The WW2 Mission that Broke Every Rule of War - Operation Greif

In the winter of December 1944, deep within the Ardennes Forest of Belgium, a massive surge of German troops, over a quarter-million strong, plowed through the snow-covered landscape. This was Hitler’s last desperate gamble, a surprise offensive aimed at splitting the Allied forces and capturing the vital port of Antwerp.

Amidst the renewed Blitzkrieg, a seemingly inconspicuous American jeep made its way through the treacherous terrain. Its tires kicked up a trail of mud and snow. The three men inside, seemingly regular GIs, were a mere drop in the vast ocean of soldiers that populated the war-torn landscape. But the Americans had been on high alert, with rumors of German saboteurs and paratroopers causing disruptions far beyond the front lines.

The jeep's occupants, identifying themselves as Privates Charles W. Lawrence, Clarence van der Wert, and George Sensenbach, found their journey abruptly halted at a roadblock near the little bridge at Aywaille, Belgium. Their hesitant English and failure to produce the day's password raised immediate suspicion. A meticulous search of their vehicle unveiled their true intentions. Hidden beneath the jeep's seat were two British Sten submachine guns, a vast roll of freshly printed hundred-dollar bills, and the undeniable shade of German field grey beneath their American uniforms.

Under intense interrogation, the most nervous of the trio, the so-called "Sensenbach," revealed his true identity: Wilhelm Schmidt, a corporal in the German Army. They were part of Operation Greif, a covert mission masterminded by Hitler's most infamous commando, the scarred SS Lieutenant Colonel Otto Skorzeny. Their mission was not just to spread confusion but to capture one of the most important Allied generals of the war.

The revelation shocked the command. The enemy was not just at the gates; they were within, wearing the same uniforms, speaking the same language. As the Battle of the Bulge raged on, the Allies faced a new, insidious challenge: identifying friend from foe, ensuring that the imposters were rooted out, and securing a pivotal victory in the war's final chapters.

[torealexandersen]

With a voice and story teller of this lvl, no music is needed. Thank you

[DSR]

I never knew about Operation Greif until now. There is a never-ending number of historical facts about the war. Fascinating.

[fredvaladez]

One of the best presentations i have ever seen. I especially appreciate the fact all the situations were taken to their conclusions as to what finally happened to the people involved. Excellent job of historical research and enough videos that complemented the narration and made it seem as real as actually being there.

[BanjoLuke]

My father and godfather were in Belgium at the time, with 53rd (Welsh) Div. They were looking forward to Christmas and both had a feeling that thongs might be winding up fairly soon. They were on the mess tent when news came through that the Germans had broken through to the south. They thought it was some sort of joke. In the following days, they formed a part of the small (ish) number of British troops who pushed back against the northern perimeter of the Bulge. They and the rest of the Allied forces had been at it since Normandy - some for even longer. They really were worn out and ready for some rest. It was also bitterly cold. Really, this was a huge psychological coup for the retreating German military. It didn't last long, but while it did it was very disruptive.

[warwickholden]

The success of the German offensive was based on two dangerous suppositions. The first was that the bad weather and low clouds would persist into the first weeks of 1945. Thus preventing supply drops by the Americans to their troops. And allowing ground attack aircraft to operate. The weather cleared on Boxing Day. The second was that the Germans, who were very short of fuel, would capture and use the huge American fuel dumps to enable the ir tanks and supporting vehicles to keep going. The Americans blew up the dumps rather than let them fall into Gerrman hands. Many examples of WW2 German vehicles in museums around the world came from the Ardenne offensive where troops simply abandoned their vehicles when they ran out of fuel.

[joeyanny]

My Cousin Gary fought at The Bulge. He eventually was part of the company that liberated Hitler’s Mountain Retreat. He came home with a number of Purple Hearts & a Silver Star. He was a great man.We all miss him.

[BruceK]

My father had a friend named Werner who had grown up in Germany and escaped in the late 1930s to the United States. When the US entered the war, he eagerly joined the US Army to fight. His proudest moment was when he returned to Germany in the driver's seat of a Pershing tank.

But he had to constantly worry that his German accent might get him killed by his fellow troops. He told us how hard he had to study to memorize all the baseball facts and trivia he could, because that was always the test he was put to when he was stopped and questioned. He had a few close calls.

[sblack]

David Stirling also testified on Skorzeny’s behalf, basically saying that the SAS, which he created, did the same thing

[wheelsofafrica]

Brilliant video, excellent narration.
Thank you so much.

[John-...]

Great video! I heard about this mission before but never in such a comprehensive video. At the 12:15 mark the soldiers on the Jeep looked like they were using weapons that weren't used in WW2, but I couldn't see them too well

[tileux]

What you dont mention is that this operation was just one of many such operations. Until 1943 these operations had been carried out by the Abwehr commanded 'Brandenburgers" - who routinely did this from 1939, including in Poland, the lowlands, france, and in Russia and Eastern Europe. That unit had eventually been expanded into a regular division with its best operators being transferred to Skorzeny's SS special operations unit. The Brandenburgers standard mode of operation was to pose as members of enemy units and drive onto strategic targets - usually bridges - then surprise the guards by opening fire on them. Then they would change uniforms and wait for german regular units to arrive. They could do this because the Brandenburgers were all men with exceptional language skills who spoke their enemies languages without german accents. Sometimes it went wrong, as when dutch border guards grew suspicious and opened fire on Brandenburgers who tried to seize a number of key crossings, bridges and fortresses in a co-ordinated series of attacks. They also carried on misdirection operations across the eastern front until the german retreat made their style of operations unfeasible.

Its not well known but german forces in ww1 and ww2 consistently and blatantly breached the laws of war throughout both of those wars - through arbitrary execution of civilians, to false surrenders, booby trapping everything that moved, and killing prisoners of war. Thats why they gained the nickname of "The Hun" in 1914. Rather than an aberration, german behaviour in ww2 was just more of the various practices they had carried on in lots of places for a very very long time. Theres a bit of a myth that the western front in ww1 and ww2 was a place of honourable fighting - it wasnt. Due to the german conduct, allied soldiers were quite willing to retaliate in kind in the west in both wars, although the allied military never went out of its way to tolerate, commit, or approve war crimes like the german command did.

Skorzeny's defence succeeded because the laws of war at the time only made it a war crime to wear an enemy uniform in COMBAT. No-one could show that skorzeny had worn an enemy uniform in combat, although all of the brandenburgers most definitely had and most of the SS special forces under Skorzeny definitely had. That loophole in the geneva convention has since been amended, although its now more complicated because the geneva conventions now grant protection to combatants who are not wearing formal uniforms.

[vonsopas]

Any given Yank: "No, Monty, we don't think you are a Gerry, we just don't lke you anyway"

[CLARKE]

It was on the Eastern front that all the rules of war was broken. The attempt to seize Antwerp was an example of Hitler's gambles which would lead to disaster for the Germans in the final stages. This wasnt their last offensive, it would be against the Red Army a few months later. The 1940 offensive consisted of 3 1/2 million while this one was 450, 000 germans which shows the huge difference.

[theknifedude]

I like your narration. Thank you for the Information/Video.

[AUCHTERMUCHTYZZ]

Otto lived a comfortable life in Spain after the war! Also lived in Alcudia Majorca, I’ve visited the house he lived in, in the early 70’s even went on to allegedly work for Mossad!

[donmarlon]

Most informative. Thanks for posting this fascinating VDO.

[Mark-teuz]

Intelligent nations fighting and killing each other is insane.

[Vito_Tuxedo]

The December 1944 offensive was just another example of Hitler's complete lack of strategic ability. In fact, that was a significant problem for the German general staff on the whole. They were tactically brilliant, especially in the case of Erwin Rommel. But the generals knew that the offensive that became known as the Battle of the Bulge was doomed to fail. Typically, Hitler ignored their warnings, another reason why he was in many respects the Allies' greatest strategic asset.

[passengerplanetearth]

At 3:22 you see Richard von Rosen, Tiger battle group commander, inspecting his battle group. 12 King Tigers and a flak company. He was 22 years old at the time. Get your head around that, folks. 22 f years old. What were you doing at 22 years old? What kind of society breeds a 22 year old capable of taking command of a Tiger tank battle group?

I can hardly believe we beat these guys. I hope it's because right prevails, and doesn't know when to quit.

[JHS]

capturing the port of Antwerp would have done the Germans little good except in the very short term... It's not as if they could have used the port to import much needed supplies. It was a disruption unlikely to have split the allies.