THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, MAY 17, - 1952.
Exclusive to The China Mail: The philosophy of Skorzeny-the soldier-without-a-textbook-who thinks one war ahead
THE TOUGHEST MAN ALIVE
3 A32712 AM
Give me 1,000 men... and a free hand
THERE ARE challengers, of course, to his title The Toughest announced that Hitler's Man Alive....Ever since it was almost legendary aide, OTTO SKORZENY (pronounced Skordzayni) was to tell his story in relation to the times we live in there have been those ready to put forward other claimants to the title.
British Commando," they The say, Sergeant This and Major That and Brigadier Other all have their proposers and supporters. And all
"I COULD mention So-and-So in
with good reasons.
BUT JUDGE for yourself. Read the Modern Day Adventure
Story of Scarface Skorzeny-told in a series
of interviews with Charles Foley-before you decide.
NEVER learned to click my heels. I was never taken in by the conventions they call the military art. But I have made 143 deep study of the "soldier'a mind. It is frequently too dense to go through. It is never too broad to be outflanked.
Listen, the next war is going to be so different
from anything the generals imagine that many of them will -not-know-where they are until they find the enemy behind
their lines.
And a lot of them, if I to a nervé centre than a 1,000. gucas right, will wake up on bomber raid, in which
hundred
casualties.
airmen
may
several be
the wrong side of the front.
They will ԼՐ kidnapped. Armies will find battalions in Give me 1,000 Teen--you can their own uniform among theni~~
and confusion.
lose as many in an hour storming the enemy. There will be panic some useless hill-with a free hand in wartime, and nobody will be safe. What is the loss of 100 men compared with the capture to
CONFUSION - that is the easiest harvest to sow, the richest in the military mind. of a coramander-in-chief with Soldiers a lost with orders half a dozen of his staff and all and, above all, with no fire to
their records?
Confusion!
HAVE had a Wiile practice at kidnapping. I have proved the possibilities and I know th lescon has been taken to hear by, among others, the Russians Next time no king or president will sleep securely, wherever he is put.
mall
*That is not all. One ar as I will shortly show one woman who is willing to die is capable of doing more damage
return.
People I run into today take me for the thug inearnate, bred tu violence and bloodshed. In
ruth I ecoiteriy
and nobody will be safe if war comes
They had 30-ton tanks ready and my way of getting thim in o the
ships.
sketched out
British could
fleets of planes.
- PARTICULARLY IF MY
1,000 HAVE NERVES TO
MATCH THE V 1 GIRL'
call on cruisers, I had to fight for every man, every item.
I worked on building up ramp.
h
drawn by ROBB
She crash-landed in the first Je plane in 1942, For months she was in hospital. For months more she fouglit to get her nerve back.
I can fy."
fighters would not know whlen to attack.
were
But the last batiles already near and the ton- crals won this one for you, They used the pretext of a general shortage to atarve us of fuel. The training had to stop, If there were more like Hannai She was the only civilian and the only wornan to win the Iron Cross First Class. At the end she flew to Hitler through Russian shells, landed in a street in the centre of the city and piloted the last plane out after Hitler insisted on committing suicide,
I am looking forward to seeing Hanna again very soon. She in coming from Germany, for a gliding contest.
Panic plan
N epilogue to the V1. I was A telling Himmler one day that we planned to launch Vis from submarines when he sprang out of his chair.
"Could we bombard New York from -U-boats?" he shouted. I made objections...
One day she asked friends to
told him our scientists were on airport to see a new planc. They arrived to find it cireling preparing a gulded missile which overhead. It came down und would be brought to the exact out jumped Hanna. "ean By target by a radio set which one again.
of our agents could place there in the last few minutes of the Hanna,. tawny-haired and Night. Tragile, put all her ferocious That is the psychology of will behind the project. She say the first piloted weapon crash in paule. Broadcast that you will hit certain building at a certain landing, then the second.
time--and hit it.
The Air Ministry
banned further trials. It was the end,
Q
I wonder
ban. She would take the next In Russia...
Hanna, if you are
what would have come of it if Germany's collapse had been staved off for three But not for Hasna. She came months more. Next, ilme we 1 found a Dutch factory to bui-Cominando about 1,000 strong ractized the utmost it. The workers were sulky. behind each of our four fronts. to me with the appalling aug--shall know.
We had also a paratroon division gestion that I should ignore the I never instead of pulling a revolver in kalina. red dret. That is the secret. gave them schnapps and choco and two infantry divisions.
By this time our British friends V up herself.
I sald: in peacetime I was happy as late.
compliments. were paying Us The R.A.F. made three bumbling killed Hitler will have me he- OUR zerics of V weapons (V stood for Vengeance) reached an engineer. I did not touch a gun until the war. Today I um trying to catch up on life where
ralds on my headquarters. Each hended."
She went up in a V1, which a development terrifying for the time We were Bald to be
future. I met a scientist from i left it off. But it is easier to
destroyed. Well, we had a fire was lifted off the ground by a win a reputation than to live it
parent plane and then released. West Germany the other day seven years down.
the most terrifying who was working
the Va bomb that would carry one-and-a-half tons was perfect. Hanna kissed me of explosivo 6,000 miles and fall moment of my life. The landing ago on
within a radius of 400 yards of The its target.
when
WIS
or two.
So much for bombers. I would
natches in the right hands.
have more respect for a box of
was
and said:-
We worked all night. Next morning
drove the rst big tank aboard up my ramp.
So you see that it was not bravado that gave me a head start in the war business. I then In Russia and In Lought 1 was a young lieutenant in Yugoslavia. I became, an ̈ex-
Hitler folland
unexpected. planning the Invasion of England. Pert in improvising for the It was then that I was called of the
"There you are, silly. the headquarters Walten S.S., Hitler's elite guard,
other pilots simply weren't used and offered the command of all
E used human torpedoes with 10 bringing down fast planes." existing
Germen W and
future
After 20 more landings I told great success - one man Air Marsha} Milch the truth. anatomic warhead and still Commandos; we adopted the word
We drove Washe delighted?
He said diner alm the V9's successor might from the British. That is not all against a warship.
be labbed on to the Empire Stute radio-directed launches packed gloomily: "This madness might WO Took from you, { give a vest mass of reports on with explosives against
Generals don't like suicide As for my friend, he cannot British Commando raids, from ships. We built one-man sub- have brought you to the gallows." Building.
We enlisted frogmen. missions: even Hitler was against sleep for thinking of it. Dieppe on. It took me a fort- narines. night to go through them,
To Castles
Generals Had
Give Up
3. Ended the cheap rate which enabled senior officials to have 30 servants in their Ruh: mansions;
to
I was dazed with delight as it a new world had opened to me,
I envied you
Next time...
your
quences.
4. Made the remaining 1,800 HURST, I set up headquarters get a decent medal for him. Vis. We were going to scatter
members of the Control Commis- sien "live like Germanr," and deprived them of all meter cars afloated for personal use;
From CHARLES WIGHTON
Bonn. Hitler-type Mercedes Himousines ENERAL Sir Sidney and sports cats for the exclusive use of themselves and their Kirkman, four-star" families; British general who foreed fellow generals to get out of their Rhineland castles and Ruhr millionaire man- sions, has now left Bonn after completing his job.
Fifteen mouths ago he was
5. Eilminated the "penny-A- British planes which New sent to Germany by the Trea- sury, alarmed by the extravagant day telephone service by which nightly over the waste of Britain's occupation British officers and their wives drop explosives costs, with special powers to im- could pose ruthless austerity Jn BAOR Germany for and the British Control Com-liked for no extra cost; mission.
6. Sacked tens of thousands of German clerks, typists, butiers and chauffeurs who had lived as parasites on the swollen Control Commission establishment;
'elephone anywhere
The rest of this scientist's team and all its equipment were carried off by the Russians. With
Service.)
NEXT SATURDAY:
How Kidnapped' Mussolini
The frogman is the prototype them. But there are men (World Copyright-London Express for tumorrow's here. One of my willing to undertake them.
tons of prophesy devastating conse- fellows sank 70,000 Allied shipping in a months how many costly submarines have
Soon had nearly 100 men such a record?-and I had a job
training for one-way missions in To the military-mind he was
a few piloted Vis among each in a hunting lodge rear uncouth-a freak. Berlin. Prisoners and double I was inspecting the V-bases flock of buzz bombs so that your
was Peenemunde when I sides in a war-told us about the struck by the possibilities of a agents-men who work for both at
Instead of falling brilliant British training schools. piloted V1.
New somewhere in a five-mile radius Continent to a V1 ridden by a brave man and radio sets could be dashed against the for their agents helped to solve Houses of Parliament,
problems-most. One life for such a target our equipment of the stuff fell into our hands. instead of scores or hundreds in
We heard the British had a bombing rald. new silent revolver-1 sent an
of brass that Hitler a captured British face "order" on radio set and it was punctually wonted quick results. delivered. We also got a silent With Hitler's unknowing blessing we had the first model British Sten-type gun.
Wondertul weapons. Our of the piloted V1 ready in 12 1. Deprived generals and high officials
to copy them days. of the palatially tractors and wholesalers who, generals refused
Then I ran into that amazing began to see that our equipped special trains fonnerly without interference by British and
Reitch, and 1 owned by Hitler and Goering, officials had been permitted to fiercest struggles would be staged afrgirl Hanna
found she had the same Idea for charge the British occupation on the home front. which had been allocated
Hanna authorities ten times the cost of My admiration for the British some months before. their personal use;
turned to frantic was another _great_"freak" to the 2. Stopped high officials and their work, and the articles Commandos
szemed that the military mani senior officers having fleets of which they supplied.
General
Former Ammy Quartermaster- Kirkman, with a staff of only 10 accountants, saved millions of marks for more vital services when he
long na they
7. Ended the wholesale cor- ruption of German works con-
Give me
envy.
BOOTH'S
for choice!
By appointment
to the late
fold Air Marshal Milch with
King George VI.
Here is a recipe from the Booth's Cocktail Booklet which is obtainable from your supplier:
SINGAPORE SLING
Booth's Gin
14 Cherry Brandy Juice.of.. Lemon
Fill Holth Soda Water
Anne Hathorony's
Cottage
Dear for your