European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

The 999 Bataillon

The political prisoners, who were unworthy for the army, were living in Germany.

And the Germans were dying at all possible fronts.

Slowly but surely, they were short on personnel.

So there was the idea to establish these as kamikaze mission you just throw in.

That was why we were militarily equipped like a self-dependent unit,

we were able to absorb counter strikes of the allies.

If we would have moved back, we would have been shot down from behind.

We were downright kamikaze missions.

That is how it was meant for the bigger units, for divisions.

And that was how the operations were.

Typical: our operation on a hillside,

were we would have been shot down by the American artillery straight after our first shot.

No one would have survived.

So was the military operation on many sections of the front.

Literature about this does exist.

The principle was: extermination of the politicals; they were to perish in the war and not survive.

The companies were assembled as follows:

1/3 political prisoners, 1/3 criminals and 1/3 officers, corporals

and lance-corporals who were mainly Nazis.