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'{{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Operation Cottbus |partof=[[World War II]] |image= |caption= |date=[[May 20]] - [[June 23]], [[1943]] |place=[[Belarus]] |result=German victory |combatant1= {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Nazi Germany]] |combatant2= [[File:Flag of Byelorussian SSR.svg|25px|border]] [[Belarusian partisans]] |commander1= [[Oskar Dirlewanger]] |commander2= |strength1= [[36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS|SS Special Battalion Dirlewanger]] |strength2= |casualties1= Number of dead in German formations: 128<br/>Number of captured [[firearm]]s: 1,057 |casualties2= Number of dead [[civilian]]s/[[Partisan (military)|partisans]]: 11,796 }} '''Operation Cottbus''' was an [[Anti-partisan operations in Belarus|anti-partisan operation]] during the [[Occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany|occupation of Belarus]] by [[Nazi Germany]]. The operation began on [[May 20]], [[1943]] during the [[World War II]] occupation of [[Belarus]]. A number of Latvian, Lithuanian, Byelorussian, and Ukrainian units took part in the operation, along with the [[36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS|SS Special Battalion Dirlewanger]]<ref name="wiesenthal">Breitman.R (1997) [http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=395183 Himmler's Police Auxiliaries in the Occupied Soviet Territories] Museum of Tolerance Online. Retrieved 2009-03-15</ref>. Numerous villages were depopulated and burned as part of the operation. The officially communicated result of the operation was that about 9,800 people had been killed (killed in battle: 6,087; liquidated: 3,709) and 4,997 men, but only 1,056 women, had been collected as [[forced labour]]. These figures are likely to be underestimates of the dead. German radio reported 15,000 dead, although Einsatzgruppe Dirlewanger alone reported enemy losses as about 14,000 dead, although this report does not refer to the whole operation. Taking into account that another two combat groups took part in the operation the likely number of dead during the operation is estimated to have been at least 20,000 <ref>[[Christian Gerlach]], Kalkulierte Morde. Die deutsche Wirtschafts- und Vernichtungspolitik in Weißrußland 1941 bis 1944. Studienausgabe, pages 943 and following</ref>. It is likely that the majority of those killed were unarmed civilians<ref name="wiesenthal"></ref>, although some contemporary German reports suggested that the majority of the dead were members of "bands"<ref name="nizokar">Nizokar Project [http://www.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/imt/nca/nca-02/ftp.py?imt/nca/nca-02//nca-02-15-criminality-05-13 Archive File: imt/nca/nca-02//nca-02-15-criminality-05-13] Retrieved 2009-03-15</ref>, although later in the report doubt is expressed as to the accuracy of these figures, with the assumption that "numerous peasants" must have been among the dead and noting that "Dirlewanger especially has a reputation for destroying many human lives"<ref name="nizokar2">Nizokar Project [http://www.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/imt/ftp.py?imt//tgmwc/tgmwc-03/tgmwc-03-24-05 Nizokar Project Archive File: imt//tgmwc/tgmwc-03/tgmwc-03-24-05]. Retrieved 2009-03-15</ref>. The same report indicates that there were 59 German dead<ref name="nizokar"></ref><ref name="nizokar2"></ref>. About 950 weapons were captured during the operation <ref name="wiesenthal"></ref>. == References == {{reflist}} {{World War II}} [[Category:Battles and operations of World War II]] [[Category:History of Belarus]] [[Category:Military operations involving Germany]] [[Category:Military history of Belarus during World War II]] [[Category:Nazi war crimes in Belarus]] [[Category:Soviet-German War]] [[Category:The Holocaust in Belarus]]'