Men At Arms 034 - The.Waffen.SS

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MILITARY

THE WAFFEN-SS

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EOrTOR: MARTIN WINDROW

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MIUTARY

MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES

THE WAFFEN-SS Text by MARTIN WINDROW Colour plates by JEFFREY BURN

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Publi~hl'd

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1981 b}

o"prc} Publishin~ LId. 59 Grosvenor SUCCi. London, \\' 1 X 9D.\

t Copy ri,;:ht 1!)8:1 O~prl'Y Publishin~ Lui Reprinted 1982. 1983. 1984 twice, 19Bs threclimes IgBi l\\ice. 1988 l\\ice. 1989. 1990. 1991 .\11 ri~hts rot'f\l'd. ,\p;lft from an\ fairdeillin~ for Ihe purpose ofprivillc stud}, rMeilrch, criticism or review, il~ permill«l under lhl' Cop~ ri~hl De
Filmsci in Honl;: Konl\" Prinled in HOIll;: Kon~

Acknowledgefllents The aUlhor would lik(' to record hi~ gratitude to Hugh Page Taylor and to the latc Col. C. 1\'1. Dodkins, for help gi\-en with ;he first edition of this book: 10 Bl'i,11l Leigh Davis., for eontinucd advice and encouragement over many }cars; to Andrew Biwandi for acccss. to SOlilC of the photographs in thi~ edition; and to Graham SCOl1 for nlilOrial assistance.

Tile f ffijfell-SS (Re'uiserl Erlitioll)

lIItrorlll{1io// This rewrillcll and re·illu"ralec! n"j ..ion of m~ ori~inal :\1.\.\ lille publi~h('d in 197 I inwrporate, much new material. but !";IiI! does not prctend to be more than a prcf'is. I hope that ;ll lh 0\\ n I('\'el it will pro\{' a useful ;llld inexpeml\t' imrodUClion to a vast and com pIe', subjcct. which is con'red in far greater depth in the sour('c works listed in the hibliog:raph). The commentaries on Ih(' folnur platc.... arc w arranJ{l'd a.. 10 form
In preparin~ tbe colour re!ereIRe.. I was al "onw pains 10 ,l\"oid "(·ompo-.ill:· fi~urc .. in (·ombllliltions 01" uniform items ilnd badl{C\ a'M"mbled from different writtcn ilnd piuorial "oOunc\. I IM\e taken ...omc ..Illitlllibeni(,.... silH__ e Ill\ aim was to illustrate a... m'lIl) iu'ms as possible: I ha\e ..OllletimenllChe, whOM: dill'n!u'"hed CIlr~" w;lh Ih., 'L.,ib5Iandan., Adolr Hille'" in Ruula b"ou!ht him .. ""Iim."nal command ill th., '2. SS.PL Div, 'Hil.leojulend'; b., wa.. ".,riou"ly wo..nded in No..mandy. His 6Im••tar lood look.., 'ostaolly ..ecosnili.. bl., i......y _ ..tim., photo, ..... RI off h.,.... by the office..... ~·., ......o.. or ,h., W-SS p.Ua"IO bb.,k Pa.. ~.,.. ullifor and a privat"'pU"ChaR black ..h;rt. NOI., offic.,..... I ic coUar p;pi ..S'

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re/{ulation or photo~r
Lbot. campai!,a i. lhe Wnt, '!KG- At Ihi. d.lot. w.ss .00Uts wen: .hort o( ...tomatiew_pon... nd hot. carries a rifle; nole sliclo ,.......d«, binoc:.. I...... nd ps-cape b.S'

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Bender and Taylor's superb scries of books, lisled in the bibliography, CO\('N this a<,pcct in detail. An example mighl be u<,eful. The regiment formed as'\. SS-Totenkopf-ReitC'r-5tandarte', the first cavalry regiment of til(' TOlenkopf security units, formed Otllsid(' what is strictly understood as Ihe Wancn-SS organisalion, was laler absorbed into the \\'-55 lin(' of battl(' and remunt.'d 'SS-Ka\'allerie-Regiment I'; and in ))"(·('l11ber 19-1-3 the re"ision of the nutllberin~ s},tem as .. whole changed il at the strokC' of a pen to 'SS-Ka\·. Reg!. IS'. .\S for Ihe dC'Si~nations of forei~n re~iments, thC"sc sent the praCtilioneN of the Hi~her ,\ryan Semantic Hogwash into a po.. iti\'(- frt.'nz). The litle had to indicate nOI onl) nationalil) _ arm, and numbC'f within Ihat ann; but also, by a ~ystem of bureaucratic euphemism, th(' degree of racial respeclabilit) of the population among which il had be('n recruited. This 'code' ("hanged se,-eral times; and in order to warn readers off 100 obsessiH an intere't in this aspect, for the sake of their sanily, it may be instructive to examine one regimenl's whole record ofd{"Si~nations: the senior infatllf) regiment in Ill(' 1_1lh Di\'ision. Formed in 5epl(,lllbcr 19+3 a.. 'SS-FreiwilligenReg!. I galizische;', it quiekl) be('aIJlC '5S-Frw.Grenadier-Reg!. I galizischc DiYision.', and by late October 1913 W{'ct which a(f('cts insignia research and which should be summarised, how· e\'er briefly. In simplified terms we may sa} Ihat a German citizen, a Rtlt!Jsdtlllscht, became a member oflhe SS when he joined the \\'affen-SS militar} ser\'ice: he was thus entitled to wear the

55 runt'S on his l·ollar. Thc start of foreign recruit1lH'1ll r.'\ccd the 55 with a dt'li,ate question of radal acn'ptability, and the (ollar patches of forcilo';"n unilS dcpended upon the current view of their racial purity held by the rt'le\-ant coven of 55 witch-doctors. Some nationalities, such as Scandinavians and cenain \\'estern Europeans. were deemed wonhy of the runes. Others could be termed .\ryan by no stretch of the imagination, and their inclusion in the \\'aAcn·5S for reasons of stark militar") necessity did not ('onfer member,hip of the 55 proper. They \\ere thus Kiven collar devices of'lOnH." real or imagined national signifkann'. 'RM'ial Germans' l·olJ.,de/ll"clU'~wef(· mcn of definitely German Slock resident outside the Reich; there were many tens of thousands of these, mostly in the territories of the formcr Austro·t-Iungarian cmpia', Acceptable to the 55, they often served in units whose enlisted mass was rariall~ dubious; and in such Ca~cs thl'~ lIsually wore the divisional collar patch, and 55 runes on the breast. The pranical point about Ihis son of nonsense is that regulations were neither consistelll nor stable. and that insignia worn by any gin:,n unit muSt be indi\'idually researched. Where photos sho\\ blank bla('k right hand ('ollar paahes. this may indic.ate either a \\'-55 formation at some transitional period. or membership of the Gestapo or SO -and since these organisations had other insignia of their own, such photos repay careful sludy,) The quest!on of morality cannot bt· ignored altogether. Some people belie\{' that the record of atrocity which stains the name of the Waffen·SS renders any purely 'technical' study imll1oral, if not actually dangerous. In the melancholy knowledge lhat 'lOnll'body, somewhere, would disagree violently with anything I chose to \\ rite On this point, I nevertheless feel obliged to add a brief nOte making clear my position: WalTen-5S membership totalled scn~ral hundred~ of thousands of men, and any generalisation is fatuous. Having said Ihat, one must acknowled~e certain gennalisations bas(.. d on un..trguable mailers of historical record. The \\'alTen·55 com· miued alrocities both on and 0(1' tht battlefield. So occasionally did the ,\lIied armies of the Second \\'orld \\'ar: and so, for that matter. have O

Wo....ded l«nase pri_D~ Crom th.. 'Hitl..rj"Sftld' Di.., w_riDS the '!H4 r...r.poclod W.ss cam....a.s.. tame. (Imp. War Mas,)

We!Hern armies since '945. The record of the WaRen-55 in wme ways resembles certain of thost" po'il-war ('olonial atrocilies in thai they 100 were th(' result ofcombal stress allied with a 10lal contempt for the human qualitiC'i of the enemy and his d\ilian population, But in the \Vancn-5S thi~ ('ontelllpt was dcliberatcl) lostered as a matter ofidcology, While some atrodties were the work of indi\'iduals or small I{I'OUpS acting in the heat of the 1ll01l1{'nt, as will happen in any army, in any war, there are plentiful instances of major atrocities carried out by large units, 011 superior orders, as a matter of poliq, We know that Allied lInits sometimes shot prisoners; as far as I am itware. \\'estern .\lIied units are not known to ha\ e massacred the \\ hole populations of European \-illa~es. The 'Byzantine' SS formations, renuited amolll{ scmi-barbarom peoples for antipartisan warfarc, had a particularly bad record, but the \\ hole f.;'uilt cannot be pas'lCd on to them; 10\\ -numbered R~i(hsd~uls(h, formations were guil ty of t'
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gOlde', rush cd from ~tctOI' 10 sector to shore up collapsil1K frollt'>, or 10 '>'lcrifio.' ,hem,c!\-es ill de"pcrate cOllntcr-atltU
nIt&d/lfiOIIoft/If f ftfjfll-SS Mea orth", "SS-U"'Unwmr 1>aA~1' pholOS... phflt In '9]9; th"')' ha,"e camouflaled helmel ~en bUI no smocka. Note earl)' ..·ebblnA; V..I....... and TOleakopf "'Ollar palcbes. MIn- the Polish c:am~ do"')' _ " akorbed in,o To'elllkopf_lnf. RCA:I. J of th" 'To'"..kopf' Division, "lalniu, their old cuff tide.

j>ermi.."ible to "l} thaI ill ..copt." in nature, in of oniC"ial ',llKlion, and in the atlitude fo;,tered 'pecifically within the org-anisation, the \\"aflCrl·SS rccord of alrocily i.. \\01',(' thnn that of ~l1ly knO\\1l .\Ilied or other German military force. It lila} at';{) Iw useful to ;Idd that the 'total '>eparatioll· l)('t\\('l'l1 lhc haltlefidd unit., of the Waffcll-SS and e\Tn more ,ini"ler org-anisations ..uch a .. lh(' Eins'lll.g-rupI)('lI and lh(' Totenkop/:' \'erbiinde Oldicr or hi"torian. From il pmitioll 01 rather dt...,piscd ob"C"urity the'iC uilit-. I()ll~ht their \\il} to a combm reputation ,ec(}nd to !lOlle, rhcir iron reliability led to their t.'mploy ment .., a milital") 'fire bridq:~T('e

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llltTC ... 110 'P,I((' ht."Il' till e'\.;llllinatiOIl of the complex hi,tol") of thc :\".l/i mon"ment in the 19.!()<; 3(l'i; it imo!\-ed milm dilkrent group" and peI""OllalitiC'>, by 110 IllC,U1" .tll of them "ub\Cn.'icnt toot" of .\dolf I (itler. Tht' 1110,t "i~llificallt wa~ the p.... . rHime, \'ollintar} ()..~ani'> the SllI ..mabteilulIl;"ell or S.\ these \\ere the 'brO\\n-"hirls' OJ' '"tnrm troolX'I"!;' . .\ direct d("<;C("ndant of ,he F,·ciko..p" mm'ement of t918 '.11, tht S.\ \\a" headed I>} Enht Roehm, as much a ri\al a~ an ally of Hitler; by 1929 ih member-..hip Wit'> mort ,han a qllOllal bodyguard; originally the 'StosstrllpPc ,\dolf Ilille..', lhi" later became the SS Sehutz Stancln, or 'pl'Olcction squads'. Disper"ed around Gtrmatly, lhe 55 had no more than '.180 m('mbcrs in tg:.!g, :tnd enjoyed no real indcpcndcIlcc of I'ok or idenlily. In that year a colourless nOIIl.'rltity named Ilcitlrich Himmkr was given eotllllllcOld) jX'netralion or \'~Irious police a~cncie~, broll~ht about considerable 55 expan,ion \\ithin the IICXI fi\e year,,; there were 30.000 melllbeJ", hy 19:13. ag-ainst a totnl SA mt.'mlx'1"">hip or threc million. B) June 1931 the di\cr~in~ /oto,tl" of Rudun nnd Hitler brou~ht the 1\\0 1ll~lill X,vi lilctiOll .. into lethal confrontation. On 30 JlIne -Tht.'" Xi~ht of tht"

Long Knives'-Rochm and his 5A leadership were arrested and several hundred were sho!. ,\p.ut from various police and Arm) units \\hich pla)ed a supportin~ rolc in this crushing of a supposed coup, the 55 pro\·ided the aClual killers: for the movcmelll·within-a-movemeni now boasted Ihree baltalions of trained, disciplined, full·lime armed gendarmerie. The period [934 39 saw the expanding 55 take over responsibility for political polict.' work, and it extended its tentacles inlO many olher areas of Party and government function, By Ihe outbreak of war it would have been impossible 10 define exacily the role wilhin thc !itate of this huge organisation. Apart from direct powers. Ihe 55 cmplo) ed a system of granting 55 rank 10 fUllclionaries in many governmental and semi-go\-ernment.11 bureaux and instilutions, eXlending d~ facto 55 influence over areas in which Ihe organisalion had no powers d~ jUri. For the purposes of Ihis book the armed 55 troops-initially 'SSVcrlu~llng~truppe'.and from 1940 "\\'afl<:n-SS'Illa) be tn'ated as a distinct part of the Reichsftihrer's complex <.'ll1pin", Rcader.. new 10 this subject Illay find il helpful 10 remember that during the Second World War the black-uniformed 5S-men beloved of Hollywood drama \\{:rc in fact simpl) the ',\II~cnl("ine-SS' or 'general 5S'" whose function was mainl) polilical and bureaucratic ralller Ihan excrutive. The 'teelh' arms of the X5DAP were the grey· uniformed SicherheilsdiellSl (SD securilY police, Ihe plain-clothes Gestapo secrel police, and the grey-uniformed militar) unilS of the Wan·en·SS. At the outbreak of \\',lr the \\'am:n-S5 was an insignificant force. Hitler's experience with the 5A had taught him to be wary of private armies: and at this slage he was careful not to provoke the Wehrmacht leadership, who \\ere jealous of their right.s as 'sole bearers of arms' in the Reich. Waflen·5S participation in Poland. '939. and Ihe West, 1940, may be seen panly as a propaganda exercise moun led by Himmler to enhance Ihe pr lige of his corner of the Nazi state: the upper Icvclsoflhe Third Reich were always to be characlerised by viciously-pursued personal and depanmental rivalries. The failed chicken-fanner who now t'njo)ed aweSOllle powers as Rt:ichsfiihrcrSS and national police overlord entertained hazy

dreams of turning his hand-picked ICKion of radall) and politit-all~ pure .\r~an manhood into a son oflaltcr-day Order oflhe Teutonic Knights. Hider 'iaw the role of the SS afler what was expected 10 be a short war as an elile and lOt ally loyal political gendarmerie to control lhe Reich and the occupied lerritories. Both ambitions demanded that Ihe Waffen·SS be given a chancc 10 participate visibly in the Wehrmacht's viClOrics. They were not expected to achieve much; but by 1939 they bad been trained to a standard which made combal feasible. The ex-Army general \\ho s(Tved as In\pfttor of SS-\'crfugungProm;n"..1 among th" Europt:'ll.. vol ....lea- uniu wu tI." .·r~willill:"n Lqfion Nied d"- ..ot" .,....d"ty.l"uered earty cuff tid". a ..d blue-o"" wh;t_~·"r orallll:" ann shi"ld or Ih" D ..lch vol ....I_rL Th" '"eMical wolr.....A"I· rill:hl coltar palm ca.o be Dlad" out i.. tb" original priol. Espa.. ded i..lo th" 'Ned"r.....d' Bd".. aad liI.aUy into Ih.. 23-0;". 'Ned".... tand', Ibis Uoil roulllbl witb diuinction on th" Bailie COaSt.

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struppe from '936 to '939, Paul Hausser, had in fact achieved a great deal, and the military showing of the Waffen-55 probably owed more 10 him than to any other individual. A combination of rigid physical selection, extremely tough military training, ideological indoctrination and parade-ground spit-and-polish had produced, by summer 1939, the following units: 'Ltibstandarle Adolf Hiller A motorised infantry regiment of three ballalions with integral light artillery, anti-tank and reconnaissance units. This premier \V-SS unit was commanded b) Josef'Sepp' Dietrich, Hitler's old comrade from the gutter-fighting days. 'LAH' provided a battalion for the Austrian Anschluss in 1938. 5S-Standarle I < Deulschland' Similar composition but with four battalions. Took part in Sudeten land occupation of 1938. SS-Standarle 2 'Germania' Similar composition to 'LAH'; took part in Austrian and Sudetenland occupations. SS-Slandartt 3 • Drr Fiillrtr' Composition and experience as 'Germania'. Note that officially these regiments dropped their numbers when awarded their honour-titles; I have quoted both, for clarity.) In addition to these units, collectively termed the SS- V('TfLigungstruppc 5S- \'1'. Himmler also had at his disposal five regimcnts of '1'olenkopfwachsturmbannc' -'Death's-head Guard Units'. Thesc poor-quality units were internal security police and conccntration camp guards, commanded by the head of the KL service, Theodor Eickc.

The 55 Goes to War 'LAH' and 'Germani a' fought in Poland under loth and 14th Armies respectively, and 'Deutschland' formed part of the so-called Panzerverband Ostpreussen or Pan,(cf-Divi~ion Kempr. 'Ocr Fiihrer' was sent to dcfemivc positions on the West Wall. All were pulled back for reorganisation after the cease-fire. 'LAH' remained an autonomous motorised regiment, but received generous allocations of new equipment. The olher three regimenLS wcre gathered in October 1939 into a formation named b) spring 1940 'SSVerfUgungsdi\'ision', ilKorporating anillel"} and other supporting ser\ices.

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The most interesting- decision concerned the Totenkopfsecurit) units. Three regimcnts served as occupation troops in Poland, but were then recalled: numbers of their personnel were assembled with other Totcnkopf units, some SS- VT troops .md Allgcllleine-S5 1'l'~cr\i~ts into a field division - '5S-Totenkopf- Di\'ision' -u nder Eicke's command. This blurring of the distinction between 5S combat troops and security police lhugs stemmed from the tight restriction on Waffen-SS recruiting: neither the Wehrmacht nor Hitler, for their own reasons, wanted Himmler creaming off too man) good potential soldicrs. As police on:r1ord Himmler was able to recruit 'S('curit~ personnel' without these restrictions; and b) transferring Totenkopf men to the combat units, and then replacing them b) direct recruitment, he had a neat back-door method ofexpanding his fightin~ units. Ten new TotenkopfregimenLS were put in hand in 1939 40. The part played by the Wancn-55 in the West in 1940 was much photographed but of little military significance they represented, after all, onl) twO di\'isions and a regimental group, out of 8g di\isions employed. The 'LAI-!' and S5V-Div. fought well; the markedly inferior quality of the SS-T-Div. was underlined by heavy casualties. (The Le Paradis massacre of British prisoners was instigated b) a Totenkopf officer hystcrical O\Tr the losses suffered by his ill-trained men while taking the position.) Both 'LAI-I' and the 55-V-Div. (now named 'Reich') used their excellent mOlOriscd elements to good effect in thc lightning campaign in lhe Balkans in spring 1941, and by the invasion of Russia in .J lInc the former had been awarded divisional status in name, if not yct in physical fact. 'LAI-I' served on the southern sector of the Russian frotH, and 'Reich' on the central sector; the TOlcnkopf-Div. served on the Leningrad front in the far north. All served strictly under local Army tactical cOlllmand-there was as yet no question of anything approaching an 'SS· Corps'. Hitler still regarded Himmler's military pretensions as slightly comical, but had no objection to his potential elite security forces being hardened in combat and adding some prestigious medals 10 their tunics. He had also allowed Himmler to expand the \Vaffen-SS slightly.

althoug-h not at the cost of recruitin~ manpower better employed in the Arm): and th(' Ilwthod he u'icd was to pro\'{" highl) sig:nificanl. He had scrambled together 011l' morl' hang.dog formation of Totenkopf guard~, ~r,lI1dio~d~ entitled SS·Di,-i~ion ';'\ord', jll'~t before Operation 'Barbarossil', He retained under his ultimate control as poliee O\erlord another lo"·priorit) formation of former policemen, the Polizei· Di,i'iion, \\ ho S<'\w some fig:hting in France and occupation dut) in Poland, but \\ ho \\(:re neither nominal!) liar "spiritually' pari of the \\'·SS at thi'i date although the 55 eagll' the) wore on their 'ilenes pointed thl' wa), Far more imporlant than either of these divisions was a new lormatio.n with thl' ringing title of 55-Division '\Viking', which was 10 march into Ru~~ia under Army Group South: for about haIr its streng-th was ('omposed not of 55-men, nor e,en of Cnl1lans, but of ,'olull\eer recruits from the olTupied nations of Europe. That rccruilS were fOrl!1comin,-\" \~;(S hardl) surprisin~. On.'rrun "ith bewild(-'rinl{ speed onl~ months be-fore, the \\'estern nations had )et to feel thl" full \\eiglll of ;'\azi brutalit), It was too soon for significant RcsistalKe al,ti\iti6 to prO\'ide a fOUlS for patriotism. These countries already nourislwd Kl'lllIinel~ populist anti·Communist politi(al mo\cments. which pro\idcd recruiters with a Kood first harvest and a nalllf;:11 conduit for their fine rhetoric about thl' 'anti·Bolshe\-ik crus;ule', Large n umbers of \'olu n tl'tl~ \\ ere found in 19.~0 II, and throughoul till' \\ar such units generally earned a high fig-hting reputation. Despite thei .. elllotivl' titles. hO\\('\'('I", it should be recalled that tlll'y always t"fJntaincd large numbers of Germans, and as the war drew on they W{'rt' uSNI as repositories for all kinds of odd foreig-n t't'llegades. Their couragl' won their oe· cupied homclands no hint of political conce~sion: (heir pri\ileges were limitl'd to dying as German cannon-fodder..\longside thl' '\\'iking' Division smaller \'olunteer 'legions' \\ere raised for sen-ice in Russia, most!) with the .\rm) but some with the W·SS from the outset. The three 'dassie' W -SS di\ isions and the new '\\'ikin~' fought hard in Ru~sia, earning an alto~ether more respectful reputation among their Arm) comrades for steadiness in tht, faiT of !-,rrim

Eid'~j Lh~ rormu h ...d or lh~ concnotra_ I;on camp 5ft"V;C~, h~ ....." 011~ or v~ry r~.... m~n a.5OciatN ....iLh Iha' i ...ramo... o~lioo or whom oo~ h •• th~ . .ti§r.C1;Oft or rorportill5 that h~ ...... killed i....clio....... "Om· m • .ndu or Ih~ 'Totenkopr' o;";.ioll i .. M.rch '943- H~rt h~ dillpl.,.. th~ d~lIill" orw..ss 5e.. ~raJ offi«n' cotlar patch~..

SS-o!.... r. Thfl)Cior

conditions and high casualties: tillS reputation was not seriously impeded by the relati\e1y poor showing of till.: Polizei-Di\'. and the disgrace of 'Nord'. In spring '94'2 thc Polizei·Di\. was taken into the W·SS proper. At the saml' time another basically loreign division was formed. Thl' 'Prinz Eugen' Voluntc{'l' Mountain Division was rccruited from 'cthnic Germans' in I he old .\ustrian empire, and was sent into anion against the Yugoslav partisans in autumn 19-1-2. That summer an eighth di\"ision appcared on the S5 order of battle with the up-rating: to di,-isional status of the SS-Ka\allerie-Bri~ade-Iater, til(' 'Florian Ceyer' Di\-ision. This was original!) one of three Totcnkopf brigades the other twO being: motor· ised infantry which operated behind the Russian front lines on ,;ecurit~ duty: the...e were under Himmler's contra!. being attadlc-d at need to

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Typical manUr."lur", d"'lail. nr • W_SS offi"",r'. "ollar pat"h... in .iJv nd hl.d.; Ihe ra ..... is SS-lIaupl"lurm_ l'iihrrr or u.plai (CourtKy lale Col. C. M. Oodki_)

the forces orlocal Hig-her 5S and Police Leader.>. In lime their regiments were gradually dribbled away as replacements for \\'-SS field formations dcrimated in the (-ampaign" of 19-11 _po In 1943 the picture chanl;"ed dramatically. The Army was discredited b) defeat in Russia and Africa, and Hitler had been seduced at last by thc appeal of Himmler's gro\\inR army of ironhard SS formations. Chopping: logic aboul post. war responsibilities was no\\ a luxury-Hitler needed generals and di\'isions who won battles, and Paul Hau~ser's recapture of Kharkov with the SS armoured di\'isions had just givcn him his first victory for a long time. The \\'-5S now underwcnt a rapid and enormous expansion, in which certain distinct clements may be traced. There were to be three ncw Rt;chsdtulscht ar· moured divisions to join the 'classic' divisions, whose armoured status was a fact long before their tillt"S were officially changed to recognise their actuaJ establishment. The) would be joined by new formations of foreigners, formed around existing volunteer legions already serving in Army or \V-SS uniform. Troops would be freed for the main fronts by passing anti·partisan tasks to ever more bi7,arre forcign SS formations, such as the Moslem 'Handschar' Division, which marked the total abandonment of the original racial limitations. The proliferation and enlargemcnt ---on paper, at least---of foreign formations would continue until the end of the war. Between carl) 1943 and early 1945 the ostensible order of battle of the Waffen-SS rose from eight to 38 di\"isions. i\lany of these were purel) fiCiitious, in the sense that orders for their formation and deplo) ment seldom reflected their actual a\'ailable stren~th or combat 10

readiness. Scvcral nominal 'divisions' fielded no more than a few hundred ill-equipped men scrambled together from f'Q{ksdtlll.\cht: bewildered foreigners: Luftwaflc or Kriegsmarine personnel for whom there were no longer any 'planes, fuel, or ships: and marginal categories of police or .\l1geml·ine·SS re~(,l"\-i~ts. p{'rhap~ \tifft"lwd b) member.> ofa \VaACn·SS training school. Bizarre as some of the.se formations were, however. it must be remembered that the elite SS Panzer and Panzer-Grenadier Di\isions represented Germany's most effective troops in the last stages of the war, setting a st;:tndard unsurpassed and seldom equalled ;:tlllong the forccs of any other nallon. Exact fi~urcs will ne\'er be known. but the best cstimates indicate that some 180.000 Waffen5S soldier.> wen' killed in action during: the war: approximately 400.000 were wounded, and probably anotherlo,oooor more were listed 'missing'. The emir(· ("Stabli~hnl<'llI of the ·da"..i(·· di\,i ..ion., ·L.\I-I'. 'D.ts Reifh· ilnd 'Totcl1kopf"-\\ere casualties sc\·(·raltime.. O\{'I". so to .,peak; ilnd the teenagers of the 12th Di\-ision 'Hitkrjugend' were still full of aggressi\'e spirit after suAcring losses of 20 per cent dead and 40 p('r cent wounded rn four weeks' continuous fightin~ in :\Iormandy.

TlteDivisio//J An abbreviated note-form style is necessary for space reasons. Normal \V·SS rank abbreviations arc used throughout. Dates arc indicaled in month and year numerals e.g. '6.44' = June t944. Where dates arc given to the day, the English rather than the American convention is used; e.g. '1.6.44' - 'June '9.H, nOl6January 19-1+ Dashes arc used before a date to indicate 'until', after a date to indicate 'from'; e.g. '-6.44' = until June 19·~, '6.44·' - from June 1944 onwards. Entries arc arranged in the following order; Title of division, in definitive form: COs = known commanding officer.>: briefservice history: i\ICUs main mmbat units. usually qualified with a month and year: CP = collar patch if diA'crent from "t.lIldill'd S',f:nllun; CT ('Un title.

Typical cufT t'd....tyl .... 'W... t1l1ad' lind 'Got,. "'aa Berli. ch,a5ea' .r" in .. tandard blockl..u ..rinfl;, th .. upper .....chin.... .. mbroid..rHl, tb .. lo_r ....chin.... wo........ (B.. low) i" tb.. Suuerli. script 'Adalf Hitler' titl.. or th.. 'Ult'; th .. Iicripl wa. used on th.. 'Ilid..rjuse.d' Diyjliion lid.. (N.B 1 10 scale). (Itnp. W.r Mu..... author'.. collectian)

form \\hkh app(·.lred on tht' ithll{IIl'1. \B: Omission ofCP won_' SI.lIldilrd rllllt·~ Ihroll~h. OU1; omission of CT no kIIO\\ n \'lIft litlt'. Insignia dctails arc givcn in consistent form. Where they are simply qUOled. the insi~nia in queslion is confirnlcd b) wartime photos of it being- worn, .... illustrates .... ' mcans 'a phOIO of the insignia itself has been published by (source), but its wartime prO\TnanCe is not confirmed, to my knowledge. by a photo of il in ll\C.' .... Uluonfirmro reronstrunion .... me.lIls that the source quoted has publi~hed a dra\\ ing of the alleg('d design of the imignia, withoul photographic support having bct'lI published. 10 my knowled~e. If CT letlerin~ is unspecified. this indicates standard 'blo
the Crimea. ROSIO\. Winter '41 '~2, heavy defcn· 'Ii\'(', ballies Donclz area. 8. 11.-1-2, rrsl and refit N.Fralll"e, onupation \'ieh) France. 1.4:) LO Ukraine: 2. 3....3. heavy combat betwc('n Donctz and Dnieper. recapture of Kharko\: ;.43, combat B)e1g:orod during KUNk .macks. Summer '43, IKCupiltion duty :\.llaly; atnxilit·s. To RliSSlil, lu';]v) combal r 1.13 1.41. Spring '44. ['eSI and r!'fit N.\\'.FrillU'e. Bd~ium. 6. 10.1-1-. hea\-) ("Om· bill ~ormand\. Fr..llue. n'lre'lIed throu1;"h Bel· ~illmlO .\acht·n ......:-01.12.11 1-45. hean ('ombilt .\rdenlles. rcltTated to Bonn ,1I'Cil; l'lt.'mCl1Is n'spomibk fol' murdl'T' 71 US PoWs ~bllll('d), 17. I 1.._11. To II un~ar~ 2.. 15: hean fi~llIing: r('treated into Austria. 8..;....5. majority of di\'ision surrendered to US lroOps in Sle)r area: 1.500 survivors wilh 16 tanks, frOIll 6 ..1-4 strength of 19,7°0 men. ,\lCl.:.,: 1-4--1-: SS-Pz. Regt. 1,55-»7. Grell. RegiS. ',2

CT: 'Adolf Hitler' in Sutterlin snipt Junior offic..r of'LAH' pbotosrapbKl dun,,!: tb...d .....nc.. throusb tb.. Low COu..tri.... M.y '910.

SS-Panzer-Division ILeibstandarte Adolf Hitler' CO,: SS-Ob\I.Gruf. 'Sepp' Dicni(h ; ..13.55. Bri~ar. Wisch 8.44 I, SS-Oberf. ~Iohnkc ( 2.45), SS-Brigar. Kumm Regt. raised 9.33. Fought in Poland 9.39: arcas Lodz, Warsaw, ~Iodlin. Brief occupation dUI) Czechoslovakia 10.39, then to \\'cstern Front. Advanced through Holland into France, and in anion France, 10.5.40 25.6.40: murdered 80 British PoWs at Wormhout, 28.5.40. 441, ad· \,Illn'd throu~h YUKosLnia. Grcece. 6. 11.1'. advanced into southern Russia: Kic\. (Jman, J,

II

2, SS-Pam:er.Division 'Das Reich' COs: SS-Ogruf. Hausser ( 10.4 I), SS-Brigaf. Bittrich ( t2.,p), SS-Brigaf. Kleinheistcrkamp 1.42), SS-Gruf. Keppler ( 2-43); thereaftcr tcn t'hanl;cs of CO, most promin('nt bfin~ SS-Brig-af. Lammerding t2..B 7·,l!, '·2..H 1.45 '0.39, SS-\'-Di'. rai'icd-sce main text, 'E,'olulion ofWaffen-SS'. In fOll1bat 5. 6.~0 in Holland. Belgium, Fran\C, to Spani'ih border. 12.40. 'Germania' Re~t. r('mo,ed; +.4-1, di\'. in occupied France. 4.41, took part ill\'asion Yugoslavia: 5.41, rc,t and refit .\ustria. 6.-11.41. invasion of RU'isia, ('('ntral 'iCctor: Smolensk. Priluki. ~Iosco\\ .area. 12·4' 1...J.2. defensive fightin~: hlra, Rusa. R..-he\. 3. 7.+2. rest and refit in Gt'rnMIl\; 1.13 onulMtioll dllt) :\.\\. France. 2. 3.43. RU'isia. hea\) ('om bat Kharkm. Regrouped 7.43, then KlIr<:k au,l('k: 8yelgorod. ProkhorO\ka. Further hea\) defensiw fighting 8. 1~2..t3: '\Iius, \\('st ofKharko\. Dnicper, Kiev, Zhilomir. 2.44 K;\mpf~ruppe Lammerding still in combat. rest of di,'. to France for re,1 and refit: survi\·ors 10 Franle. 5.H. To Xormandy 6.44: ("Qmpany of 'Del' Fiihrer' Regt. commanded by 5S-Stubaf. Dickmann murdered 6l:! men, women and childn.·n at OradOllr-sur-Glane. Heavy comb'lt are,l Coutan('\, St.Lo. Il(·r{'). :\Iortain 6. B.H; retreated Rou'>(·n. 51. \'ilh. Galllan border. B. 9.+4. 9· 12..1_1 in Sdl1l('e-l:ild .In·;1, 1:!.,ll 1.,15, he'I\} fi~hting ill ,-\rdellll(" nnt.·lhiw'. 2.~5 to Hungal), heav) combat: Stiihlweissenbllrg. 4.45 to Austria: combat against Russians ncar Vienna, and in Czechoslovakia: majority surrendered 10 US troops, 8.5.45. AlCUs: 6.44: 55-1>70. Reg\. 2, 5S-Pz. Gren. Regl. 3 'Dtlltsdlland', SS-Pz. Gren. Regt. 4 '0<.'1' Flihrcr' CT: Divisional units, 'Das Reidl' (9.4-3 ). Reg!. titles 'Deutschland', 'Ocr Fiihrcr' first Gothic, later block; 'Germania' Gothic tl.4-0: 'Langemarck', bricfl). b} former 4. SS-I nfa llteric·Standarte.

3. SS-Panzer-Division'Totenkopf' CO.• : 55-Grur. Ei<.k(' ( 2.431, SS-Bdgaf. Priess to-43 6.-1-4 . SS-Brigaf. Beder Raised 11.39. Heavy combat in West. 5. 6.+0: Le c.·lIeau. Cambrai. Arras. Dunkirk, Seine and 12

Loire, Lyon, Charente. 4th C.o) .. Totenkopf5tanda rte 2 u ndcr 55-0st uf. K no( h lei n Illurdered approx. 100 PoWs or 2nd Royal Norrolks, Le I>aradis. 27.5.40. Occupation duties in France; then ill\'asion Russia. On Lithuanian frotH, 6. 9.41: \'ilna, Lug-a. Leningrad sector 9. 12.4': dcfcnsi\'e fighting in Cholm. Demjansk area 1.2.42. thercafter on I) Kampfgruppc Simon 642. 4.42. break·lhrou~h Demjan"k-Lo\'at. 7. 1042, defensive fi~htin~ :o-J. W. ofDemjansk. 10.42 2.43, rest and refit in )<~rancc: 2. 3.+3 hea\) fighting Kharkm'·4· 7·43, combat Bycl~orod arca: 7.43. 1.+-1. defcmi\'e fighting in aclion at Kursk: Isjum. Kharko\. Dnicper, Kri\'oi-Rog. I. 4.44. rctrcaled 10 Rumanian border: defensive battles: mmed north to C('lltral ,>e('tor offrOIll. 6.++ 7.44. combat around Grodno; 8. 1J..II.Iu-;l\\ fi~hling in Poland: \\'arsa\\, Nare\ brid~ehead, ~Iodlin. To Hun~ar) 12+-t: attempt to relieve Budapesl 1.4-5: retreat to and combat around Stuhlweissen berg 2. 3.45: retn'at into .\ustria. combai X. \\'. of\'ielln3, 4. 5.45. Surrender to US troops. 9.5. ~5-less than 1,000 men and si:-. tanks, from an original streng-th of 19.000. Handed o,'er to Russiam. ,IICCf: 6.44: 5S-P/. Regl. 3. SS-Pz. Gren. Reg!. 5 'Thllk" SS-I)z. Gren. Regl. 6 'Theodor Eickc' CP: Death's-head see commentary Plate B2. C7: Dcath's·head s)mbol, '43: thcreafter 'Totcnkopr'. orckl'ed 9.42 Regl. titles 'Thule' ( approx.12.43), 'Theodor Eicke' (3·43 ); 'Heilllwehr Danzig' ('39 '43), 'SSHcilllwchr Danzig' ('43 ) b) former members in Totenkopl:'lnfantcrie-Rt:gt. 3 and and its subsequcnt forllls, both patterns Gothic. 4, SS-Polizei-Panzer-Grenadier·Division COs: Elcwn in all, of who III the fir'st was SS-Gruf. Pfeffer-\Vildenbruch ( 11.40), and lhe lasl twO SS-Brigaf. Schmcdes (B. 11.«) and S5-Stal: Harzer 5.45) Raised 10.\0 from Ordnllllgspolizci-liniformed 'ci\'ilian' polic('- and Allgemeine-5S rescT\"ists, not initial!) part or \\'-S5. Poorly trained and cquipped: occupation duties in Poland. Some aClion in W~t, 5. 6.4-0. In\aded Russia on northern sector. 6.,p: indiAcrent performance

Renerally, though fou~ht w(']1 011 Wok how Rivcr I. 3.42; taken inlO \\,·S5 2-42. ~lo\"{"d to 'Hohcmia-t\lora\ia' and 110land on "c{"urity duty, 543: SUll1ll1cr '4'~, to Yugoslavia, allti-panisan service. To Gn'('c(' on similar dUlY' 3.44: atro{"ities in Lari"sa area. St·n.ed in Creece. Yugoslavia, Slovakia Ihrou'rhout '41. To Stell in, Danzig, 1.45 : Iwa\y comhat. Some rcmnants fought in dtfcncc of Berlin: sun.i\or'S n·trcated \\cst, surrendeflxt 10 l:S troops 5.,15 . .\lCC,: 10.39: Poli'1.ei-Schutzen Regts. l. 2. 3: .\nill('ri('-Regl. 100 I,\rmy In'-n:SS-Crc:'n.Regt-.. Pol.-Di\-. 1,2,3 In '+4: 5S-P/. Cn'n. Regt-.. 7. 8: SS-Pz. Abl. '1 CP: .\rIllY Polil'e patl('rn" 2.42: thereafter runes. (;7: 11oli('(' cagle emblem 2. 12.42; thereafter 'SS-Polizei·Di\-ision'. Gothic and block pallerns kno\\ n.

5. SS-Panzer-Division '\Viking' 5.43. SS-Grur. Gille 8. H ' SS-Staf. :\Iuhlenkamp 10·44, SS-Stilf. Ullridl Rais('d 12.\0, originally n.tlllcd 'Gcrmania', from rcg-t. of lhat namc tramferred from 5S-\'-Di\ .• with I\\Oll{'\\ units. 'Westland' Dutch. FlernilH;s and ':-':ordland' Scandina\i'lIls : '41 '43 a Finnish hn .. '~ordo\t', also ser\cd. In\aded Russia in south, 6. 11.11: Tarnopol. Zhitotllir. Tcherkassy, Stalino. Don Ri\·er. 11.41 spring '42, {.kfl'miw fig-tHing DOll-~lius area. 7. 11.42. ad\·anu·d into Cauc;!'>us: RO"IOV, Kuban. Tcn:k Ri\·el". 1.'13, fell back on Rosto\. 4· 9.43, defellSi\"{' fiRhtillg in Ukraine, counler-atrackcd hetween DOll and Dllitpcr, combat around Khar~ kov. 'Nordland' tramfi:Tl"t'd as cadre new 1 I. Div., :~.'13. Summer '4:~ j,:"tollian bn. '!\ to 1'('1 it'\T Budapt·,>I. 1 .45. Fighting- retreat Sti:ihh\('is.s('nblirR to Fu~tenfeld, Czechoslovakia, where surrendC'rcd 5.45. Con~ ~i~",ellll) hig-h eombat reputation. .\lCC': 6.-l1: SS~117. Reg!. 5' 5S~P7. Gren. Re~1.

Co.,: SS-Gruf. Steiner

SS-U.eha. tank comma.de.. ohhe 'Toledopr' Oivi iOD. The ve.. tical clOllUr., or ,10., W-SS pan"'-rn Pun,.,r ,,,-Die i•• hoW!< clearly 10.....,. a. i. the bl.do Flirxr~mi'~r ""P. aad the divisional colla.. patch. (Bii>:ldcsarclaivJ

9 'Germani .. ', SS-I'z. Gren. Regt. 10 '\\'e\ILlIld' CP: \'iking ship pro\\ dl'\i,i.;ll "llthori~('d 3..13, probably IW\(T worn: runes in all known pl1olOs. CT: 'Wiking'. blOlk: S5-Gruf. Gille \\or(' 1)I'1"';onal COlhil' paltcrIl. Regt. litles 'Gnlllania' (COt hie), 'Westland' and 'Nordland'. 'Gcrmania' and 'Nordland" shouldcr strap 'C' and 'N' lllol1ograrm briefly worn. 6. SS-Gebirgs-Division 'Nord' CO.... SS-Brigaf. J)Clllelhllbcl' C').4 1 4'42), SS~ Brigaf. Kleinheio;tnkamp ( 12-43), thereafter 5('\'eral with brief' tellure, including SS-Gruf. Deb(.'s. SS-Crllr. Brenner Raised spring' \ r frOIll Totellkopf-Standarte 6, 7 & g. To Finland, ,llld into altion 011 Lapl'lIld front 6.41: \"cry poor training rcsulted in rout al Salla. \\'ithdra\\ n laIc SUl11ll1el' '\1 for trainim; as mountain di\.: fOUl' bns, Gebirgsj:igcr, three of Cebirgsanillcrie add<'d 10 suni\'on; of ori~inal Kampfgruppe ':-':ord': trained in .\mtria and Balkans. RClllmed to Finland B.I!: fought on 13

northern front g.-I-I: to :Son\
7, SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-DivisioD 'Prinz Eugen' CO,I: SS-Grur. .\rtur Phlep... 6.43, SS-Bri~af. Rei{'hsritter \on Oberkamp :2..H, SSBrigaf: Kumm 1.45), SS-Obel"r. Schmidhuber Jullior NCO. or the 'Wi.k.i_s' Di";'.io.., 1!H3. The SS-Str.... (",h) we.n 6c:1d I"')' uaif"onn with collar open o\'er "bin ...d tie, ...d the I:.-;.~;uft'itl"'i,;~-i.thi.. ca.... with ..... t.1 i....iIDi•. The P.DiOU- S~Rttf. (riAhl) diliplay. pi.... pipiDJ around the collar and th .. patch... of hi. black tunic_the latt.. r partie..larly "ousual, bOlt commo_ly atlrib .. ted to thi. re~iment. Both h.ve block.lettered 'Wikin!' cuff IiI I.... (B .. nd ...archiv)

Raised 3..-1-2 from ethnit· Gamans in Balkan' main" Auslrian and Rumanian offin"r-,. Trainel Serbia SUllll1ler '.pz: operation;ll 10.42, thougl eCJuipmcnt lllixM rOl"('ign, ob.. olcle stocks. USC( cntirt'l~ a~ainst parti~nns and ci\-ilians; bat reeord alrocitie!>. Operntion 'White'. 1. 3.n are'l Siunj. Bihac, P{'lro\nL Opt'ri.uion 'I\latk' 4-. .)·43, weSlern 110ntellegro. Operation 'SilO" nUrr)'. 12.43, Rogatica-Coradzc areas. Restet Ragusa.Split area, 2-44; then renewcd ops against TilO'S partisans. To Belgrade 10.44 tC cover flank J-\xis retre.1t through Yugosla\-ia rron ad\ ancing Red Arm): heav) losses in combal wilh Russians. \Ian} de!>ertiolls reported. L.Ht '+-1. rllmp of 1I.SS-Di\. 'Skanderlx'n( incor· porated into 11lh Regl. ofdi\ .. rCg"t. takillg nalllt ·Skatldcl'bcg·. Held opell \';lI'dar corridor it i\laredonia ror retreat Army Group Lohr: heav)' fil;"htinl;" al;"ainst Rt'C! Army, Bulgarian troops. partisans. FOll~ht on unlil 5.45 in Balkans, surrendered to Yugoslavs at Cilli, Slownia. Man) personnel tried, executed for atrocities. .\/CL'.,: 10.13: SS-Fn\ .-Gebirg.. jager-Rt·gu. 13 'Artul' Phleps'. II: al ..oc;!\'alr} ,llld light armoured t'lenwnls. CP: OdaJrun~ in place of S(t:runtn: somf' usc o( OdaJruMon both patches. CT: 'Prinz Eligen' 11.42 : reg!. tille 'Anur Phlers' 11.44 ~Iountain troops insignia. 8. SS.Kavallerie-Division 'Florian Geyer' COSI: SS-Brigaf. Biuri(h 'l.-n. SS-Brigaf. Fegekill 11.-13. SS-Bril;"af. Rumohr In 4.4 1 the two Totenkopr-Rciter-Standarte were renamed SS-Ka\-alleric-Regimcnle; 8.4 I, rormed brigade under Koml1landostab Reichsrtihrn-SS, llsed behind front lim's in Russia on secllfil) duties; suspected of man} atrocities. '4-2, operated partl) on anti-partisan dutie~. partly front-line combal under gth Army. Arm) Group Centre. Up-rated 10 di\'ision 6. 8.42: fought under 9th Arm), Vjasma-Briansk-Rzhev salient. Operated under gth Army, ~nd Panzer Army, early '43: LO Arm) Group South 7.43 carl) '41. Rested Croa. tia 12.43: anti-partisan fighlin~ early '-1-'1: dis· persed units foul;"hl yarious area.s "outhern and Balbn fronts. Hungar~, Poland. /1.44 2.15. part of Budapest garrison: annihilated in fall of city. MCUs; 6.43: SS·Kavall('l'ic-Regts. 1,2,3. Late

14

i\lovcd to Russian li·ont ~'HI: into combat 4.44, Tarnopo1. Returncd Franc{' 6.44, heavy fighling 8·41: COlen, ...\ \ ranches, Falaise. 8. 9.44, fell back through Belgium 10 Arnhem area. Eneetive survi\·OI"'S fought at Arnhem and against British relief force. I 14~ to Aachen: I. 2.45 fighting on Upper Rhine: Hagenaucr Forest, Strasbourg. i\loved to Pomerania, fought he'l\ il) in ,lreas Stet tin, Stargard. Furstcnwaldc, 2. 3-45. Surrendered to Red Arm) at Schonau, 5.45. MCL's: SS-P7. Regt. 10, SS-Pz. Grell. RegIS. 21, >2

CT: 'Frulldsberg' Infa.alry bowiu"r ",r"w ....".ri'" Ihe 19+& fo .. r-po<:k"" ca.mo..ft.~" ' i'" and tro...."n.nd '942 .,.mo.. fta~ftI fi"ld "'.p. Th" pbolo is d".uifio:d, 10.., similarity 10 olio"'..... "g""I" 110","" m".. may be from 7. SS-Frw. G"b. Div. 'Pri"" E .. ~"..'. T ...·o of th"on wear lIi1v"r_~y and bla",k .1"",·" ",,&h,..

"13, SS-Ka\. ReRI. 4 added: Ihen regis. renumbcroo 15. 16, 17, 18. SS·Kil\". ReRt. 17 transferred as cadre of new 22. Oi\., 12.43. CT: 'Florian G(')cr' 3.43 9· SS-Panzer-DivisioD 'Hohenstaufen' COs: SS-Crur. 8illrich 7.4--1, SS-Oberf. Bock (8. 10.H, SS-8rigar. Stadler Activated 31.12.42, France: worked up during 19-1-3, personnel German conscripts mostly aged 18, cadre partly from 'LAH'. 3.44 to Poland: 4.44 into action Tarnopo!. 6.44 transferred to France: heavy combat Caen. Avranehes, Vireo 8. g'44 retreat Rauen, Brussels, to Al'nhclll. Resting in that area when Allied parachute assault took place; effectivcs fought under Kampfgruppe Harzer. 12.44 1.45 fou~lll in Ardennes, Sl. Vith; moved to Hungary late 1.45. Heavy fighting 2. 3.45 west of Budapest: fell back 10 Austria: ~'5'45 surrendered 10 US troops at Stcyr. .".'ICUs: SS-Pz. Rcgt. 9, SS-Pz. Grell. RegiS. Ig,

SS-FreiwilJigen-Panzer-GrenadierDivision 'Nordland' COs: SS-Brigaf. von Scholz 5.43 7.44" SS4.45, SS4Brigar. Dr. Brigar. Ziegler I\.rukenbcrg Formed summer '43, incorporating various existing foreign \'olunteer units. Dutch units originall) included, later segregated in o\\n 'Nederland· II.

Th", field &rey SP .rlill"ry ""'"';0" of Ihe blad. Pa..""" .. oifor..., worn h"r" by a 'U ........ e1' "'r"wm of 9. S8-P". Div. 'Hoh",alitauf"..', winl"'r '943 +4 (Biiod rchiv)

'0

CT: 'Hohenstaufen' SS-Panzer-Division 'Frundsberg' COs: SS-Brigar. Debes ( 11.43), SS-Gruf. \'on Treucnfeld ( 5.45', SS-Brigar. Harmel Raised, like 91h Div., carl) '43 from 18-year-old German conscripts, and originall) named 'Karl der Grosse': worked up in France during '43. 10.

15

di\.: nucleus for 1 r. Di\. was 'Nordland' Reg!. frOIll 5. Oi,. 'Wikillg'. New units C'Omposcd from old as follows: SS-Grenadicr-ReKI. I 'Oanmark' cx-Freikorps Danmark SS-Grell. Re~1. '.l ':":orK('" I Btl. ex-Freiwilligcll Legion :":or\\c~en SS-Gn·ll. Regt. 'l 'Norge', II & I I I Btl. ex-SSInr. Re~1. 'i\'"ordland' :\umbeN filled out \\ilh etlmil' Germans, mainl) from Hun~ar~, Rumania. In aelion a~aillsl parti~an\ in northern ero.Hia g'·13. Transf('rrcd to north Ru..,i;1I1 from 11.+:i; Iw.t\'\ fig:hting: under I II CerllMniC" SS Pan:lcr Korps on Baltic coast, summer' H. Rernllilnts made fi~hting: retreat

inLO Kurland: shipped from I,ibau to Pomerania, 1.15. IlC'm) combat Danzig, Stetlin, Stargard 2. 3'45' Fought to annihilation on OdeI' front, and Neukolln, Tempclhof, Charlotlcnburg districts Berlin, 4, 5,45; I Btl. of 'Danmark' and ';\lorge' auarhed to S' Di\, 'Wi king' I, 5.15, ,\feCI: 12.41: SS-Pz. CH'n. Regts, :.q 'Xorge', 2+ 'DannJaI'k': SS-»". Abl. 1 I 'Hermann ,'on Sal7a' GP: 'Sunwhe(']' rune -circular \waSlika-see Plate F2. 50n1(' lICie of runes b~ ('Ihnic Gcrmiln~ prob;lble. SoI1l<' rNidual use of Frkp~. O;lIllllark \·;triation. miniature Danish flag:, po:s.siblc but unlike!). CT: 'Aordland'; regt. title" 'Xorge', 'Dalllllark'. 'Hermann \'on S.dz~l·

~io...·S.... rmballaIiihrer

Q.uiSI, commaadi.." th", Frw. I.q;ioll Norw"'l"'''' displays the Nor ~11 rampaDI liOD eollar patch worll _ron th;' u ..it s absorbed i"lo the 'NordJaDd' Dhisioll. 0 .. his tert ronarm is 0"'" or Norw~iall nat;o...1 sl""",'" patch ; tlUs OIlC, b<.lievcd to _ el, is no_ thouSbt 10 a ..o.cl.tcd with rormn- poH~ p"' ila.,., bee.. in 101d o",re)'. bu' hq 1HftI druribed as sold Oil red. II sloows 1"'0 swords., poilll lip, across the arms or a crosS. (Courtesy HUSh rase-Taylor)

..,,,,,,ral

12. 55-Panzer-Division 'Hitlerjugend' CO.,: SS-Brigaf. Witt 6,1.1', SS-Oben: :\11')("1' 9'+4 ' SS-Obcrf. Krass I I . H Ani\ated 2,43: began working up, BeI~ium, 7·43: cadre from 'LAH', personnellargel) 17-)car.old ex-Hitler Youth oo)s. In :\. l'~ran('e +. 6.4-+: 6. 7.. 11-, hea\") combat :\'ormand): Caen. Falaise60 per celli ("hualtie~ b) 9.7.1-4. :\Iosl suri\·i\·ors trapped in Fillai~e P()(ket, 'tOme fou'ght their wa) out and retreated (';Ist to :\I.las Ri\er. .\fter r('5t and refit, fought in Ardennes r 2'.1-1 1.15. i\lo\'ed to H ungar) 1.15; hea\) fighting \\ est of Budapest, r('trt.'alcd into AU~\I'ia, 2. 3'45, Forced march westwards enabled suni\'on. to surrender to US troops near Enns, Ausu'ia, 8,5.<\5: 455 men. from 12,43 strtn!-\"th of 21,3°0. AlCU.,: SS- Pz. Regl. 12, SS-I'z. Gren. ReglS. 25,

26 CT: 'Hitk,:jugcncl' in Sliltcrlin scripl 13, Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der 55 'Handschar' (kroatische Nr, I) COs: S5-Briga!: Saubcl"zweig, SS-Brigaf. Hampel Raised spring '43 around cadre from 'Prinz Eugen' Oi".: renuitcd liniliall} \oluntecrs, laler conscripts! among Bosnian l\loskms, traditional enemies of Christian Serbs from \\ hom majorit) Tito's partisans dra\\n, Original title 'BH''Bosnia-Hercego\'ina'. 743 2.1-1 trainim~ III France: Illutini(,'). Ik~an allti-parti~an operations \prill,~ '4-+. HQ Brcko: man~ atrocities. :\fuch 16

dcsertion in fan 'lpproadlill~ Red ,\rm): di\. disbanded 10.11. Gcr!llilll. "()/I.;._,dtlll.
Anti_laak 5"un crcw o( lhc 'Hidcrjuscod' Diyision c:antou8allM La thc Normaady 1Ioc-1'1', Junc '941'

late' 4-6: foughl wa) through to L'S Zone German) winter '46 '47. Rump ofdi\'ision saw lillie fighting after Brody-Tarnow: kept 10\\ profile in Steiermark early '15: handed to 'Ukrainian :"lalional Anny' 4-.'15: into British eapti\it) Radstadt 5.45; a\oided repatriation to Russia. ,\fCU:>: Warren-Grell. Regh. del' SS 29 (gal. Nr. 1),30 (gal. Nr. 2), 31 (gal. Nr. 3) CP: Lcft-facing rampant lion: set under Plale

1-1,. 14, Waffen-Grenadier-Division der 55 (galizische Nr. Ii ukrainische Nr. 1) COs: SS-Brigaf. S,himana, SS-Brigaf. Freitag Recruited 4.43 alllonf{ Ukrainians now behind German lines: Germiln, J'olhdrlll._dll cadre. 1\lassi\"e voluntary response. 30,000 accepted. ('Galician' title fictitious. purely due to politico-racial hair-splitlin~: title l'hanged to 'Ckrainian' 1 1.4-4.) Trained Germany: 6-41 to Russia: 7.44 near!) wiped Oul Brody·Tal'l1o\\ I)ocke\. Some survi\·ors reached Gcrman lim·s. 10 Slo\i1kia for r~t and refit. Olhcf'i hid Oul in Carp'llhian :\lIs. until

15. Waffen-Grenadicr-Division der 55 (let. tische Nr. I) COs . SS-Brigaf. Httmcn, SS-Brif{af. Graf von Puckler·l~ul'g-ham, SS-Oberf. Heilmann, SS-Oberf. \'on Obwurzer, SS-Oberf. Ax, SS-Oberf. Burk Since 7.41 Lal\ians formed JUany internal security unilS-'Schuma-Balaillone-'. Earl} 13 some Schuma-Btl. formed itlto Lellische SS Frelwilligen Le~ion, lalel' Lell. SS-Fn\. Brigade with cadre from 2. SS-Inf. Bele.: 11.43 in aClion on

17

, '-45 en route Hungar): in anion 4.45 Lake Balaton. Dispersed units surrendercd to British, US rorces at KlagenrUrl, Radstadt. .lJCl"L· 55-Pi'. Gren. Re~ts. 35, 36. $$-Pz. Abt.

,6 CT:

NCO. of Ihl! l.alvian I~ W.ff"D_Gr"nadiu_Di". d.,r 55. • howillJlb.. Iarl" • ..,.,.,;... collar i ....;!!_i•. AII ..f, 0_ "",....ioo o(lh" Lalviaa arrr"d.i,,1d un tMc mad" QUi' red with" while ~"raJ types an ....ow.... _me with • the lOp oor""r or aero•• the top. AS.in, ooto: badin, (Courte.y lale Col. C. M. Dod";.._)

dial0a.aJ.

lvija' i . elal "'p

:\en>lline. Early '+4 expanded todi\'i~ion; fought ;'\arya summer '-1-'1: withdril\\ n for refit late '«: via Kurland 10 Pomerania, b:ldly mauled again Danzig early '45. I>an surrendered 10 Red Arm) 5.+5, Ncu-Ruppin: part to US .\rmy near Elbe.

4.45. ann fightin~ before Berlin. BC:;1 fighting record of Baltic formations. MGL'I" 5-41: Warren-Gren. RC'gh. der S5 3z (lett. Nr. 31, 33 Iett.:\r. \),34 (Iell. Nr. 5), Fll~ilicr·Btl. 15 CP: Initially plain black, sOllie use SS funes: [all'r, sunburst around three stars. 16. SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division 'Reichsruhrer-SS' 5S-Brigaf. Simon, 5S-0bcrf. Ballm Himmler's escort Bq;leit-Bataillon Kommandostab RF-SS ('xpanded to 5tul'mbrigade 'Reichsruhrer-SS' 2 ..J3: on Corsica summer '43. Expanded 10 di\. 10.43, rormed Slo\cnia and Austria. 2.44 55-PI. Gren. Regt. 35 and Flak .\bL in aclion Anzio. 3.44 rem"indcr took part in occupation Hungary: 5-41 di\". assembled Grosseuo, W. Italy. Fought in retreat up coa~t: Livorna. Pisa. Carrara 8.14. 9.14 anti-partisan operations: sc\cral major atrocitie . Between Bologna. Forli

cas:

18

'R(-"idl~fiiI1l"t'r-$5'

17· SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division 'Gotz von Berlichingeo' CO_,: SS-Brigaf. O~tcndorfl 6.+-!. wounded: fhe temporM~ CO~. O"endorn' relUrning 11.+4 2.4:;: then S5-0berf. Bachmann Raised Fralln' lall:' illllllllln . J3 from training repl,UTlllellt ullil~. drah., other lormalions. sollle Balkan 1·(lJJi.,d"il.,("~. Into Mtion :'\'ormand~ 10.6·44; Car('"lllan..\\-rallches. 6 8.4+ then wilhdrawn P in \'"esl. .\/(;[',: "umllH'r '41: SS-P/" Grell. Re~l<;. 37. 38. SS-P/. ,\bl. l7 CT: 'GOl"Z \-on Berli(hinl{cll' 18. SS-Frei willigen-Panzer-Grenadier_ Division 'Horst Wessel' CO.,: 5S-0bcr!: Trabandt, SS-Oberr. Bachmann Authorisl'd 1-41, rai"l'd spring- 'II: cadre from l. SS-Inf. Bdl'. (mot); p('rsonnelmainl) Hungarian I'olk.,df/l/X(I/t. Original plan 101" S.\ vol un leers dropped, but title kepI. SlUG. Bll". from 'Nord' Di\'. formed nucleus SS-Pl.. Ailt. 18. Elemenls Zagreb/(:elj(', Bae-ka; 01 hers OCCtJ pal ion lroops Hung-ar).3 4·41: training- in I-Iung-al"} 7 lO,H; some anli- panisan opnations lhi~ p(Tiod. Kalllpf~Tltpp(' Sch1irn indo SS-pz, Gren. Reg\. 4-0 he,wil) engaged against Russians 744, L\"o\"; 5illlOk. 8.4+, wil h attached clements I. SSSturmbrigad(' 'Frankrejrh'. Other clements of di\". in aelion ~Igainst Slo\'ak uprising 8-4-4-; core of di\. remaill('d B.te-b. tlwn 10 Slovakia 11.44; ncar Bud,tprst. hea\) fil{htinl{. II 12.41; rejoined thcrc by Kampfl{ruppc S(hiili·.,. Foul{hl oUlside Budap('sl 1 "4-5, then 10 510\akia2._J5; heavy fighting Siksia'~ 3.45: C7Ccho~lo\akia .•. +s: largely

dcstro){'d IlirSlhhe,.~ 5,-1.'). .I/CL'.,: 10.11: SS-P I. Cr('ll. Rq.(h, 'l
CP: S.\ mono~rall1 made. hut lIW lllHQnfirmed photog-raphi{· (',idl'lltC pCrll;lpS dubiolls. Pl'Obabl~ rulU", CT. 'lIor't "'c'st'!' 19. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der 5S (lettische Nr. 2) CO,: SS-Brig-aL SdlUldl :i.ll. SS-Gruf. Strcckenbal h Formed earl~ "1 frolll La 1\ 1;111 ,c('uril\ troop'_ (·adrc rrom '.!. 55-lnL Ilek.. and oth('r Baltic pt·r-,OllllPI. DclCn,in- fig-hllllg- ,Ulllml'r '+-l Balti,· coast: Kurland ..... , '15: surrclldl'l"ro to Red .\1'111). ~lilau ..'j. L'). .\I(:i\: TO.II. \\.If!(-n-Cn·ll. Rcg:b. -f:! '\'01dl'l11aT"' Vei,,'. I.>. n 'Hinrilh SdlUldl·. 15. II lelti"lhe XI'. 6_ Fmilin-Btl. 19

CP: Lar,g:c s,,;(stika: double-armed "'
Ll1v;....nd Dutch W-SS ~ .........el p .....b.bly phot05raph~ on the Narva (rool, Iiprin5 '!H4. The o.l",h SS-St.........d SS-St..r. (left., ",entre) both wear the old 'Frw. ~ion Ni~er­ l ....de' cnfflitle, and 1M DUIc:h ar.... hield Oil the lefl (o......r ... ; the offi",er u. the '..ertiaol Wolrn ..!!:",I' collar JM.tch, The Lalv;a.. S5-v.".r. (ri&ht) we. ... tM whil~OIl_rrd .rrn.hield hi~h 011 hi•• I~ve; il uS a acalloprd top ~5e, Iklwfl''' th", offic"'.... a IiGldier, probably or Ihe Lal"""" ..... il. c:all ~ a.ee.. to wear the S5-ru..e ",oll.r pal",h.

19

E~tonian Arm} p('r~onn('l, ("adre from I. SS-Inf Bdc. mot). Fou~lll \\('11 at Nana 4·44 8.44: avoided Kurland ("ndrdt'nH'llt. retreated E. Prussia. In allion Silt~ia 3.-15, ::\ 01" Hir<;chbcrg 4·45: surrend{'n'd to Red Arnl). i\1{·lmick. 5,45. MCl·,f.' II, II: SS-Fr\\. Grell, Regt~. 4S 'Estland'. 16. 17 fornH'd 7.11 from EstOnian \'01. 13m. 658. 659 CP: Initiall} rllll(,~: later 'E' ilnd ~word sec Plate 1-1.. : fin~lll) annourt'd arm. $word.

'E'. WaH"eo-Gebirgs.Division der 55 '5kanderbeg' (aJbanische Nr. I) CO.I,' SS-Oberf Sfhmidhubcr 8.+-1-. SS-Ostubar. Crilaf 1.1<') Second :\Ioslcm di,i~ioll ;tlIthori~ed +.-14. formation began Ko\'>O,-o ~Ullllll{'r '11: 6.500 Albanians reported recruilt'd b~ 9+1' Brief anti-partisan operations: 10..H. ma s dC">{'nions reduced strenl{th to c. 1<}OO all rank~. Di~bilnded: German cadrt' designated Kalllp~~ruppc Skanderbe~. altached 14. Regt. of 'Prinl Eugcn' Di\ision. In action 12.+4 Zwornik. Bjl'llina, Brcko: be21.

""5

flemi"h ~'O"lIu~r wearinJII... 'Fr.... LeJio.. FI...d ..m'.,..tr titl.. _nd the bl • .,..·lio.. -o .. -y..Uow .rm.. hi..ld: .. ~ PI.I.. Fl.

lin'cd Oll Odcl' 2, 15. MCL'.": NOlllinall}. \\'arkn-G('birg~jiig:er RegIS. d('~ 55 50. 5t CP: Rune~: d{'~ign with 5kanderbcg\ goat-head helmct apparent I} made but not worn to i:ltl} significant ("xtent. eT: 'Skanderbeg'. .\lountain troop~ in<,iKnia,

22. SS-Frei willigen-Kavallerie-Division ('Maria Theresa'?) COJ: 5S-BriKa[ Z{'hender Raised Hun~ar} ~pring-sumnwf 1-1. from twO f{'gt~. Hun~i:lrian I'OIA.ldtui"dlt ,Ind \'('{eran SSK,t\.·Regl. 17 fonnel'" SS-Reiter-ReKI. 3 withdrawll from ·F1oriall Ge~er' Divi~ion. Onl) 17. and :'2. R{,~t~. ("omplt,!t, \\ hen ,elll into action Debrcu.en: .j:}. ReKt.joined 10.+4-. In
cas:

20

MCUI': 5.44: SS·Frw. PI.. Gren. Regts. 48 'General SeymtrC!l', 49 'De Ruiter' CP; Fn\, Leg. Ni('ckrlandl' wore Wolls
24. Waffen-Gebirgs (Karstjager) Division der SS CO.I: 55-Staf. Dr. JIll{. Brands. S5-Stubaf. BerS( hneidcr. 5S·Stubar. Hahn. ~S-Olotub
Italian armistice 9.-13 cauglll '>ecurit) unit 55Karawehr-Bn. ill r\rnold~tcin; posted anti-partisan operations :\. Ital). loenors Trieste, L"dine. GOrL, HQ Gradisca. 7.+1 to di,isional status under Higher 55 & Police Leader .\driatic Coast; recruited S. T)rol 1·()/hd(Ut.-ch~, HQ ~Ioggio. InadC"quale recruitilH:;-: organised as brigade 12·44· Earl} '.5 fou~llI p;Jnisans and British forces, Julian .\Ip.. : sollle connection ,\ilh 'Prinz Eugcn' Di\. SUr\'i"ors sC'n'ed with army, police slragJ::;lc.... in KampfgTuppe HarmeL 4.45: surrendered to British, panisan",. 5.45. .\/CCs: S5·Cebirw; Kar'itjagerj Regts. 59,60 25. WaJfen-Grenadier-Division der SS OSI Office documental ion . .\/CI..:.\: \\'affen-Gren. ReKts. 64, 65, 66

SS.Stuhaf. Leo.. IHl'r,.Ue, moat deco .... ,N ..o ..-G,.rm... ;., Lhe Waff"n-SS; hj~ Walloon hril'ad"l'r,.alty d;slinl'uished itae1( aJOft5"id .. Lhe 'Wikinl" Diviaion durinl' th.. break-out from the Tch,.rk....y (Korsun) Pocket in January '944' He wears "bould,.r atraps of rartle wilb I'r,.,"-" Waff"nf.rblr., and .,and_ ard ruoes_aftd.rartle collar pa,...h ... ; in",illibl.. b,..... ia the ArmY''''yl .. Ed .. lw,.i~a palch on Ih.. upper right .Ie.:",,.. Nol" Knil\:hl'a Crolla al Ihroat, a ..d ribbon. of Iron Croa. 2...d Cla.a and Winter t94'-42. Medal in bullonhole. Beft,...lh Ihe Clo.,. Combat Clasp 0" th .. ch...1 ar.. th.. lron Cro"" '''I CIa"" and, clock wi" .. round ii, I.h,. R ..,,_B.. wegouftg decoral.;on of th.. Belgian Fa"cisl mO", ..m,.lIli Ih .. Wound Badg.. ; and th.. Infantry Auaull Badg... Below Ih.. l..ft .1...."'.. ""1'1.. is Ih.. Walloo .. national armllhield ;n black, y..llow and r ..d surmountN by th .. word 'Wallon;..'.

(NB: SS-Pz. Bdc. +9 posted from Denmark 10 France summer '44 as lIude\l<; for new '26. SS-Pz. Div.', nevcr al'luall)' fOl"Tlwd. bUIl'xisted on paper brief!} .) 27. SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division 'LangeDlarck' (flaDlische Nr. I?) COs: SS-Ostllbaf. 5ehellong 5.43 Frw. Legion Flandc'rll re-organised i\lilowitz as 6. SS-Frw. Stllrmbrigadc 'Langemarck'; Flemish vOlllnteers, with SOmC Finnish? In action

21

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ppear......

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(eo&-I~)

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23

Ukrainc 12.~3: heavy losscs Zhitomir early '44. 4·44 rest and refit Czcfhoslovakia; 7.44 to Narva, heavy lol'scs. 9.41 survi\ors shipped to Swinemunde, Hammerstein: designated division, incorporating flemish L.uftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, NSKK. Organisation Toclt pCNonnel. fought 1.45 Zachan; 2·45 3.45 Stargard, Altdamm; part 011 OdeI' 4.45: i\ll'cklenburg 5-45. ,'1Cl'_I: II-{'_I: SS-Ff\\. Grell. Re~lS. 66. 67, 68 CP: Ff\\. Leg-ion flandern worl' runcs '41-'43. Brigade, division wore Trifos sec Plate FI : some owrlap probable. CT: ·Fr\\,. Legion Flandern' & 'Flandern': 'Langemarck'

duties in rear an"as behind Army Croup Ccntre this gang commi~t('d sllch widespread atrocities Ihat their loyalty was assured, and they werc e\'cn allowed some captured So\'iel armoured \"('"hicles and artillcr). StiOened with \'ariOliS human dregs and lost souls, such as released concentration camp 'trU!>Li('S'. tilt) retreated into Poland \\ ith other German for("es: and in August '44 were s('nt into the \\'ola distriCI of \\'arsa\\ durin~ the uprisin~ b) the Polish Home ,\rm). Their horrific bcha\-iour led to demands for lheir withdrawal e\en b) other SS commanders: in one da) 5.8.4{ they arc bclie\ed to ha\'e murdered some 10.000 Poli~h ci\ilians. Kaminski \\as later shot. under disputed circumstances. and the 'di\'ision' disbanded, partl) to lhe \'Iasso\ Arm~ and part!} to the 30. W-Gren. Oi\'. del' SS. CP: ~Iahcse Cross \\ ith crossed swords illustrated but unissued: mixture ofCerman and Russian Liberation Arm) uniforms. 'POHA' RONA insignia.

28. SS-Frei willigen-Panzer.GrenadierDivision 'Wallonien' COs: SS-Stubar. Loon Degrcllc 6.43 \\'allonische Le~ion passed from Army to \\'·SS, expanded to 5. SS-Ff\\ .-Sturmbrigade 'Wallonien·. 11.43 operated Dnieper B('nd with '\\"ikim( Di\.; 1.41 (ut offTcherkassy Pockel and reduced from some 2.000 10 632 men in e\'enlUal break-out. Rcs! prin~'44 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der 55 (ita10 ~af\a front; he
24

'" I

1

I. S8-S1.baI.• 8S-\'..rlII....n ...lnappe; ...rvk-e dren. 193'9 2. S8-8ri•• r. ouod Gen. ~.der"·-8S. late I~O 3. 88-H....r •• aniUery. ss-V.o; ...: ...... kln.-oul dreoo........ _r 1940

A

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nl.·. SS-V.I>i...

8

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3. SS-U..,h•. , Inrantr,.

c

R.... I•. winter. 19-11-46: I. SS-Mal1n, infantry. SS-1>i ... ·Releh·. 1941..012

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E

F...ter" t'ro"I, 19,1": I. SS-Il..,h." 1"'."lry, :17.ss_Frw_P~_G "_Di,,. 'Lao."m.""I!' 2, 81.".11,..., SS·I·~-G.... ,,-H"lft, U 'Ila" rl!', 11.ss-f'T'w-P~-G....n.UI... 'NonU.nIII 'lie "on &.10'

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• Normand,.. 1944, I. SS-U..,h•• , I/aSS·I'&·Abl.lMll 2. SS.stat. Kurt llI~,.~r. 12.S8-I>&_I>i¥. 'llitlerjllll"nd' 3. SS Infantry NCO. 12.ss.I'&.I)i... 'IUtl"rl..If"....• 4. ss.schDtu. Inr...try. 12-SS-P&-o;... 'llillerjlllf"nd'

G

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l.t:.. t ... nl.. ss-Pollul.[)i .. l....n. 1942 sg.lllOCh •.• F"'IdIJ"' .,ri"'. 13.W-GlOb_Div. d.,. W-<; .... n.di..r. I ...W-<; n_[)iv. der 88. , .... W-Shd••r.• 20.W-<; n-[)i ... der 88.19-14 88-sc........ ·Brill..,h Frelkorp.·. 1. .-4--411

sa ·U..... lOCh.r·.

19.1-4

from Schuma-BII. 62, 63, 6.1. & PGK GlebokieLida: 3. Rt·gt. from PGKs 5lusk, Baranowilschi & \\"ileika: ~. Regl. frOIll PGK Sionim & PoliuifUhrer PripYCI: ("il\alry & anille!') from SchumaBII. 68 & 56. BeCln1C \\'·55 Di\ .. 8.4+ To Fran("('; anti:\Iaqui.. ops. Belfon :\Ilihlhausen. and ",me canlaCI .\lIied forces. To G{'rmany, I I. II ; sun'i\ors to \"Iasso\ Army, office" and :'\COs to 25· & 38. \\'-SS Di,·s. .\/Cl!.\.' [0.4.1: \Vam'n-Grcll. RegIS. del' SS 75, )6, )) C/~.'

Possibly, Russian Onhodox crOss, horii'ontally.

31. SS-Frei willigen-Grenadier-Oivision SS·Bri~af. Gusta\ Lombard Formed Hun~ary, Slo\'akia, 10.44 from mixed for{'i~n .lIld I'o/hd~u/.fdlt: some officers and :\'COS from former 23. Wam.'n·Gchir~-Di\. dn S5 'Kama'. Far helO\\ stren~th: fought R{'d Army in r('treitt, and probably dcstroyed Koniggratz. 5.-15. One unconfirmed source gi\es honour-title 'Bohlllcn-1\labren' or '8-:\1'.

CO •.'

French Volunteer Leg-ioll. with fine record under .\rmy command. pass('d to \\'-55 8.43 as FmnzosisdH"s SS-Fm. Gren. Regt. \\'ithdrawn 7.4+ to Bohemia-:\Iora\'ia after heavy loss, became Franzosischcs Fm'. SlurmbriKade 'Charlemagne'. H('a\ y fi~hting 8.4+ Sanok ~Iielec s('('tor Carpathian front. Rebuilt at \\'ildnecken, autumn '11; hridly to \\'(·sl. thell to Pomerania. Early '45, r('d('~ignatcd as di\ ision. in action !':eustcUin. Details of fate unconfirmed; some survivors reached US captivilY via 1\loosburg area. French unit dcstroyed Berlin '~.45 5.45 now known not 10 be part of Ihis formation . .\lel',\.· 2.45: Waffen·Gr<.·n.Regts. 57, 58 CP: RUIlC'$: illustrated sword & laurels motif belieH'd unissued. CT: Beadle & Hartmann w-ss il collar pal.,hq .... own to ha..~ 1xft. mad., i ..."MI. and 0 all..a ..1 10 _m., .,XI.,,,I; 1001., lhal oth",... ilI".I.ratc:d c:lH h.,r", in this boo.... in phOIOtl or .,.,Iour pl.t.....r., Dol d"plinlc:d her",. Sec: .. "mberc:d diviliioDal ....1.,. (or (unh..r comm"'nl.

32, SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Oivision '30' Januar' CO,•.' 55-Star. :\Ilihlenkamp, SS-Staf. Richter, 55-0berr. Ax, SS-Star. Kempin Formed 1.45 in Kunn3rk orig. 'Kampfgruppc Kurmark' from mi\.ed stragglers. and staff and pupils of\'arious SS training schools. Heavy 10~C'S OdeI' front, 2-45 1..15: elements foug:ht <;Quth of Balin. Some reached Allied capti\ity TangcrmundI', 5.45. MCUs.' SS-Frw. Grt'n. Regts. 86, 87, 88 33' Waffen-KavaUerie-Oivision der 55 (ungarische Nr, 3) :"Jo(·onfirmed delails: probably hastily 'lssembled. larKely 1-1 ungarian e3\alry force, far below strenKth. raised HUn~ilf\ 19-1-4 45 and d(..,tro~ed Budapest 2.45. 33. Waffen-Grenadier-Oivision der 55 'CharlelDagne' (franzosische Nr. I) COs: \\'affen-Obcrf. Puaud 2.45), SS-Brigaf. Dr. Krukenbcrg ( 4.45), SS-Staf. Zimmcrmann

22. 25

25.

21.

18.

5.

28.

29.

These divisional collar patch" have ~n iIl.. SI..... led, bUI in .11 us.,. ;1 is nOI b..H...,ft!. thai lbey were a.,lually made, or if mad"" were worn to any signifieanl elClent. 5« numbered divisional hillory nolO'•.

illustrate unconfirmed reconstru("lion 'Char. lemaA"l1c', al~o mentioned by SlWI,jVOrs. 34. 5S-Grenadier-Division 'LandstorDl Nederland' COs: 55-Star. Knapp, S5-Slar: Kohlroscr 5I 1.4-1 FOfmed spring '43 as Landwachl Nicdcrlande, s('curil) unit of Dutch volunteers under Cerman

police officers. To "'-SS 9.44: operations Arnhem; allli-partisan operations :"orcl-BrabalH. To Geldcrland '2.45. then 10 Rhein-Walll; surrendered 5.45. Newf approached div. strength. J/el's: 10.4--1-: SS-Frw. Grell. Regis. 83. 84: SS- Panurjager Abt. :\'ordwC'.l: 55-Flak Btl'. Clin~t'nda;tl CP: Runcs, also flaming grenadc motirin metal: laller replacl-d cap death's-head III some cases. CT: Beadk & Hartmann illustrate 'Landstorm 2'\edcrland·. 35. SS-Polizei-Grenadier-Division COJ: SS-Obcrr. Wirth, SS-Sud: Pipkorn Created :1.45 rrOIll personnd Df('sden Police School. with rompan) rrom SS-Junkerschule Braunsch\\eig. In action Neisse rront 4.45; surrendered Halbe 5.45. .\1Cu.~: Pol. Regts. '29, 30. '4. subsequcntl) renumbered I. '2. and 3. and finall) as )lol. Gren. Regts. ag. go, 91

26

23. 30.

33.

36. Waffen-Grenadier-DivisioD der S5 COs: SS-Oberr, Dr'. Oskar Dirltw3ngcr ( '2.45), SS-Bl'igar. Schmedcs This unit became so notorious that it deser\'es wme '>pace. Dirlewangcr, a rormcr .\rmy comrade or\\,·ss ChicrorStaffGottlob Berger. wasjailcd ror ~1'X crimes in '35: when rclt.'a:;ed he was given a Condor Legion posting at Berger's internssion. In [9-10 he \\ as allowed to rorm a small battalion or German cOIl\-icls-'poachers' which operated as a Totcnkopr penal unit in Poland in '41, both labouring and guarding labour gangs, In '4'2 '44, steadily increased first to brigade and finally [0 di\ isional Status. it operated as a 'security' unit in Ru"-Sia, taking personnel rrom German prisons and concentration camps, SS military prisons, and oTber human cess-pits. I ts reputation ror atrocity became scandalous. but complaints were ignored and Dirlewangcr. personall) implicated in horrific crimes, was alwa)s protected. Himmler was well aware orhis record, )et in 8.43 he W:'IS awarded the German Cross in Gold. In summer '44 Dirlewanger led his 4.000 butchers, rapists and looters into action against the Warsaw Uprising, and quickly commilled such unspeakable crimes lha[ bOlh Army and S5 commanders sllccessrully demanded the unit's wilildrawal: yet in 10.41 Dirlewanger was a\\arded the Knight's Cross, The unit sel"\ed in Slovakia, Hungal), and on the Oder; Didcwangcr was wounded in '2.45, and is now known to have died mysteriously in detelllion in 6.45 and to be buried at Althaus . His 'di\'ision' was surrounded and-reportedl)massacred b) the Red Arm) S.E. or Berlin on

29·4·45· CP: CrO~~t'd riOt's OW"" grenade.

il

horizontal

stick-

37· SS-Frei willigen-Kavallerie-Division 'Liitzow' CO.I: SS-Staf. G('se!(' Formed Pr('ssburg 2.45 3.45 from sun"i\·ors ofS. & 22. SS-Kil\'.-Di\s. and other stragglers incl. HlInRarians of Honn'd Oi\'.: hea\'ily mgaged ~ of Vienna 3.45. Surrendered to U5 Army in Austria. J/Cl.:s: 55·"'a\ allerie-Rel'::ts. 92. 93 38. SS-Grenadier-Division 'Nibelungen' COs: 55-0"tubar. 5chulze. SS-Gruf. Ritter yon Oberkamp. 55-Gruf. Heinz Lalllmerding, SS-Star. Staml:c Formed 27.3.-15 from p(·rsonnel of SS-Junkerschule Bad Tolz, Himmler's bod}guard ballalion, S.ooo t7-year-olds, and stragglers from 30. \\'Gren. Oi\. del' 55: list of (·ommanders probably pure!} notional. Hitler personally ordered formation, for usc in \\'cst, originall} under title junkerschule·. Elemellts fought brieOy Upper Ba\·aria. surrendered Alpcn-Donau early 5.45. No known unit titles: thought 10 ha\'e had 2,700 men in sevcn battalions, carl} 4· .5.

T/;ePlates A I : SS-Sturmhmmjiihrer, SS- VerJii/!,llIlg.'/YlIPPt,. .\eruice dress, /939 The cap-DitTlstmiitzt', Scllirl1lmiit;ct-was WOl'll by officcrs from 1937 for service and walking-out dress, at tbis date with whitl: piping ,ll crown seam and band cdges --sec under Plate 1\3 for WafftnJarhe details. The distin('(ive 55 cagle and dcath'shead in white metal \\'erc the cap insignia of all ranks and branches oftht' 55 throughout the war. Officers wore the band in black velvct, and silver chincords. The officer's Rock replaced the 1935 eanh-grey lunic in 1937, being ofsimilar cut to Ihe latter and to the black tunic but in field grey, with a stepped open coll.1r pip("d ~iher, \Iash \kirt po<"kets and single rear venl. Confused orders led to its wear

both closed at the lhroat and open ovcr a light brown shin and black tic. In uSt' as out-of-combat uniform throughout Ihe war, it sometimes had the 1I1lpiped dark gret'll Arm}-stylc collar while retaining the tell-tale slash poch·ts. The breeches \\ cre sometim('s in a less greell shade termed 'newgrey'. Lightweight gabardine or 'moleskin' versions of tunic and breeches, in field grey, were popular summer wear. :\cither t} pc of breeches was piped at the s('am; the 'new-gre}' t) pc were sometimes rcinforn'd with f.::rey leather on the inside leg for field U'it". Ranking is worn at shoulder and collar. Siker cord shoulder straps, of the standard illlerwoyen design for German field-rank officers, havc whitc underla) at this date. The ril'::ht collar patch bears the 55 scr\icc insignia, the Si.~ru1Wl or SS-runes: the left, the four 'pips' of major's rank. Collar insignia are in silver wire embroidery and metal on black backgrounds. and all officers' patches had sih-er cord cdging. unlike other armed scn-ices the 5S wore their special shape of national cagle badge on the left ann instead of the right breast. in sih-eron black. Black and silver cuA-tities of depanmelH or formation were sewn, \\hen appropriate, to the cuff turn-back of officcrs' left slet'\'cs, and in a similar position on cnlisted ranks' slcC\'es: we illustnuc the 1939 GOt hie-Iellercd '5S-1 nspektion' of the I nspecIOraH: of SS-Vertligungstruppc. This K5DAP member wear'S his 'party button' as a tic-pin: on the breast arc the bronZ(' 5A Spol'l.sl~lililary and German Spores badges. Ribbons for the Austrian An\chluss, the ('ntry into Cz('choslovakia and eight year,,' 55 service arc worn above them. The belt buckle is the distinctlvc 55 officers' type; the shoulder belt of the 'Sam Browne' was laid aside after January 194 I. Note thaI since offieers purchased their own uniforms a wide vnricty of shades of field grey arc s('en in wnnimc phOIOS, from strongly green to pale dove grc) , or cven pale gre} with a slight blue C'ISt. II 2: SS-Brigad,jiihr" alld Gnuraf",ajor d" II'affm-SS,

faft 1940 Late in 1940 the intcgration of the \\"·5S within the armed forces was markt'd b) adoption of dual ranking for \\'-55 generals, the equi\alelll Arm} 27

rank appearing as a suffix to the \V-SS rank. Generals' caps had silver metallic piping. The open coat collar displays the Knight's Cross, its ribbon passing under the dark green stand-andfall collar of an Ann} -style field blouse. Himmler tried to outlaw the Arm}-style tunic, but without success: 50111(' were made with slash skin pockets instead of Army patch pockets. Initially all field grey. the officcrs' greatcoat often appeared with green Army-style collar; for generals the lapels were fan.'d silver-gre). Officers often wore (unofficial sih-cr collar pipin~. Collar patches were initiall) regulation on the CO'H, but gradually became les." common; here the) are those of this rank prior to 19-12 iset' tilble ct.,e\\herc in book I, Tanks from 55-Sta( \\earing ranking on both sides. Shoulder straps of rank in mixed gold and silver cord are \\orn on siher-gre) underlay, peculiar to generals and the Sl
dagger suspended from an internal fixture, and siraight, piped trousers worn ovet" shoes. The Army-style field blouse has the closed collar of dark green 'badge cloth', and patch skin pockets. The off-duty trousers in 'new-grey' have Wo./fenfarbt seam piping-we have shown cap, shoulder straps, and trouscrs all piped in red anillcry Walftnforbt, which raises a ,excd question. Prior 10 December 1939, regulations specified white piping for all rcle,·ant pans of the \\'-55 officers' uniform, irrespective of branch ofsen·ice. In that month shoulder straps \\ith double underlay were ordered: branch lI'o./fmJarht on black. Cap and trouser piping remained white. ~Ia} 1940 saw an order changing cap piping 10 IVoffmforht, and trouser piping to grey. In :\Io,·cmbcr 19-1-0 cap and trousers revcrted to white piping. the shoulder strap double underlay bcin~ retained as before. Several months' grace for the wearing out of superseded items were given in each case. In practice, photos sho'\ caps piped white and caps piped in different shades of ll'a.ffrnfarbt in continued use, often ~ide by side in the same unit, throughout the war. Trousers arc far less evident in photos, but we may presume a similar degree of confusion . The aurae-tive 'Holbein'-shapcd dagger had a black grip and scabbard and sih-er fittings including S5-run('s and an SS cagle 011 the grip: worn suspended beneath the tunic, or beneath the pocket flap but o\'er Ihe tunic, on an ornate <.-!lain. it had the same silver fisl-strap and knot as the Army officer's dress dagger. As a member of the divisional artillery this officcr docs not weal' one of the rcgimcntal cuff titles sported by infalltry of Ihis division; the divisional title 'Da~ Rcieh' did nOI appear until [942. Decorations indude the General Assault Badgc, indicating front line com bat over a number ofdays in a branch Ot her than i nf., nt ry OJ' armOll 1'; the pin-back Iron CI'OSS 1st Class: and thc ribbons of the 2nd Class, and the four years' 55 service decoration. BJ : SS-Unttm/wr{lihrtr. ,lulkJiirung:.-.JhltiJung 'L.JH'; Franu.]lInt '9/0 The Army's black armoured \Thicle crew uniform was worn from about 1938 in the armoured car company of the 'L.\H' rcconnaissnnce clement.

28

In [940 4'2 a \V-SS vcr<;ion gradually superseded it, although suppl) difficulties led to some Anll) issue late in Ihe war. The- SS t) pe had a smaller collar and lapels, a \cnical rather than a slanted front closure, and no rear ccntral seam. Normal runc and rank patches W('I'(' WOI'll on the collar; in this unit a f(·\\ photos of 1939 40 show the patches edged in thc rose-pink lI'affinJarbt piping of armoured troops. The Anu) 's pink pipin~ on the collar itself wa~ rarcl) seen in the W·5S, and the piping of th(' patches was shon-li\ed. Officers wore siher.piped coilaI' and patlhes. There are isolated examples of'L.UI' ;-';COs wearing gmm silvcr Truu braid on the black jackct collar. Tru_" and If"affmfarbt werc worn as appropriatc on the black shoulder straps. The .\rm) \ {\\o-pieH' padded head prou~oor berct \\as \\orn b) W-SS units in t939 40. with a sih-er-grcy c
All ranks and units of thl' 'L.\H' wore an 'Adolf Hitler' cuff titk in Si.itlcrlin scrip\. In action, unit shoulder strap insignia were often covered or remo\'ed for security: thcse were an 'LAH' monogram in )c1low m('lal, silvcr metal, and silver-grey embroidery for officers, NCOs and enlisted men respcctively. From t940 the latter wcrc replaced by rClllovabk black slip. over loops bearing thc monogram, for use with plain shoulder straps.

82: JlIlIior o.!fict,., SS· Tott1lJ..opJ·Divi~·ioll; France, sprin.({ '940 A popular field alternative to the field eapSdJilfthtn, see B3-and Schi,.mmiil.{t was the 'old style field Cal)' authorised for offi("ers and for NCOs from Unterscharrtihrer up. Small and unstiffened, it was worn without cords or strap, the peak being either of semi·stiff Ic:nher or of stiffened field grey cloth. If, as has been suggested, the variation dislinguished officers from NCOs,

1101_ of Lhe 'Germa.....' R~,. lake a brief retrC' fra.. ce, '!H0. Noce civilia.. scarves, camouflalle smock., pll-ClllJ"' ball, and pre-war ll",y_lIared luo.ic with res1-me.. ,aJ 'ruo._.,.' patch.

then it was widel) i~llored in pranice. )..Ietal badges, and e10lll badges from othcr headgear. were both used: whitc or II'affmJarbt piping was worn indisaiminatel). Officcrs seem sometimes to have convened scr\i("c caps for field usc by rt· moving the l·ord.. ;:Ind ..tifrening. The famous SS 'tigerja(ktt' camoufl'lge smock, ("opied during and sinct the war b) 1Il0st of lhe world's armies. was us(..d in small quantities in Poland, along with the matching helnlt't cover. Most \V·SS combat troop.. worc them in the West in 1940. This oOll'er has tut'ked the 'frills' al the wrist up under the ('ufr clastic. Of waterproof cOllon duck, the Slllo('k and cover w('rc rcversible, with difll'lTIlI shades printed on the two sides: one was usually predominantl) green for spring summer usc, and the Olher mainly brown for autumn/wintcr. Details of paltern varied widel) and without particular significance, but a combination of leaf-shapes and spOtS was characteristic. In combat some offiecrs worc service dress breeches, others field ~rc) gabardine or 'moleskin' versions, and others still, the enlisted man's trousers and mardlilll; boots. The \\'chrmacht officers' field scn"i(-e belt was used alol11,«;ide the

29

O..I.il of lh .. ea...oull.S'" ....odo, ..01.. ",I."liealed wait" and ..·.. r .. of",.. lucked out of aighl in.id,,; drawatrl"S f."I"..i"S do ..... ch"sl; ."d "'"ruod aCcea.. • Iic.s for pock"I•.

.,.,fr., th .. 'frilla' of which

special \V-5S belt. This oflkel' \\ ('aI's the holstered Lug-er p, 08 pistol. mapcase, binoculars, and slung gasmask c'lnisH.'r and gas cape bag. His smock n'veals tlu.' field blou~l' collar with two silver-piped TOl('nkopr ("ollar patdlt's. The smock thus co\,('rs the ani) rank insignia tht' shoulder straps-and e;,:plains 1-1 immlc.'r's 1\la) 1940 order that doubled patdles were 10 bc repliLccd by the normal symbol/riLnking t'Oll1biniLt iOIl. Thl' double patches stl'm rrotll pre-will' 'I'otcllkopr\'crbiinde regulations; their use b) sOllie oAlel'rs and enlisted men was ob~t'l"\'cd at least until laIc 1941. B3: 5S-Rortnifiiltrtr, SS-"T-Slalldarle 2 'Germania', 55-' 'erJiigu",~sdil'i,\lOn; Ff(/1/u, .,pring '910 The enlisted man's field g-re) ficld blouse and matching trouscrs replaced similar earth-gn') garments from 1937, dim'ring rrOIll ,\rmy equivalents mainl) in ha\ ing slash skirt pocketS and a grey collar. Initiall) collar, patches, and some shouldcr straps \\('re piped in mixl'd black silver

30

cord: this gerH:rall> disappl>ared bdorc spring 1940 and wa~ oAlcially discontinued in August 1940. The 1937 field grC) fidd cap borc a rrontal silver button (onen oH"l'paint('d gre)-green) with an cmbossed death's-head, and on the lert a white 5S cagle on a blMk l'loth triallg-Ic. In 1939 Army-style imcrted '\" pipin~ in Walfrofarbt was added to the front. Officers were ordered to arquire a nc\\ field cap in December 1939: field grq, or Luftwafre cut, it had a smooth top linc to thl' turn-up, piped in sihcr. Siher-on-bl:l{k wO\l'n in:.ignia were worn, the 5S cagle on the front 01' the crown and the death's-head on tIll' rrOIH or the turn-up. The lI'alfmfarbt '\" \\ib sometimes worn. An ordcl' of :":o\-cmber 1940 res('f\in~ silver cap piping 1'01' generah and specir~ in~ .1 return to white pipin~ ror other officers \\,IS ~enerall) ig-nored. Supply shorta~c
C J : SS- Hrittr, SS- Aftl'tltlerie- DII'i.1 ion.' HII.'.lin, J 9.J2

13 The lllounted formation \\hi,ia. The smock, worn without a tunic in hot \\('atlwr, has the skirt tucked inside til(' da,>tit-at<'d \\ aist a typical 'iOldier's habit. Tlw (·OImouflill.{e ('ap. shaped like the mountain troop': lJer~miit::r, \\ as ordered in June 19+2: it had ,>prin\.{ ('olou .... on the oUlside and autumn COIOUN imide. ,tIld was initially worn without badg('s. Ficld )..{r<."y ridin\.{ bn'('ch{,"<; had leather reinforcelll('nt on the ilhide 11'' 1": with usc this became 1l00iceably darker tlMn the doth. The ridin~ boOls h"d strilpped spurs. The personal equipment \\<\.. . Ill(' simple rifleman's harness. with the ~1.nl\Cl· gBk ~Iung diagonally across the ba(k. and the gasmask and 11l('s'Hins aHached to the saddle.

C2: SS-Schiit.;:e. Ru.'.';a. J9/1 -J:.! Bark yie\\ of the ty pifal OI"'ault harness. although there \\ere as many detail \
A.rm.y_lIlyl" 6"ld blous" wilh dark s:n".. collar, llout I.h" "ILached i"liis:1lia or " .. SS-RuJ. or Ih" '»ali Reich' Divi",io... Note al",o d"tail of standard riH"man's equipmenl.

forces many sub-units were commanded by NCOs. and thi" may well be a platoon commander. He is strung about with mapcase and binoculars as well as standard field harness----see C2-and the triple magazine pouches for his ~IP-4o. Sti(k grenades are thrust under these for quick access, and a fighting knife is clipped into the top of his boot. Goggles of variolls \Vehrmachl pattel'l1s werc often worn by individuals as protcction against dust and rain.

D J ." SS-A1ann, infaT/tr).. SS-Divixio71 'Reich': !?ussia, willter /94' 42 No special protcCli\"c clothing was available in the first win IeI' in Russia, and the W-55 suffered as badly as any other troops despite Himmler's speedy confiscation of civilian furs in the ghettocs. Old sheets were uscd to make snow camouflage smocks, hooded coats, or suits of jacket and trousers in various units; they ga\{~ no warmth, only ramouflage, and \\'cre worn o\"er the normal uniform. Photos ~how men of this division from ~Iay 1942. 'Das Reich' in this combination of 31

Inl~re"lin& pholo of W_SS infantry in R .... ia _earinll lh~ .mock over the !l'"eatc:o"t in <:old _ealker. The .. _ of ~ollar pat.,h.... on the IIre"twat (Jeft) declined Iiharply •• t.he _ar prollrelllled.

issue greatcoat and white smock. Later in the war the green coat collar gave way to field grey, and lhe use of collar patchcs and cuO' titles on coats declined, all lor economic re;L~ons. Standard rifleman's equipment is carried; the gasmask has been dis('ardcd, and the spade is thrust inLO the belt lor casy access, either for digging-in or for usc as a hand·to-hand weapon.

D2: SS-Scllut~l" Kharkol'. iOr{p J .941 An inf~lntr) MIUi.td ?\IG._I"l tre\\nliln in one of Paul Hausser's crack di\-isions, he wears the excellent winter clothing rapid I) developed speci. fica II) for the \V-55 in time for winter 194'2 -43. The ,"er) bulk) outline of the padded parka, with its large fur.lined hood, is faithfull) reproduced. The matching overtrOllsers. with gaiter sections and instep straps to prOteCI the laced part of the

32

new ankle boots just app<"aring at the front, were not padded. Both items were made in a rather ncutral gre). lined with fur or fleece of all kinds and colours. Thc helmct is worn over a grey wool toque: the mittens have separate thumbs and trigger-fingers. For operations in heavy snow a thin white hooded ~ll1ock and overt rousers were worn o,"cr this outfit. being much easier to keep clean than the padded gabardine clothing. A wide varict) of fur- and f1een'-lincd caps was worn with this outfil, all of basi<";:dly Russian pattern with car and front flaps. Eagle andlor dcath's-h<"ad badges were often applied to the front flap. As an r..JG g-llllller this private wears thl' :\IG.p 1001 pOlich on the riJ{hl of his belt, and his pl'r'Sonal P.38 'Sick-arm 011 the kft.

D3: SS-Sthjj/<.~: liAj,lun Front. wint~r 1944 45 B) winter 1943 II the \\'-55 \'ersion of the reversibk. padded winu.'I" combat uniform was on issue: \\hite on one ~ide and in 55 autumn camouflaKc on lhe other. it was made up of a

hooded j~\, Ke\. r, millens, and a separate hood or balacla\il (not illustrated herel. The O\'crtrousers wen' K.l\hercd b) draw~trim~s.1t thc ealfto fclt and h'ather winter boots: Ihe latlcr. a\ailable sinn~ 19.P. wcrc made in a number ofsli~hll) differinl{ patlerns. When avail· able. quilt('d undergarments W('I'(' \\orn under this oUlfit. as well as Ihe normal uniform clothing. The EinhtitsJddmiilJ:.t .\IodtJJ 1943 bc~'lIl replacill~ thc Schi.ffchtn field cap Plate 1~2 in 19-1-3 as the normal head~ear of enlisted ranks in the field. Based on the successful BtrgmiilJ:.t and tropical fidd ("'illS, it had a slightl) lon~er peak than the fonner, At first thc flap fastened at the fronl with lWO buttons, but sinKle·bullon t) pes appeared in 1911' Norll1all) a WO\CI} dealh\-head was worn on thc front of the crown and an eagle on the left side of the flap, but lhne wcrt: many \ariations. 01lin'l's' versions had silver crown· Pll)lIlK,

forhldden .\rnl) moumain bac\\!;cs Wa!'. obser\'ed. This liNt licutenalll wcars i! standard .\rmy field blouse and W·SS ranking, with the light green of mountain troops lisible on the shoulder slraps. Thc ri~ht collar pat< h i, of the dil'isional 'Ddalrune' patH:rn. )"Iembers of the S5 properi.e. offit'eN ilnd men of Rtuh.,dt/ll,(ht \\'-SS units or other br'lIlt'hes of the 5S drafted into 'Prinz Eu~en' a, (-i1dre-wore the Sip,rtlnm in siller on gTeen on the left breast. :'\ote 011'>0 thl' Iron Cross 2nd Class ribhon worn in Ihe bUllonholl'. the Infantry .\ssault Badge, and the dilisional cuff title. Spc("ial mountain trousers, full·('ut and reinfort"ed, are hcld inside metal·dcated climbing boots by an instep strap and dr'l\\,trings. Short pUllel'S or canvas webbing 'Styrian' g-aiters were often obs
Thc equipmcnt reflects Ihe introduction ofnew weapons and the shortage of slralcKic materials. Leather shouldl'T braces have been r('placed once mon° b~ \\ebbin~; and poor-qualit) s)llthetic materials of \-arious shades and details of finish l\{'re used for the two triplt' mal{a7ine pouch S('h -eMh \\ ith a small accessor) pockcl for the )..II>.-IJ )..IP ..11 SIG.+-t a-"Sault rift" '>l'Ti(~.

b

'.

EI: SS-OIm,{turmjiihm. 7. SS·Frtiu·ilil,p,tn·Grhirg.,-

Dm.llon.' Prinz. Eugtn': Balkan.l. ,'Imn,p, 194-1 Befol'l' the introduction of the i\t 19.1-3 field cap to all branches. the sole mark of the mountain troops was their Bergmiil~e. This was of Arm) pattern: offi('('l's fn:quently wore the same cap as their mt'n , bUl could buy superior versions with silverpiped crown scams and, unusually, silver piping in the frOl1t 'scoop' of the flap. The standard badges wcrc normally worn as illustrated, but variations included use of mewl death's·heads, and Ihe cramming of both badges on the front. In Dnober 19+3 the introduction of special moulllain troops' insignia in the form of Edelweiss cap and right sleen bad~es in sih-er-gre} on black. with yellow stamens -complicated this picture funher. The Edelweiss was worn on the left side of the flap at a slant: the ea~le was sometimes moved to the front, sometimes re.tained ahead of the Edelweiss. SOIlW lise of officially

. 33

£2: SS-SdwrJiihrtr, SS-FaIIM:hirn!iiiger- Bataillon 500; Balkan.l,jjJr;lIg '94/ On 25 ~tay 19.~4 two companies or S5-Hstur. Rybka's parachute penal battalion dropped over Tito's I-IQat Drvar, and the other two landed by glider; the)' narrowly missed cornering the great guerilla leader. Little is kno\\n about this unit, composed or disgraced rormer officer,; and men or mher W-5S units. ~lost photos sho\\ the Lurtwanc jump-smock in splinter·paucrn camouflage, field grey trousers, standard ankle boo~ and webbing anklets, and parachute helmeh with or without string netlin~: and the Schijfchrn field cap, which replaced that worn in 83 rrom Xovembcr 19+0. ......m "ebru.ry ,,... 10 J...... ry '945 'Prim. Ea«""",' w-s conlO a.aded by Ouo K'''Dm, _ ben! _ ... SS-Sraf.•fler w i ..S Ihe 0 ..... .,.,,;.,.,10 hi. K .. iSht'. CroliS •• co... m ....der of !.he '0.,.. fiihr"r' R"IL, '0.. R"ich' o;v., i .. April '!H31ft" colo.."I'. coll.r paleh.,. ...d !.he officer'. Sd,irmmiif;r .r", ",Iearly .hown. K .. mm w"nt 00 10 .",n'", •• !.he las' comm••d",r of 'LAM'.

The smock was usually worn without national insignia, but one or lwO photos definitely show the Lurtwafle right breast cagle. (A report or the finding in the USA orslllocks in \\'·55 camouflage material but or Fallschirmjager cut, with 55 slcc'·c eagles on the right breast, must be regarded with suspicion.) One photo shows an NCO orthis unit wearing a tllnic with a cufftitlc, but its lellering is not visible: Beadle and Hanmann illustrate a suppo.'iedly original title in 55 style, block-lettered 'Fallschirmjager'. but I do nOI know or any wartime photos confirming its authenticity. Some photos Slll~.~est the use by this unit of the green-on-black slee\e ranking system authorised for usc on combat dOlhing without shoulder straps in Februaf) '943.

1:..3: SS-Sturmmann, Stllrmbri.t:ad~ 'R~i{h.ifiihur·SS' : Corsica, slImm« '94.1 Photos show usc of a pale s::tndy-ycllow tropical unirorm b} \\'-SS units in the ~lediterranean, Balkan and SOuth Russian theatres, wilh or without shins. Two pallerns or field blousc were worn: one was Cllt similar to the .\rmy's olive blouse, and the other illmtrated-was the Italian 'sahari
F,:

SS-lIallplscltaifiillr~r. infa"t~)'.

u·j/ljgen·Pa"<.u-Gr(flQ(li~r·Dit'i,,ioll

fl].

5S-Frej·

'/,Amgmlflrck';

Eajt~r" FrOllt. 1944 The 'Spiess'--senior NCO within a unit-worc two silvcr braid cuff bands. and unit cuff titles.

31

if ,m), were placed aba\(' these. The Army field blouse also displays the division's 'Tfifos' collar patch rune, and the Fltmish volunteers' armshield a black lion on .. yellow ground; the ribbon of the I~K 2nd Class. the I nfantr) Assault Badge and the black Wound Badge arc also worn. The old 'dice shaker' marching boots were ordered replaced b) cheapcr ankle boots with web anklets from F('bruary t94 I. but combat infantr) \\cre g('ncrall) the lasl Iroops affected, and indi\'iduals c1un~ to their old boots as long as possible. The seni('e rap for enlist('d ranks was similar to the o(fl(C'rs' t) pe but of poorer llJilterials. wilh a leather ('hin ~trap l"('pliKins:;- Ihe lords. Ordered as barr;teh dn'~" h(,"ld~l';lr for U nte.....charrLihrer and abme in 1939, il was later authorised as a pri\"alc purchase waiking-oul item for more junior ranks. In the field il remained Ihe sign of a senior xeo. Regulations concernin~ IVaJfmfarbt were as described under .\3. F2: Infantry sIgna"tr. SS-P.;;:-Grtn-Rtgl. 2-1 'Danmark', / /. SS-Frn'-Pz-Grm-Div. 'Xurd/and': Easl"n Front. /944 1\ Danish \olunte(T in I) pical late-war service dress ofa \\'-SS enlisted man. The 19+3 field cap bears conventional insignia. The 'utility' field blousc of wartime manufaclure has a field grey collar and unpleated porkels, and is worn with the long KtilhoJe issued from 1943, gathered by drawstrings into canvas anklets. For walking-out the collar was normally worn open ovcr a shirt and black tic; shirts changed from brown to field grey in mid-J943. The 'sun-wheel' rune on the right collar pateh was the divisional insignia~ but note that iJ was llsed as a vchielc insignia by the '\Viking-' Division. Above tht block-leltered regimental cuff title 'Danmal'k' is the whilc-on+black 'Blitz' of an SS-trained signaller; \V-S5 personnel lrained b) Arm) l'SI,Lbli~hm{'nts usual I} wore Ihe Arm) 's )ello\\ 'Blitz' on ;m o\'al green or fidd grey patch on the righl forearm. The Danish national armshield appears below the slce\"c cagle. In most cases \V-SS \oluntcers wore these shields On the left forearm, as in F I, but many photos sho\\ them on Ihe left upper arm. Some examples ofshields worn on the right upper arm~ the posilion used b} the Arm) foreign \'olunteer

Frw. LeSioo Norwesen, 190411; inu,r...dnsly, no coli... pOlich... are wo ..... There were .......I!ratlypes orNorwl!Si-.n volual"",-r.' armshidd; ,hi. i. in the .hap'" or Ihe n.tioa.l f1.S ill red wilh • blue-on-white apptied ero... Another Iyp'" had the cro•• cl!ntred on a h_tl!r .hil!td or red, I.he whole oullined btaek.

legions from which lh<.'s(' \V·S5 units were formed arc visible in photos. F3: SS-Oblf.\r!lflr{tihm, SS-/~z·llhl. (SlurmJ:eschii.tz) /1 'Hermml1l V01l Slllza" / I. SS-Frw-Pz-Gu1I-Div. '~Vord{a1ld' .. Easl/'rn Front. /941 The field grey version of the black armoured uniform was issued to 'LA}-I' 51' gun crews for the 1941 Balkan campaign, but was nOI general issue until August t9+2. The same practices regardin~ shoulder straps and rollar patches as dcsnibed under BI applied; anI) the 'LAH' used ~CO collar TrtSs(. The Schi.ffchen, ~I J943 field cap, service cap. or 'old styk field cap'-as here were worn, as appropriate 10 dale and rank. The cap and shoulder str.ll>S arc piped

35

•

-, ,

,

'.-

the end of the war. The black shin was an ancnation common in Panzer units, which dramatically showed ofrthc Knight's Cross at the throat. The assault gun and tank troops of \V·SS formations had recd\ ed a oltc·pic("c camouflage-printcd conrail in spring 19B: in January '944 a camouflagcd drill \'("Nion of the l\\o-piece Panzer \"('hide uniform was introduccd. non-water repellcnt, non-rc\'CNible. ,and primed on one side only. The shoulder straps from the black uniform are worn. with sil\cr ~CO Twu, pink Wafftnfarht, and a slipon:-r loop wilh thc Corps monogram 'L-\H'. On the breast arc the Panzer .\ssauh Badge, black Wound Badge, and EK 1st Class. This :'\CO is handlinl;" the two-round box for 88mm ...hdls. I

.

W..U_lu.o ..... b .., dramatic pholo .howillf! • wo.... d ..... ~ oal.bar. (Dole patch On 1,,(, sleeve) Wilh "'..I........ NCO. and you-"'; _Idi"... of tbe 'llillerjus"nd' Div. in Normandy, Juae 1944. The former a", probably ....··UH' p"'rfOOnn"l. No'" mio:..... use of W.sS .Dd h.liao Army nmo"ft ••" ...ater;'.•.

anil1eT) red: SP anti-tank units g-cncrall) piped in pink, but the \'ari(,I)' ofSP artiller} units and the evcr-multiplying regulations for their lJIajJrnfarben on black and grey uniforms produced slich chaos than no gcn('rali~alioll is possible. One f(-aturc peculiar to 'Hermann von Salza' was the

edging of collar patches in red; this is reponed by a printed source, and Ikadle and Hartmann publish a photo which appears [0 confirm it. Note lhal the bnttalion wore Si!!,fIIlli1l, instead of the sun-wheel rune of their di\ision.

G,: SS-Untmc!ulljiihrtr, 1 '.,SS·PZ·,lbl. 501,ant!.v, 1914

~V'orm-

From photos of Balthasar 'Bobby' Wall, gunner in the Tiger E tank of SS-I-Istuf. i\lichaei Winmann, commander of, Kompanic in the hea\·y tank battalion of I. SS-I>an"cr-Korps 'L.\I-I'schwerr- SS-Paluer-.\btcilun~ 501. The black Pamer trOOP'; SchijJchm was in use side by side with a black \'ersion ofthC' ~J 19+3 field cap until

36

G2: SS-SlandarltnjUh"r A-lIrl .\I~)tr (' Pan::.m"q~·), commondin.t: 12, SS-P::.·Dil·. . fht/trjll.gtnd·; Xorm· and)'. '94/ :\Ie)er became, at 33. German)'s youngest di\·isional commander when Fritz Witt \\as killed M>me len days aner D-Day. The impressi\·e record of 'HJ' under his command was marred by the murder of C.tnadian prisoners, for which :\Ieyer was held responsible and imprisoned after the war. An:ompanit-d by his Alsatian. 'Panzermeyer' is seen here in field c10. 18. TIv PzApfu.' 11"; ;-';0. 20. TIv T'~n T.ds and Xo. 21, Tlw PZApJu. r P"lltn, all publuhro b) this oomp;on~.

tops of the smoek sleeves and back, and on the fronl and back ofllle shoulders. The Ig..p l camouflaged field cap acquired standard insignia by an order of Dccembcr 191'2: these were made in grecn on black and brown all black, for use on the spring'sullllller and autumn winter sides of the material respectin'ly. Since th(' cap had no buttoned flap thq fiu('d easily on til(" front. Caps continucd to be "orn "ithout badges in many cases, G4: SS-Schiil.{t. J 2. SS-Pon::.tr-Dn·is;on 'Hitltrjugtnd' : •\ 'ormolll!.l, 19hOlos sho\\ that mixtures of old and ne" pallern camouflage items "ere common in this dh-ision. The four-pockct tunic and trousers were neither \\ater-repellent nor re,"crsible. The only authorised insignia \\crc the 55 sleeve eagle and, where appropriate, thc green-on-black sleeve rank patchcs, In fact on frequently secs this uniform complete with shoulder straps, and sometimes c\'cn with collOlr patches. The eagle was supposed to be in either green or brown on black, but conventional ~ilver-grcy cagles wcre often used, and many photos sho\\ tIl(' jacket without insignia of any type. HI: Lill/noll!, SS-Poilzti-Dit';sion: E(u!tm Frollt. tar~l' 1.942 This formation was 1I0t formally taken illlo the \V-SS until February 19.12; prior to that date Police ranh wcrc used, and Police insignia wcre worn on Police or Army uniform, with the sole addition of the W-SS sleeve cagle. The change 10 \V-SS collar patches and rap badges scem~ to havc been ratht'r gradual arIel' that date, This officer fetaim Ihe Army-pallern field cap in Police green, with silvel' officers' piping, and a silver-an-black Police cagle badge, The Ilolin' green tunic has a dark green collar with sikcr· on-brighl-green I>olice Ian': and Ihe same bright green appears as shoulda strap underlay. I have laken a slight liberty in showing the di\'isional cuff title, a Police ea~le devire, at this dale: it was introduced in April 1942, and the order which aUlhorised it replaced lhe collar lace with stand-

Offiee... oC the 'Haad.eha'" Di..... probably Plooto5"ploed early in the eareer ofthi. Cormulo". They ........ DOl aeq.ured Ute di.n.;ow eollar pateb, alKl wear ruaes or a blank patclo. One (leCI) ean juac be _ .. to we.... a .. Army brn'u n5Ie .." bi. leCI .Iee...e, a eommoo expedieDt. Fro... lloe tODe of chis pri.. t tbe red- version oC the CItZ aftm. 10 be WOrD here. Nole two sli5hdy difJere.. tt~ of'Styri...' mo....t.ift 5aite..,a..d IUGu .. ta'" bootl' All Wear the ltandard SS officer's bell budde.

ard S(r.:runm and \\'-55 ranking. Prior to this SS members serving in the division won' sikcr runes on a green patch on th(' left bl"('a51 -sec Plate El.

1-/2: SS-lIalljJ!"c!wrjiillrtr if Ftldgelldarlllt,ie, '3. IVG'eb-Div, d" SS' /-Iand.,c!Itt": l3alklll~, /941 From ;:1 photo "hawing a I'olhdell/scht Croatian Alca and 55 member (set.' bfl'ast runcs) ~crving with the di\'isionalmililary police troop. Several diflerent sty les of fez \\,('n' worn. The taller, red sty Ie with black tassel \".s for parade and walkingout. and the S(lualler, field grey type with or wilhout tassel for field and barracks dress. The latter has bt.Tn de'tuibcd as green, but an apparently original example in a French collection is definitely field grey, :-\ (Onical ty pc is also somctimes obsef'\'ed .• \11 bore cOIl\·entiona! W-S5 doth insignia. The collar of the,\ rmy-st yIe field blouse

37

bcars the di\-isional palch 011 the rig-ht, and rankon the left. (I~'rm(lIm: This painting should show sil\'cr NCO Trt',li braid ,u'ound front and bottom edges of the collar, as in plate C3. Ed) The ~hollld('r strap~ arc pipt.'d ill the orange II"tlj{nifarbe of th(' militar) polift~. The oran~e I)oli("(" cagle replan'd the "'-55 ('a~lc 011 the dee\(' of FddgClldarmt:ric pe/"')onnel. Bdo\\ it is lhe Croatian \,olullIe("/"')' red and white armshidd. The Army's grey-on-bro\\ n 'F dd~en(L.u·merie· eu ff title. initiall} worn b} "'-55 pol icc, was replaced b) an ordcr of Au~ust 1912 \\ ith a siker-grq ;:llld black 'SS-Fddgcndarllleric' pattern. Finall). in October 19#. the ('lIn' title was distarded altogether. and tht· Polite s1e('\(' eaglt' \\ as replaced b) the "'-SS eagle. The ,,\rm} Fddgcndarmerie dut) gorget tontinued to bc worn: the bosses. eagle and script \\crc in luminous finish. Tht' Edeh\eiss arm patch of\\'-55 mountain units is seen on the right slee\'c, and German 5ports and Riding Proficiency badl.;'es on the left breast. in~

H1: lI'ajfen-Grtnadiu" 14. ll'-Grm-Dn·. der SS: Ea.ltun FrQnt, 191' From a mid-19-H photo: tIl(' se\eral insignia The laSI new ilem or .. nlf'onn 10 boo ma.,,,raClurlNl bd'o", III.. changcs within this formation are only partiall} end of the war WaS 110.. '.,.... field hlouse' based O. Briti.... hauJed",ss. Of field S"ey, il bore aU .,onnal W.ss i •• iSIliA understood toda}. The warlime 'economy' field wh"n wo.... loy Ibat orKanisation. Thi. caplured SS-U.tuf. pboloJ:T'phed i. 19"5 also display. tbe sih'e""piped ...r ....."p blouse has a grc} collar, unpleatcd pockets, and of Lbe Flif'6umiil:f' cap. The blol.lli.. had five front bUIlO"., standard infantr) pri\'atc's shouldcr straps. :\lcn the lower Iwo bein!"'1 Oil Ihe broad wailitb"--,,d. (.... p. War MUll.) joining the di\ision are kno\\ n 10 h;1\e retained their pr('\ious eollar p:ltebes for somc time, and initiall) to ha\'(' been the 55-runes, associated many wore plain bbck right hand patches for in early [94--t with an Army-st)le armshield: an sonlt" months. At somc dale in 1943 or early [944 ornatc shield in diagonal stripes of pale blue, the rampant lion motif was adopted, and in this black and whitc with thH'e yellow lions passant pcriod a yellow and pOlk blue armshield was worn gllnrdant superimposed one above the other as illustrated. From No\ember [9+4 to April ccnlrally, the shield \\orn on lhe upper right 19.1-5 it appears that lh(' 'trident of Volodymyr' arm, By 111(" bailie of Nan'a in summcr 1944 the 11/(1)' have replaced the lion, but the armshidd was s(Tond lype of collar patch. illustrated here, was unchanged. in use. A third St) Ie bore all 'E' in the bend of an armourcd arm holding a sword. The twO latler H.,." /Vajftll-Sturmb(/1/1/jiihrtr, 20. Il'-G'rm-Div. det styles are normally secn \\'ith a len upper sleeve SS: Baitic cQast, mid-194 ' armshield as illustraled. without the lions: known From a portrait of the Estonian officer Alfons variations arc straig:ht or scalloped upper edges, Rebane in Ikadlc and Hartmann. The Army- and diagonal or horil-ontal stripes. style field blousc and \\'-5S infantry major's shoulder straps are cOll\'cntional: note sih-cr Close H5." SS·SturmmOIlIl, 'Britluhe.1 Fmkorps', '94/ 45 Combat Clasp. awarded for hand-to-hand fight- Distasteful as it i!> to !'t·tord the existence of this ing by unsupported infantr} for a total of 30 'unit', it is more significant to recall that despite days. The collar motif of this di\ision seems widespread recruiting dri\'N among man) tens 38

of thousanos of l'kilish Commonwealth pr'lsoners, this S(lualid group nevel· achie\'ed a ~trcngth of 30 men. Conditiom in I'o\\' camps were much grimmer than pOJit-\\ar film studios might lead us to imagine; yet, although the recruiters' idt-'Ological claptrap was backed by explicit oOers of cash. limited p('rsonal freedom, and sexual opportunities, the I(·anets they distributcd were usually -and O"tentatiollsl) -em pia) cd as toilet paper. A handful of'Brili~h Free Corp~' men were genuindy pro-Nazi and anti-COlllmunist fanatics. Some were near-moron.... C) nicall) exploiled b) stronger characler.... The bulk ofthelll were simply contemplible traitors \\ ho accepted the tawdry bajt held out to them. The) led a confused and pointl~ existence a~ pawn~ in thc propa~anda game: though anned, Ihey were ne\-er issued ammunition and nevcr ~'I\\ combat. In :\Iarch ,\pril t945 two squad~ totallin~ about 20 men were brieny all
pholo showlIlg tll('~(' slecvc lIlsignia has been reliably reponed: I han: not seen it. but as described its onl) difi(.'t'cllcc is perhaps the placing of lhl' armshield b('n('ath the cagle on a pri\ate's tunic.

Select Bibliography Bt>adle, c., & Hartmanll. Theodor. IJIl'isions .lb;:t/cntn dtr ll·o!ftn-S!J. Hrolllle~, Kent. 197 J (knder. R . .J .. & Ta}lor. H. P.. ['n!fflr",.,. Or(01llJollfl1! and HIJ/flrr oflnt Il'affin-SS 1'0'-'- I " • ~Ioulllain \"ie\\, California. 1969 75 Da\ i~. Briiln L.. Gtrman i'm{/mll.' oj tht Third Ntlth. Poole. Dor.et. 1980 Klielmann. Dr K. C.. IJu Jt'oJfm-SL EiM f)flkummJot/M. O~Il
Walther. H.. Dlt l1'aJltn-SS: Eint Ech/eil-Bi""C\. 197:1

Bildd,,~umtntal/fl1l.

Bundewerband del' Sold,tten del' clH'llIalil;'ell WaffcnSS e, \'., Wtnn . lilt IJriid" Sthu'l',e.tn. O;nabriick.

IgH 75 Se\cral orilw.,(' \\ork" ar(' now hill'd to find. and other" arc (",:p('l1\i\('. For r('adeN \\ ho wish to limit Iheir expenditurc and 10 ,noid duplic;uioll J h;l\c no hesit;lIioll in r('Toll1m('nclin~ lilt' ~eri(", by Roger .James Bender and Ilu/o:h P,IK(' Ta}lol', published b) Ikndel" Pllhlishin/o: or p.o. !lox 1425, ~IOllntain Vicw, Calif 91040, USA. This scrit·s is aho a\ailable rrolll sJlt'cialiq 1l1ilil.1l'} d(';t1l'rs ill Hritain. Though not cheap. ill"l'pl'('sellts tht, best Iype ofcarcrul. atlrani\ely pr<'sellted r('S(',Il"th, "ilh progressi\e up-dat ing of previous \01 umes ill ('ill h 1]('\\ edilion. Further \olllmes arc awaited. with 'wille impatience!

39

Noles sur Iell pl"nchelil en couleur

e-....

Farbla.feln

Au ,,~ ... ,,,n 'k I.. ,,,..,.. ho- IMd"lur "n de "'''''~ an.. ,,~u', d.. ", 1".,0\,,,, , .., I.. f,,'h" A], 'lur"'lU< d .\m' .... "" p'.. ,.... p.u Ir> .... ~ ~ ""''''' ,I.· "11"· I ",,,,,, ,10- .. " ,In '''''''.~'''' l.-Tn. WI I",il("ud . .,..de , 11""'" 11, .., u......,'., ,,,,,I,, '.., d.,,, In "l(k"K''''' ,d.. • " Ii ~ I.. ".ul~ ... d. l'IIO\' .. , '" 1- ", " .. lor 10... 'OUl(' d.r ,IIe....

f."

'.n...

""'p"

,,!>

>fl,,,.....

"""

H" l'",f,.",,~

d
\'..-l..

pool"", "'p"nd..,,, q

bf..,., rd

Jr"

,.".

C., <:...q...". , .."""'''''''' ri1l!<'....-..uu. \1 'H' ",,,... d<' .hM. .. l .." ponn do- ,"'. t..q ... prtJ,..... d·-.. ,n 1>.<",- dr "riU "ao.loo' "", t..- I". C]' hpot " ,t.. ' " _ ,~, H '" do ._ Ilk" " 0,I\.~ do- \11' I . It" J>Ml, ... poi , ......... ,,' ,I.". I'ftj"I""

ee,

0,,8·,...............

d·"'.",rnr _"'Ion ..........,.....

da".... d....... P'~ """"- .... Lo ...p' In, 1'.'''''· ',.I~d·h,,,,...,I....... ,dc-'-Sc.. '<:I-F· .,~ JUn" pi " p.uuIoooo d. .. 0]: t·n;l,~ ..... .--.'P ",., ' .... ",,1 h "I.\. bI d' . ~"' '''''l .". do\1 'l~ do bo-n 11, ..... f,,',"" m~, , " .. "" ,(; H 1',....

, ... p<..

o<

,y"" ....

...... h , ""do- _~'''' .... Lo '..... . .. If'" ·Odlll' dr d,,_. "",n,~ ... hot, d, """" d Eot, ( ....... u,,"" p". ._ do- p""...-h ..' 1""''''' r ..n,f .... __....l 0:\<' a,.. d· .... hO'udr- Lo hIou.. 'ep-Il>
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Men-at-A,-ms • 34 The uniforms. equipment. history and organisation

The Waffen-SS

of the world's military forces, past and present. In ttK> early 1920s. a liny group

was formed within the SA to ~~ a~

Ililler's personal

bodyguard. Origin/lll)" la~lled the 'Adolf IlLtJ"" ttwy laler

bEame Loown as the SSSchUlZ Siaffeln, or 'protection squads', From th<'St' humble

beginnings, tht' SS

lOSt"

10 a

nominal strength of 38 divisions of ove-r 800.000 men

by 1945. Full colour an~

repre~nllllg

a sizeable

portion ofG<'frn:lIly'sland forces and more Importantly a

quarler of her lank (DICes and a third of hl.'r rnt'Chanised

Inf,mlry. Martin Windrow provides a splfmdid in-depth rt",.jew of the history, uniforms and Insignia of the Infamom Waffen-SS.

OSPREY PUBLISHING www.n~IJrt·ypuhlishlng.com