SS Sturmbattalion 500?

[Alexei]

Hello,

Are there already some scenarios involving this disciplinary battalion? If not, I strongly recommend the story of the battalion to an expert scenario designer!!!

[Redleg]

This is just right for SPWAW purposes - a battalion-sized battle would be good.

I don't have any information (so far as I know) about this battalion. Any clues about where to find some?

[Alexei]

I read their story in a book by Ingo Petersson, a former member; I hope their exist an English translation...

Basically, the battalion was quite exceptional. SS officers that were condemned were downgraded and then sent to the disciplinary battalion. The organisation was very special, as the members elected their leaders, even the battalion leader. SS 500 Battalion was directly below H. Himmler and as such was given great freedom as compared to the Wehrmacht. On the other hand, it suffered extremely heavy losses (sometimes up to 90% of the effectives).
Especially two stories would give great scenarios: in the first one, the battalion has to break through soviet lines after soviet offensive in winter 43-44 which let it surrounded. In the second one, half of the battalion was parachuted to destroy soviet fuel reserves for northen front. And they did it, stopping for a time soviet advance on that front. Plus lot of remarquable defenses against soviet assaults...

I will try to find a website; there must exist at least one about the "Officers Battalion" !

[Fradar]

I read the book and considered designing scenarios on that basis. OK some actions are described but with not much details about locations and time, in any case not enough to make a credible scenario.
As I have found nothing on this Battalion and had never heard of before, I just wonder if it ever existed.
BTW the introduction does state clearly whether it is a fiction or not.

[Alexei]

Yes, there are also lots of minor mistakes (e.g. Kalashnikov instead of PPsh, 14.5 instead of 12.7, ...) but really I would find it weird if it was fictional. What about the photos, the maps, ... ???
At least Matzkau existed; I will continue searching !!

[Voriax]

Hello

Perhaps you mean this unit: http://www.wssob.com/500abtfsj.html

Voriax

[Fradar]

About the maps : they are just badly made general maps of the eastern front with no details and nothing on Battalion 500.
About the photos : the picture on the cover is HJ in Normandy and there is another one of the same sequence in the inside folio.
Some pictures in the folio are well known photos not related to this battalion, some even show regular Wehrmacht soldiers.

[Alexei]

Thank Voriax! My feeling is that the description on this website is too accurate to be a coincidence ("

The SS paratrooper unit, oddly enough, was simultaneously a penal unit and a volunteer organization

").

I could not believe in a fiction; I simply could not understand it !! Hey, there is no need to invent heroic acts, WW2 is full of them. I would see it as an insult to the memory of actual heros...

It would be great if some other French readers of the book could share their opinions with us!

[Redleg]

Yes, Voriax. A very interesting site with lots of hard-to-find information

Thanks.

[Fradar]

Thanks also Voriax. The site is really interesting.
To Alexei: according to the site Battalion 500 was not in Russia. Fiction or not ? I still do not know. Probably a bit of both.

[Alexei]

I am not sure we will know the truth one day... Anyway I went back to wssob website (thanks again Voriax!) and I found this one: http://www.wssob.com/500behbat.html

At least it looks closer... but info here may well come only from the book.

[Irinami]

Keep me in the loop... this looks like an awesome basis for a scenario or even mini campaign.