Abwehr is the organ of military intelligence, counterintelligence at first in the Weimar Republic, and then, after Hitler came to power, in the Third Reich. It was a collective name for all units involved in espionage, sabotage, counterintelligence.
Such outstanding personalities as Otto Skorzeny, Adrian von Felkersam and many other German fighters of the "invisible front" have forever written their name in world intelligence history. Abwehr did not hesitate to use even children who not only conducted intelligence, but even participated in sabotage actions.
In the Soviet Union, the main enemies of German intelligence were independent counterintelligence organizations under the general name SMERSH. Deadly confrontation SMERSH against Abwehr will be devoted to the article.
At the origins of creation
After the defeat of Germany in the First World War and the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty, which was humiliating for her, the question of the armed forces became more acute than ever. Under the conditions imposed by the victorious countries, the Germans did not have the right to a modern combat-ready army and intelligence - only the possibility of having 100,000 groups was allowed.
This was used in Germany. They announced that they are creating a kind of security structure that carries the functions of counterintelligence. Its creation in 1919 was official, and control was carried out by a special commission of the allies. The very meaning of the word “abwehr” is “protection” or “reflection”. After removing the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles, this body evolved to independent management (Abwehr / Abroad) as part of the Wehrmacht Supreme Command with colossal resources and capabilities.
"10 points"
In 1935, the leaders of Abwehr and the Gestapo adopted a special document that delimited the activities of German intelligence services. This document went down in history as “10 points”. After its adoption, only military tasks were entrusted to Abwehr:
- collecting information on the military and economic potential of the enemy;
- various measures behind enemy lines aimed at disorganizing it;
- ensuring the secrecy of the German military preparations;
- fight against enemy spies.
The father of German saboteurs Theodor von Hipel
For most, the mention of the “Fuhrer special forces” immediately provokes an association with the personality of Otto Skorzeny, whose activities are so publicized that sometimes it takes a lot of effort to separate the truth from fiction, especially in the history of secret intelligence services.
The German military has long been convinced of the effectiveness of the Suvorov principle of "hit not with quantity, but with skill." However, even they were far from accepting the need to have special forces in their armed forces. The old Prussian school was to blame for everything, which did not approve of sabotage methods of warfare, calling them gangster. By the way, their Soviet colleagues needed even more time to evaluate the effectiveness of reconnaissance saboteurs.
But Theodore von Hipel did not have to prove anything. During the First World War, he was part of the African contingent and fought with the British. There he went through fire, water and became convinced: the future is behind the partisan methods of warfare in the conditions of a modern war.
Despite the obvious opposition and grumbling of the officers of the "Prussian" school, he voiced his thoughts to everyone who wanted to listen to him. However, there were few of them. The only structure that captivated these ideas is Abwehr.
Brandenburg 800
On January 10, 1940, with the strictest secrecy, the 800th Special Purpose Construction and Training Battalion was created. The creation of such a unit required many innovative solutions, some of these “finds” are still being used by special forces.
For example, work as dummies, who are trained to interact as part of a department of 12 or 16 people. If necessary, these units form companies and battalions.
The specifics of service implied the presence of excellent health, knowledge of languages and the ability to think outside the box. The disciplines that taught the cadets differed in a wide range (tactics of warfare in various conditions, cartography, hand-to-hand combat, methodology of torture and interrogation, hand-to-hand combat, disguise and ambush, and many other useful skills for fruitful activities in the rear of the enemy).
All humanitarian restrictions for the soldiers of the German special forces were removed. They did not fall under the Geneva Convention. He took part in the operations of Abwehr “Brandenburg-800” from the first days of the war (capture of the bridge on the Beaver River and holding it until German tanks approached on the night of June 21-22, 1941). He also had more extensive operations on his account. In the end, this elite unit ended up as it should in such conditions. With an increase in the number of personnel, the quality of training for fighters noticeably decreases.
"Poor orphans"
Having received a crushing blow at Stalingrad, Hitler rushed with the idea of revenge. The success of the new operation Citadel should show the invincibility of Germany’s military power and free up its significant forces for the war on the Western Front. It came to the total mobilization of human resources. Under the hot hand, the first spring day of 1943, Admiral Canaris, chief of Abwehr, fell. Part of the blame for the defeat at Stalingrad has already been blamed on his department and ordered within a week to improve intelligence work.
The Canaris subordinates offered many ideas, but the head of the Avergruppa-209, Captain Friedrich Buchgalz, suddenly made a proposal that at first glance seemed absurd, but he made concrete arguments with which the chief of the intelligence and counterintelligence service was forced to agree and give the green light to this plan. Thus, Abwehr is the first intelligence organization that began to use children as saboteurs.
Having explosives disguised as a piece of coal, such saboteurs penetrated the railway junctions and threw it into steam locomotive tenders or coal depots at the station.
In the confrontation between SMERSH and Abwehr, identifying such adolescents proved to be extremely difficult. Our counterintelligence officers learned about the special group "Gemfurt" due to the fact that some children chose to give up and be punished, but not to obey the orders of the enemies of their homeland.
Operation Aryans
At the end of May 1944, 2 groups of German saboteurs were landed in the Astrakhan region, who were to lay the base and prepare to receive 36 squadrons of the Kalmyk corps in order to organize a rebellion on Soviet territory.
State security officers dispersed the enemy’s forces: 7 were destroyed, 12 were taken prisoner, and 14 were put on the wanted list.
Having persuaded the group commander to cooperate, our counterintelligence agents launched SMERSH’s operation against Abwehr, code-named "Aryans." Its result was the disruption of the rebel movement in the rear of the Red Army, the destruction of 2 U-290 aircraft and 33 people. In a deceitful way, they managed to take possession of 2 powerful aircraft engines. This is not counting the food, ammunition, medicine, weapons that the Germans sent to help.
Maykop operation
The success of the German special forces in Maykop, where rich oil fields were located, shows the methods and style of Abwehr. Having penetrated into enemy territory, the Brandenburg soldiers dressed as NKVD uniforms, using the servility of the Red Army soldiers, which caused only one kind of Soviet state security officers, easily learned all the necessary information. Then they began to spread misinformation, which increased panic in the ranks of the defenders. The success of these events was so overwhelming that the garrison surrendered almost without a fight.
Conclusion
You can have a different attitude to the intelligence of Nazi Germany. One thing is certain: they were real pros in their field. Abwehr used real Jesuit cunning against his opponents. Mistakes made by the Soviet leadership as a result of the failures of Soviet intelligence cost a lot of casualties.
Admiral Canaris himself , who, as it turned out, worked for British intelligence, did everything possible to destroy the "hated Bolsheviks." And the fact that our country has survived is a merit of the steadfastness of the Soviet soldiers and the stunning successes of our intelligence, the details of which are still stored under the heading "Top Secret".