Many of the German soldiers ordered to defuse more than two million mines along the Danish coastline were mere boys - only 15-18 years of age. However, there is evidence that British and Danish commands deliberately changed the wording of the text from 'prisoners of war' to 'voluntarily surrendered enemy personnel' in order to sidestep the rules of the convention. The Geneva Convention of 1929 forbids forcing Prisoners of War to carry out hard labor or dangerous work.
