Initial Brandenburg training took place at Abwehr II’s Kampfschule Quenzgut, on an estate along Lake Quenzsee, just west of Brandenburg. There the Brandenburgers learnt to exemplify their credo of ‘seeing without being seen’. Of vital importance was the ability to go undercover. While they were expected to be fluent in the language and customs of the country they would infiltrate, they also studied enemy uniforms and ranks, and mastered foreign weapons and vehicles.
In terms of disguise, the Brandenburgers usually had two options. The so-called Halbtarnung (literally, ‘half camouflage’) essentially consisted of wearing an enemy greatcoat over a German uniform, with corresponding headgear. Meanwhile, Voll Tarnung (‘full camouflage’) saw an entire enemy uniform worn over the German one. The latter was obviously more convincing, but it would not be uncommon for the Brandenburgers to begin combat before they had removed their disguises. Wearing full camouflage therefore meant they ran the risk of shooting each other in the confusion of battle. Indeed, the wearing of full camouflage also had other potential consequences. The enemy would be able to declare the wearer a spy and execute them.
While going undercover was essential, so was the ability to carry out certain operations, which usually involved sabotage. As such, the Brandenburgers learnt how to destroy different targets, such as bridges, power stations, industrial and railway installations, ships, cables and wireless stations.
In effect, the Brandenburgers were James Bond-like figures, which incidentally was a role I almost came to play. In the early 1970s, I received a telegram quite out of the blue from the William Morris Agency asking me to go to London to audition for the part of James Bond. Sean Connery had retired, his successor George Lazenby had been pensioned off, and the prime mover behind the Bond films, Cubby Broccoli, was on the lookout for a new 007. Mr Broccoli, I was told over the phone, was looking for an ‘English gentleman who really does these things’.
‘What things?’ I asked.
‘Shoot rapids, climb drainpipes, parachute, kill people, you know . . .’
The fact that I couldn’t act seemed irrelevant, and it was an all-expenses-paid trip to London, so I went down to try my luck. Somehow, I managed to get through all the screen tests, and in my mind was ready to be fitted for my tuxedo and drive an Aston Martin, but it was not to be. After a ten-minute interview, Mr Broccoli decided I was too young, most un-Bond-like and facially more like a farmhand than an English gentleman, a comment that certainly left me a little shaken and stirred. Yet, while the world was to miss out on my thespian talents, my cousin Ralph was to gain a recurring role in Bond films when he took over as M, the head of MI6, from Dame Judi Dench in 2012.
But, unlike Bond, the Brandenburgers were the real thing and, as part of German combat operations in the west, they participated in a variety of covert missions in 1940. In Denmark, they secured primary roads and river crossings near the border while in civilian dress, as well as via glider at the Green Belt Ridge wearing Danish uniforms. During the following month, they also assisted alpine units in Norway in securing bridges in Holland, and similar structures in Belgium.
When the Germans turned eastward in 1941, the Brandenburgers remained an important complement to traditional operations in the Balkans and Yugoslavia, and even conducted clandestine missions in areas as distant as Persia, Afghanistan, India and north Africa. However, while the unit’s first major mission was Operation Barbarossa, in which they played a crucial role in the invasion of the Soviet Union, it was their capture of the Maikop oilfields that really cemented the Brandenburgers as an elite force in Hitler’s army, despite Canaris’s efforts to use them for his own purposes.
By 1942, Hitler’s ability to wage war was becoming repeatedly hamstrung by a lack of resources, most notably oil. Pre-war German oil supplies had originated from three sources:
1. Imported crude or petroleum products from overseas;
2. Domestic production in Germany and Austria; and
3. Synthetic oil produced domestically, primarily from coal.
During the last full year of peace, German consumption of oil totalled 44 million barrels, of which 60 per cent was derived from foreign imports. The outbreak of war not only resulted in increased demand, it also cut off supply from most foreign sources. In September 1939, German stockpiles had plummeted to 15 million barrels, with demand only going upwards. In 1941, OKW estimated that Germany’s oil supply would be exhausted by August. Things were getting serious.
Romania’s Ploiesti oilfields subsequently became Germany’s chief oil supplier, providing almost half of the nation’s entire consumption. Nonetheless, it was still below German expectations. Yet there was no sign of any available increase as the oilfields themselves were gradually becoming depleted. Hitler was therefore forced to put the seizure of oil at the top of his list of military objectives or face inevitable defeat. As such, he now turned his attention to oilfields in the Soviet Union, telling assembled officers of Army Group South in June 1942, ‘If I do not get the oil of Maykop and Grozny, then I must end the war.’
With German troops already in the Soviet Union, they commenced laying the groundwork for Operation Edelweiss and the capture of the Caucasus oilfields in June 1942. Quickly clearing the route towards Maykop of Soviet resistance, they were eventually forced to stop 150 miles from their target. It appeared the Soviets were well aware of Hitler’s intentions, and they had not only placed a strong concentration of troops around the oilfields but had made preparations to destroy them in an act of sabotage should the Germans get any closer. It was now time for the Brandenburgers to act. Lieutenant Adrian von Folkersam of 3rd Company was subsequently tasked with infiltrating behind Soviet lines and capturing the oilfields, or at least preventing their demolition.
Folkersam, known as ‘Arik’ to his friends, had been born into an aristocratic Baltic German family who had long served the imperial Russian military. However, Folkersam’s family had fled Russia following the Russian Revolution in 1917 and settled in Latvia. Growing up in Riga, Folkersam went on to study economics in Munich, Konigsberg and Vienna, after which he became a journalist on the Rigaschen Rundschau and joined the SA. Known as a charismatic team leader, and ticking many of the required boxes, Folkersam was accepted into the Brandenburgers’ 2nd Company, which comprised Germans of Baltic, Russian and African origin. Wolfgang Herfurth of SS-Jager-Bataillon 502 later described why he believed Folkersam was the ideal Brandenburger:
He was a man of few words and able to play many parts well. He could distinguish exactly what was important from the unimportant. He always had reservations about orders coming from above and each order was examined and checked for its feasibility. So, he sometimes changed orders without further approval. He was completely convinced of his family’s tradition and lineage and a supporter of the elite ideals as well as a follower of Stefan George’s poetry, which brought us closer to humanity. He carefully prepared his subordinate commanders with exercises and difficult question and answer contests. He put great emphasis on individual training and strengthening. And though he clearly had a great deal of confidence, he was no arrogant superior.
For his mission, Folkersam selected sixty-two men, mainly Baltic Volksdeutsche whose Russian was perfect, plus a scattering of hand-picked Sudeten Germans. He decided they would be in full Soviet uniform, without the usual precaution of a German uniform underneath. Given the nature of the deep penetration of enemy lines that was planned, it was deemed an unnecessary danger to carry any form of identifiable Wehrmacht equipment. They were equipped instead as NKVD troops of the 124th NKVD Rifle Brigade, with Folkersam taking the guise of Major Truchin. Such was the danger of the mission that each soldier carried a cyanide capsule to take in case of capture, as it was preferable to the torture that would inevitably follow.
Because of the rapid German advance, and corresponding retreat of the Soviet 9th Army, the Russian front line was extremely porous. This allowed Folkersam’s group to march under bright moonlight, through acres of sunfl
ower fields, without being confronted. Yet soon they came across Soviet troops at the small village of Feldmarshalskiy. This would be their first major test.
Walking down the narrow road, the Brandenburgers had no option but to join the mix of retreating Soviet troops, who had become separated from their parent units. Despite fighting for the Soviets, these men were from diverse backgrounds, including Kuban Cossacks, Ukrainians, Kyrgyz groups, Georgians, Caucasians and Turkmen, as well as Russian and Siberian units. From careful observation, Folkersam’s patrols found that only the Russian and Siberian men were keen to return to the fighting. The remainder either favoured defecting to the Germans or melting away to their homes. Folkersam could sense that the few Soviet officers present were also struggling to retain control.
Reaching the village in the darkness, Folkersam saw that alongside the enemy’s horses and camels were trucks and fuel supplies. He decided these would be beneficial to their mission, and having heard the conversations between the men he knew just how to take them.
Aggressively firing his gun into the air, Folkersam and his men quickly moved in to disarm the startled Soviet troops. In his NKVD uniform, Folkersam then jumped onto the bonnet of a truck and began haranguing the group, accusing them of desertion in the face of the enemy. He then ordered all Cossacks to be separated from the rest and, along with a small contingent of his force, marched them out of the village for proclaimed summary execution as traitors and cowards.
Away from the prying eyes of the remaining Red Army, Folkersam rounded on the Cossack leader and asked whether his men genuinely intended to defect to the Wehrmacht, causing confusion and suspicion among the prisoners. When it was clear that their intention was genuine, Folkersam surprised them by offering them the opportunity to head towards Anapa, where the German lines were stationed, while he and his men fired volleys into the air that would satisfy the listening men that they had indeed been executed. The deal was struck and after the Cossacks’ departure and the ensuing gunfire, Folkersam and his men returned to the village. There, they ordered the Russian and Siberian officers present to head to the Soviet lines, while Folkersam’s men commandeered the trucks.
The journey was long, hot and dusty, as the main road south soon became clogged with refugees and retreating troops. Reaching Armavir, on the Kuban River, the Brandenburgers were stopped by genuine NKVD troops, who were attempting to restore order among the teeming throng of people. With his trademark confidence and charm, Folkersam swung down from the truck and presented his forged credentials to the NKVD colonel in charge, claiming to be on special assignment on behalf of Aleksei Zhadov, commander of the 66th Army at Stalingrad. Unwilling to admit ignorance of the order, the colonel chastised Folkersam for being a day later than expected and directed him to continue towards Maykop, while warning him to remain vigilant against ‘fascist spies’ disguised as Soviet infantrymen. With a smile, Folkersam said he would be sure to do that.
Upon finally reaching Maykop, with little further incident, Folkersam drove straight into the lion’s den: the Red Army headquarters. With characteristic self-assurance, he introduced himself to General Perscholl, the NKVD lieutenant general charged with local defence. To his surprise, Folkersam was warmly greeted. The news of his execution of traitorous Cossacks had already preceded his arrival and seen him heralded as a true patriot.
With this, the Brandenburgers were provided with a confiscated villa and adjacent garage for the duration of their stay. Perscholl even invited Folkersam to dinner, and over a full meal, accompanied by large quantities of vodka, the commander established himself as a welcome guest in the city. But he didn’t forget his mission.
During the days that followed, Folkersam and his men were able to reconnoiter Maykop’s defences. Folkersam even went as far as using his NKVD position to order anti-tank positions to be moved away from the main road, persuading Perscholl that the German panzers would take a ‘less obvious’ axis of attack.
By the evening of 8 August, German armoured forces were only 20 kilometres away and chaos had overtaken the Soviet troops in Maykop. Perscholl had now departed with his staff and there was widespread looting by roving bands of leaderless men. The time had come to execute the final stage of Folkersam’s mission.
He proceeded to divide his men into three parties. The first and most numerous, under the command of Sergeant Landowski, was charged with heading southwest towards Neftegorsk, where they were to prevent the destruction of oil installations being prepared for demolition. They were to kill the genuine demolition parties and take their place, masquerading as Soviet sabotage troops. A second, smaller group, headed by Franz Koudele, was to sever telephone and telegraph communications between Maykop’s defenders and the outside world, so as to ensure no back-up could be summoned. Folkersam was then to lead the third group, which was intended to meet two Soviet Guards brigades that had arrived from Tbilisi and Baku as reinforcements and attempt to persuade them to fall back from the town.
As German artillery fire landed in the city, the second team detonated explosives at a small artillery communications centre. The resulting explosion was taken by the Soviets to be a lucky German shell hit. Meanwhile, Folkersam forcefully persuaded defending artillery troops that the German threat lay south and had them abandon their defensive positions while he and his ‘heroic’ NKVD men covered their move. He next presented himself to the Soviet general commanding one of the reinforcing brigades and endeavoured to convince him that the front line now lay to the south. His opponent was initially sceptical, and suspicion began to transform into hostility, before word of the retreating artillerymen swung the issue in Folkersam’s favour and the first brigade was ordered to withdraw, its movement convincing adjacent troops to also leave their positions and head south.
Meanwhile, Koudele had managed to bluff his way into the central communications centre and browbeat the officer in charge to evacuate the building and retreat to the new defensive line at Apschetousk. Once the Soviet operators had departed, Koudele’s men manned the telephones and radios, redirecting Soviet troops towards Tuapse, as they relayed the disinformation that Maykop was cut off and surrounded. By noon, as panzers reached the northern outskirts of the city, the Brandenburgers evacuated the building and destroyed the Soviet equipment with grenades.
To the southeast, group one under Landowski raced into individual facilities and ordered Soviet troops stationed there to retreat while they handled the demolitions themselves as a ‘rearguard’. Unconvinced, a Soviet security officer attempted to contact army headquarters for back-up. Luckily for the Brandenburgers he was unable to get through, thanks to Koudele’s team taking control of the communications.
By 9 August, the Brandenburgers had achieved all of their objectives with spectacular success. The oilfields were safe, the Soviet troops had been dispersed, and the road was now clear for the 13th Panzer Division to storm into Maykop to claim their prize. The men of Folkersam’s command, still dressed in their Soviet uniforms, gingerly made their way towards approaching German troops and ‘surrendered’ themselves. Fortunately, the leading elements had been fully briefed about their operation and there were no accidents. Folkersam’s mission was now over and for his efforts he was awarded the Knight’s Cross on 14 September 1942.
While the Brandenburgers’ role at Maykop allowed Hitler to stay in the war, Wilhelm Canaris was still determined to stop him. During 1943, he made direct contact with both the Americans and British in an attempt to convince them that there was serious resistance to Hitler within Germany. His suggestions to end the war included killing Hitler, or handing him over to the Allies. All were rejected. Taking matters into his own hands, he eventually tried to assassinate Hitler in 1943 and 1944, before Hitler realised that Canaris was involved in the conspiracy against him.
Canaris was subsequently arrested and transferred to Flossenburg concentration camp, where he was kept on starvation rations, regularly beaten, mocked, tortured and humiliated. However, at no time did he reveal any i
nformation that could be used against his fellow conspirators. On 9 April 1945, following a bogus trial staged by two SS officers, Canaris and several of his colleagues were stripped naked and led to the gallows. With their SS guards mocking them and hurling abuse, they were hanged and their bodies left to rot. Just two weeks later, the camp was liberated by US troops.
But, before victory could be claimed, the Allies were preparing to launch an assault on the Normandy coast that would represent the biggest amphibious invasion of all time. However, for it to succeed, the German coastal guns had to be silenced behind enemy lines or else it could turn into a massacre. Once more, Churchill turned to his special forces . . .
22
THE PARATROOPERS
AD 1944
By 1943, with the Americans now having joined the war against Germany, thoughts turned to how to retake Europe from the Nazis. Many advocated mounting an amphibious operation on the coast of France and driving the Nazis back from there. However, this was not without its problems. In August 1942, a raid on the French coastal town of Dieppe had already highlighted the huge issues involved in attacking an enemy-held port. The German beach defences had kept the invading troops confined to the water’s edge while machine-gun fire then decimated them as they lay trapped in the open. In light of this, if any beach landings were going to be made in future, the German defences had to be taken out beforehand. But how could this be achieved? Thankfully, the Germans were to provide their enemy with the inspiration to embark on one of the most important raids of all time.
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