Operation Cottbus

Overview

Operation Cottbus was an anti-partisan operation during the occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany. The operation began on 20 May 1943 during the World War II occupation of northern Belarus in the areas of Begoml, Lepel and Ushachy. A number of Belarusian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian collaborationist units took part in the operation, along with the SS Special Battalion Dirlewanger.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

Operation Cottbus was an anti-partisan operation conducted during the Nazi German occupation of northern Belarus, targeting areas around Begoml, Lepel, and Ushachy beginning in May 1943. The operation involved not only German forces but also Belarusian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian collaborationist units alongside the SS Special Battalion Dirlewanger, illustrating the extent to which the occupation regime relied on auxiliary formations to prosecute counterinsurgency efforts in the region. Its conduct in these specific districts reflected the broader German effort to suppress Soviet partisan networks that had established a significant presence in the forests and rural areas of occupied Belarus during the war.