Axis Commandos/Saboteurs?

by Algebrace

Most media i have found about WW2 shows how the elite troops of the allies i.e. the commandos, the Rangers etc were involved in top secret super missions (blowing up bridges, rescuing PoWs etc).

However when Axis elite troops i.e. the fallschirmjaegers its how they fought alongside the Wehrmacht with very few outliers (rescuing Mussolini, Invasion of Crete etc).

Did the Axis have troops on par with the commando's in terms of specialty (sabotage, infiltration) or did their elite troops just focus in an entirely different area? Also did the Italians and Japanese have elite troops (i havent read of any).

TL;DR Modern Media has failed utterly in teaching me about elite Axis troops and i ask /r/AskHistorians to educate me.

Bernardito

Nazi-Germany did not have anything resembling the British Commando's or the American Rangers in terms of using firepower and small unit tactics to reach and take their objectives.

The closest thing we have to a unit that fits your description is the infamous Brandenburgers whose approach to taking objectives was less along the same tactics as US Rangers and more that of the OSS. They used deception to reach their objectives, usually in the form of wearing the uniform of their enemies or civilian clothing, and had some high profile successes but never anything that resembled the successes of the allies. The Brandenburgers were also commonly used for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, even though the unit was turned into a division towards 1942 and essentially became an infantry division on the eastern front and would consist from then on by simple infantryman rather than the well-trained saboteurs of previous years.

The problem when it comes to the historiography on the idea of Nazi-German commando's is the fact that most books written on the subject are either of dubious nature or thoroughly made use of Otto Skorzeny's memoirs. If you search anything regarding 'special forces' and what not, it's always going to be Skorzeny's SS men and most of that is primarily sourced from wartime Nazi propaganda or Skorzeny's memoirs. The problem with Otto Skorzeny is essentially that he is a liar and have either exaggerated or entirely fabricated his role in all the operations he was part of.