f. Ag. Ausl.
Fundamentally, treatment as prisoners of war, that implies that members of missions were taking part in a commando-operation.
g. Armed Forces Ops Staff/Op. (Army)
Treatment as the members of partisan groups themselves, i.e., as prisoners of war if they are in uniform and are captured or surrender in open battle, or executed if they are in civilian clothes or are captured in a sabotage- or commando-operation.
[The whole of g is crossed out.]
3. Opinion and proposal of the Armed Forces Ops. Staff
According to the orders issued to date, even for example, the British captured in the "Rosselsprung" operation must be treated as prisoners of war. This is especially evident in the Op. (Army)-Order dated 18.8.43.
[This last sentence is put in parenthesis, underlined, Op (Army) crossed out and a large query inserted in the margin.]
The Commando Order has never yet been applied to such missions, its extended application to cover them has not yet been ordered. If the missions are to be treated otherwise than in accordance with the orders to date, it must first be decided whether a foreign mission acting with the partisan groups in the South-East is to be called a commando-operation and therefore treated as such. Such a decision seems to be indicated even if it does not correspond completely to the wording of the Commando-Order or to the previous definition of a commando operation (as an especially under-hand and still unusual form of warfare which must be combatted with the appropriate counter measures). The principle must be adopted from the start that all members of partisan groups, even in the South-East are fundamentally guerrillas. Indeed they are treated as prisoners of war for reasons of expediency, in order to obtain the largest possible number of deserters and workers. There is no reason for this with regard to the members of foreign missions who are not numerous. There is therefore no necessity to treat them, in every case, in the same way as the members of partisan groups themselves. Basically, it would be far more appropriate to consider Anglo-American as well as Soviet-Russian military missions as commando-operations and to treat their members accordingly.
The appended Order is therefore proposed.