him the “most
dangerous man in Europe.” It was a title and
reputation in which he reveled.
In December 1944, Skorzeny undertook his
most hazardous mission in concert with Hitler’s
Ardennes offensive. Entitled Operation Grief
(Griffon), it entailed the infiltration of 2,000
specially trained English-speaking commandos,
disguised as U.S. soldiers, behind American
lines. Their mission was to seize the Meuse
River bridges for German armored columns
and cause havoc throughout American rear
areas. Skorzeny’s men enjoyed only limited suc-
cess in this role, and several were apprehended
and executed. Many were tripped up over rou-
tine questions about baseball, Betty Grable, or
by asking for British “petrol” instead of Ameri-
can “gasoline.” But their activity gave rise to a
rumor that an assassination plot was being
hatched against Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower,
and some confusion did ensue. At length the
commandos shed their disguises and fought as
regular soldiers, took heavy casualties, and
Skorzeny was wounded again. In the spring of
1945, Skorzeny received command of an in-
fantry division and was ordered to defend the
Lower Oder River against the Soviets. Failing
that, his final mission was organizing the de-
fenses of Hitler’s mountain retreat at Bergest-
gaden. On May 10, 1945, the towering officer fi-
nally surrendered to American forces. In light
of his infamous reputation, Skorzeny grew in-
sulted that his captors had never heard of his
exploits—or particularly cared.
After the war, Skorzeny, along with many
other SS officers, was arrested and charged
with war crimes. He was eventually cleared,
especially after several British commandos
testified on his behalf. They freely admitted to
using the same covert techniques that Skor-
zeny was being charged with. Nonetheless, he
remained in close confinement for three
years—and then escaped with help from for-
mer associates on July 27, 1948. Settling in
Spain, he founded a successful engineering
firm and acquired considerable wealth. He
also established a clandestine network of
agents who assisted 600 former SS personnel
to escape prosecution in Germany and relo-
cate in South America. This organization,
nicknamed Die Spinne (The Spider), enjoyed
the high degree of success associated with
most of Skorzeny’s endeavors. The most dan-
gerous man in Europe died in Madrid on July
5, 1975. He was the most successful daredevil
of World War II, a spiritual forebear to today’s
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