Nachtigall Battalion
| Nachtigall Battalion | |
|---|---|
February, 1941.
|
|
| Active | February 25 - late October 1941 |
| Country |
 Germany
|
| Branch | Abwehr |
| Role | Special Forces |
| Size | 360 to 400 |
| Engagements | Operation 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, was the subunit under command of the German Abwehr special operations unit Lehrregiment "Brandenburg" z.b.V. 800. Along with the Roland Battalion it was one of two military units formed February 25, 1941 by head of the Abwehr Wilhelm Franz Canaris, which sanctioned the creation of the "Ukrainian Legion" under German command. It was composed of volunteer "ukrainian nationalists," Ukrainians operating under Stephan Bandera's OUN orders.
In Germany, in November 1941 the Ukrainian personnel of the Legion was reorganized into the 201st Schutzmannschaft Battalion. It numbered 650 persons which served for one year at Belarus before disbanding.
Many of its members, especially the commanding officers, went on to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and 14 of its members joined SS-Freiwilligen-Schützen-Division «Galizien» in spring 1943.
Prior to Operation Barbarossa, the Bandera's OUN collaborated with Nazi Germany and in fact received his training there. According to the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and other sources, OUN-R leader Stepan Bandera held meetings with the heads of Germany's intelligence, regarding the formation of "Nachtigall" and "Roland" Battalions. February 25, 1941 head of the Abwehr Wilhelm Franz Canaris sanctioned the creation of the "Ukrainian Legion" under German command. The unit would have had 800 persons. Roman Shukhevych became a commander of the Legion from the OUN-R side. OUN expected that the unit would become the core of the future Ukrainian army. In the spring the OUN received 2.5 million marks for subversive activities against the USSR. In the spring of 1941 the Legion was reorganized into 2 units. One of the units became known as Nachtigall Battalion, a second became the Roland Battalion.
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