05/06/2026
"Menschenjäger"
Kradschützenzug,
SS-Sonderbataillon Dirlewanger
Unternehmen "Günther"
Manyly Forest, Belarus
28June–9 July 1943
Between 28 June and 9 July 1943, the SS-Sonderbataillon Dirlewanger took part in an anti-partisan operation in the forests and marshlands around Manyly, Belarus. Deployed alongside other German units under the command of SS-Gruppenführer Gerret Korsemann, the battalion was tasked with encircling and destroying Soviet partisan formations operating in the area.
Contemporary operational reports describe large-scale sweeps, the detention of civilians suspected of supporting the resistance, livestock seizures, and combat in the dense Belarusian forests. By the end of the operation, German reports claimed the killing of partisans, the capture of prisoners, and the ex*****on of hundreds of individuals suspected of assisting the resistance.
One of many counter-insurgency operations conducted behind the Eastern Front, reflecting the harsh and often brutal nature of anti-partisan warfare in occupied Belarus.
