n the youth were used in actual battles such as that of the battle for Berlin. This was a crude move on Axmanns part. The enemy did not want to kill youth, but they had to due to the ferocity of the HJ. "They fought bitterly for every yard; the help of one comrade for another was so spontaneous and unselfish that it was unequalled." (xxv) Signaling unit of Berlin HJ-- six months before Battle for Berlin. Koch p. 228. The division between the Jungvolk and the HJ was abolished, so boys as young as ten were fighting on the front lines. Because of the shortage of men, a draft was conscripted. Any German male between the ages of sixteen and sixty were incorporated into the army. This meant that there were very few older leaders for the younger HJ. Fifteen year-old boys would find themselves commanding 500 troops, many of which were significantly older. HJ on the Eastern Front. Koch p. 228 The youth were valiant fighters; many times fighting until the division was no more. Inadequate ammunition also took its toll on the young warriors. One group was told toattack Soviet tanks with Anti-tank mines that were supposed to stick to the Soviet armor. The mines did not stick so the youth ran along side the tanks, holding the mines to the tank,unt...
