diff --git a/CONTRIBUTORS b/CONTRIBUTORS
index ccfd94629..f11e4257c 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTORS
+++ b/CONTRIBUTORS
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ Don Brown
 Don Ferguson
 Don Jeffery
 Drew Sudell
+Edwin Woudt
 Eli Tucker
 Emmanuel Bourg
 Eric Olsen
diff --git a/contributors.xml b/contributors.xml
index f5333cbc7..14455ab18 100644
--- a/contributors.xml
+++ b/contributors.xml
@@ -263,6 +263,10 @@
     <first>Drew</first>
     <last>Sudell</last>
   </name>
+  <name>
+    <first>Edwin</first>
+    <last>Woudt</last>
+  </name>
   <name>
     <first>Eli</first>
     <last>Tucker</last>
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/Commandline.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/Commandline.java
index 9105dd211..de79b7710 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/Commandline.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/Commandline.java
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import java.util.Iterator;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.ProjectComponent;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.util.StringUtils;
+import org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.condition.Os;
 
 /**
  * Commandline objects help handling command lines specifying processes to
@@ -52,6 +53,8 @@ import org.apache.tools.ant.util.StringUtils;
  *
  */
 public class Commandline implements Cloneable {
+    /** win9x uses a (shudder) bat file (antRun.bat) for executing commands */
+    private static boolean IS_WIN_9X = Os.isFamily("win9x");
 
     /**
      * The arguments of the command
@@ -347,7 +350,10 @@ public class Commandline implements Cloneable {
             } else {
                 return '\'' + argument + '\'';
             }
-        } else if (argument.indexOf("\'") > -1 || argument.indexOf(" ") > -1) {
+        } else if (argument.indexOf("\'") > -1
+                   || argument.indexOf(" ") > -1
+                   // WIN9x uses a bat file for executing commands
+                   || (IS_WIN_9X && argument.indexOf(';') != -1)) {
             return '\"' + argument + '\"';
         } else {
             return argument;