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Kommando: Hitler's Special Forces in the Second World War
So much has been written about the British Special Forces in the Second World War which Winston Churchill urged to 'set Europe ablaze' that few now remember that the Germans were actually very much the first in the field in this form of unconventional warfare. Indeed, two days before the official declaration of war German commando units disguised as Poles were holding key positions along the frontier and for the next three years men of Admiral Canaris's Brandenburgers, formed long before the British Commandos or American Rangers were dreamed of, played a key role in Hitler's military operations. The captured the vital bridges across the River Meuse in 1940; they trekked across the African desert in an attempt to raise the Egyptian Army against the British; they sabotaged diamond mines in South Africa; they even supported the IRA and the Welsh Nationalists. Kessler, who was personally acquainted with many of the survivors, pays a fitting tribute to a very gallant band of men who, as he clearly shows, went on fighting for Fuhrer and Fatherland long after they must have known that their cause was lost. Misguided they may seem in hindsight, but their courage cannot be denied.
176 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 14, 2026
Vivid, dramatic history of German Special Operations during WWII
This book is available under two different titles and two different author names. This edition, Kommando by Leo Kessler, and as Commando, by Charles Whiting. They are the same book. This is a very entertaining and lively history of German Special Operations missions and personalities written by one of the most prolific historical novelists of the late 20th Century, the British historian, novelist, and WWII veteran, Charles H. Whiting.
Kommando is written, as the cover blurb states, in Kessler's "vivid and racy style." It's a popular history and doesn't do much of a deep dive into unit organization, equipment, or training, which is actually a smart move. Because WWII German special operations, like WWII Allied special operations, was a largely ad hoc, make it up as you go, proposition. The premier German special operations unit at the start of the war was the so-called Brandenburg Battalion, a creation of Admiral Canaris' Abwehr intelligence service. The Brandenburgs were genuine special operations troops. They conducted espionage, sabotage, deception and psychological operations. They were credited with the initial fabricated event -- a Brandenburg deception operation -- that launched the 1939 invasion of Poland (one day ahead of schedule!), thus making them the initiators of World War 2. The development of the Brandenburg Battalion (actually a collection of SOF detachments at the beginning but eventually a division level conventional force) was based on German lessons-learned from WW1, observations of Soviet intelligence operations in the 1930s, and the anticipated strategic needs of the Wehrmacht. The book tells the story of this unit, the German military and NAZI party operatives who worked special operations, and the later formations, such as the more direct action focused SS formations led by the colorful Otto Skorzeny, his infamous "Americans" who operated behind US lines during the Battle of the Bulge (even attempting to assassinate Eisenhower), and finally the Werewolves, the post-war terrorist group that never quite jelled, all using the "vivid and racy" dramatic pacing of a master story-teller. Clocking in at less than 170 pages plus 16 pages of photographs, this book is a fast read and a very good introduction to the subject. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
Whiting wrote over 350 books. Many were straight histories and many were accurate historical novels of real events or of fictional characters participating in a historical event. In the late 1960s through the 1970s, there emerged a branch of WWII revisionist historical novels meant to rehabilitate the image of the average German soldier including those who served in the Waffen SS. The result was a deluge of men's action novels by people like Sven Hassel and Jack Higgins (among many others) in which the "good Germans" were portrayed as cynical, patriotic German soldiers who despised NAZI ideology but were determined to fight with honor for their country -- yadda yadda. Many of these novels hinted at being based on true events (Hassel even fabricated an "autobiography" for the origin book of his "Wheels of Terror" series. But the Danish writer, who never actually served in the Waffen SS but seems to have spent the war working as a driver for a right wing Danish group, has had the historical accuracy of his works picked to pieces. Not so Charles Whiting). Whiting was a genuine historian who interviewed many German WWII personalities after the war. Anyway, when his friend, publisher Leo Cooper, approached him about writing a series about Waffen SS soldiers, the two came up with the pseudonym Leo Kessler--with the SS in Kessler always capitalized or enlarged to emphasize the content--for a series of books that focused mainly on little known but historically interesting roles the SS played in espionage and special operations. Hence, when it came time to write a non-fiction history of German Special Operations, Whiting chose his pseudonym for this edition, Kommando, spelled with the German K.
The World War 2 Germans and their enemies, the British were the true pioneers of modern SOF as we know it. The US efforts were usually more direct-action oriented -- raids, sabotage and reconnaissance behind enemy lines units such as the Rangers, Merrill's Marauders, and the Marine Raiders -- although the OSS, working alongside the British SOE, did push the envelope into genuine SOF UW work. But if you have researched any of these WW2 pioneer SOF units--especially the British SAS, SOE, and LRDG--you absolutely must round out your knowledge with this book about Hitler's Special Forces. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
This book is available under two different titles and two different author names. This edition, Kommando by Leo Kessler, and as Commando, by Charles Whiting. They are the same book. This is a very entertaining and lively history of German Special Operations missions and personalities written by one of the most prolific historical novelists of the late 20th Century, the British historian, novelist, and WWII veteran, Charles H. Whiting.
Kommando is written, as the cover blurb states, in Kessler's "vivid and racy style." It's a popular history and doesn't do much of a deep dive into unit organization, equipment, or training, which is actually a smart move. Because WWII German special operations, like WWII Allied special operations, was a largely ad hoc, make it up as you go, proposition. The premier German special operations unit at the start of the war was the so-called Brandenburg Battalion, a creation of Admiral Canaris' Abwehr intelligence service. The Brandenburgs were genuine special operations troops. They conducted espionage, sabotage, deception and psychological operations. They were credited with the initial fabricated event -- a Brandenburg deception operation -- that launched the 1939 invasion of Poland (one day ahead of schedule!), thus making them the initiators of World War 2. The development of the Brandenburg Battalion (actually a collection of SOF detachments at the beginning but eventually a division level conventional force) was based on German lessons-learned from WW1, observations of Soviet intelligence operations in the 1930s, and the anticipated strategic needs of the Wehrmacht. The book tells the story of this unit, the German military and NAZI party operatives who worked special operations, and the later formations, such as the more direct action focused SS formations led by the colorful Otto Skorzeny, his infamous "Americans" who operated behind US lines during the Battle of the Bulge (even attempting to assassinate Eisenhower), and finally the Werewolves, the post-war terrorist group that never quite jelled, all using the "vivid and racy" dramatic pacing of a master story-teller. Clocking in at less than 170 pages plus 16 pages of photographs, this book is a fast read and a very good introduction to the subject. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
Whiting wrote over 350 books. Many were straight histories and many were accurate historical novels of real events or of fictional characters participating in a historical event. In the late 1960s through the 1970s, there emerged a branch of WWII revisionist historical novels meant to rehabilitate the image of the average German soldier including those who served in the Waffen SS. The result was a deluge of men's action novels by people like Sven Hassel and Jack Higgins (among many others) in which the "good Germans" were portrayed as cynical, patriotic German soldiers who despised NAZI ideology but were determined to fight with honor for their country -- yadda yadda. Many of these novels hinted at being based on true events (Hassel even fabricated an "autobiography" for the origin book of his "Wheels of Terror" series. But the Danish writer, who never actually served in the Waffen SS but seems to have spent the war working as a driver for a right wing Danish group, has had the historical accuracy of his works picked to pieces. Not so Charles Whiting). Whiting was a genuine historian who interviewed many German WWII personalities after the war. Anyway, when his friend, publisher Leo Cooper, approached him about writing a series about Waffen SS soldiers, the two came up with the pseudonym Leo Kessler--with the SS in Kessler always capitalized or enlarged to emphasize the content--for a series of books that focused mainly on little known but historically interesting roles the SS played in espionage and special operations. Hence, when it came time to write a non-fiction history of German Special Operations, Whiting chose his pseudonym for this edition, Kommando, spelled with the German K.
The World War 2 Germans and their enemies, the British were the true pioneers of modern SOF as we know it. The US efforts were usually more direct-action oriented -- raids, sabotage and reconnaissance behind enemy lines units such as the Rangers, Merrill's Marauders, and the Marine Raiders -- although the OSS, working alongside the British SOE, did push the envelope into genuine SOF UW work. But if you have researched any of these WW2 pioneer SOF units--especially the British SAS, SOE, and LRDG--you absolutely must round out your knowledge with this book about Hitler's Special Forces. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
September 17, 2020
It covers Germany's special forces in a superficial and basic way. There is nothing about the formation, training or organisation of these forces. The missions are treated in very brusque fashion with clearly much of the heavy lifting being done by Skorzeny's memoirs. An interesting subject which is poorly treated here.
June 25, 2011
Covers the German special forces during WW2
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews