Operation Greif (; , meaning "
Griffin") was a special
false flag operation commanded by
Waffen-SS commando Otto Skorzeny during the
Battle of the Bulge in
World War II. The operation was the brainchild of
Adolf Hitler, and its purpose was to capture one or more of the bridges over the
Meuse river before they could be destroyed. German soldiers, wearing captured British and
US Army uniforms and using captured Allied vehicles, were to cause confusion in the rear of the Allied lines. A lack of vehicles, uniforms, and equipment limited the operation and it never achieved its original aim of securing the Meuse bridges.