664th Eastern Battalion
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| Ost-Bataillon 664 | |
|---|---|
| Active | February 1942 to December 1943[1] |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Wehrmacht |
| Type | Foreign volunteer |
| Role | Bandenbekämpfung |
| Size | Battalion |
| Part of | Army Group North |
| Engagements | |
The 664th Eastern Battalion was an Ingrian Finnish Eastern battalion in the Wehrmacht, with its main purpose being fighting partisans and guarding railways.
Unlike many collaborator units that suffered from defection, 664th Eastern Battalion was considered reliable and over 100 members of the unit were awarded with the Medal for Gallantry and Merit for Members of the Eastern Peoples. The unit was responsible for multiple massacres of civilians.[2][3]
After the Germans took over Ingria (modern Leningrad Oblast) in Operation Barbarossa, the Finns living in there were recruited in 1942 into a Wehrmacht unit called Finnische Sicherheitsgruppe 187 (Finnish Security Group 187). Within a year of its establishment, it included 27th, 28th, 29th, and 30th Hundertschaft, each consisting of 170 men. The name of the group was later changed to Ost-Bataillon 664 ('664th Eastern Battalion') in the fall of 1942. The main task of the battalion was to protect the Leningrad–Dno- and Luga–Novgorod- railway lines. The battalion headquarters were located in Batetskaya, an important crossroads.[3][4][5]
