soldiers. In 2009, Dr. Tomasz Samojlik (Mammal Research Institute, Białowieźa) kindly shared his ideas on the Polish history of the forest. Tomasz very kindly supplied the forest maps that led to the digitization process central to this book. At a critical time, Professor Beatrice Heusser (University of Glasgow) offered important supervisory advice on taking the research to the final manuscript. My life partner Bettina Wunderling BSc. was important to the research by formulating the application of GIS in the cartographical research. In the latter stages of completing this manuscript, Dr. Matthew Ford (University of Sussex) gave up considerable time on modern counterinsurgency, military innovation and concepts of education, including training. He also directly edited several chapters. I would like to also thank Dr. Olaf Bachmann (King’s College London) and Jake Halliday (Buckingham), for reading and commenting on the manuscript.
Since 1998 several academic institutions have been crucial to this project. Their help and support was particularly welcome since this project was self-funded. The Bundesarchiv (Germany), National Archives (London), Mammal Research Institute (Poland), National Archives and Records Administration (USA) provided unhindered access to records and advice. The RWTH-Bibliothek (Aachen), Staatsbibliothek (Aachen) and British Library (London) granted full access to holdings and inter-library loans. Germany has retained many of the traditional ideas open access learning for all and this deserves special mention in this book. The Internet Archive (Washington DC) granted unfettered access to all digitised sources, which was articularly helpful for older books outside the e-book systems. ESRI provided advice and guideance in the application of GIS software in 2010–12.
In fourteen years, many people have been involved in this book, for which I am eternally grateful: Special thanks are reserved for: Mike Buckley MA, Michael Birklein MA, Dr. Roger Cirillo (AUSA), Dr. Halik Kochanski, Dr. Bernd Lemke (Potsdam), Professor James Corum (Salford), Professor Dennis Showalter (†), Jörg Muth (Baltic Defence College), Professor Jesse Kauffmann (Eastern Michigan), Michael Birklein (RWTH-Aachen), Tomasz Frydel (Ottowa), Michael D. Miller, and Valerie Lange and Malisa Mahler from ibidem publishing house. In 2020, I joined the Twitter community and have received very supportive advice and guidance.
Finally, to family and friends. Whereas in a second book family and friends become part of a list, unusual to this story was the extended period of serious illness launched them into a strategic role. My parents, Pamela and Peter Blood, have always supported my work and career. Also to my relatives Jan, Lauren, Colin and Dr. Alexander Ford. My dearest friend for more than forty years, Manny Phelps passed away in 2015. After major surgery and disability, he devised the means to restore my writing that led to this book. We shared an interest in the Luftwaffe and I would hope this meets with his high standards of accuracy and detail. Manny’s family of Maria, Ricky, Danielle and Nicole remain precious to me. Dr. Barry Rosenthal (Baltimore) is a dear friend and supported this project with advanced computers. Harry Wise (London taxi driver) and Bradley J. Hodgson (gunsmith) spent hours explaining gun-making, drive-hunting, and that special relationship between rifles and marksmanship. All my friends mentioned in my first book were also part of the progress to this. Thank you to German doctors and medical staff who have worked incredibly hard in my interest over the last fourteen years.
List of Tables
Table 1: Bach-Zelewski’s travel itinerary
Table 2: fluctuations in manpower levels
Table 3: LWSB, death by shooting, 14 August 1942
Table 4: LWSB, death by hanging, 9 September 1942
Table 5: LWSB, hanging 22 September 1942
Table 6: LWSB, death by hanging, October 1942
Table 7: Forest communities and the results of deportation
Table 8: Settled out of the forest.
Table 9: LWSB, death by hanging, 22 December 1942
Table 10: executions through hanging, 20 November 1942
Table 11: LWSB, death by hanging, February 1943
Table 12: LWSB death sentences on 24 February 1943
Table 13: final deployment of the LWSB on 5 March 1943
Table 14: Herbst’s amended body count
Table 15: JSKB expenditures—fuel and ammunition
Table 16: JSKB roster, 6 March 1943
Table 17: JSKB muster March–October 1943
Table 18: LW Signals Regiment 1 schedule
Table 19: JSKB muster October 1943 to August 1944
List of Diagrams
Diagram 1: Reichsforstamt organisation and the Jagdamt (1936).
Diagram 2: the four categories of reported incidents
Diagram 3: age range of sixth company officers and NCOs
Diagram 4: age profile of sixth compan
Diagram 5: Original branch of Service with transfers
Diagram 6: Personnel assigned from Flak regiments
Diagram 7: LWSB/JSKB casualties
Diagram 8: cause of fatal wounds
List of Maps
Map 1: Poland divided, Nazi occupation zones in Poland, Soviet Russia and the Ukraine.
Map 2: Bezirk Bialystok circa 1944.
Digital Map 3: Luftwaffen Karte des Urwaldes Bialowies.
GIS Map 4: Police Battalion 322—the village deportations 25 July–15 August 1941
GIS Map 5: the Kobylinski deployment
GIS Map 6: LWSB strongpoints—6 August 1942
GIS Map 7: before the arrival of Fourth Company—10 October 1942
GIS Map 8: after the arrival of Fourth Company—2 November 1942
GIS Map 9: the arrival of Fifth and Sixth companies—19 November 1942
GIS Map 10: the positions of Soviet partisans killed by LWSB
GIS Map 11: deportations—comparison of summer 1941 and autumn/winter 1942
GIS Map 12: the total distribution of hideouts discovered by the LWSB
GIS Map 13: locations of Jews killed by the LWSB
GIS Map 14: The Final Deployment—5 March 1943
GIS Map 15: JSKB deployment—6 March 1943
GIS Map 16: Luftwaffe signals network and the German frontier 1943–1944
GIS Map 17: JSKB hunting patrols—March to October 1943