Status Updates From My Commando Operations: The...

In the conclusion of his book, Skorzeny correctly states that the aim of the Nuremberg trials was to prevent future wars and crimes, but that they failed to do so. WWII would have ended earlier if unconditional surrender had not been demanded. Skorzeny correctly predicts that despite the atomic bomb, the future of warfare will continue to be fought with the help of special forces.

Any surprise attack or sabotage was always attributed to Skorzenyi, which raised him to mythical status. He claims that after the war he was an ordinary merchant and only happened to meet presidents and dictators without any business cooperation, which is hard to digest. However, according to some journalists, Skorzereny was the real incarnation of James Bond, and Ian Fleming would have been envious of him.

Otto Skorzeny had an interesting experience of being imprisoned in Allied prisons where he witnessed firsthand the various fates of the top brass of Nazi Germany. He claimed that he had done nothing wrong or against the rules and he was saved by the testimony of Yeo-Thomas and was acquitted. While awaiting further proceedings, he managed to escape from the Dachau camp.

Skorzeny and his troops served as firefighters in the last months of the war, trying in every way to prevent the Russian advance, but their efforts had long since been lost. It was sad to read about human destinies, but on the other hand, he would not have written such a poem if they had won the war. Skorzeny also managed to visit his native Vienna, and see for himself the excellent Austrian humor amid the chaos.

The examples of military operations behind Soviet lines by Fölkersam and Girg provide a thrilling and film-worthy account of how the war in the east unfolded. Fölkersam's securing of Maikop and Girg's breakthrough to Königsberg are worthy of study, with questionable application of the rules of warfare. Interestingly, Skorzeny admitted that victory in the war was impossible, but now they need to hold the Russians.

It was interesting to read how Skorzeny completely fell for the NKVD's Scherhorn/Berezino operation. It is a heart-wrenching story about a non-existent group to which numerous soldiers and supplies were sent. However, the post-war fate of numerous real German prisoners is very true, as most ended up in Siberian gulags until the 1950s. And they were joined by numerous other peoples under the Russian yoke.

During the war, Skorzeny met Vlasov and Bandera, two commanders of pro-Nazi movements in Russia and Ukraine, whom he viewed as fighters for a new order in Europe, ignoring the crimes they committed. He had a negative attitude towards the entire Abwehr because he believed that all possible information was leaking from it.

Operation Greif and the Malmedy massacre are detailed and put into context. Still all the operations that did not succeed if it were not for A, B or C, which is difficult to digest knowing the situation on the battlefield at the beginning of 1945. The justification that the massacre in Malmedy was committed accidentally by members of the SS is grotesque, because the Commando order has existed for a long time.

Operation Panzerfaust is another excellent operation. Skorzeny managed to achieve all his goals without shedding too much blood, with his great charisma and determination. He managed to capture Miklós Horthy and send him to Germany, and keep Hungary on the side of the Axis Powers. How bright Skorzeny's star is shown by the fact that he was almost immediately given a new assignment, operations in the Ardennes Forest.