A penal military unit, also known as a penal formation, disciplinary unit, or just penal unit (usually named for their formation and size, such as ''penal battalion'' for

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s, ''penal regiment'' for

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s, ''penal company'' for

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

, etc.), is a

military formation Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hierarc ...

consisting of

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

s mobilized for

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

. Such formations may consist of military prisoners convicted under

military law Military justice (or military law) is the body of laws and procedures governing members of the armed forces. Many nation-states have separate and distinct bodies of law that govern the conduct of members of their armed forces. Some states us ...

, civilian prisoners convicted in civilian

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

who have chosen to side with their captors, or a combination of these groups. Service in penal military units is generally considered a form of punishment, discipline, or

penal labour Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included in ...

, used in lieu of, or offered as an alternative to,

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

. Penal units have historically been used as disposable

cannon fodder Cannon fodder is an informal, derogatory term for combatants who are regarded or treated by government or military command as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where combatants are forced to fight agains ...

, treated poorly or with little regard and used in compromising or dangerous situations (commonly

suicide mission A suicide mission is a task which is so dangerous for the people involved that they are not expected to survive. The term is sometimes extended to include suicide attacks such as kamikaze and suicide bombings, whose perpetrators actively die ...

s such as

demining Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...

forlorn hope A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the breach of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defended ...

advance parties), as march battalions that maintain replacement personnel as reserves, or kept in the rear for

military operations other than war Military operations other than war (MOOTW) are military operations that do not involve warfare, combat, or the threat or use of violence. They generally include peacekeeping, peacebuilding, disaster response, humanitarian aid, military enginee ...

or menial labour relating to the

war effort War effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and civilian—towards the support of a military force, particular during a state of war. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative si ...

, guarded and overseen by regular military units,

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

, or

barrier troops Barrier troops, blocking units, or anti-retreat forces are military units that are located in the rear or on the front line (behind the main forces) to maintain military discipline, prevent the flight of servicemen from the battlefield, capture s ...

to ensure they do not attempt to

escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Escape'' (1928 film), a German silent drama film * ''Escape!'' (film), a 1930 British crime film starring Austin Trevor and Edna Best * ''Escape'' (1940 film), starring Robert Taylor and ...

, retreat, or

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

. However, this is not always the case: some penal units are treated the same as regular units and, depending on military organization, a dedicated penal unit may not exist at all, with convicts instead being placed in a regular unit. Rewards and incentives for convicts to serve in a penal unit vary—often

expungement In the common law legal system, an expungement or expunction proceeding, is a type of lawsuit in which an individual who has been arrested for or convicted of a crime seeks that the records of that earlier process be sealed or destroyed, making th ...

commutation Commute, commutation or commutative may refer to: * Commuting, the process of travelling between a place of residence and a place of work Mathematics * Commutative property, a property of a mathematical operation whose result is insensitive to th ...

stay of execution A stay of execution ( Law Latin: ''cesset executio'', "let execution cease") is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is bei ...

, or a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

—though penal units used as punishment typically lack those by nature. The first known penal military units were recorded in

imperial China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

. Since then, several nations and armed forces across history and the world have also fielded penal units of varying sizes with varying roles. Penal units are extremely rare in the modern day, with most militaries relying instead on

volunteers Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

and

conscripts Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

for

military personnel Military personnel or military service members are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, coast guard, air force, and space force), rank ( office ...

, and convicts and criminals—typically only accepted into military service out of necessity—usually being placed into regular units. The hiring of prisoners for combat and military service, often in exchange for freedom, is a common

trope Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things in medi ...

in modern

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

and

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

, with narratives centering around penal units appearing in films, television, novels, and video games.

History

One of the earliest examples of penal military units was established, were written in the Chinese annals ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'' and ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

''. During the Han–Dayuan War, unhappy with the failure of General

Li Guangli Li Guangli (died 89 BC) was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty and a member of the Li family favoured by Emperor Wu of Han. His brother Li Yannian was also close to Emperor Wu. With the suicide of Emperor Wu's crown prince Li ...

in an earlier expedition in 104 BC,

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi ...

promised amnesty and rewards to criminals, prisoners and bandits (赦囚徒捍寇盜) and dispatched a 60,000-strong army consisting of "bad boys" (惡少年) to attack the

Greco-Bactrian kingdom The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom () was a Ancient Greece, Greek state of the Hellenistic period located in Central Asia, Central-South Asia. The kingdom was founded by the Seleucid Empire, Seleucid satrap Diodotus I, Diodotus I Soter in about 256 BC, ...

Dayuan Dayuan (or Tayuan; ; Middle Chinese ''dâiC-jwɐn'' <

LHC

: ''dɑh-ʔyɑn'') is the Chinese

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...

era of warfare, as large armies formed of conscripts often suffered from disciplinary problems. Soldiers who refused to face the enemy were seen as detrimental to the cohesion of the army and as a disgrace to the nation. The formation of penal battalions was seen as a way of disciplining an army and keeping soldiers in line. In addition, many nations conscripted criminals into penal battalions in lieu of imprisoning or executing them during wartime to better utilize national manpower. Such military units were treated with little regard by the regular army and were often placed in compromising situations, such as being used in

assaults. The French Empire in particular was notable for employing penal military units during the wars of the coalition, especially during the later years of the conflicts as manpower became limited. The ''Régiment pénal de l'Île de Ré'', formed in 1811 and composed almost entirely of criminals and other societal undesirables, would see action during the later years of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. The disbandment of conscripted armies and end of large scale warfare following the Napoleonic era led to the decline of the penal battalion system in continental Europe. However, the system continued in overseas colonies, again with the French as the primary employers of penal battalions. The

Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa The Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa ( French: ''Bataillons d'Infanterie Légère d'Afrique'' or BILA), better known under the abbreviation ''Bat' d'Af, were French infantry and construction units, serving in Northern Africa, made up of men ...

(''Bats d'Af'') was formed by order of

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

in 1832 for the purpose of expanding the

French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...

. The Battalions fought in the

French conquest of Algeria The French conquest of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Regency of Algiers, and the French consul (representative), consul escalated into a blockade, following which the Jul ...

and during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. The French also employed the ''compagnies d'exclus'' ("companies of the excluded"), military units which were stationed at Aîn-Sefra in Southern Algeria. In contrast to the ''Bats d'Af'', the ''compagnies d'exclus'' were outright penal units consisting of convicts condemned to five years or more of hard labor and judged unworthy to carry weapons. The various

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

conflicts saw the Redshirts recruiting convicts and revolutionaries from prisons into penal regiments known as ''Battaglioni degli imprigionati'' ("Battalions of the Imprisoned" or "Prisoners Battalion".) Prior to the early 1900s, the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

relied largely on military convicts to augment the regular and indigenous troops employed to provide garrisons for its overseas colonies. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

were mobilized for military service. Courts offered defendants the option of enlisting to avoid imprisonment, while young offenders in

borstal A borstal is a type of youth detention centre. Such a detention centre is more commonly known as a borstal school in India, where they remain in use today. Until the late 20th century, borstals were present in the United Kingdom, several mem ...

s and adult prisoners were granted early release for their service. Though government officials publicly claimed criminals were unfit for service, and prisoners were viewed as lacking "the sense of duty that encouraged other men to enlist", the recruitment of prisoners was a military necessity, and prisoners were reportedly sought out for their violent nature and to ease the cost of the prison system in wartime. The period of military rearmament preceding

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

caused renewed interest in the concept of penal military units. In May 1935 the German ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

'' instituted a new policy under German conscription law that stated soldiers who were deemed disruptive to military discipline but were otherwise "worthy of service" would be sent to military penal units. Criminals were also conscripted into penal units in exchange for lighter sentences or as a form of

. These units, referred to as "special departments" or the generic term ''

Strafbataillon ''Strafbataillon'' ( English: "penal battalion") is the generic term for penal units that were created from prisoners during the Second World War in all branches of the ''Wehrmacht''. Soldiers, criminals and civilians sentenced to those units w ...

'', were overseen by the German military police. Prior to World War II, there were nine ''Strafbataillone'' within the ''Wehrmacht''. The primary role of a ''Strafbataillon'' was to provide front line support. As the war progressed, the size of ''Strafbataillon'' companies dramatically increased in size due to changes in German military policy. Under such policies, any soldier who had a death sentence (for retreat) commuted was automatically reassigned to penal units, greatly increasing the number of soldiers available to the ''Strafbataillon''. The effectiveness of ''Strafbataillone'' were mixed. The combination of criminals, political prisoners, and undisciplined soldiers that made up a ''Strafbataillon'' often required harsh measures to be imposed for unit cohesion to be maintained. ''Strafbataillone'' were often ordered to undertake high risk missions on the front line, with soldiers being coached to regain their lost honor by fighting. Certain penal military units, such as the

36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS The Dirlewanger Brigade, also known as the ''2.SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger'' (19 December 1944), or the 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (), or The Black Hunters (), was a unit of the ''Waffen-SS'' during World War II. The unit, named a ...

, gained a reputation as being brutal towards civilian populations and prisoners of war, and were employed as anti-partisan troops due to the fear they inspired. Other units, most notably the 999th Light Afrika Division, suffered from poor morale and saw soldiers desert the ''Wehrmacht'' to join resistance groups. Following

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

and the entry of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

into World War II, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

began to seriously consider the implementation of penal military units. These efforts resulted in the creation of ''

Shtrafbat ''Shtrafbats'' (, ) were Soviet penal battalions that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The ''shtrafbats'' were greatly increased in number by Joseph Stalin in July 1942 via Order No. 227 (Директива Ставки ВГК № ...

'', penal military units composed of sentenced soldiers, political prisoners, and others deemed to be expendable. A large number of Red Army soldiers who retreated without orders during the initial German invasion were reorganized into rudimentary penal units, the precursors to dedicated ''Shtrafbat''. The ''Shtrafbat'' were greatly increased in number by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

in July 1942 via Order No. 227 (Директива Ставки ВГК №227). Order No. 227 was a desperate effort to re-instill discipline after the panicked routs of the first year of combat with Germany. The order—popularized as the "Not one step back!" (Ни шагу назад!, ''Ni shagu nazad!'') Order—introduced severe punishments, including

summary execution In civil and military jurisprudence, summary execution is the putting to death of a person accused of a crime without the benefit of a free and fair trial. The term results from the legal concept of summary justice to punish a summary offense, a ...

, for unauthorized retreats. During the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

, between 1945 and 1949, the

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; zh, labels=no, t=國民革命軍) served as the military arm of the Kuomintang, Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) from 1924 until 1947. From 1928, it functioned as the regular army, de facto ...

(NRA) was known to have fielded penal battalions. Made up of deserters and those accused of cowardice, these penal battalions were given dangerous tasks such as scouting ahead of the main forces to check for ambushes, crossing rivers and torrents to see whether they were fordable, and traversing unmapped minefields. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

historically fielded penal units and permitted the enlistment of prisoners. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the Union permitted

Galvanized Yankees Galvanized Yankees was a term from the American Civil War denoting former Confederate prisoners of war who swore allegiance to the United States and joined the Union Army. Approximately 5,600 former Confederate soldiers enlisted in the United St ...

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

prisoners of war who swore allegiance to the Union, into their ranks in penal units from 1862 to around 1866. During World War II, prisoners were permitted to provide to the war effort, and in 1942, it was reported that several prisoners had offered to enlist in the military to fight in the war, with some even receiving training ahead of enlistment, though no penal units are known to have been formed in the U.S. military. U.S. courts offered defendants the choice between enlistment and prison during both world wars and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

until at least the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

; reportedly, this was how

R. Lee Ermey Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) was an American actor and United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine drill instructor. He achieved fame for his role as Gunnery sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film ''Full Met ...

, a

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

and

drill instructor A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors. Australia Aust ...

known for his acting role in the 1987 film ''

Full Metal Jacket ''Full Metal Jacket'' is a 1987 war film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick from a screenplay he co-wrote with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film is based on Hasford's 1979 autobiographical novel '' The Short-Timers''. It stars ...

'', enlisted as a 17-year-old delinquent in 1961. However, convicts were not placed in separate penal units, and the practice was entirely up to the judge with the military having the option to reject the defendant. Presently, all branches of the U.S. military forbid the acceptance of convicts, both after sentencing and as an alternative to imprisonment (except the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

, which does not have specific prohibitions but still strongly discourages it as a protocol), and do not maintain any penal formations, though ex-convicts with

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

priors are still permitted with a proper felony waiver. In 2021, the Florida Legislature proposed a bill that would formally permit first-time offenders 25-years-old or younger to enlist instead of facing imprisonment, though it did not pass. In the modern day, the practice of fielding penal military units has largely stopped, with most militaries discouraging or outright prohibiting the acceptance of convicts, though some militaries accept ex-convicts provided they fulfill certain requirements, such as having a proper

waiver A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. A waiver is often written, such as a disclaimer that has been accepted, but it may also be spoken between two or more parties. When the right to hold a ...

. For example, a U.S. military recruiter told ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

'' in 2018 that recruitment candidates can have "one non-violent felony as an adult", and that "some of the best and most capable candidates we get require a waiver". However, though rare, the practice of accepting convicts into armed forces has continued or been made permissible in some jurisdictions and situations. During the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, for instance, the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

permitted the recruitment of Ukrainian prisoners with prior combat experience, and Russian private military company

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

began hiring Russian inmates to fill their ranks.

By country

Belgium

Special Forestry Platoon The Special Forestry Platoon (''Peloton Spécial Forestier''), nicknamed the woodchoppers of the Orne (), was a non-combat penal military unit of the Belgian Army during World War I. As its name suggests, the unit specialized in forestry, specifi ...

– A

Belgian Army The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land ...

non-combat penal platoon composed of

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

soldiers who had some relationship with the

Flemish Movement The Flemish Movement (, ) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgium, Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemis ...

during

. Formed in 1918, the unit conducted

woodchopping Woodchopping (also spelled wood-chopping or wood chopping), called woodchop for short, is a sport that has been around for hundreds of years in several cultures. In woodchopping competitions, skilled contestants attempt to be the first to cut or ...

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, France as a form of penal labour until several months after the end of the war.Tom Simoens, CHTP-BEG - n° 23 / 2011, article in Dutc
Van arrangeren tot renseigneren. Smaad en geweld Van militairen Tegen hun oversten tijdens de eerste wereldoorlog

Bolivia

* 50th Infantry Regiment – A

Bolivian Army The Bolivian Army () is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of Bolivia. Figures on the size and composition of the Bolivian army vary considerably, with little official data available. It is estimated that the army has between 26,000 and 6 ...

penal regiment composed of convicted soldiers and police officers that served in the

Chaco War The Chaco War (, Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( , ) is the army, land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, Combat engineering, engineer ...

penal battalion founded in August 1941, from volunteering prisoners and leftists in

administrative detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...

, that fought in the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

(the Finnish-Soviet front of WWII 1941-1944). Commanded by Major Nikke Pärmi, the distinguishing mark of Er.P 21 was the black V sewn into the sleeve of their uniform; these gave them the nicknames of "Pärmi's Devils" and "Black Arrow".

France

* ''Régiment pénal de l'Île de Ré'' ("French Penal Regiment of Île de Ré") – One of five regional penal units forming part of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

in the early 1810s. Formed in 1811, the unit was stationed on

Île de Ré Île de Ré (; variously spelled Rhé or Rhéa; Poitevin dialect, Poitevin: ''ile de Rét''; , ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France near La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait. Its high ...

, and was disbanded in 1814 during the

First Restoration The First Restoration was a period in French history that saw the return of the House of Bourbon to the throne, between the abdication of Napoleon in the spring of 1814 and the Hundred Days in March 1815. The regime was born following the victo ...

. *

(''Bataillons d'Infanterie Légère d'Afrique'') – Penal battalions serving in

French North Africa French North Africa (, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is a term often applied to the three territories that were controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In contrast to French ...

, composed of men with prison records who still had to complete their military service, and serving soldiers with serious disciplinary problems. Formed in 1832, this corps was disbanded in 1972. * '' Bataillon d'Infanterie légère d'Outre-Mer'' ("Overseas Light Infantry Battalion") – A penal battalion consisting of German prisoners of war and French collaborationists after World War II. Formed in 1948 for service in the

French colonies From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire existed mainly in the Americas and Asia. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the second French colonial empire existed mainly in Africa and Asia. France had about 80 colonie ...

, the unit attracted few members and was subject to a campaign by the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

before it was disbanded in 1949. *

Disciplinary Company of the Foreign Regiments in the Far East The Disciplinary Company of the Foreign Regiments in the Far East () created on June 1, 1946, was the disciplinary company for serious French Foreign Legion offenders in the Far East. It was located on Tagne Island in Cam Ranh Bay. Attached to th ...

(''Compagnie disciplinaire en Extrême-Orient'') – A penal company of the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

, consisting of Legionnaires who had committed serious offenses. Formed in 1946 and attached to the

2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment The 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment () is an infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is one of two mechanized infantry regiments of the 6th Light Armoured Brigade. Since the regiment's arrival from Bonifacio in ...

, the company depended on the battalions implanted in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. After French Indochina's dissolution following the

1954 Geneva Conference The Geneva Conference was intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and the First Indochina War and involved several nations. It took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 April to 20 July 1954. The part of the confe ...

, the company was disbanded in August 1954.

Germany

* ''

'' ("Penal Battalion") – A generic term for penal units in the ''

'', fielded between 1942 and 1945. These units were poorly armed and often undertook what were essentially

s. * 999th Light Afrika Division – A ''Wehrmacht'' penal division stationed in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, originating from the 999th Africa Brigade in 1942. The unit consisted of individuals who held, or were perceived to hold,

anti-fascist 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 op ...

beliefs. The unit suffered heavy casualties in the

North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

, and members were reportedly so unwilling to fight for Germany that they quickly surrendered their positions to Allied troops when confronted. After the unit transferred to

Axis-occupied Greece The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers () began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Italy, in their ongoing war that was initiated in October 1940, having encountered major strategica ...

, several members defected or began conducting anti-Nazi activities. The unit was disbanded in 1943. *

Dirlewanger Brigade The Dirlewanger Brigade, also known as the ''2.SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger'' (19 December 1944), or the 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (), or The Black Hunters (), was a unit of the ''Waffen-SS'' during World War II. The unit, named a ...

– A ''

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

'' penal unit consisting of convicted criminals and military who were not expected to survive their service. Formed in 1940 as an experimental sharpshooter consisted of convicted poachers, it later were deployed for

counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

where it became notorious even among the ''Waffen-SS'' for the sheer depravity of its war crimes, being responsible for several

mass murder Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...

s in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

Italy

* ''Cacciatori Franchi'' ("Frankish Hunters") – The penal unit of the

Royal Sardinian Army The Royal Sardinian Army (also the Sardinian Army, the Royal Sardo-Piedmontese Army, the Savoyard Army, or the Piedmontese Army) was the army of the Duchy of Savoy and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was active from 1416 until it became t ...

. Established around 1741, the unit existed until 1878, when disciplinary companies were established. * ''Battaglione di Rigore'' ("Penalty Battalion") – The penal unit of the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

military. * ''Battaglioni degli Imprigionati'' ("Battalions of the Imprisoned") – Penal battalions of the Redshirts in the

Wars of Italian Unification The War of Italian Independence, or Italian Wars of Independence, include: * First Italian War of Independence (1848–1849) * Second Italian War of Independence (1859) * Third Italian War of Independence (1866) * Fourth Italian War of Independence ...

, composed of prisoners and revolutionaries.

Paraguay

* Macheteros de Jara - An auxiliary cavalry regiment that was created on 15 August 1932. Members of the regiment consisted of former

outlaws An outlaw is a person living outside the law. Outlaws or The Outlaws may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''The Outlaws'' (1950 film), an Italian crime film * ''Outlaws'' (1985 film), a French film * ''The Outlaws'' (2017 film), a Sou ...

Russia

* Storm-Z – a group of penal military units established in April 2023, during the

* Storm-V – a group of penal military units established in June 2023, during the

South Korea

Unit 684 209th Detachment, 2325th Group (), commonly known as Unit 684 (684부대), was a special forces unit of the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) that specialized in black operation, direct action, irregular warfare, long-range penetration, and spe ...

– A

black operation A covert operation or undercover operation is a military or police operation involving a covert agent or troops acting under an assumed cover to conceal the identity of the party responsible. US law Under US law, the Central Intelligence Ag ...

s unit of the

Republic of Korea Air Force The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF; ), also known as the ROK Air Force or South Korean Air Force, is the Air force, aerial and Space force, space warfare service branch of South Korea, operating under the Ministry of National Defense (South K ...

, consisting largely of petty criminals. Formed in 1968 in response to the Blue House raid, wherein

Unit 124 Unit 124 () was a black operations unit of the North Korean Special Operation Forces formed to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung Hee in the Blue House raid in January 1968. Twenty-nine of the 31-member unit were killed in the ultima ...

of the Korean People's Army Special Operation Force attempted to assassinate South Korean President

Park Chung Hee Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...

, Unit 684 received extremely harsh training on the island of

Silmido Silmido (), or Silmi Island, is an uninhabited island in Incheon, South Korea. The island is in the Yellow Sea and is closest to Muuido, which is connected to the mainland by ferry. It is about southwest of Yongyu Island, where Incheon Inte ...

in anticipation for a retaliatory operation to assassinate North Korean General Secretary

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

. However, warming relations by 1971 led to the mission's cancellation and the unit's dissolution; the members of Unit 684 promptly launched a violent escape attempt, culminating in a standoff that led to the deaths of most of the unit and the capture and execution of the remaining survivors.

Soviet Union

* ''

'' – Penal battalions of the

and

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

, composed of sentenced soldiers, political prisoners, and others deemed to be expendable, fighting on the Eastern Front of World War II. Established in 1942 by

in Order No. 227, over 422,000 prisoners were placed into ''shtrafbats'' until their disestablishment following

victory in Europe Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

in May 1945, by which point very few had survived.

Ukraine

* Kharakternyky Battalion – Nicknamed "The Magicians" and "Characterniks" the battalion was formed after the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

passed Registered draft law No. 11079 which allowed for the mobilization of convicts into the

Ukrainian Army The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

. *

Shkval Battalion Shkval Battalion is a Ukrainian military unit made up of former convicts. It was formed after the Verkhovna Rada passed Registered draft law No. 11079 which allowed for the mobilization of convicts into the Ukrainian Army. History Formation Mem ...

– Formed after the

passed Registered draft law No. 11079 which allowed for the mobilization of convicts into the

. Unlike other Ukrainian penal units, it is a series of units rather than a single formation. * Prisoners' Battalion – The battalion was formed after the

passed Registered draft law No. 11079 which allowed for the mobilization of convicts into the

. It is attached to the 92nd Assault Brigade.

United States

– A term used to refer to Confederate States Army and Confederate States Navy former personnel and

who, after their capture, swore allegiance to the Union and enlisted in the Union Army and Union Navy during the

. The practice of enlisting Confederate prisoners to Union forces began around 1862 and lasted until 1866. A similar practice was conducted by the Confederate States of America, but not to the same extent.

In popular culture

* ''The Dirty Dozen'' – A 1967 film about the titular fictional American penal unit, composed of military prisoners trained as commandos for a suicide mission ahead of the Normandy landings during World War II. The film was a commercial and critical success, and was followed by several television film sequels in the 1980s: ''The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission'', ''The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission'', and ''The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission''. * Silmido (film), ''Silmido'' – A 2003 film dramatizing the story of Unit 684. The film is credited with having increased public awareness of Unit 684's story, though some aspects of the film are fictionalized due to numerous details of the actual story remaining classified. * ''Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown'' – A 2019 Combat flight simulation game, combat flight simulation video game, part of which follows "Spare Squadron", a penal Squadron (aviation), squadron of the fictional Osean Federation's air force that is considered disposable and used to test enemy combat drone defenses, overseen by a prison warden serving as their commander and airborne early warning and control operator. * ''Suicide Squad'' – A fantastical version of the concept within the DC Comics universe. * ''Steel Division II'' – A 2019 strategy video game which includes Shtrafbat#Organization, Shtrafniki as a playable unit.

References

*Conquest, Robert, ''Kolyma: The Arctic Death Camps'', Methuen Press, (1978) *Hatch, Gardner N., ''American Ex-prisoners of War: Non Solum Armis,'' Turner Publishing Company, (1988), *Krivosheev, G.F. ''Soviet Casualties and Combat Losses in the Twentieth Century'', London, Greenhill Books, 1997, , available online (in Russian
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*Lebed, Alexander (Gen.), ''My Life and My Country'', Regnery Publishing, (1997) *Lynch, Michael, ''The Chinese Civil War 1945–49: Modern Warfare (Guide To... Book 61)'' Osprey Publishing (2010), *Manazeev, Igor, "A 'Penal' Corps on the Kalinin Front", ''Journal of Slavic Military Studies'', Vol. 15, Issue 3, September 2002 *Mawdsley, Evan, ''The Stalin Years: The Soviet Union 1929-1953'', Manchester University Press (2003), *Suvorov, Viktor, ''Inside The Soviet Army'', Hamish Hamilton (1982), *Tolstoy, Nikolai, ''Stalin's Secret War'', New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston (1981), *Toppe, Alfred, ''Night Combat'', Diane Publishing (1998),

External links

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from Voice of Russia
Report: Saudis sent death-row inmates to fight Syria
21 January 2013 Law of war Penal military units,