![]() As far as English-speaking soldiers went, only 10 men who spoke perfect English and had some knowledge of American idiom were found, 30-40 men who spoke English well but had no knowledge of slang, 120-150 who spoke English moderately well, and 200 or so who had learned English at school.įaced with these setbacks, Skorzeny scaled down Panzer Brigade 150 from three battalions to two and assembled the 150 best English speakers into a commando unit named Einheit Stielau. ![]() The brigade was also flooded by Polish and Russian equipment sent by units who had no idea what the request was for. The equipment delivered fell short of the requirements, including only two Sherman tanks in poor condition, and Skorzeny had to use German substitutes, 5 Panther tanks, 5 StuG IIIs and 6 armoured cars. The new brigade needed US Army vehicles, weapons and uniforms OB West was asked to find 15 tanks, 20 armoured cars, 20 self-propelled guns, 100 Jeeps, 40 motorcycles, 120 trucks, and British and US Army uniforms all to be delivered to the brigade's training camp which had been set up at Grafenwöhr in eastern Bavaria. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht issued an order on 25 October requesting suitable soldiers for the operation with "knowledge of the English language and also the American dialect" which was passed on to every headquarters on the Western Front, and this request soon became known to the Allies. Despite asking for 3,300 men he was given an immediate go-ahead and promised full support. Within four days he sent his plans for 150 Panzerbrigade to General Alfred Jodl. The timing of the offensive meant that the Brigade Commander Otto Skorzeny had only 5 or 6 weeks to recruit and train a brand new unit. The German code name for this unit's role in the Ardennes offensive was Unternehmen Greif (Operation Greif).
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