The 999th Light Africa Division (''999. leichte Afrika-Division'') was a

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

unit formed in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in early 1943. The basis of the division was the 999th Africa Brigade (''999. Afrika-Brigade''), formed several months earlier, as a

penal military unit Penal military units, including penal battalions, penal companies, etc., are military formations consisting of convicts mobilized for military service. Such formations may contain soldiers convicted of offenses under military law, persons enrolled ...

. While all members of Nazi punishment units were labeled "criminals", a significant proportion of the brigade's members had been transferred to it for holding, or being perceived to hold,

anti-Nazi Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

ideas. The division was not fully-formed when

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

forces in North Africa began to collapse. Consequently, the elements of the division that fought in Tunisia generally did so as independent battalions or companies, which suffered high losses (in terms of casualties and captured) before being withdrawn. Fighting mostly against

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

forces, many members of the division reportedly surrendered their positions to the Americans without a fight. Afterwards, the severely depleted division was sent to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

for garrison duties and to conduct "''

Bandenbekämpfung In German military history, ''Bandenbekämpfung'' (German; ), also Nazi security warfare (during World War II), refers to the concept and military doctrine of countering resistance or insurrection in the rear area during wartime through e ...

''"; a term which, in Nazi usage, was usually a euphemism for anti-partisan campaigns. During the deployment to Greece, some members of the division commenced (or recommenced) a range of subversive and/or anti-Nazi activities. The most prominent of these was

Falk Harnack Falk Harnack (2 March 1913 – 3 September 1991) was a German director and screenwriter. During Germany's Nazi era, he was also active with the German Resistance and toward the end of World War II, the partisans in Greece. Harnack was from a fam ...

, who defected to the Greek resistance and, with other German defectors, formed the ''Antifaschistische Komitee Freies Deutschland'' (AKFD; "Anti-Fascist Committee Free Germany").Gottfried Hamacher, Andre Lohmar, Herbert Mayer and Günter Wehner
''Gegen Hitler: Deutsche in der Resistance, in den Streitkräften der Antihitlerkoalition und der Bewegung "Freies Deutschland"''
Dietz, Berlin (March 2005), p. 76. Another notable member of the AKFD was August Landmesser, who reportedly refused to make the

Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...

during his military service and had been depicted in such a protest, in a famous photograph.

Commanders

Commanders were:George F. Nafziger – The Afrika Korps: An organizational history 1941–1943 *

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

Heinz Karl von Rinkleff – October 1942 to 2 February 1943 (transferred to Russian front after the surrender at Stalingrad) *

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...

– 2 February 1943 to 1 April 1943) (KIA 1 April 1943 when his plane was shot down by

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

fighters en route to Tunis.) *

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

Ernst-Günther Baade Ernst-Günther Baade (20 August 1897 – 8 May 1945) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Baade was wounded in action and died from his i ...

– 2 April 1943 to 13 May 1943)

Organization

Order of battle of Afrika-Brigade 999 * Afrika-Schützen-Regiment (Infantry) 961 * Afrika-Schützen-Regiment 962 * Nachrichten-Kompanie (Communications) 999 Order of battle of 999 Afrika Division * Stab * Divisions-Kartenstelle (Maps) 999 * Afrika-Schützen-Regiment 961 * Afrika-Schützen-Regiment 962 * Afrika-Schützen-Regiment 963 *

Panzerjäger ''Panzerjäger'' (German language, German "armour-hunters" or "tank-hunters", abbreviated to ''Pz.Jg.'' in German) was a branch of service of the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht during the World War II, Second World War. It was an Anti-tank war ...

-Abteilung 999 * Artillerie-Regiment (Artillery) 999 * Pionier-Bataillon (Engineers) 999 * Aufklärungs-Abteilung (Reconnaissance) 999 * Astronomischer Messtrupp (Navigation) 999 * Werkstatt-Kompanie (Laboratory) 999 * Werkstatt-Kompanie 999 * Entgiftungs-Batterie (Detoxification) 999 * Nachschub-Bataillon (Supply) 999 * Schlächterei-Kompanie (Butchers) 999 * Bäckerei-Kompanie (Bakers) 999 * Divisions-Verpflegungsamt (Rations) 999 * Sanitäts-Kompanie (Medical) 999 * Krankenkraftwagen-Zug (Ambulance) 999 * Veterinär-Kompanie (Veterinary) 999 *

Feldgendarmerie The ''Feldgendarmerie'' (, "field gendarmerie") were a type of military police units of the armies of the Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number o ...

-Trupp (

Military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

) 999 * Feldpostamt (Postal) 999

References

* Klausch, Hans-Peter (1986)
Die 999er: von der Brigade "Z" zur Afrika-Division 999 : die Bewährungsbataillone und ihr Anteil am antifaschistischen Widerstand
. Retrieved December 2, 2015. *

External links

militaryhistorynow.com StrafbataillonCondemned Men – Meet Hitler’s Penal Battalions, 29 July, 2013
* ''Strafbataillon 999'', by Heinz G. Konsalik, first published January 1, 1962 {{Authority control

999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: T ...

Penal units

Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943

Commanders

Organization

See also

References

External links