Bandit War and the Body Count

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Rob - wssob2
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Bandit War and the Body Count

#1

Post by Rob - wssob2 » 22 Jun 2016, 04:21

On the "Why the Waffen-SS" thread, I wrote on the subject of using medals such as the Knight's Cross as a yardstick to measure operational success:
If you’re willing to count the Sherman tanks knocked out and the Knight’s Crosses given out, then you should be willing to count the prisoners and hostages executed and the houses burned down. Otherwise, you’re just ignoring the facts to conform to fit a romanticized military fantasy. ...Nope. It was a military doctrine developed to achieve Third Reich operational goals. It wasn’t an exception, it was the norm.
To which AHF member dshday responded:
Replace outrage with disbelief. It is because you think readers are gullible enough to accept your preposterous idea that Waffen SS military performance should be measured by kill counts of civilians and suspected partisans.
Are you are suggesting that we look at the number of civillians/partisan suspects killed by military occupation and combat units for reprisals as a measure of "military success" ? Why would this compare to your example of a difficult, military, anti-partisan operation aimed to expose, chase and destroy partisan forces ? How do carrying out reprisal actions measure soldiery skills possessed by elite forces?



Documentation on how the Third Reich adopted the “body count” as a yardstick for counterinsurgency success can be found in Philip Blood’s book Hitler’s Bandit Hunters in the section titled “Body Counts and Baubles”
”…Report writing in Bandenbekämpfung was an administrative art form, blending petty German bureaucracy and SS stereotyping. For all manner of reasons, the accounting process could make or break careers. Reporting procedures married Hitler’s political soldiers to the regulatory habits of public servants (Beamten). The rigid application of the ubiquitous 5:00 p.m. daily limitation on returns smacked of bureaucratic petty-mindedness (Beamtenmentalität). In such circumstances, it was, therefore, predictable that this task became the most controversial aspect of Bandenbekämpfung. The question turned on the accuracy of the figures. Scholars have taken considerable interest in the Nazi’s statistical records. ‘The considerable discrepancy between the number of ‘bandits’ killed and the German casualties on the one hand,’ Jürgen Forster has written, ‘and the minor difference between the number arrested and those later executed, point to the dialectical dimension of the Wehrmacht’s reprisal policy.’ (58)

When Himmler took control of Bandenbekämpfung, he introduced a new reporting system. This system represented his plan to force attrition of the bandits, and so casualties were recorded and accounted for in a form since known as the body count. Himmler wholeheartedly believed every act of the partisan had to be countered by greater firepower, greater manpower, and harsher measures. Himmler depended on the expertise and the abilities of his lieutenants, as well as their truthfulness, to determine levels of success. Himmler also relied on body counts: simple data of enemies killed, rounded-up labor, and plunder. Instead of using this data, he endeavored to guarantee its accuracy.

Since the beginning of the war, German combatants has accounted for their victories with set rules and criteria. Within the administrative routine of the Bandenbekämpfverbände, the collection of numbers continued beyond purely ‘bandit’ casualties. There was a listing of everything, prescribed through the introduction of a masterpiece in the bureaucracy of security bookkeeping. (59) The numbers of ‘bandits’ killed in combat, ‘bandits’ killed after combat, and suspects dispatched, and even on occasion details of the animals killed deliberately, were all recorded.After the numbers of killed came the numbers of prisoners and laborers rounded up, divided by men, women and children. Finally, the numbers of farm animals taken in the ‘registrationaction’ (Erfassungsaktion) were then formally accounted.(60)
Last edited by Rob - wssob2 on 22 Jun 2016, 13:44, edited 1 time in total.

history1
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Re: Bandit War and the Body Count

#2

Post by history1 » 22 Jun 2016, 07:27

Just to avoid spreeding wrong terms, it´s "Bandenbekämpfung = combating gangs" and not " Bandendekämpfung".


Rob - wssob2
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Posts: 2387
Joined: 15 Apr 2002, 21:29
Location: MA, USA

Re: Bandit War and the Body Count

#3

Post by Rob - wssob2 » 22 Jun 2016, 13:45

Just to avoid spreeding wrong terms, it´s "Bandenbekämpfung = combating gangs" and not " Bandendekämpfung".
Thanks, history1, I fixed the typos.

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