Osprey Elite №177. Gordon Williamson. German Special Forces of World War II

Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2009. — 64 с. — ISBN: 978 184603 920 1, 978 1 84908 136 8.A series of books on the history, organization, appearance and equipment of famous warriors of the past and present, as well as on other aspects of military history. Elite issue No. 177 is dedicated to the special forces units of Germany in World War II. The text is accompanied by unique photographs and beautifully executed color illustrations based on archival materials.As with so many aspects of German government activities during the Third Reich, the formation of special-forces type units was seriously affected by the internecine struggles between not only the various branches of the armed forces, but also between the military and political intelligence services. The Army was the first to create such units when, under the auspices of Military Intelligence - the Abwehr - permission was given for the formation in October 1939 of the innocuously titled Lehr und Bau Kompanie zbV 800 ('Training and Construction Company on Special Duties 800'), soon to evolve into the renowned 'Brandenburgers'. Even at this early stage there was considerable rivalry between the Abwehr, under Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, and the Reichsicherheitshauptamt (RSHA -Reich Main Security Office), at first under SS -bergruppenfiihrer Reinhard Heydrich and later SS-Ogruf Ernst Kaltenbrunner. The RSHA was the apparatus through which Reichsfiihrer-SS Heinrich Himmler wielded the Nazi state's entire security and police organization; it considered itself the sole legitimate controller of intelligence, counter-intelligence and espionage activities, and - with some justification - it judged the Abwehr to be politically unreliable. Born in Aplerbeck in 1887, Wilhelm Canaris had joined the Kaiserliche Marine in 1905 as an officer cadet, and during the early part of the Great War he served on the cruiser SMS Dresden. Dresden survived the battle of the Falkland Islands, but was eventually cornered by the Royal Navy in Chilean waters and was scuttled in March 1915; the crew were interned, but Canaris escaped and succeeded in returning to Germany. He subsequently joined the submarine service and became a successful U-boat commander. Canaris remained in the Navy after the war, becoming involved once again in intelligence work; in 1933 he was appointed as head of the Abwehr, being promoted to the rank of Konteradmiral in 1935. From well before the outbreak of war Canaris, who despised Hitler and the Nazis, used his position to do everything within his power to interfere with the Fiihrer's military ambitions. Indeed, he had been actively involved in the planning of two failed attempts on Hitler's life in 1938 and 1939. He is known to have worked to persuade Spain not to become involved in the war on Germany's side, and to deny German forces passage through Spanish territory for the proposed assault on Gibraltar.