Nachtigall Battalion

Nachtigall Battalion
February, 1941.
ActiveFebruary 25 – late October 1941
Country Nazi Germany
Reichskommissariat Ukraine
BranchAbwehr
RoleSpecial Forces
Size360 to 400
EngagementsOperation Barbarossa
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Roman Shukhevych, Theodor Oberländer

The Nachtigall Battalion (English: Nightingale Battalion), also known as the Ukrainian Nightingale Battalion Group (German: Bataillon Ukrainische Gruppe Nachtigall), or officially as Special Group Nachtigall[1] (German: Sondergruppe 'Nachtigall'[2]) was a subunit under command of the German Abwehr special-operations unit Lehrregiment "Brandenburg" z.b.V. 800 in 1941. Along with the Roland Battalion it was one of two military units which originated on February 25, 1941, when the head of the Abwehr, Admiral Wilhelm Franz Canaris, sanctioned the formation of a "Ukrainian Legion"[3] under German command. The Legion was composed of volunteer Ukrainians many of whom were members or supporters of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN-B).[4] The Battalion participated in early stages of Operation Barbarossa (the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union) with Army Group South[5] between June and August 1941.

After returning to Germany, in November 1941 the Ukrainian members of the Legion were reorganized into the 201st Schutzmannschaft Battalion. It numbered 650 persons who served for one year in Byelorussia (present-day Belarus) before disbanding.[6] Many of its members, especially the commanding officers, went on to join the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (founded in 1942), and 14 of its members joined SS Division Galicia in spring 1943.[7]

  1. ^ Abbot, Peter. Ukrainian Armies 1914-55, p.47. Osprey Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-84176-668-2
  2. ^ Boli︠a︡novsʹkyĭ, Andriĭ (2003). Українські військові формування в збройних силах Німеччини, 1939-1945 [Ukrainian military formations in the armed forces of Germany, 1939-1945]. Lviv: Львівський національний університет ім. Івана Франка. p. 571. ISBN 9789666132195. Retrieved 24 November 2022. During April-June 1941, Abwehr organized again two new Battalions mostly from adherents of OUN-B : Special group 'Nightingale'" (Sondergruppe 'Nachtigall' ) and Organization 'Roland' [...].
  3. ^ Not to be confused with the Ukrainian Legion of Self-Defense founded in 1943.
  4. ^ І.К. Патриляк. Військова діяльність ОУН(Б) у 1940—1942 роках. Archived 2016-11-04 at the Wayback Machine — Університет імені Шевченко \Ін-т історії України НАН України Київ, 2004 (No ISBN) p.271-278.
  5. ^ Melnyk, Michael James (17 May 2017). "The Crucible of a Nation State". The History of the Galician Division of the Waffen SS: On the Eastern Front: April 1943 to July 1944. Fonthill Media. ISBN 9781781555286. Retrieved 24 November 2022. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Roland advanced into Southern Bessarabia and Nachtigall crossed into Galicia with Army Group South.
  6. ^ І.К. Патриляк. Військова діяльність ОУН(Б) у 1940—1942 роках. — Університет імені Шевченко \Ін-т історії України НАН України, Київ, 2004 (No ISBN) pp 371-382.
  7. ^ Боляновський А.В. Дивізія «Галичина»: історія — Львів: , 2000.