In modern Russia, at every opportunity on TV screens: in the news, historical programs or some kind of show, they like to reproach their neighbors for the fact that during the Second World War, SS units, police units or organizations supporting anti-Bolshevik, were formed on their territory. anti-Soviet sentiments.
First of all, it goes to the Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, with their SS divisions, formed one, respectively, in each of these countries - Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia. And also the SS division “Galicia” formed on the territory of Ukraine is especially mentioned in these programs or broadcasts. At the same time, cynically keeping silent about their own SS units formed from Russians. If it were the will of the current fighters against the “Bandera” and “forest brothers”, they would no doubt try to erase the Vlasov ROA from their own history.
To finally appear in all their glory, the one and only fighters for saving the world during the Second World War.
However, history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood. And the truth, no matter how bitter and unpleasant it is, and no matter how much one wants to hide it, the current generation of Russians cannot avoid, gloss over or embellish.
And, in addition to the already notorious ROA - the Russian Liberation Army, under the leadership of the former Soviet general A.A. Vlasov, who, by the way, made a significant contribution to the victory of the Soviet troops near Moscow in 1941 and commanded until he was captured by the Germans 2nd Shock Army, there are also other little-known divisions and SS units formed from Russians. Little known primarily to the Russian fighters themselves and their collaborators. Yes Yes.
Unlike the Latvians or the Estonians and the Ukrainians, who were gathered in one division at most, there weren’t even several Russian SS units. Here they are: SS Volunteer Regiment “Varyag”. 1st Russian National SS Brigade “Druzhina”. 15th Cossack SS Cavalry Corps. 29th SS Grenadier Division "RONA" (1st Russian). 30th SS Grenadier Division (2nd Russian). 36th SS Grenadier Division "Dirlewanger". SS TROOPS CORPS OF THE SS MAIN OPERATIONAL DIRECTORATE FHA-SS15th Cossack Russian corps of SS troops FHA-SS - 3 divisions, 16 regiments.SS FHA-SS (TROOP-SS)29th Russian FHA-SS - 6 regiments.30th Russian FHA-SS, 1- 1st formation 1944, - 5 regiments. BRIGADES OF THE MAIN DIRECTORATE OF IMPERIAL SECURITY SS RSHA-SS 1st Russian National SS Brigade "Druzhina" - 3 regiments, 12 battalions. 1st Guards Brigade ROA "Sonderkommando Љ113" SD - 1 battalion, 2 company. SS Brigade of the Center for Anti-Bolshevik Struggle (CPBB) - 3 battalions. Reconnaissance and sabotage unit of the Main Command "Russia - Center" of the Zeppelin Sonderstaff RSHA-SS - 4 special forces units.
As you can see, there are Russian SS divisions and regiments and corps and brigades, and even reconnaissance and sabotage formations. So why do modern Russian “Herodotus”, when they brand Estonians, Latvians or Ukrainians with shame on the next May 9th, do not remember the Russian SS units?
Everything is very simple. Such an example does not fit with the image of the Russian soldier-liberator (as if only Russians served in the Red Army and there were no Ukrainians, no Belarusians, no Georgians, no Armenians, no Latvians or Estonians), the only one not tainted by connections with the German fascism.
And, you can argue and prove for as long as you like whether they participated or did not participate in punitive operations against civilians, whether they reached the size of a full-blooded division or did not reach the size, whether they fought at all or were just on paper, but the fact remains a fact - Russian divisions There were SS and they fought on the side of the Third Reich.
But, in addition to the Russian SS units themselves, who fought on Hitler’s side with weapons in their hands, there were other military units and units consisting of Russians in the Wehrmacht’s service. Which, according to the already established “good” tradition, the new Russian historians and patriots themselves “forget” to talk about. Meanwhile, as they say, there is something to see. For example: MAIN COLLABORATION FORMATIONS. ARMED FORCES OF THE "UNION STATE" Armed forces of the Congress of the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (KONR) (1 army, 4 corps, 8 divisions, 8 brigades). Russian Liberation Army of the Congress of the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (3 divisions, 2 brigades). "ARMIES" VERMAKHTARussian Liberation Army Wehrmacht - 12 security corps, 13 divisions, 30 brigades. Russian People's Liberation Army - 5 regiments, 18 battalions. Russian National People's Army - 3 regiments, 12 battalions. Russian National Army - 2 regiments, 12 battalions. AVIATION CORPSMilitary Air Force KONR (KONR Aviation Corps) - 87 aircraft, 1 air group, 1 regiment. SECURITY CORPS OF THE ARMY REAR AREAS OF THE WEHRMACHT 582nd security (Russian) corps of the Wehrmacht - 11 battalions. 583rd security (Estonian-Russian) corps of the Wehrmacht - 10 battalions. 584th security (Russian) corps of the Wehrmacht - 6 battalions. 590th security Cossack (Russian) corps of the Wehrmacht - 1 regiment, 4 battalions. 580th security Cossack (Russian) corps of the Wehrmacht - 1 regiment, 9 battalions. 532nd security (Russian) ) Wehrmacht corps - 13 battalions. 559th security (Russian) corps of the Wehrmacht - 7 battalions. EASTERN LEGIONS OF THE WEHRMACHTARussian Legion "White Cross" of the Wehrmacht - 4 battalions. ABWERH DIVISIONS "Special Division "Russia"" of General Smyslovsky - 1 regiment, 12 battalions ABWERH BRIGADESBrigade "Graukopf" - "RNNA" of General Ivanov - 1 regiment, 5 battalions. VERMACHT SPECIAL PURPOSE DIVISIONS 442nd Special Purpose - 2 ROA regiments. 136th Special Purpose - 2 ROA regiments. 210th Special Purpose stationary infantry ( coastal defense) - 1 regiment, 2 separate battalions of the ROA. "NATIVE" SECURITY CORPS AND SELF-DEFENSE Russian security corps of the Wehrmacht in Serbia - 1 brigade, 5 regiments. Russian "People's Guard" of the General Commissariat "Moscow" (Rear Area of ​​Army Group "Center") - 13 battalions, 1 cavalry division. (RUSSIAN-CROATIAN) 15th Special Purpose Mountain Rifle Corps 2nd Tank Army: Russian - 1 security corps, 5 regiments, Croatian - 2 divisions, 6 regiments. 69th Special Purpose Corps 2 1st Tank Army: Russian - 1 division, 8 regiments, Croatian - 1 division, 3 regiment.
Thus, the majority, both in the foreign SS units and divisions, were Russians, and in the Wehrmacht units itself, the majority of the collaborators were the same Russians. But how many Russians, at least approximately, fought on the side of Hitler and the Third Reich? Is it even possible to calculate their total number? I guess, yes.
According to various estimates by different researchers, the total number of Russians who fought on the side of the Third Reich ranges from zero (actually the calculations of today’s ardent Russian patriots, who manage to classify all Russian SS units and divisions as Ukrainians, Belarusians and Latvians with Georgians) and up to two million. But, most likely, the truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle, between these two figures.
Moreover, the Germans themselves, as of 1943, put the total number of Russians who fought on the side of the Third Reich at 800 thousand people.
So, for example, Vlasov’s army itself was not very large. His two divisions, which had already been formed, represented no more than 40 thousand fighters. Plus there was another poorly armed and not yet fully formed third division. This is approximately 10-12 thousand more soldiers.
Adjoining Vlasov was the Cossack corps of General Helmut von Panivitz, which became part of the ROA. These are 45 thousand Cossacks who fought in Yugoslavia. It included the Russian corps, formed from emigrants, who fought in Serbia: about six thousand people. In total there are about 120 thousand people. This is what was actually called ROA.
Thus, the ROA alone produced approximately 120 thousand Russians who fought on Hitler’s side.
By adding to these 120 thousand all the other known Russian SS divisions, security regiments and units, formations and detachments, we will just reach the figure of 1 million Russians!!! soldier on the side of the Third Reich. In general, if we take into account that soldiers died in battles and reinforcements were constantly sent to military units, then to these 800 thousand - a million, we can safely add another 200-300 thousand Russians.
A very remarkable thing about the actual number of Russians who fought on Hitler’s side is the fact that when in 1943, Hitler demanded that all Russians be removed from the Eastern Front and transferred to the Western Front, the generals grabbed their heads: this was impossible, because every fifth on the Eastern Front was Russian then.
So it turns out that those who today so vigorously vilify their neighbors for collaborating with the fascist regime were themselves the most massive and loyal supporters of the Third Reich and Hitler during the Second World War. Perhaps this is precisely what explains the incomprehensible craving in modern Russia for neo-Nazi symbols and ideology.
So maybe it’s enough to reproach others for the speck in their eye, when they themselves have a log sticking out of each eye?
Although this is not even in the realm of science fiction. Because then you will have to recognize the past as it really was, and this is neither partial nor heroic and not as idealistic as it has been portrayed for more than 70 years. And as one Soviet comrade from the top said: “Who needs your truth if it interferes with living.”
This is how the current and subsequent generations of Russians will most likely live, basing their knowledge of history primarily on myths, silence, and in some places outright lies.

On November 30, 1942, by special order of the German command, the Russian Security Group was included in the Wehrmacht and renamed the Russian Security Corps. The corps was reorganized in accordance with the staff of the German army: the 4th regiment and the reserve battalion were disbanded, and the staff of the regiments was increased with a reduction in the command staff by 150 people. All Cossacks, at the request of the military atamans, were consolidated into one regiment (1st Cossack).

In September 1 9 4 3 the corps numbered 4.8 thousand soldiers and officers, and by September 1944 - over 11 thousand. By this time it included: headquarters, five regiments, a separate battalion "Belgrade" (companies: guard, transport, reserve and supply), veterinary and communications companies. Subordinate to the corps headquarters were two infirmaries with Russian doctors and orderlies. Each regiment had three battalions and platoons: artillery (2 field guns of 75 mm caliber), anti-tank (2-3 anti-tank guns 37 mm), engineer, horse, communications; battalion - 3 rifle companies (each with 170 people, 16 light and 2 heavy machine guns, 4 company mortars) and a platoon of heavy weapons (4 heavy machine guns and 4 battalion mortars).

Review of the 5th hundred of the 4th regiment of the Russian security group. Belgrade, August 1942. All officers and lower ranks are dressed in a uniform of dark brown cloth with Russian shoulder straps and cockades. Non-commissioned officers' collars are trimmed with white braid. Many soldiers have on their chests the badges of Russian regiments and military educational institutions, the Insignia of the 1st Kuban (“Ice”) Campaign and the St. George Cross.

The staff strength of the 1st and 4th regiments was 2211 people, the rest - 2183 people each. At the corps headquarters there was a German communications headquarters, in the regiments and battalions there were German communications officers, and in the companies there were company instructors.

Initially, the training of corps personnel (security group) was carried out according to the regulations of the Russian Imperial Army, but soon, due to a change in battle tactics, it was necessary to switch to the regulations of the Red Army. With the inclusion of the corps in the Wehrmacht, German regulations were introduced. Command personnel were trained in the 1st Russian Cadet Corps of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. In addition, the regiments had cadet companies, into which young people who had not completed military training were brought together.

The main task of the corps (security group) was to protect mines, communications and other military-economic facilities. In operational terms, the regiments were directly subordinate to the commanders of the formations responsible for a particular area: the 1st and 2nd regiments - the 704th German Infantry Division, and the 3rd regiment - the 1st Bulgarian Occupation Corps. Companies and battalions carried out garrison service in cities and guarded railway lines, being scattered in blockhouses (bunkers). Regimental headquarters were stationed separately from their units, and the latter were in fact in no way subordinate to them.

From the beginning of 1944, units of the corps held back the advance of J.B. Tito’s partisans almost along the entire length of the Serbo-Croatian border, and in the fall, together with individual German units, repelled the advance of the troops of the Soviet 57th Army supported by Yugoslav partisans, while suffering heavy losses. During these battles, from individual battalions and companies of the corps, full-fledged active regiments were created under Russian command - the 1st Cossack, 4th and 5th (Consolidated).

The surrender of Germany found the corps in Slovenia. Colonel A.I. Rogozhin, who replaced B.A. Shteifon, who died on April 30, 1945, stated that he would never surrender weapons to Soviet representatives or Titoites and would fight his way to the British. Within four days, the corps units were able to separately break through to Austria, where on May 12, in the Klagenfurt area, they capitulated to British troops. By this time, 4.5 thousand people remained in the Russian Corps.

SS VOLUNTEER REGIMENT "VARYAG"

In March 1942, the formation of a volunteer battalion began in Belgrade. The basis for this was the order of the Commander-in-Chief in the Balkans to recruit Russian volunteers for the landing operation in the Novorossiysk area. Formed under the leadership of the capital M. A Semenov, the battalion was a combat infantry unit of 600 people. Operationally, he was subordinate to the command of the Wehrmacht army group and those divisions of which he was a part, while the battalion's supplies were carried out through the SS Main Directorate. Semenov himself was awarded the rank of SS Hauptsturmführer.

Contrary to the original plan, the battalion was never sent to the Eastern Front and, starting in August 1942, was used in the fight against Yugoslav partisans. In 1943, Semenov handed over command of the battalion to a German officer and went to Germany, where he participated in the formation of Russian special purpose volunteer units.

At the end of 1944, the deployment of the battalion to the Varyag regiment began in Slovenia. The personnel were composed of emigrants and prisoners of war, who were recruited in camps in Germany and the countries it occupied. One of the regiment's battalions was formed in Silesia. The total number reached 2.5 thousand soldiers and officers. Colonel M. A. Semenov was appointed commander of the regiment, and Major M. G. Grinev was appointed his assistant. Organizationally, Semenov’s regiment became part of the group of Major General A.V. Turkul, which was nominally part of the Armed Forces of the KONR.

After the surrender of Germany, the regiment's personnel were transferred to the south of Italy to a prisoner-of-war camp near the city of Taranto, from where some of the soldiers (prisoners of war) were handed over to the Soviet side, and the rest, along with military personnel of Slovenian and Serbian formations, to Tito's partisans. Only a small group that joined the Russian Corps in the last days of the war escaped the common fate.

1st RUSSIAN NATIONAL ARMY (1ST RNA)

In July 1941, the German command authorized the creation of a Russian training battalion within Army Group North to collect additional information about the enemy. Its organizer was a Russian emigrant, a former officer of the Imperial Guard B. A. Smyslovsky - aka Sonderführer-K of the Abwehr (pseudonym “von Regenau”). Initially, the battalion consisted of emigrants, but soon its ranks were replenished by former Red Army soldiers from among prisoners of war and defectors.

At the end of 1942, Smyslovsky was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and appointed head of the so-called “Sonderstab R” (“Special Headquarters Russia”), a secret organization for monitoring the partisan movement. Organizationally, this structure was subordinate to the Abwehr headquarters “Walli” and operated in Warsaw under the guise of “Eastern Construction Company Gilgen”. In Pskov, Minsk, Kyiv and Simferopol, the main residencies of “Sonderstab R” were organized, which maintained contact with local residencies. The total number of Sonderstab employees was more than 1,000 people. Its agents acted under the guise of employees of economic, road, procurement institutions of the occupation authorities, traveling merchants, etc. Part of this asset was used for intelligence work behind the lines of the Soviet troops.

“Sonderstab R” also subordinated 12 training and reconnaissance battalions, which nominally constituted the “Special Division R,” whose purpose was to fight partisans and conduct reconnaissance and sabotage raids into the Soviet rear. The total strength of the division was determined at 10 thousand people. In addition, the Sonder-Stab maintained contact with anti-Soviet armed groups in the rear of the Red Army, as well as with detachments of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Polish Home Army (AK).

Because of these dubious connections and suspicions of double-dealing, in December 1943 Smyslovsky was placed under house arrest, and the Sonderstab and Special Division R were disbanded. However, after a six-month investigation, which ended with Smyslovsky’s acquittal, he was asked to head the organization of partisan warfare in the Soviet rear and the information service of the Eastern Front, as well as to form the 1st Russian National Division on the basis of Russian training and reconnaissance battalions scattered throughout the front.

Russian collaborationism
The Second World War

SS Volunteer Regiment "Varyag"- a volunteer SS unit that served on the side of the Third Reich during World War II.

Story

Creation

Using the connection

Contrary to the original plan, the battalion was never sent to the Eastern Front and, starting in August 1942, was used in the fight against Yugoslav partisans. In 1943, Semenov handed over command of the battalion to a German officer and went to Germany, where he participated in the formation of Russian special purpose volunteer units.

In July 1944, the unit was transferred to Yugoslavia.

A.I. Delianich, who took part in the recruitment of regiment personnel in Vienna, described this process as follows: “Recruiters visited train stations, bomb shelters, walked to places where excavations of bombed houses were being carried out, listening to see if Russian speech could be heard. Even to cemeteries, where captured “Ivans” dug mass graves for unknown people who died from bombs. And bombings happened every day.".

Post-war fate

After the surrender of Germany, the regiment's personnel were transferred to the south of Italy to a prisoner-of-war camp near the city of Taranto, from where some of the soldiers (prisoners of war) were handed over to the Soviet side, and the military personnel of the Slovenian and Serbian formations were handed over to Yugoslavia. According to researchers, most of the Yugoslavs were shot in the Koceva Gorge (eyewitnesses of the events put the figure at 16 thousand people).

Only a small group that joined the Russian Corps in the last days of the war escaped the common fate.

After the war, a veteran's badge of the regiment was issued. The badge was made on the basis of the SAF badge.

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Notes

see also

Literature

• S. Drobyazko, A. Karashchuk. World War II 1939-1945. Russian Liberation Army. - Ast, 1999. - ISBN 5-237-00585-3.
• Zakharov V.V., Koluntaev S.A. Russian emigration in the anti-Soviet, anti-Stalin movement (1930s - 1945) // Materials on the history of the Russian Liberation Movement. Collection of articles, documents and memoirs / A. V. Okorokov. - Moscow: ROA Archive, 1998. - Issue. 2nd. - pp. 106-108, 471-472.
• Chukhnov N. In tumultuous years. - New York, 1967. - pp. 24-25.
• Drobyazko S. I., Romanko O. V., Semenov K. K. Foreign formations of the Third Reich - M.: AST: Astrel, 2009. - 845, p.: ill.

Links

• Article on the website vojnik.org

K:Wikipedia:Articles without images (type: not specified)

An excerpt characterizing the SS Volunteer Regiment “Varyag”

- My God! For what?...” Nikolai shouted in despair.
The uncle's hunter, on the other side, galloped to cut off the wolf, and his dogs again stopped the beast. They surrounded him again.
Nikolai, his stirrup, his uncle and his hunter hovered over the beast, hooting, screaming, every minute getting ready to get down when the wolf sat on its backside and every time starting forward when the wolf shook itself and moved towards the notch that was supposed to save it. Even at the beginning of this persecution, Danila, hearing hooting, jumped out to the edge of the forest. He saw Karai take the wolf and stop the horse, believing that the matter was over. But when the hunters did not get down, the wolf shook himself and ran away again. Danila released his brown one not towards the wolf, but in a straight line towards the notch in the same way as Karai - to cut off the beast. Thanks to this direction, he jumped up to the wolf while the second time he was stopped by his uncle's dogs.
Danila galloped silently, holding the drawn dagger in his left hand and, like a flail, swinging his arapnik along the toned sides of the brown one.
Nikolai did not see or hear Danila until a brown one panted past him, panting heavily, and he heard the sound of a falling body and saw that Danila was already lying in the middle of the dogs on the back of the wolf, trying to catch him by the ears. It was obvious to the dogs, the hunters, and the wolf that it was all over now. The animal, with its ears flattened in fear, tried to get up, but the dogs surrounded it. Danila, standing up, took a falling step and with all his weight, as if lying down to rest, fell on the wolf, grabbing him by the ears. Nikolai wanted to stab, but Danila whispered: “No need, we’ll make a joke,” and changing position, he stepped on the wolf’s neck with his foot. They put a stick in the wolf's mouth, tied it, as if bridling it with a pack, tied its legs, and Danila rolled the wolf from one side to the other a couple of times.
With happy, exhausted faces, the living, seasoned wolf was loaded onto a darting and snorting horse and, accompanied by dogs squealing at him, was taken to the place where everyone was supposed to gather. Two young ones were taken by hounds and three by greyhounds. The hunters arrived with their prey and stories, and everyone came up to look at the seasoned wolf, who, hanging his forehead with a bitten stick in his mouth, looked at this whole crowd of dogs and people surrounding him with large, glassy eyes. When they touched him, he trembled with his bound legs, wildly and at the same time simply looked at everyone. Count Ilya Andreich also drove up and touched the wolf.
“Oh, what a swear word,” he said. - Seasoned, huh? – he asked Danila, who was standing next to him.
“He’s seasoned, your Excellency,” answered Danila, hastily taking off his hat.
The Count remembered his missed wolf and his encounter with Danila.
“However, brother, you are angry,” said the count. – Danila said nothing and only smiled shyly, a childishly meek and pleasant smile.

The old count went home; Natasha and Petya promised to come right away. The hunt went on, as it was still early. In the middle of the day, the hounds were released into a ravine overgrown with young, dense forest. Nikolai, standing in the stubble, saw all his hunters.
Opposite from Nikolai there were green fields and there stood his hunter, alone in a hole behind a protruding hazel bush. They had just brought in the hounds when Nikolai heard the rare rutting of a dog he knew, Volthorne; other dogs joined him, then falling silent, then starting to chase again. A minute later, a voice was heard from the island calling for a fox, and the whole flock, falling down, drove along the screwdriver, towards the greenery, away from Nikolai.
He saw horse-dwellers in red hats galloping along the edges of an overgrown ravine, he even saw dogs, and every second he expected a fox to appear on the other side, in the greenery.
The hunter standing in the hole moved and released the dogs, and Nikolai saw a red, low, strange fox, which, fluffing its pipe, hurriedly rushed through the greenery. The dogs began to sing to her. As they approached, the fox began to wag in circles between them, making these circles more and more often and circling its fluffy pipe (tail) around itself; and then someone’s white dog flew in, and after it a black one, and everything got mixed up, and the dogs became a star, with their butts apart, slightly hesitating. Two hunters galloped up to the dogs: one in a red hat, the other, a stranger, in a green caftan.
"What it is? thought Nikolai. Where did this hunter come from? This is not my uncle’s.”
The hunters fought off the fox and stood on foot for a long time, without rushing. Near them on chumburs stood horses with their saddles and dogs lay. The hunters waved their hands and did something with the fox. From there the sound of a horn was heard - the agreed signal of a fight.
“It’s the Ilaginsky hunter who is rebelling with our Ivan,” said the eager Nikolai.
Nikolai sent the groom to call his sister and Petya to him and walked at a walk to the place where the riders were collecting the hounds. Several hunters galloped to the scene of the fight.
Nikolai got off his horse and stopped next to the hounds with Natasha and Petya riding up, waiting for information about how the matter would end. A fighting hunter with a fox in torokas rode out from behind the edge of the forest and approached the young master. He took off his hat from afar and tried to speak respectfully; but he was pale, out of breath, and his face was angry. One of his eyes was black, but he probably didn’t know it.

By the beginning of the Russian campaign, three volunteer regiments of foreign citizens had been created in the ranks of the SS, and with the outbreak of hostilities, the number of foreign units began to grow steadily. According to Himmler, the participation of foreign legions in the war against the USSR was supposed to show the pan-European desire to destroy communism. The participation of citizens of all European countries in the war against the Soviet Union gave rise to the post-war identification of the Waffen-SS and the European Community.

In 1941, foreign volunteers were recruited into national volunteer legions and corps, ranging in strength from one battalion to a regiment. Various anti-communist units created in 1917–1920 in Europe received similar names. In 1943, most of the legions were reorganized into larger military units, the largest of which was the German SS Panzer Corps.

SS-Standarte "Nord West"

The formation of this German regiment began on April 3, 1941. The regiment was dominated by Dutch and Flemish volunteers, organized into companies along national lines. Nordwest's training took place in Hamburg. After the start of the war with the Soviet Union, it was decided to use the regiment’s personnel to quickly form independent national legions. By the first of August 1941, the regiment consisted of 1,400 Dutch, 400 Flemings and 108 Danes. At the end of August, the regiment was transferred to the Arus-Nord training area in East Prussia. Here, on September 24, 1941, according to the order of the FHA SS, the regiment was disbanded, and the available personnel were distributed between the national legions and units of the V-SS.

From the moment of formation until the last day, the commander of the regiment was SS-Standartenführer Otto Reich.

Volunteer Legion "Netherlands"

The creation of the legion began on June 12, 1941 in the Krakow region, a little later the legion cadre was transferred to the Arus-Nord training ground. The basis of the legion was the Dutch battalion from the disbanded “Nordwest” regiment. Another contingent that arrived for formation was a battalion created from the ranks of the assault troops of the Dutch National Socialist movement. The battalion departed Amsterdam on October 11, 1941 and joined forces with volunteers already training in Arus.

Already by Christmas 1941, the legion was a motorized regiment of three battalions and two companies (13th infantry gun company and 14th anti-tank company). Before being sent to the front, the total number of the legion exceeded 2,600 ranks. In mid-January 1942, the legion was transferred to Danzig, and from there by sea to Libau. From Libau, the Dutch were sent to the northern sector of the front in the area of ​​Lake Ilmen. By the end of January, the legion arrived at its designated positions in the area of ​​the Novgorod-Tosna road. The legion received its baptism of fire in the battle at Goose Mountain near Volkhov (north of Lake Ilmen). After this, the Dutch took part in long defensive and then offensive battles at Volkhov. Then the legion operated at Myasny Bor. In mid-March 1942, a reinforced field hospital with Dutch personnel, part of the legion, arrived on the Eastern Front. The hospital was located in the Oranienburg area.

During the fighting, the legion earned the gratitude of the OKW, but lost 20% of its strength and was withdrawn from the front line and replenished with ethnic Germans from Northern Schleswig. After a short rest and replenishment, in July 1942 the legion took part in the destruction of the remnants of the Soviet 2nd Shock Army and, according to some sources, participated in the capture of General Vlasov himself. The legion spent the rest of the summer and autumn in operations near Krasnoye Selo and later around Shlisselburg, slightly deviating from the Leningrad direction. At the end of 1942, the legion operated as part of the 2nd SS Infantry Brigade. Its strength at this time decreased to 1,755 people. On February 5, 1943, news came from Holland that the honorary chief of the legion, General Seiffardt, had been killed by the Resistance. After 4 days, the FHA SS issued an order to assign the name “General Seyffardt” to the first company of the legion.

In addition to the gratitude of the OKW, the legion had another distinction: its Rottenführer Gerardus Muyman from the 14th Anti-Tank Company knocked out thirteen Soviet tanks in one of the battles and was awarded the Knight's Cross on February 20, 1943, thus becoming the first German volunteer to receive this honor. On April 27, 1943, the legion was withdrawn from the front and sent to the Grafenwoehr training ground.

On May 20, 1943, the Volunteer Legion "Netherlands" was officially disbanded, only to be reborn on October 22, 1943, but as the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade "Nederland".

Volunteer Corps "Denmark"

Eight days after Germany attacked the USSR, the Germans announced the creation of the Danish Volunteer Corps, independent of the Nordland Regiment. On July 3, 1941, the first Danish volunteers, having received the banner, left Denmark and headed to Hamburg. By order of the FHA SS of July 15, 1941, the unit was named the Volunteer Unit "Denmark" and then renamed the volunteer corps. By the end of July 1941, a headquarters and infantry battalion of 480 men had been organized. In August, one officer and 108 Danes from the disbanded Nordwest regiment were added to the battalion. At the end of August, a communications department was created at the battalion headquarters. In September 1941, the corps was expanded to include a reinforced motorized battalion. On September 13, 1941, the unit was moved to Treskau to join the reserve company of the corps. By December 31, 1941, the strength of the corps had increased to 1,164 ranks, and about a month later it increased by another hundred people. Until the spring of 1942, the corps personnel were trained.

On May 8–9, the Danish battalion was transported by plane to the Heiligenbeil area (East Prussia), and then to Pskov, to Army Group North. Upon arrival, the corps was tactically subordinated to the SS division Totenkopf. From May 20 to June 2, 1942, the corps took part in battles north and south of the Demyansk fortifications, where it distinguished itself by destroying a Soviet bridgehead. At the beginning of June, the Danes operated along the road to Byakovo. On the night of June 3–4, the battalion was transferred to the northern section of the Demyansk corridor, where it fought off strong enemy attacks for two days. The next day, June 6, the Danes were relieved and camped in the forests near Vasilivshino. On the morning of June 11, the Red Army launched a counterattack and returned Bolshiye Dubovichi occupied by the Germans. By mid-day the situation had worsened even more and von Lettow-Vorbeck ordered the corps to retreat. After this battle, the number of companies fluctuated from 40 to 70 people each. Having taken up defensive positions in the Vasilivshino area, the corps was replenished with reserve personnel arriving from Poznan. On July 16, the Red Army attacked and occupied Vasilivshino, and on the seventeenth it attacked the Danish battalion with tanks and air support. Vasilivshino was again occupied by the Germans on July 23, the extreme left flank of this position was occupied by the corps. On the twenty-fifth of July the Danes were withdrawn to reserve. By August 1942, the battalion had lost 78% of its initial strength, which was the reason for its withdrawal from the Demyansk area and sending to Mitava. In September 1942, the Danes returned to their homeland and paraded through Copenhagen and were dismissed to their homes, but on October 12 all ranks were again gathered in Copenhagen and returned to Mitau. On December 5, 1942, a reserve company was introduced into the battalion, and the corps itself became part of the 1st SS Infantry Brigade.

In December 1942, the corps served in the fortified area of ​​Nevel, and later fought defensive battles south of Velikiye Luki. After this, the corps spent three weeks in reserve. On Christmas Eve, the Danes were attacked by a Soviet division and retreated from Kondratovo, which they occupied, but on December 25 the corps recaptured Kondratovo. On January 16, 1943, the Velikiye Luki cauldron was closed, and the Danes moved to a position north of Myshino-Kondratovo, where they remained until the end of February. On the twenty-fifth of February, the corps attacked and captured the enemy stronghold on Taide - this was the last stand of the Danish volunteers.

At the end of April 1943, the remaining Danes were sent to the Grafenwoehr training ground. On May 6, the corps was officially disbanded, but most of the Danes remained to continue serving as part of the newly formed Nordland division. In addition to the Danes, a large number of ethnic Germans from northern Schleswig served in this unit. White emigrants also preferred to serve in the Danish corps.

The volunteer corps was commanded by: Legions-Obersturmbannführer Christian Peder Krussing July 19, 1941 - February 8–19, 1942, SS-Sturmbannführer Christian Frederick von Schalburg March 1 - June 2, 1942, Legions-Hauptsturmbannführer K.B. Martinsen 2–10 June 1942, SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Albrecht von Lettow-Vorbeck 9–11 June 1942, again K.B. Martinsen June 11, 1942 - May 6, 1943), Legions-Sturmbannführer Peder Neergaard-Jacobsen May 2–6, 1943

In April 1943, after the disbandment of the volunteer corps, Martinsen created the Danish equivalent of the German SS from its veterans who returned to Denmark. Officially, this unit was first named the “Danish German Corps”, and then the “Schalburg” Corps in memory of the deceased corps commander. This corps was not part of the B-SS and in no way belonged to the SS organization. In the second half of 1944, under pressure from the Germans, Schalburgkorpset was transferred to the V-SS and reorganized into the SS training battalion Schalburg, and then into the SS security battalion Zeeland.

Volunteer Legion "Norway"

With the outbreak of Germany's war against the USSR, the idea of ​​the need for real participation of Norwegians in hostilities on the side of Germany was widely circulated in Norway.

Recruitment centers were opened in major Norwegian cities, and by the end of July 1941 the first three hundred Norwegian volunteers went to Germany. After arriving in Kiel they were sent to the Fallinbostel training area. Here, on August 1, 1941, the volunteer legion “Norway” was officially created. In mid-August, another 700 volunteers from Norway arrived here, as well as 62 volunteers from the Norwegian community in Berlin. On October 3, 1941, in the presence of Vidkun Quisling, who arrived in Germany, the first battalion of the legion took the oath in Fallinbostel. As a sign of continuity, this battalion received the name "Viken" - the same as the 1st Hird Regiment (paramilitary units of the Norwegian National Samling). The legion's staff, according to the order of the FHA SS, was to consist of 1218 ranks, but by October 20, 1941, the unit numbered more than 2000 people. The Norwegian Legion was organized according to the following principle: headquarters and headquarters company (anti-tank company), a platoon of war correspondents, an infantry battalion of three infantry companies and one machine gun company. The reserve battalion created in Halmestrand was also considered part of the legion.

On March 16, 1942, the legion arrived at the Leningrad sector of the front. A few kilometers from Leningrad, the Norwegians were introduced into the 2nd SS Infantry Brigade. After arrival, parts of the legion began to carry out patrol duty, and then took part in battles at the front until May 1942. In September 1942, the reserve battalion of the legion, which had already transferred the bulk of the ranks to the legion, was consolidated into a company, but, in addition to this company, a new one was created on the territory of Latvia in Jelgava (Mitava). At the same time, the first of four, a police company of the Norwegian Legion, created in Norway from pro-German police officers, arrived at the front. Its commander was SS-Sturmbannführer and leader of the Norwegian SS Janas Lie. The company acted as part of the legion, which at that time was on the northern sector of the front, where it suffered heavy losses in defensive battles near Krasnoe Selo, Konstantinovka, Uretsk and Krasny Bor. In February 1943, the 800 remaining legionnaires were combined with reserve companies, and at the end of March the legion was withdrawn from the front and sent to Norway.

On April 6, 1943, a parade of legion ranks took place in Oslo. After a short vacation, the legion returned to Germany in May of the same year; the Norwegians were gathered at the Grafenwoehr training ground, where the legion was disbanded on May 20, 1943. However, most of the Norwegians responded to V. Quisling’s call and continued to serve in the ranks of the new “German” SS division.

After the creation of the 1st police company and its excellent service on the Eastern Front, the creation of other police companies began. The second company was created by Norwegian police major Egil Hoel in the fall of 1943, and included 160 Norwegian police officers. After completing training, the company arrived at the front and was assigned to the 6th SS reconnaissance unit of the Nord division. Together with the specified unit, the company operated at the front for 6 months. The company commander was SS-Sturmbannführer Egil Hoel.

In the summer of 1944, the 3rd police company was created; in August 1944, it arrived at the front, but due to Finland’s withdrawal from the war and the retreat of German troops from its territory, the company did not have time to take part in the battles. One hundred and fifty of its members were sent to Oslo, and in December 1944 the company was disbanded. At the time of its formation, the company was commanded by SS-Hauptsturmführer Age Heinrich Berg, and then by SS-Obersturmführer Oscar Olsen Rustand. The last of these officers tried to form the 4th police company at the end of the war, but nothing came of his idea.

The legion was commanded by: Legions-Sturmbannführer Jürgen Bakke from August 1, 1941, Legions-Sturmbannführer Finn Hannibal Kjelstrup from September 29, 1941, Legions-Sturmbannführer Arthur Quist from the fall of 1941.

Finnish volunteer battalion

Even before the start of the war with the Soviet Union, the Germans secretly recruited Finns into the V-SS. The recruitment campaign provided the Germans with 1,200 volunteers. During May - June 1941, volunteers arrived in batches from Finland to Germany. Upon arrival, the volunteers were divided into two groups. Persons with military experience, i.e. participants in the “Winter War,” were distributed among the units of the Viking division, and the remaining volunteers were collected in Vienna. From Vienna they were transferred to the Gross Born training area, where they were formed into the Finnish SS Volunteer Battalion (previously designated as the SS Volunteer Battalion Nordost). The battalion consisted of a headquarters, three rifle companies and a heavy company. Part of the battalion was a reserve company in Radom, which was part of the reserve battalion of the German legions. In January

In 1942, the Finnish battalion arrived at the front at the location of the Viking division on the line of the Mius River. According to the order, the arriving Finns became first the fourth and then the third battalion of the Nordland regiment, while the third battalion itself was used to replace the division's losses. Until April 26, 1942, the battalion fought on the Mius River against units of the 31st Infantry Division of the Red Army. Then the Finnish battalion was sent to Aleksandrovka. After heavy fighting for Demidovka, the Finns were withdrawn from the front for replenishment, which lasted until September 10, 1942. The change in the situation at the front required the participation of the battalion in the bloody battles for Maykop, in which the German command used the Finns in the most difficult sectors. At first

In 1943, the Finnish volunteer battalion, in the general flow of the German retreat, went all the way from Malgobek (through Mineralnye Vody, villages and Bataysk) to Rostov, participating in rearguard battles. Having reached Izyum, the Finns, along with the remnants of the Nordland regiment, were withdrawn from the division and sent to the Grafenwoehr training ground. From Grafenwoehr the Finnish battalion was transferred to Ruhpolding, where it was disbanded on July 11, 1943.

During the battalion's existence, Finnish volunteers also served as part of the war correspondents unit and as part of the Totenkopf reserve infantry battalion No. 1. Attempts to create a new entirely Finnish SS unit in 1943–1944 were unsuccessful, and the formation of the Kalevala SS unit was discontinued . The most famous Finnish volunteer was Obersturmführer Ulf Ola Ollin from the 5th SS Panzer Regiment, of all the Finns he received the most awards, and his Panther tank number 511 was known throughout the Viking division.

The battalion commander was SS-Hauptsturmführer Hans Kollani.

British Volunteer Corps

By the beginning of 1941, about 10 Englishmen served in the ranks of the W-SS, but until 1943, no attempts were made to form an English legion in the Waffen-SS. The initiator of the creation of the English unit was John Amery, the son of the former British Minister for Indian Affairs. John Amery himself was a well-known anti-communist and even participated in the Spanish Civil War on the side of General Franco.

Initially, from the British living on the continent, Amery created the British Anti-Bolshevik League, which was supposed to create its own armed forces to be sent to the Eastern Front. After long debates with the Germans, in April 1943 he was allowed to visit British prisoner-of-war camps in France to recruit volunteers and propagate his ideas. This venture received the code designation “Special Compound 999.” It is interesting to note that this number was the Scotland Yard telephone before the war.

In the summer of 1943, a special unit was transferred to the control of the D-1 Department of the SS Khabarovsk Army, which dealt with issues of European volunteers. In the autumn of 1943, volunteers exchanged their previous English uniform for a Waffen-SS uniform, receiving SS soldiers' books. In January 1944, the former name "St. George's Legion" was changed to "British Volunteer Corps", more in line with the tradition of the B-SS. It was planned to use prisoners of war to increase the size of the corps to 500 people, and to put Brigadier General Parrington, captured in 1941 in Greece, at its head.

After some time, the British were divided into groups for use at the front. Volunteers were distributed to various parts of the Waffen-SS. The largest number of volunteers were taken into the Kurt Eggers regiment, and the rest were distributed between the 1st, 3rd and 10th SS divisions. Another 27 British remained in the Dresden barracks to complete their training. In October 1944, it was decided to transfer the BFC to the III SS Panzer Corps. After the famous Western Allied air raid on Dresden, the BFC was transferred to the Lichterfelde barracks in Berlin, where those returning from the front also arrived. After completing their training in March 1945, the British were transferred partly to the headquarters of the German SS Panzer Corps, and partly to the 11th SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion. In the ranks of the said battalion, the BFC took part in the defense of Schonberg on the western bank of the Oder on March 22.

With the beginning of the assault on Berlin, most of the British made a breakthrough to the Western allies, to whom they surrendered in the Mecklenburg area. The remaining individual volunteers took part in street fighting together with the Nordland division.

In addition to the British, the BFC recruited volunteers from the colonies, commonwealth countries and America.

BFK commanders: SS-Hauptsturmführer Johannes Rogenfeld - summer 1943, SS-Hauptsturmführer Hans Werner Ropke - summer 1943 - May 9, 1944, SS-Obersturmführer Dr. Kühlich - May 9, 1944 - February 1945, SS-Hauptsturmführer er doctor Alexander Dolezalek - until the end of the war.

Indian Volunteer Legion

The Indian Legion was created at the beginning of the war in the ranks of the German army as the 950th Indian Infantry Regiment. By the end of 1942, the regiment consisted of about 3,500 ranks. After training, the legion was sent to security service, first in Holland and then in France (guarding the Atlantic Wall). On August 8, 1944, the legion was transferred to the SS troops with the designation "Waffen-SS Indian Legion". Seven days later the Indian volunteers were transported by train from Lokanau to Poytirz.

Upon arrival in the Poytirz area, the Indians were attacked by the Maquis, and at the end of August, soldiers of the legion engaged the Resistance on the way from Chatrow to Allieres. In the first week of September the legion reached the Berry Canal. Continuing their movement, the Indians fought street battles with French regulars in the town of Doune and then retreated towards Sancoin. In the Luzi area, the Indians were ambushed at night, after which the legion quickly marched towards Dijon through Loire. In the battle with enemy tanks at Nuits - Site - Georges, the unit suffered heavy losses. After this battle the Indians retreated by marching through Relipemont towards Colmar. And then they continued their retreat to German territory.

In November 1944 the unit was designated the "Waffen-SS Indian Volunteer Legion". By the beginning of December of the same year, the legion arrived at the garrison of the city of Oberhoffen. After Christmas the legion was transferred to training camp Heuberg, where it remained until the end of March 1945. At the beginning of April 1945, the legion was disarmed by order of Hitler. In April 1945, the Indian Legion began moving towards the Swiss border in the hope of obtaining asylum there and avoiding extradition to the Anglo-Americans. Having broken through the Alps to the Lake Constance region, the Indian volunteers were surrounded and captured by the French "Maquis" and the Americans. Since 1943, the Indian Regiment had a so-called Guards Company, located in Berlin and created for ceremonial purposes. During the war, the company apparently continued to remain in Berlin. During the assault on Berlin, Indians in SS uniforms took part in its defense, one of them was even captured by the Red Army, all of them were probably ranks of the mentioned “Guards” company.

The commander of the legion was SS-Oberführer Heinz Bertling.

Serbian Volunteer Corps

Until the establishment of the Serbian government of General Milan Nedić in August 1941, no attempts were made to organize Serbian armed units. General Nedić announced the creation of various state police forces. Their combat effectiveness left much to be desired, so they were mainly used for local security tasks. In addition to these formations, on September 15, 1941, the so-called Serbian Volunteer Team was created. This unit was created from activists of the ZBOR organization and radical military personnel. Colonel Konstantin Mushitsky, who was the aide-de-camp of the Yugoslav Queen Mary before the war, was appointed commander of the unit. The team soon turned into an excellent anti-partisan unit, which received recognition even from the Germans. Like the rest of the Serbian and Russian units, the team “made” peace with the Chetniks and fought only against Tito’s troops and Ustasha tyranny. Soon KFOR departments began to appear throughout Serbia, these departments were known as “detachments”, during 1942 their number increased to 12, the detachment usually included 120–150 soldiers and a few officers. KFOR units were widely recruited by the Germans for anti-partisan actions and, in fact, were the only Serbian formation that received weapons from the Germans. In January 1943, the SD Command was reorganized into the SD Corps, which consisted of five battalions of 500 people each. The corps did not hide its monarchist orientation and even went to parades in Belgrade under a banner with monarchist slogans. At the beginning of 1944, KFOR and new volunteers were reorganized into 5 infantry regiments (Roman numbers I to V) of 1,200 soldiers each and an artillery battalion of 500 people. In addition, a recruit school and a hospital in Logatec were later established as part of the KFOR. On October 8, 1944, units of the corps began their retreat from Belgrade. The next day, the SDKorps was transferred to the Waffen-SS with the designation "Serbian SS Volunteer Corps". The structure of the hull was left unchanged. The ranks of the Serbian Corps did not become ranks of the Waffen-SS and continued to bear their previous ranks and obey the Serbian command. After the retreat from Belgrade, KFOR units, together with the Chetniks and Germans, left for Slovenia. In April 1945, by agreement with the Germans, KFOR became part of one of the Chetnik divisions in Slovenia. At the end of April, two KFOR regiments (I and V regiments), on the orders of the Chetnik commander in Slovenia, General Damjanovic, left in the direction of the Italian border, crossing which they capitulated on May 1. The remaining three regiments II, III and IV, under the command of the KFOR chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Radoslav Tatalovich, took part in the battles with the NOLA near Ljubljana, after which they retreated to Austrian territory and surrendered to the British.

The commander of the Serbian Corps was Colonel (at the end of the war, General) Konstantin Mushitsky.

Estonian Volunteer Legion

The legion was formed according to the staff of an ordinary three-battalion regiment in the SS training camp “Heidelager” (near the city of Debica, on the territory of the General Governorate). Soon after being fully recruited, the legion was designated the "1st Estonian SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment". Until the spring of next year, the regiment was trained in the above camp. In March 1943, the regiment received an order to send the first battalion to the front as part of the SS Viking Panzergrenadier Division, which was operating at that time in the Izyum area. The German SS-Hauptsturmführer Georg Eberhardt was appointed commander of the battalion, and the battalion itself became known as the Estonian SS Volunteer Grenadier Battalion “Narva”. From March 1944 it operated as the 111/10th SS Regiment "Westland". Without engaging in major battles, the battalion, together with the division, operated as part of the 1st Tank Army in the Izyum-Kharkov area. The baptism of fire of the Estonians took place on July 19, 1943 in the battle for height 186.9. Supported by the fire of the Viking division's artillery regiment, the battalion destroyed about 100 Soviet tanks, but lost its commander, who was replaced by SS-Obersturmführer Koop. The next time Estonian volunteers distinguished themselves on August 18 of the same year in the battle for heights 228 and 209 near Klenova, where, interacting with a company of “tigers” from the SS tank regiment “Totenkopf”, they destroyed 84 Soviet tanks. Apparently, these two cases gave the spacecraft analysts the right to indicate in their intelligence reports that the Narva battalion has extensive experience in fighting with machine guns. Continuing hostilities in the ranks of the Viking division, the Estonians, along with it, ended up in the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky cauldron in the winter of 1944, upon leaving which they suffered huge losses. In April, the division received an order to remove the Estonian battalion from its composition, the Estonians were given a touching farewell, after which they left for the place of the new formation.

Caucasian SS military unit

In the first years of the war, a large number of units from natives of the Caucasus were created within the German army. Their formation took place mainly in the territory of occupied Poland. In addition to front-line army units, various police and punitive units were formed from Caucasians. In 1943, in Belarus, in the Slonim district, two Caucasian Schutzmannschaft police battalions were created - the 70th and 71st. Both battalions participated in anti-partisan operations in Belarus, being subordinate to the head of the anti-banditry formations. Later, these battalions became the basis for the North Caucasus security brigade formed in Poland. By order of Himmler dated July 28, 1944, about 4,000 ranks of the brigade, along with their families, were transferred to the region of upper Italy. Here, together with the Cossack camp, the Caucasians formed the backbone of the anti-partisan forces, which were subordinate to the HSSPF “Adriatic Coast” of SS-Obergruppenführer Globocnik. On August 11, by order of Berger, the brigade was reorganized into the Caucasian Corps, and less than a month later it was renamed the Caucasian Unit. The unit's recruitment was accelerated by the transfer of 5,000 employees from the 800, 801, 802, 803, 835, 836, 837, 842 and 843rd army field battalions. The formation consisted of three national military groups - Armenian, Georgian and North Caucasian. It was planned to deploy each group into a full-fledged regiment.

At the end of 1944, the Georgian and North Caucasian groups were located in the Italian city of Paluzza, and the Armenian group in Klagenfurt. In December 1944, the Azerbaijani group, which had previously been part of the Eastern Turkic SS formation, was transferred to the formation. Azerbaijani participants in the events after the war claimed that their group managed to arrive in Verona before the end of the war.

Groups located in Italy were constantly involved in anti-partisan operations. At the end of April, the North Caucasian group began to retreat to Austrian territory, and the small Georgian group was disbanded by its commander. In May 1945, the ranks of the unit were issued by the British to the Soviet side.

Unlike the next unit, all command positions were occupied by Caucasian emigrant officers, and the commander of the unit itself was SS-Standartenführer Arvid Theuermann, a former officer of the Russian Imperial Army.

Eastern Turkic SS military unit

The German army created a large number of volunteer units from the inhabitants of Soviet Central Asia. The commander of one of the first Turkestan battalions was Major Mayer-Mader, who in the pre-war years was a military adviser to Chiang Kai-shek. Mayer-Mader, seeing the limited and futile use of Asians by the Wehrmacht, dreamed of sole leadership of all Turkic units. For this purpose, he first contacted Berger, and then the head of the VI Directorate of the RSHA, SS-Brigadeführer and Major General of the V-SS Walter Schellenberg. To the first, he proposed an increase in the number of V-SS by 30,000 Turkestanis, and to the second, the implementation of sabotage in Soviet Central Asia and the organization of anti-Soviet protests. The major's proposals were accepted and, in November 1943, the 1st Eastern Muslim SS Regiment was created on the basis of the 450th and 480th battalions.

The formation of the regiment took place near Lublin, in the town of Poniatovo. In January 1944, it was decided to deploy the regiment to the SS division Neue Turkestan. For this purpose, the following battalions were taken from the active army: 782, 786, 790, 791st Turkestan, 818th Azerbaijani and 831st Volga-Tatar. At this time, the regiment itself was sent to Belarus to participate in anti-partisan operations. Upon arrival, the regiment's headquarters was located in the town of Yuratishki, not far from Minsk. On March 28, 1944, during one of these operations, the commander of the regiment, Mayer-Mader, was killed, and SS-Hauptsturmführer Billig took his place. Compared to the previous commander, he was not popular with his men, and a number of excesses occurred in the regiment, as a result of which Billig was removed and the regiment was transferred to the von Gottberg battle group. In May, the regiment took part in a major anti-partisan operation near Grodno, after which, together with other national units, it was withdrawn to Polish territory in late May - early June. In July 1944, the regiment was sent to the Neuhammer training ground for replenishment and rest, but it was soon sent to Lutsk and subordinated to the special SS regiment Dirlewanger. With the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, the Muslim Regiment and the Dirlewanger Regiment were sent to suppress it. Upon arrival, on August 4, both regiments came under the command of the Reinefart battle group. In Warsaw, the Turkestans operated in the urban area of ​​Wola. At the beginning of October, the Warsaw Uprising was over. When the uprising was suppressed, the Turkestanis received recognition from the German command. On October 1, it was announced that the regiment would be deployed to the Eastern Turkic SS military unit. The Muslim regiment was renamed into the military group "Turkestan" with a strength of one battalion, the rest of the regiment, together with reinforcements from the Volga-Tatar units of the army, formed the military group "Idel - Ural". In addition, an SS assembly camp for Turkic volunteers was created in the vicinity of Vienna. On October 15, the formation, together with the Dirlewanger regiment, was sent to suppress the new, now Slovak uprising.

By the beginning of November 1944, the formation consisted of 37 officers, 308 non-commissioned officers and 2,317 soldiers. In December, the military group “Azerbaijan” was taken from the formation. This group was transferred to the Caucasian connection. In December, the formation presented an unpleasant surprise to the Germans. On December 25, 1944, the commander of the Turkestan group, Waffen-Obersturmführer Gulyam Alimov, and 458 of his subordinates went over to the Slovak rebels near Mijava. At the request of Soviet representatives, the rebels shot Alimov. For this reason, about 300 Turkestanis again defected to the Germans. Despite this sad experience, two days later the Germans organized officer courses to train native officers of the unit in the town of Poradi.

On January 1, 1945, the military group “Crimea”, created from the disbanded Tatar brigade, became part of the formation. At the same time, SS-Obersturmbannführer Anton Ziegler gathered another 2,227 Turkestanis, 1,622 Azerbaijanis, 1,427 Tatars and 169 Bashkirs in the Vienna assembly camp. All of them were preparing to join the ranks of the Turkic SS unit. In March 1945, the unit was transferred to the 48th Infantry Division (2nd Formation). In April 1945, the 48th Division and the Turkic formation were at the Dollersheim training camp. The national committees planned to transfer the unit to Northern Italy, but nothing is known about the implementation of this plan.

The Eastern Muslim SS Regiment and the Eastern Turkic SS Unit were commanded by: SS-Obersturmbannführer Andreas Mayer-Mader - November

1943–28 March 1944, SS-Hauptsturmführer Bill-liga - 28 March - 6 April 1944, SS-Hauptsturmführer Hermann - 6 April - May 1944, SS-Sturmbannführer Reserve Franz Liebermann - June - August

1944, SS-Hauptsturmführer Rainer Olzsha - September - October 1944, SS-Standartenführer Wilhelm Hintersatz (under the pseudonym Harun al Rashid) - October - December 1944, SS-Hauptsturmführer Fürst - January - May 1945. There were mullahs in all parts of the formation, and the supreme imam of the entire formation was Naguib Khodia.

SS Troop Losses

During the Polish campaign, the losses of the V-SS amounted to several dozen people. The superiority of the German army in weapons and the lightning speed of the campaign reduced Waffen-SS losses to almost a minimum. In 1940, in the West, the SS men faced a completely different enemy. The high level of training of the British army, positions prepared in advance and the presence of modern artillery among the allies became an obstacle to the SS's path to victory. The Waffen-SS suffered approximately 5,000 casualties during the western campaign. During the battles, officers and non-commissioned officers led the soldiers into the attack by personal example, which, according to the Wehrmacht generals, led to unjustifiably large losses among Waffen-SS officers. Undoubtedly, the percentage of losses among Waffen-SS officers was higher than in Wehrmacht units, but the reasons for this should not be sought in poor training or in combat methods. In the Waffen-SS units, a corporate spirit reigned and there was not such a clear line between officer and soldier as in the Wehrmacht. In addition, the structure of the Waffen-SS was built on the basis of the “Führer principle” and that is why in attacks SS officers were ahead of their soldiers and died along with them.

On the Eastern Front, the SS faced fierce resistance from the Soviet army and, as a result, in the first 5 months of the war, Waffen-SS units lost more than 36,500 people killed, wounded and missing. With the opening of the second front, SS losses increased even more. According to the most conservative estimates, between September 1, 1939 and May 13, 1945, the SS troops lost more than 253,000 soldiers and officers killed. During the same time, 24 Waffen-SS generals died (not counting those who committed suicide and police generals), and two SS generals were shot by court. The number of wounded in the SS by May 1945 was about 400,000 people, with some SS men being wounded more than twice, but still returning to duty after recovery. According to Leon Degrelle, of the entire Waffen-SS Walloon unit, 83% of the soldiers and officers were wounded one or more times. Perhaps in a number of units the percentage of those who were wounded was lower, but I think it did not fall below 50%. The SS troops had to operate mainly in occupied territories, and by the end of the war they had lost more than 70,000 people missing in action.

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SS Division "Reich". History of the Second SS Panzer Division. 1939-1945 Akunov Wolfgang Viktorovich

Regiment SS - FT Deutschland

Regiment SS - FT Deutschland

“Germany is my madness!

Germany is my love!

Marina Tsvetaeva

The most important formation in the history of the Waffen SS as part of special-purpose SS units was the 1st SS Regiment - FT Deutschland, which was an infantry unit of four battalions, with military equipment and a horse-drawn convoy. The 1st battalion of this regiment, formed back in October 1933, consisted of volunteers originally from southern Germany. In 1936, the battalion was stationed in the Freimann barracks in Munich. Three years later, the headquarters of the entire Deutschland Regiment was located in these barracks. Like many other standard units of the German army, these and other battalions included anti-tank, motorcycle and other specialized companies.

On July 25, 1934, a putsch of Austrian National Socialists took place against the authoritarian “Austrofascist” regime of Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss (nicknamed “Millimetternich” for his short stature and exorbitant ambitions). Militants of the underground 89th SS Standard seized the radio broadcasting center and the office of the Federal Chancellor in Vienna, taking several ministers into custody; Dolphus himself was killed. In addition to the putsch in Vienna, suppressed on the same day, armed uprisings of the Nazis (primarily from the Austrian SS, and to a lesser extent from the Austrian SA, whose fighting ardor was cooled to a large extent by the recent extermination of the leadership of their comrades in Germany in “Night of the Long Knives”!) also occurred in other Austrian lands - Tyrol, Carinthia, Styria (where the “Austrofascist” regime, in addition to police units and the paramilitary “Gamewehr,” had to send a regular army unit - the 41st Mountain Brigade) against the Nazi rebels) . In the fierce battles for the city of Leoben and on the border between Styria and Upper Austria, army units of the “Austrofascist” regime even had to use artillery against the rebels. Small “shock troops” of the Austrian “browns”, using the features of the forested mountainous terrain through which the army units were advancing, blew up bridges, set up tree blockages on the roads and ambushed columns of government troops, sometimes inflicting heavy losses on them. At the same time, the snipers and machine gunners of the Austrian Nazis widely took advantage of excellent natural shelters - after all, “their native mountains helped them.” And yet, the Nazi rebellion, during which more than five hundred people were killed on both sides alone (including more than three hundred Nazi rebels), and about one and a half thousand were wounded, was (in the absence of support for the conspirators from the “Third Reich”) in the hope of which the Austrian National Socialists rebelled!) by July 29 it was suppressed by the “Austrofascists”, and the murderers of Chancellor Dollfuss and the main instigators of the rebellion were executed.

In the spring of 1935, a group of National Socialists from the Austrian SA and SS, led by Karl-Maria Demelhuber, who fled Austria after the failure of this first Anschluss attempt, suppressed by the Austro-fascist regime, was enrolled in the SS-FT Deutschland regiment as its 2nd th battalion. Before joining the ranks of the Deutschland Regiment, these Austrian political emigrants were included in the formation formed on the territory of the German state of Bavaria even before the 1934 mutiny, with the consent of the leadership of the NSDAP, a separate national Austrian unit, initially known as the Volunteer Corps "Austria", then - the "Austrian Legion" ”(or “Austrian SS Legion”), and later - under the more “harmless” name given to it for disguise purposes “Austrian Relief Fund” (“Hilfsverk EsterReich”) and, finally, the “Schleisheim Foundation” (“Hilfsverk Schleisheim”). During the days of the Nazi rebellion against Millimetternich-Dollfuss in Austria, the Austrian Legion tried to help the rebels in Tyrol. On July 26, the legionnaires, having crossed the German-Austrian border from Bavaria, took possession of the Austrian customs post and advanced deep into Austrian territory, but were thrown back into the territory of the Reich by parts of the Austrian police. On July 28, on the third day of fighting, the shock detachment of the “Austrian Legion” (with a force of only forty bayonets) again penetrated from Bavaria into Austria, but went back, encountering resistance from parts of the Austrian border guard. Since then, the “legionnaires” have been waiting on the territory of the German Empire. The maintenance of the Austrians, of whom there were about eight thousand in the “legion,” was meager, the food was unsatisfactory, the weapons and supplies were weak - many Austrian legionnaires were not even issued a military uniform until March 1934.

From the book Light of Victory [anthology] author Team of authors

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From the book Comrades to the end. Memoirs of the commanders of the Panzer-Grenadier Regiment "Der Fuhrer". 1938–1945 by Weidinger Otto

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