page_title: Special forces
section_title: Germany
hierarchical_section_title: Special forces / History / World War II / Axis powers / Germany
caption_attribution_description: Information added by Wikimedia users.Deutsch: Hinweis: Adrian von Fölkersam ist der mittlere der drei, rechts soll es sich um SS-Obersturmführer Walter Girg handeln. English: SS-Sturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny on the left; SS-Untersturmführer Adrian von Fölkersam is in the centre. The man on the right is supposed to be SS-Obersturmführer Walter Girg.
context_page_description: Special forces and special operations forces are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, trained, and equipped forces, manned with selected personnel, using unconventional tactics, techniques, and modes of employment".
  Special forces emerged in the early 20th century, with a significant growth in the field during the Second World War, when "every major army involved in the fighting" created formations devoted to special operations behind enemy lines. Depending on the country, special forces may perform functions including airborne operations, counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, covert ops, direct action, hostage rescue, high-value targets/manhunt, intelligence operations, mobility operations, and unconventional warfare.
  In Russian-speaking countries, special forces of any country are typically called spetsnaz, an acronym for "special purpose". In the United States, the term special forces often refers specifically to the U.S. Army's Special Forces, while the term special operations forces is used more broadly for these types of units.
context_section_description: The German army's Brandenburger Regiment was founded as a special forces unit used by the Abwehr for infiltration and long distance reconnaissance in Fall Weiss of 1939 and the Fall Gelb and Barbarossa campaigns of 1940 and 1941.
  Later during the war the 502nd SS Jäger Battalion, commanded by Otto Skorzeny, sowed disorder behind the Allied lines by mis-directing convoys away from the front lines. A handful of his men were captured by the Americans and spread a rumor that Skorzeny was leading a raid on Paris to kill or capture General Dwight Eisenhower. Although this was untrue, Eisenhower was confined to his headquarters for several days and Skorzeny was labelled "the most dangerous man in Europe".
caption: Otto Skorzeny (left) and the former Brandenburger Adrian von Fölkersam (middle), 1944.
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