Fundamentally, treatment as prisoners of war, that implies that members of missions were taking part in a commando-operation.
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 "Ruesselsprung" operation must be treated as prisoners of war.
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 guerillas. 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.
Sgd: Warlimont
Distribution:
Chief of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces via the Deputy Chief of the Armed Forces Ops Staff.
1st Copy
Qu. (Draft) 2nd Copy
[The second copy of the above dated 27.7.1944 marked "Draft" is also contained in 1279-PS it is initialled at the end by Warlimont and has an illegible pencil note at the top. In the second copy the first words of 2 and 3 are underlined in pencil. The type-script of both copies is identical.]