---

Penal battalion instated

Bolster the Eastern Front

By order 227

We’re sent to bear the brunt

A death sentence recruitment

Shtrafbat means the end

Convict infantry

A subspecies of man

Human decoy soldiers

Mine clearing personnel

Cheapest cannon fodder

Hear the ring of my death knell

Shtrafbat! Sentenced to -

Shtrafbat! My crimes cleansed in -

Shtrafbat! Sentenced to -

Shtrafbat! My crimes cleansed in blood

Used to lessen casualties

The Red soldiers are spared

Gulags fuel the industry

The killing shifting gear

Perpetual deployment

Our service never ends

Empty promises are given

That some of us may live

Obedience comes natural

With nothing left to give

A death sentence recruitment

Shtrafbat means the end

Convict Infantry

A subspecies of men

Disgraced Soviet officers

Cowards prone to flight

Stripped of rank and honour

We can’t escape our plight

Advancing in a frenzy

My burning eyes see red

Into the MG’s fire

Atonement found in led

Shtrafbat! Sentenced to -

Shtrafbat! My crimes are cleansed in blood