During the Second World War, SS divisions were considered selected formations of the armed forces of the Third Reich.
Almost all of these divisions had their own emblems (tactical, or identification, insignia), which were by no means worn by the ranks of these divisions as sleeve patches (rare exceptions did not change the overall picture at all), but were painted with white or black oil paint on the divisional military equipment and vehicles, buildings in which the ranks of the corresponding divisions were quartered, corresponding signs in the locations of units, etc. These identification (tactical) insignia (emblems) of SS divisions - almost always inscribed in heraldic shields (which had a “Varangian” or “Norman” or tarch form) - in many cases differed from the lapel insignia of the ranks of the corresponding divisions.
1. 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler".
The division's name means "Adolf Hitler's SS Personal Guard Regiment." The emblem (tactical, or identification, sign) of the division was a tarch shield with the image of a master key (and not a key, as is often incorrectly written and thought). The choice of such an unusual emblem is explained quite simply. The surname of the division commander, Joseph (“Sepp”) Dietrich, was a “speaking” (or, in heraldic language, a “vowel”). In German, "Dietrich" means "master key". After awarding "Sepp" Dietrich with Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross Iron Cross The division emblem began to be framed by 2 oak leaves or a semicircular oak wreath.
2. 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich".
The name of the division is “Reich” (“Das Reich”) translated into Russian means “Empire”, “Power”. The emblem of the division was the "wolfsangel" ("wolf hook") inscribed in the shield-tarch - an ancient German amulet sign that scared away wolves and werewolves (in German: "werewolves", in Greek: "lycanthropes", in Icelandic: " ulfhedin", in Norwegian: "varulv" or "varg", in Slavic: "vurdalak", "volkolakov", "volkudlakov" or "volkodlakov"), located horizontally.
3. 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" (Totenkopf).
The division got its name from the SS emblem - “Death's (Adam's) head” (skull and crossbones) - a symbol of loyalty to the leader until death. The same emblem, inscribed in the tarch shield, also served as the identification mark of the division.
4. 4th SS Motorized Infantry Division "Police" ("Police"), also known as "(4th) SS Police Division".
This division received this name because it was formed from the ranks of the German police. The emblem of the division was the “wolf hook” - “wolfsangel” in a vertical position, inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch.
5. 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking".
The name of this division is explained by the fact that, along with the Germans, it was recruited from residents of the countries Northern Europe(Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden), as well as Belgium, the Netherlands, Latvia and Estonia. In addition, Swiss, Russian, Ukrainian and Spanish volunteers served in the ranks of the Viking division. The division’s emblem was a “scant cross” (“sun wheel”), that is, a swastika with arched crossbars, on a heraldic shield-tarch.
6. 6th mountain (mountain rifle) division of the SS "Nord" ("North").
The name of this division is explained by the fact that it was recruited mainly from natives of the Northern European countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Latvia). The emblem of the division was the ancient German rune “hagall” (resembling the Russian letter “Zh”) inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch. The rune "hagall" ("hagalaz") was considered a symbol of unshakable faith.
7. 7th Volunteer Mountain (Mountain Rifle) SS Division "Prinz Eugen (Eugen)".
This division, recruited mainly from ethnic Germans living in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Vojvodina, Banat and Romania, was named after famous commander"Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" second half XVII-beginning XVIII century Prince Eugen (German: Eugen) of Savoy, famous for his victories over the Ottoman Turks and, in particular, for conquering Belgrade for the Roman-German Emperor (1717). Eugene Savoysky also became famous in the war for Spanish inheritance with his victories over the French and gained no less fame as a philanthropist and patron of the arts. The emblem of the division was the ancient German rune “odal” (“otilia”), inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, meaning “heritage” and “blood relationship”.
8. 8th SS Cavalry Division "Florian Geyer".
This division was named in honor of the imperial knight Florian Geyer, who led one of the detachments of German peasants (“Black Detachment”, in German: “Schwarzer Gaufen”), who rebelled against the princes (large feudal lords) during the Peasant War in Germany (1524-1526). , who opposed the unification of Germany under the scepter of the emperor). Since Florian Geyer wore black armor and his “Black Squad” fought under the black banner, the SS men considered him as their predecessor (especially since he opposed not only the princes, but also for the unification of the German state). Florian Geyer (immortalized in the drama of the same name by the classic of German literature Gerhart Hauptmann) died heroically in battle with the superior forces of the German princes in 1525 in the Taubertal Valley. His image entered the German folklore(especially song), enjoying no less popularity than, say, Stepan Razin - in Russian song folklore. The emblem of the division was a naked sword inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch with the tip up, crossing the shield from right to left diagonally, and a horse's head.
9. 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen".
This division was named after the dynasty of the Swabian dukes (since 1079) and the medieval Roman-German emperor-kaisers (1138-1254) - the Hohenstaufens (Staufens). Under them, the medieval German state (“Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation”), founded by Charlemagne (in 800 AD) and renewed by Otto I the Great, reached the peak of its power, subjugating Italy to its influence, Sicily, the Holy Land and Poland. The Hohenstaufens tried, relying on a highly developed economically Northern Italy as a base, centralize its power over Germany and restore the Roman Empire - “at a minimum” - the Western (within the borders of the empire of Charlemagne), ideally - the entire Roman Empire, including the Eastern Roman (Byzantine), in which, however, , did not succeed. The most famous representatives of the Hohenstaufen dynasty are considered to be the crusader kaisers Frederick I Barbarossa (who died during the Third Crusade) and his great-nephew Frederick II (Roman Emperor, King of Germany, Sicily and Jerusalem), as well as Conradin, who was defeated in the fight against the Pope and Duke Charles of Anjou for Italy and beheaded by the French in 1268. The emblem of the division was a vertically naked sword inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch with the tip up, superimposed on the capital Latin letter "H" ("Hohenstaufen").
10. 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg".
This SS division was named after the German Renaissance commander Georg (Jörg) von Frundsberg, nicknamed the “Father of the Landsknechts” (1473-1528), under whose command the troops of the Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation and the King of Spain Charles I of Habsburg conquered Italy and in 1514 took Rome, forcing the Pope to recognize the supremacy of the Empire. They say that the ferocious Georg Frundsberg always carried with him a golden noose, with which he intended to strangle the Pope if he fell into his hands alive. The famous German writer, laureate, served in the ranks of the SS division "Frundsberg" in his youth. Nobel Prize Gunther Grass. The emblem of this SS division was the capital Gothic letter "F" ("Frundsberg") inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, superimposed on an oak leaf located diagonally from right to left.
11. 11th SS Motorized Infantry Division "Nordland" ("North Country").
The name of the division is explained by the fact that it was recruited mainly from volunteers born in northern European countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Latvia and Estonia). The emblem of this SS division was a heraldic shield-tarch with the image of a “sun wheel” inscribed in a circle.
12. 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend"
This division was recruited mainly from the ranks of the youth organization of the Third Reich "Hitler Youth" ("Hitler Youth"). The tactical sign of this "youth" SS division was the ancient German "solar" rune "sig" ("sowulo", "sovelu") inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch - a symbol of victory and the emblem of Hitler's youth organizations "Jungfolk" and "Hitlerjugend", from among members of which the division's volunteers were recruited, placed on a master key ("similar to Dietrich").
13. 13th mountain (mountain rifle) division of the Waffen SS "Khanjar"
(often referred to as military literature also "Handshar" or "Yatagan"), consisting of Croatian, Bosnian and Herzegovinian Muslims (Bosniaks). "Khanjar" is a traditional Muslim edged weapon with a curved blade (related to the Russian words "konchar" and "dagger", also meaning bladed edged weapon). The emblem of the division was a curved khanjar sword inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, directed from left to right up diagonally. According to the surviving data, the division also had another identification mark, which was an image of a hand with a khanjar, superimposed on a double “SS” rune “sig” (“sovulo”).
14. 14th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Galician No. 1, since 1945 - Ukrainian No. 1); it is also the SS division "Galicia".
The emblem of the division was the ancient coat of arms of the city of Lvov, the capital of Galicia - a lion walking on its hind legs, surrounded by 3 three-pronged crowns, inscribed in a “Varangian” (“Norman”) shield.
15. 15th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Latvian No. 1).
The division's emblem was originally a "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield depicting the Roman numeral "I" above a stylized printed capital Latin letter "L" ("Latvia"). Subsequently, the division received another tactical sign - 3 stars in the background rising sun. 3 stars meant 3 Latvian provinces - Vidzeme, Kurzeme and Latgale (a similar image adorned the cockade of the pre-war army of the Republic of Latvia).
16. 16th SS Motorized Infantry Division "Reichsführer SS".
This SS division was named after Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler. The emblem of the division was a bunch of 3 oak leaves with 2 acorns at the handle in a frame inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch laurel wreath, inscribed in the shield-tarch.
17. 17th SS Motorized Division "Götz von Berlichingen".
This SS division was named after the hero of the Peasants' War in Germany (1524-1526), the imperial knight Georg (Götz, Götz) von Berlichingen (1480-1562), a fighter against the separatism of the German princes for the unity of Germany, the leader of a detachment of rebel peasants and the hero of the drama Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Goetz von Berlichingen with an iron hand” (the knight Goetz, who lost his hand in one of the battles, ordered an iron prosthesis to be made for himself, which he controlled no worse than others - with a hand made of flesh and blood). The emblem of the division was the iron hand of Götz von Berlichingen clenched into a fist (crossing the tarch shield from right to left and from bottom to top diagonally).
18. 18th SS Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division "Horst Wessel".
This division was named in honor of one of the “martyrs of the Hitler movement” - the commander of the Berlin stormtroopers Horst Wessel, who composed the song “Banners High”! (which became the anthem of the NSDAP and the “second anthem” of the Third Reich) and killed by communist militants. The emblem of the division was a naked sword with the tip up, crossing the tarch shield from right to left diagonally. According to the surviving data, the Horst Wessel division also had another emblem, which was stylized runes letters SA (SA = Sturmabteilungen, i.e. “assault troops”; “martyr of the Movement” Horst Wessel, in whose honor the division was named, was one of the leaders of the Berlin stormtroopers), inscribed in a circle.
19. 19th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Latvian No. 2).
The emblem of the division at the time of formation was the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of the Roman numeral "II" above the stylized printed capital Latin letter "L" ("Latvia"). Subsequently, the division acquired another tactical sign - an upright, right-sided swastika on the “Varangian” shield. The swastika - “fiery cross” (“ugunskrusts”) or “cross (of the thunder god) Perkon” (“perkonkrusts”) has been a traditional element of Latvian folk ornament from time immemorial.
20. 20th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Estonian No. 1).
The emblem of the division was the “Varangian” (“Norman”) heraldic shield with the image of a straight naked sword with the tip up, crossing the shield from right to left diagonally and superimposed on the capital Latin letter “E” (“E”, that is, “Estonia”). According to some reports, this emblem was sometimes depicted on the helmets of Estonian SS volunteers.
21. 21st mountain (mountain rifle) division of the Waffen SS "Skanderbeg" (Albanian No. 1).
This division, recruited mainly from Albanians, was named after national hero of the Albanian people, Prince George Alexander Kastriot (nicknamed by the Turks “Iskander Beg” or, in short, “Skanderbeg”). While Skanderbeg (1403-1468) was alive, the Ottoman Turks, who had repeatedly suffered defeats from him, could not bring Albania under their rule. The emblem of the division was the ancient coat of arms of Albania inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch - double headed eagle(the ancient Albanian rulers claimed kinship with the basileus-emperors of Byzantium). According to surviving information, the division also had another tactical sign - a stylized image of the “Skanderbeg helmet” with goat horns, superimposed on 2 horizontal stripes.
22. 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division "Maria Theresa".
This division, recruited mainly from ethnic Germans living in Hungary and from Hungarians, was named after the Empress of the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" and Austria, Queen of Bohemia (Czech Republic) and Hungary Maria Theresa von Habsburg (1717-1780), one of the most prominent rulers of the second half of the XVIII century. The emblem of the division was an image of a cornflower flower inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch with 8 petals, a stem, 2 leaves and 1 bud - (subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Danube Monarchy who wanted to join German Empire, until 1918 they wore a cornflower in their buttonhole - the favorite flower of the German Emperor Wilhelm II of Hohenzollern).
23. 23rd Waffen SS Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division "Kama" (Croatian No. 2)
consisting of Croatian, Bosnian and Herzegovinian Muslims. “Kama” is the name of a traditional Balkan Muslim edged weapon with a curved blade (something like a scimitar). The division's tactical sign was a stylized image astronomical sign sun in a crown of rays on a heraldic shield-tarch. Information has also been preserved about another tactical sign of the division, which was the Tyr rune with 2 arrow-shaped processes perpendicular to the trunk of the rune in its lower part.
24. 23rd Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division Waffen SS "Netherlands"
(Dutch No. 1).
The name of this division is explained by the fact that its personnel were recruited mainly from the Netherlands (Dutch) Waffen SS volunteers. The emblem of the division was the “odal” (“otilia”) rune with lower ends in the shape of arrows, inscribed in the heraldic tarch shield.
25. 24th mountain (mountain rifle) division of the Waffen SS "Karst Jaegers" ("Karst Jaegers", "Karstjäger").
The name of this division is explained by the fact that it was recruited mainly from natives of the Karst mountain region, located on the border between Italy and Yugoslavia. The division's emblem was a stylized image of a "karst flower" ("karstbloome"), inscribed in a heraldic shield of the "Varangian" ("Norman") form.
26. 25th Grenadier (Infantry) Division Waffen SS "Hunyadi"
(Hungarian No. 1).
This division, recruited mainly from Hungarians, was named after the medieval Transylvanian-Hungarian Hunyadi dynasty, the most prominent representatives which were Janos Hunyadi (Johannes Gounyades, Giovanni Vaivoda, 1385-1456) and his son King Matthew Corvinus (Matyas Hunyadi, 1443-1490), who heroically fought for the freedom of Hungary against the Ottoman Turks. The division's emblem was a "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of an "arrow-shaped cross" - the symbol of the Viennese National Socialist Arrow Cross Party ("Nigerlashists") Ferenc Szálasi - under 2 three-pronged crowns.
27. 26th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS "Gömbös" (Hungarian No. 2).
This division, consisting mainly of Hungarians, was named after the Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Gyula Gömbös (1886-1936), a staunch supporter of a close military-political alliance with Germany and an ardent anti-Semite. The emblem of the division was the “Varangian” (“Norman”) heraldic shield with the image of the same arrow-shaped cross, but under 3 three-pronged crowns.
28. 27th SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Langemarck" (Flemish No. 1).
This division, formed from German-speaking Belgians (Flemings), was named after the site of a bloody battle that took place on Belgian territory during the Great (First World) War in 1914. The division's emblem was a "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of a "triskelion" ("triphos" or "triquetra").
29. 28th SS Panzer Division. Information about the division's tactical sign has not been preserved.
30. 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Wallonia".
This division owed its name to the fact that it was formed mainly from French-speaking Belgians (Walloons). The emblem of the division was a heraldic shield-tarch with an image of a straight sword and a curved saber crossed in the shape of the letter “X” with the hilts up.
31. 29th Grenadier Infantry Division Waffen SS "RONA" (Russian No. 1).
This division is “Russian Liberation People's Army" consisted of Russian volunteers B.V. Kaminsky. The tactical sign of the division, applied to its equipment, judging by the surviving photographs, was a widened cross with the abbreviation "RONA" under it.
32. 29th Grenadier (Infantry) Division Waffen SS "Italy" (Italian No. 1).
This division owed its name to the fact that it consisted of Italian volunteers who remained loyal to Benito Mussolini after his release from prison by a detachment of German paratroopers led by SS Sturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny. The tactical sign of the division was the vertically located lictor's fascia (in Italian: "littorio"), inscribed in the heraldic shield of the "Varangian" ("Norman") form - a bunch of rods (rods) with an ax embedded in them (the official emblem of the National Fascist Party Benito Mussolini).
33. 30th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Russian No. 2, also known as Belarusian No. 1).
This division consisted mainly of former fighters of the Belarusian Regional Defense units. The tactical sign of the division was the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of the double ("patriarchal") cross of the Holy Princess Euphrosyne of Polotsk, located horizontally.
It should be noted that the double (“patriarchal”) cross, located vertically, served as the tactical sign of the 79th Infantry, and located diagonally - the emblem of the 2nd motorized infantry division of the German Wehrmacht.
34. 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division (aka 23rd Waffen SS Volunteer Mountain Division).
The emblem of the division was a full-face deer's head on the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield.
35. 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Bohemia and Moravia" (German: "Böhmen und Mähren").
This division was formed from natives of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, who came under German control of the territories of Czechoslovakia (after Slovakia declared independence). The emblem of the division was a Bohemian (Czech) crowned lion walking on its hind legs, and an orb crowned with a double cross on a “Varangian” (“Norman”) heraldic shield.36. 32nd Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) SS Division "January 30".
This division was named in memory of the day Adolf Hitler came to power (January 30, 1933). The emblem of the division was the “Varangian” (“Norman”) shield with the image of a vertically located “battle rune” - the symbol of the ancient German god of war Tyr (Tira, Tiu, Tsiu, Tuisto, Tuesco).
37. 33rd Waffen SS Cavalry Division "Hungaria", or "Hungary" (Hungarian No. 3).
This division, consisting of Hungarian volunteers, received the appropriate name. Information about the tactical sign (emblem) of the division has not been preserved.38. 33rd Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS "Charlemagne" (French No. 1).
This division was named in honor of the Frankish king Charlemagne ("Charlemagne", from the Latin "Carolus Magnus", 742-814), who was crowned in 800 in Rome as emperor of the Western Roman Empire (which included the territories of modern Northern Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and parts of Spain), and is considered the founder of modern German and French statehood. The division's emblem was a dissected "Varangian" ("Norman") shield with half a Roman-German imperial eagle and 3 fleurs de lys of the Kingdom of France.
39. 34th SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Landstorm Nederland" (Dutch No. 2).
"Landstorm Nederland" means "Dutch Militia". The emblem of the division was the “Dutch national” version of the “wolf hook” - “Wolfsangel”, inscribed in the “Varangian” (“Norman”) heraldic shield (adopted in the Dutch National Socialist movement by Anton-Adrian Mussert).
40. 36th SS Police Grenadier (Infantry) Division ("Police Division II")
consisted of German police officers mobilized for military service. The emblem of the division was the “Varangian” (“Norman”) shield with the image of the “Hagall” rune and the Roman numeral “II”.
41. 36th Waffen SS Grenadier Division "Dirlewanger".
The emblem of the division was 2 hand grenades-"mackers" inscribed in the "Varangian" ("Norman") shield, crossed in the shape of the letter "X" with the handles down.
In addition, in the last months of the war, the formation of the following new SS divisions, mentioned in the orders of the Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, was begun (but not completed):
42. 35th SS Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Police" ("Policeman"), also known as the 35th SS Grenadier (Infantry) Police Division. Information about the tactical sign (emblem) of the division has not been preserved.
43. 36th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS. No information about the division's emblem has been preserved.
44. 37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division "Lützow".
The division was named after the hero of the fight against Napoleon - Major of the Prussian army Adolf von Lützow (1782-1834), who formed the first in history Liberation wars(1813-1815) German patriots against Napoleonic tyranny, a volunteer corps (“Lützow’s black huntsmen”). The tactical sign of the division was the image of a straight naked sword inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch with the tip up, superimposed on the capital Gothic letter “L”, that is, “Lutzov”).
45. 38th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the SS "Nibelungen" ("Nibelungen").
The division was named after the heroes of the medieval German heroic epic - the Nibelungs. This was the original name given to the spirits of darkness and fog, elusive to the enemy and possessing countless treasures; then - the knights of the kingdom of the Burgundians who took possession of these treasures. As you know, Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler dreamed of creating an “SS order state” on the territory of Burgundy after the war. The emblem of the division was the image of the winged Nibelungen invisibility helmet inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch.46. 39th SS Mountain (Mountain Rifle) Division "Andreas Hofer".
The division was named after the Austrian national hero Andreas Hofer (1767-1810), the leader of the Tyrolean rebels against Napoleonic tyranny, betrayed by traitors to the French and shot in 1810 in the Italian fortress of Mantua. To the tune of the folk song about the execution of Andreas Hofer - “Under Mantua in Chains” (German: “Zu Mantua in banden”), German Social Democrats in the twentieth century composed their own song “We are the young guard of the proletariat” (German: “Vir sind”) di junge garde des proletariats"), and Soviet Bolsheviks- “We are the young guard of workers and peasants.” No information about the division's emblem has been preserved.47. 40th SS Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division "Feldgerrnhalle" (not to be confused with the division of the same name of the German Wehrmacht).
This division was named after the building of the "Gallery of Commanders" (Feldgerrnhalle), in front of which on November 9, 1923, the Reichswehr and the police of the leader of the Bavarian separatists Gustav Ritter von Kahr shot a column of participants in the Hitler-Ludendorff putsch against the government of the Weimar Republic. Information about the division's tactical sign has not been preserved.48. 41st Waffen SS Infantry Division "Kalevala" (Finnish No. 1).
This SS division, named after the Finnish heroic folk epic, began to be formed from among Finnish Waffen SS volunteers who did not obey the order of the Finnish Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Baron Carl Gustav Emil von Mannerheim, issued in 1943, to return from the Eastern Front to their homeland and rejoin the Finnish army . No information about the division's emblem has been preserved.49. 42nd SS Infantry Division "Lower Saxony" ("Niedersachsen").
Information about the emblem of the division, the formation of which was not completed, has not been preserved.50. 43rd Waffen SS Infantry Division "Reichsmarshal".
This division, the formation of which began on the basis of units of the German air force (Luftwaffe), left without aviation equipment, flight school cadets and ground personnel, was named in honor of the Imperial Marshal (Reichsmarshal) of the Third Reich, Hermann Goering. Reliable information about the division's emblem has not been preserved.51. 44th Waffen SS Motorized Infantry Division "Wallenstein".
This SS division, recruited from ethnic Germans living in the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia, as well as from Czech and Moravian volunteers, was named after the German imperial commander of the time Thirty Years' War(1618-1648), Duke of Friedland Albrecht Eusebius Wenzel von Wallenstein (1583-1634), Czech by birth, hero of the dramatic trilogy of the classic of German literature Friedrich von Schiller "Wallenstein" ("Camp of Wallenstein", "Piccolomini" and "The Death of Wallenstein") . No information about the division's emblem has been preserved.52. 45th SS Infantry Division "Varyag" ("Varager").
Initially, Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler intended to give the name "Varangians" ("Varager") to the Nordic (Northern European) SS division, formed from Norwegians, Swedes, Danes and other Scandinavians who sent their volunteer contingents to help the Third Reich. However, according to a number of sources, Adolf Hitler "rejected" the name "Varangians" for his Nordic SS volunteers, seeking to avoid unwanted associations with the medieval "Varangian Guard" (consisting of Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, Russians and Anglo-Saxons) in the service of the Byzantine emperors. The Fuhrer of the Third Reich had a negative attitude towards the Constantinople "Basileus", considering them, like all Byzantines, "morally and spiritually corrupt, deceitful, treacherous, corrupt and treacherous decadents", and did not want to be associated with the rulers of Byzantium.It should be noted that Hitler was not alone in his antipathy towards the Byzantines. Most Western Europeans fully shared this antipathy towards the “Romans” (even from the era Crusades), and it is no coincidence that in the Western European lexicon there is even a special concept of “Byzantinism” (meaning: “cunning”, “cynicism”, “meanness”, “groveling before the strong and ruthlessness towards the weak”, “treachery”... in general , “the Greeks have been deceitful to this day,” as the famous Russian chronicler wrote). As a result, the German-Scandinavian division formed as part of the Waffen SS (which later also included the Dutch, Walloons, Flemings, Finns, Latvians, Estonians, Ukrainians and Russians) was given the name “Viking”. Along with this, on the basis of Russian white emigrants and former citizens The USSR in the Balkans began the formation of another SS division called "Varager" ("Varangians"); however, due to the prevailing circumstances, the matter was limited to the formation in the Balkans of the “Russian (security) corps (Russian security group)” and a separate Russian SS regiment “Varyag”.
During the Second World War on the territory of Serbia in 1941-1944. In alliance with the Germans, the Serbian SS Volunteer Corps also operated, consisting of former soldiers of the Yugoslav royal army (mostly of Serbian origin), most of whom were members of the Serbian monarcho-fascist movement "Z.B.O.R.", led by Dmitrie Letic. The tactical sign of the corps was a tarch shield and an image of an ear of grain, superimposed on a naked sword with the tip down, located diagonally.
There is an opinion that the Germans are a punctual people, and therefore the control system of the fascist army differed from other armies in the world in its ideal precision and accuracy. But is this statement true? Let's figure it out.
Leader German people Hitler held many different positions. He was the leader of the party, the Reich Chancellor, the President of Germany, the Minister of War, the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. Stalin had something similar. He was general secretary Central Committee, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
But no matter what capacity Joseph Stalin acted in, all the levers of power converged in his secretariat. Any reports, reports, denunciations ended up on the desk of the assistant leader of the peoples, Poskrebyshev. He processed the information, reported to his boss and received appropriate instructions. And Hitler had a separate office for each of his positions. In total, the Fuhrer had five such structures, and each of them had its own apparatus of employees.
It is quite understandable that each such structure strived for leadership. She gave orders and instructions on behalf of the leader German people and at the same time was not interested in the orders and instructions of the other four structures. All this gave rise to chaos, confusion and bickering between employees of different administrative apparatuses.
The command and control system of the armed forces worked on a similar principle. fascist Germany. Every army in the world has a brain - General base. And in the fascist army there was not one, but three brains, that is, three General Staffs absolutely independent from each other. U ground forces, Air Force and Navy had their own General Staffs, and each of them planned their own military actions. There were also SS troops who reported only to Himmler, who reported directly to the Fuhrer.
It is quite understandable that the three General Staffs and the command of the SS troops could not thoroughly coordinate their actions. Each proceeded from personal departmental interests and tried to wage the war that was convenient only for him. Each command authority planned its operations and deployed its own command and control systems. All this had the most negative impact on the conduct of both offensive and defensive military operations.
Stalin had nothing like this. Its control system was simple and efficient. The front was considered the main organizational unit. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, five Soviet fronts operated against Germany; at the end of the war there were ten. At the head of each front was a commander with his own staff. It was the front commander who led the combat operations of the combined arms, tank armies and aviation. Therefore, both ground forces and aviation acted according to a single plan.
This management organization made it possible to control single center and tanks, and artillery, and aviation, and infantry. If, for example, infantry with artillery and tanks are in a defensive position, and aviation is conducting air battles, then all front-line assets are directed to support its actions, according to the order of the commander. And if rifle divisions and tank corps move forward, and aviation is not needed, then communications, transport, fuel reserves and everything else work for the attackers.
The fascist army had a completely different control system. If in some area of combat operations the pilots had huge reserves of fuel, and the tank crews had almost none, then there was no mechanism capable of providing such information, much less taking the surplus from the aviation and transferring it to tank unit. And all because the ground forces had their own commanders, and the aviation had their own. And they did not obey each other in any way. Therefore, the issue of transferring fuel could only be resolved through the Fuhrer.
The commander of the army group of ground forces had to contact Hitler's headquarters, and there he could be asked to wait a few hours until the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht decided on some other issues. Then, having received the information, Hitler had to contact Goering and give him the order to allocate surplus fuel to the tank unit. Goering, in turn, had to contact the commander of the air fleet and give him the order. The latter had to give the order to the squadron commander, and only after that the tankers’ fuel tankers would be refueled.
Yes, discipline and order are evident, but who needs them in difficult combat conditions, when the situation changes hourly. True, there was a second option. The tank unit commander could directly contact the air unit commander and ask for help with fuel. But exactly ask, and applicants are often refused.
From this it is clear that in fascist army land, air, naval and SS commanders had to negotiate with each other, like traders at a market. Is this a military approach? Could the Nazis have won with such a control system? And this was the case everywhere – in Africa, Greece, Italy, France.
But we must give Adolf Hitler his due. He thought about how to properly and effectively organize the interaction of three mutually independent General Staffs. And, in the end, I came up with it. Above these headquarters, he placed two more headquarters, but made it so that they were also not subordinate to each other. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht, headed by Field Marshal Keitel, and the headquarters of the operational leadership of the Wehrmacht, headed by Colonel General Jodl, appeared. All this led to even greater confusion in the fascist army.
New headquarters, trying to prove their necessity, began to interfere in military operations on separate fronts, sent orders and directives, often contradicting the orders and directives of the General Staff. As a result, disputes began to arise between competing headquarters. They became increasingly bitter as the situation on the Eastern Front worsened.
Any comparisons with the Soviet management system are not in favor of Germany. Here it should also be taken into account that the SS troops were not at all subordinate to all these accumulations of headquarters. And their forces were impressive: cavalry division SS "Florian Geyer", SS division "Adolf Hitler", SS mountain division "Skanderbeg", motorized division "Reichsführer SS", SS division "Totenkopf", SS grenadier division.
In total there were 43 such divisions, and among them were tank, cavalry, infantry, mountain rifle, etc. Himmler even had the 6th under his command tank army SS. Also under the personal control of the Reichsführer SS there were 50 Volkssturm divisions. In total he commanded 93 divisions. This entire armada fought on the fronts, but had nothing to do with General Staff and ignored their orders. By the way, the SS men fought very bravely, but the losses in their ranks were the greatest.
Thus, the fascist army with its control system could not resist the clear, simple and perfectly debugged Stalinist system. A huge number of German headquarters could not find each other common language. In fact, all these military structures lived among themselves in the same way as the cardinal’s guards lived with the royal musketeers from Dumas’s novel. Each structure rowed everything for itself and supplied only itself. That is, the German army consisted of hostile clans. And how could she win in such a situation?
At the end of the war, even Goebbels recognized superiority Soviet system control over the German. He declared that the German pyramids of orders and instructions destroyed Germany. Who would argue with the Minister of Propaganda? Indeed, the German army simply drowned in confusion and chaos. It could not resist a more progressive system and suffered a complete collapse.
In 1935, the main German armed forces were created, which bore the succinct name of the Wehrmacht. From German “wehr” is translated as “defense”, “weapon”, and the second part “macht” means “strength”, “army”, “power”. The Reichswehr became the foundation of the Wehrmacht. In this regard, the law “On the Construction of the Wehrmacht” was approved. It involved collecting taxes from every German citizen. This Law was completely contrary to the previously concluded Treaty of Versailles. According to it, the Wehrmacht should include 36 divisions, in which 500 thousand soldiers would serve.In 1935, the main German armed forces were created, which bore the capacious name Wehrmacht // Photo: pikabu.ru
Three years later, the OKW was created - Oberkommando der Wehrmacht - the Wehrmacht command. It had enormous powers and was subordinate to only one person - Adolf Hitler himself. The Fuhrer at that time was the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the aggressor country. It was to him that all personnel of the military group were obliged to take an oath of allegiance.
OKW consisted of four departments at once:
· operations department;
· Abwehr - department of military and counterintelligence;
· the economic department, responsible for ammunition and providing troops with food;
· general purpose department.
An experienced military man, Field Marshal General Wilhelm Keitel, was appointed the first commander of the Wehrmacht.
Command of German troops // Photo: collections.ushmm.org
Creation of the SS
The SS was also Hitler's brainchild. This organization was born much earlier than the Wehrmacht. Its origins took place in rather difficult conditions. In 1925, after his release from prison, the Fuhrer issued a decree that stipulated the formation of a group of people to protect him. Initially, the SS was supposed to consist of only 8 people.The Commander-in-Chief had the following idea: while the Wehrmacht would defend the Reich from the outside, the SS would do it from the inside. The latter was called the “cover squadron” - Schutzstaffel (SS). At the same time, Hitler believed that the size of the SS should not be ten percent of the peacetime military personnel.
The SS is the brainchild of Hitler, which was supposed to become his personal guard // Photo: hystory.mediasole.ru
External differences between intelligence services
First of all, the SS sheep differed from all others in the color of their uniform. It was deep black. It was considered one of the most important in Germany. Because uniforms of this color were worn by the “free riflemen” (Freischutzen), who in the 19th century gave a worthy rebuff to Napoleon’s army. Over time, the black color has acquired some political meaning. Perhaps this happened because he wore a black uniform officers Red Army.Conflicts between intelligence services
There were a lot of provocative situations that could lead to hostility between the SS and the Wehrmacht. a large number of. One of the brightest examples Such a situation is when one of the Wehrmacht commanders in the battle of the Demyansk Pocket sent exclusively SS forces under fire. He carefully took care of his own personnel.The reason for the enmity was also the fact that while the Wehrmacht suffered from a shortage of food products, the SS literally feasted on their abundance. One of the officers once wrote in his personal diary: “Himler made sure that the entire SS staff received special food for the Christmas holidays. At this time we were finishing horse meat soup.”
The conflict between the commander of one of the SS regiments K. Mayer and Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht E. Feuchtinger received especially great publicity. It occurred at the very beginning of the Normandy campaign. The young commander was decisive and rushed into battle without hesitation. At the same time, the allied forces under the command of the lieutenant general did not move. After investigating this situation, it turned out that personal hostility was to blame. In addition, the Wehrmacht officer was somewhat jealous of the success of the SS.
The German Wehrmacht became a symbol of the Second World War.
Consequences of Versailles
The Entente's victory over Germany culminated in the Treaty of Versailles, signed in Compiegne at the end of 1918. Incredible difficult conditions the surrender was supplemented by the demand for the actual liquidation of the army. German Republic was allowed to have a small professional army, totaling one hundred thousand people, and equally reduced naval forces. Military structure, created on the remains of the army, was called Reichwehr. Despite such a small number, the Reichwehr, under the control of General von Seeckt, managed to become a base for the deployment new army The Third Reich and soon there were no those left who did not know what the Wehrmacht was.
Revival of the army
The coming to power of the National Socialists led by Hitler in 1933 was aimed at breaking Germany out of the rigid framework Treaty of Versailles. The Reichwehr had a well-trained and highly motivated personnel reserve to transform it into real army. The Wehrmacht law, adopted shortly after Hitler took power, sharply expanded the scope of military development. Despite the envisaged increase in the armed forces by five times, in the first years it was not entirely clear what the Wehrmacht was. His appearance has not yet taken shape, distinguished by dynamic aggressiveness, high discipline and readiness to fight any enemy in any conditions. The Wehrmacht accepted the best traditions Prussian and German imperial army, having received in addition to them a powerful ideological base based on the ideology of National Socialism.
Military ethics in the era of fascism
Nazi ideology had a significant influence on the personnel and fate of the Wehrmacht. Many perceive him as a party army, whose main task was to spread National Socialism to the captured territories. To some extent this was true. But life is more complex than dogma, and within the Wehrmacht the old Prussian and German military traditions remained in force. It was they who made him such a formidable opponent and a powerful instrument of Nazi domination. It is very difficult to formulate what the Wehrmacht is ideologically. It bizarrely combined soldier camaraderie and party fanaticism. Defense of Vaterland and construction of a new ideological Empire. The preservation of the corporate spirit of the Wehrmacht was facilitated by the creation of SS troops, which accumulated the most fanatical elements
The Wehrmacht's only war
The war demonstrated the strengths and weaknesses of the army of Nazi Germany. When World War II began, the Wehrmacht represented the most powerful ground army in the world. Excellent personnel base and highest motivation was supplemented by industrial and scientific potential Germany and Austria. The course of the war proved the highest combat capabilities of this army. But it became clear with utmost clarity that the best tool was useless for achieving adventurous goals. The history of the best army at the beginning of World War II warns against the temptation of repetition sad experience. The Reich was striving for war, and its army was a symbol of the word "war". The Wehrmacht as it is known today would not exist without her. The losses incurred during the battles changed the personnel composition. Instead of a highly professional army, the Wehrmacht increasingly acquired the features of the adventurous line of the Reich leadership posing the same impossible tasks. Changing the mindset from war to conquer territories to defense own country in such conditions it turned out to be impossible. As the fronts shrank, the rhetoric of propaganda changed, but its meaning did not change. The decline in professionalism, as a consequence of large losses, was not compensated by the influx of soldiers tuned to the defense of the state. At the end of the war, the Wehrmacht looked like a loose conglomerate of individual combat-ready units, blurred by a demoralized mass of conscripts and Volssturmists. They did not have time to adopt Prussian military traditions in order to become soldiers, and did not have the motivation to die for
Defeat and consequences
The defeat of Nazi Germany by 1945 became inevitable. When World War II ended, the Wehrmacht ceased to exist. Along with him, much of what formed the basis of combat effectiveness became a thing of the past. German army. Despite the declared anti-fascism, the Soviet Union most fully preserved the traditions and spirit of the Prussian army in the recreated army of the GDR. Perhaps this is explained by the deep commonality inherent in Russian even before the First World War. Many Wehrmacht soldiers and officers continued their service, passing on the old traditions. They managed to demonstrate this during the suppression of the Czechoslovak uprising of 1968. This event reminded us what the Wehrmacht was. The German army underwent a greater transformation to interact with the Anglo-American troops, which had a completely different structure and history.
The Third Reich was preparing for an attack on the USSR very thoroughly, by the time the war began on the borders Soviet Union a grouping of the armed forces of the Reich and the armed forces of Germany's satellite countries was concentrated, which had no analogues until that time. To defeat Poland, the Reich used 59 divisions; in the war with France and its allies - Holland, Belgium, England - it deployed 141 divisions; 181 divisions were concentrated to attack the USSR, this together with the allies. Berlin made serious preparations for war, literally in a few years transforming its armed forces from one of the weakest armies in Europe, because according to the Versailles agreements, Germany was allowed to have only 100 thousand. army, without combat aircraft, heavy artillery, tanks, powerful naval forces, general conscription, V the best army peace. This was an unprecedented transformation, of course, influenced by the fact that in the period before the Nazis came to power, with the help of the “financial international” it was possible to preserve the military potential of industry and then quickly militarize the economy. Was saved and officer corps who passed on his experience to new generations.
The myth that “intelligence reported on time.” One of the most stable and dangerous myths, which was created under Khrushchev, and even more strengthened during the years of the Russian Federation, is the legend that intelligence more than once reported on the date of the start of the war, but “stupid”, or in another version “enemy of the people”, Stalin brushed aside these reports , believing more “friend” Hitler. Why is this myth dangerous? He creates the opinion that if the army were brought to full strength combat readiness, then it would have been possible to avoid the situation when the Wehrmacht reached Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad, they say, it would have been possible to stop the enemy at the border. Moreover, it does not take into account the geopolitical realities of that time - the USSR could be accused of armed provocation, as in 1914, when Russian empire began mobilization and was accused of “starting a war,” Berlin received a reason to start a war. There was a possibility that we would have to forget about the creation of the “Anti-Hitler Coalition.”
There were intelligence reports, but there is a very big “But” - in the spring of 1941, the intelligence of the People’s Commissariats of State Security and Defense literally bombarded the Kremlin with reports about the “final and firmly established” date for the start of the invasions of the Reich troops. At least 5-6 such dates were reported. April, May, and June dates were reported about the Wehrmacht invasion and the start of the war, but they all turned out to be misinformation. So, contrary to the myths about the War, no one ever reported the date of June 22. The Reich troops should have learned about the hour and day of the invasion only three days before the war, so the directive stating the date of the invasion of the USSR reached the troops only on June 19, 1941. Naturally, not a single intelligence officer had time to report this.
The same famous “telegram” from R. Sorge that “an attack is expected early in the morning of June 22 along a wide front” is a fake. Its text differs sharply from real similar ciphergrams; Moreover, no responsible government leader would take any serious action on the basis of such reports, even if it comes from a reliable informant. As already mentioned, Moscow received such messages regularly. Already in our years, on June 16, 2001, the organ of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation “Red Star” published materials round table, dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, where there were confessions from SVR Colonel Karpov: “Unfortunately, this is a fake that appeared in Khrushchev’s times. Such “fools” are simply launched...” That is, the lie that Soviet intelligence knew everything and reported the day and hour of the start of the invasion was launched by N. Khrushchev when he “debunked” the cult of personality.
Only after the Wehrmacht received the directive of June 19, various “defectors” and signals through border service let's go to Moscow.
Intelligence also made a mistake in the size of the Wehrmacht troop group, which was supposedly thoroughly revealed by Soviet intelligence officers. The total strength of the Reich's armed forces was determined by Soviet intelligence to be 320 divisions; in reality, at that time the Wehrmacht had 214 divisions. It was believed that the Reich's forces were divided equally in the western and eastern strategic directions: 130 divisions each, plus 60 in reserve, the rest in other directions. That is, it was not clear where Berlin would direct its attack - it was logical to assume that it would be against England. A completely different picture would have emerged if intelligence had reported that out of 214 Reich divisions, 148 were concentrated in the East. Soviet intelligence was unable to track the process of increasing the power of the Wehrmacht in the east. According to USSR intelligence data, the Wehrmacht grouping in the east from February to May 1941 increased from 80 to 130 divisions, a significant build-up of forces, but at the same time it was believed that the Wehrmacht grouping against England had doubled. What conclusions could be drawn from this? One could assume that Berlin was preparing for an operation against England, which it had been planning to do for a long time and was actively spreading disinformation about it. And in the east they strengthened the group to more reliably cover the “rear”. Wasn't Hitler planning a war on two fronts? This is unequivocal suicide for Germany. And a completely different picture would have emerged if the Kremlin had known that in February, out of all 214 German divisions, there were only 23 in the east, and by June 1941 there were already 148.
True, there is no need to create another myth, that intelligence is to blame for everything, it worked, collected information. But we must take into account the fact that she was still young, in comparison with Western intelligence services, she did not have enough experience.
Another myth is that Stalin is to blame for incorrectly determining the main direction of attack of the German armed forces - the most powerful group of the Red Army was concentrated in the Kiev Special Military District (KOVO), believing that this was where the main attack would be. But, firstly, this is a decision of the General Staff, and secondly, according to intelligence reports, the Wehrmacht command deployed at least 70 divisions, including 15 tank divisions, against the KOVO and the Odessa Military District (OVO), and against the Western Special Military District (ZOVO) German command concentrated 45 divisions, of which only 5 were tank divisions. And according to the initial developments of the Barbarossa plan, Berlin planned the main attack precisely in the southwestern strategic direction. Moscow proceeded from the available data; we are now able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. In addition, in southern Poland, south of Lublin, at the beginning of June 1941, there were actually 10 tank and 6 motorized divisions of the Wehrmacht and SS troops. And therefore, opposing them with 20 tank and 10 motorized divisions of KOVO and OVO was quite the right step our command. True, the problem is that our reconnaissance missed the moment when 5 tank and 3 motorized divisions of Heins Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Group were transferred to the Brest area in mid-June. As a result, 9 tank and 6 motorized divisions of Germany were concentrated against the Western Special Military District, and 5 remained against KOVO tank divisions and 3 motorized divisions.
T-2
The Wehrmacht group in the east consisted of 153 divisions and 2 brigades, plus reinforcement units; they were distributed mainly across theaters of military operations: from Norway to Romania. In addition to the German troops, large forces of the armed forces of Germany's allied countries were concentrated on the borders with the Soviet Union - Finnish, Romanian and Hungarian divisions, a total of 29 divisions (15 Finnish and 14 Romanian) and 16 brigades (Finnish - 3, Hungarian - 4, Romanian - 9).
The main striking power of the Wehrmacht was represented by tank and motorized divisions. What were they? In June 1941, there were two types of tank divisions: tank divisions with a tank regiment of two battalions, they had 147 tanks - 51 light tanks Pz.Kpfw. II (according to the Soviet classification T-2), 71 medium tanks Pz.Kpfw. III (T-3), 20 medium tanks Pz.Kpfw. IV (T-4) and 5 command tanks without weapons. A tank division with a tank regiment of three battalions could be armed with German or Czechoslovak tanks. The tank division, equipped with German tanks, had: 65 T-2 light tanks, 106 T-3 and 30 T-4 medium tanks, as well as 8 command tanks, for a total of 209 units. The tank division, equipped mainly with Czechoslovak tanks, had: 55 T-2 light tanks, 110 light Czechoslovak Pz.Kpfw tanks. 35(t) or Pz.Kpfw. 38(t), 30 T-4 medium tanks and 14 Pz.Kpfw command tanks. 35(t) or Pz.Kpfw. 38(t), total – 209 units. We must also take into account the fact that most of the T-2 and Pz.Kpfw tanks. 38(t) had time to modernize, their frontal armor of 30 and 50 mm was now not inferior in armor protection to medium tanks T-3 and T-4. Plus better than Soviet tanks, quality of sighting devices. According to various estimates, in total the Wehrmacht had approximately 4,000 tanks and assault guns, with the allies - more than 4,300.
Pz.Kpfw. 38(t).
But we must take into account that a Wehrmacht tank division is not only tanks. Tank divisions were reinforced: 6 thousand motorized infantry; 150 artillery barrels, along with mortars and anti-tank guns; a motorized sapper battalion that could equip positions, lay minefields or clear mines minefields, organize a crossing; A motorized communications battalion is a mobile communications center based on cars, armored cars or armored personnel carriers that could provide stable control of division units on the march and in battle. According to the staff, the tank division had 1963 units of vehicles, tractors (trucks and tractors - 1402 and cars - 561), in some divisions their number reached up to 2300 units. Plus 1,289 motorcycles (711 units with sidecars) in the state, although their number could also reach 1,570 units. Therefore, the tank divisions were in organizational plan a perfectly balanced combat unit, which is why the organizational structures of this 1941 model, with minor improvements, were preserved until the end of the war.
Tank divisions and motorized divisions were reinforced. Motorized divisions differed from ordinary Wehrmacht infantry divisions by the complete motorization of all units and subunits of the division. They had two regiments of motorized infantry instead of 3 infantry in the infantry division, two light howitzer battalions and one heavy artillery division in the artillery regiment instead of 3 light and 1 heavy in the infantry division, plus they had a motorcycle rifle battalion, which was not in standard infantry division. Motorized divisions had 1900–2000 cars and 1300–1400 motorcycles. That is, tank divisions were reinforced with additional motorized infantry.
The German armed forces were the first among other armies in the world not only to understand the need to have self-propelled artillery to support their infantry, but also to be the first to put this idea into practice. The Wehrmacht had 11 divisions and 5 separate batteries of assault guns, 7 divisions of self-propelled tank destroyers, and another 4 batteries of 150-mm self-propelled heavy infantry guns were transferred to the Wehrmacht tank divisions. The assault gun units supported the infantry on the battlefield; this made it possible not to divert tank units from the tank divisions for these purposes. Divisions of self-propelled tank destroyers became the highly mobile anti-tank reserve of the Wehrmacht command.
The Wehrmacht infantry divisions numbered 16,500–16,800 people, but you need to know that, contrary to military myths, all the artillery of these divisions was horse-drawn. In the Wehrmacht infantry division, there were 5,375 horses on staff: 1,743 riding horses and 3,632 draft horses, of which 2,249 draft horses belonged to the artillery regiment of the unit. Plus a high level of motorization - 911 cars (of which 565 are trucks and 346 are cars), 527 motorcycles (201 units with a sidecar). In total, the German armed forces, concentrated on the borders of the Soviet Union, had more than 600,000 vehicles of various types and more than 1 million horses.
Artillery
Traditionally, the artillery of the German Armed Forces was strong: up to a quarter of the guns of German divisions were guns with a caliber of 105–150 mm. The organizational structure of the Wehrmacht military artillery made it possible to ensure a significant strengthening of infantry units in battle. Thus, the infantry regiments had 150-mm heavy field guns. This provided the German infantry with a significant advantage in battle. When firing direct fire with shells weighing 38 kg, 150 mm guns could quickly suppress enemy firing points, clearing the way for advancing units. Divisional artillery could support infantry and motorized regiments with a division of light 105-mm howitzers, while the commanders of the Wehrmacht infantry and motorized divisions still had a heavy howitzer division of 150-mm howitzers at their disposal, and the commanders of tank divisions had at their disposal a mixed heavy division of 105-mm guns and 150 mm howitzers.
The tank and motorized divisions also had air defense guns: according to the staff, the division had a company of ZSU (18 units), these were self-propelled anti-aircraft guns based on half-track tractors, armed with single-barreled or quadruple 20-mm anti-aircraft guns. The company was part of the anti-tank fighter division. The ZSU could fire both stationary and on the move while on the march. Plus anti-aircraft divisions with 8-12 88-mm Flak18/36/37 anti-aircraft guns, which, in addition to fighting the enemy air force, could fight enemy tanks, performing anti-tank functions.
To strike the Red Army, the Wehrmacht command also concentrated significant forces of the Reserve of the Main Command of the Ground Forces (RGK): 28 artillery divisions (12 105-mm heavy guns in each); 37 divisions of heavy field howitzers (12 150 mm units each); 2 mixed divisions (6 211 mm mortars and three 173 mm guns each); 29 heavy mortar divisions (9 211 mm mortars in each division); 7 motorized heavy artillery divisions (9 149.1 mm heavy guns in each division); 2 heavy howitzer divisions (four 240 mm heavy Czechoslovak howitzers in each division); 6 anti-tank fighter divisions (36 37-mm Pak35/36 anti-tank guns in each); 9 separate railway batteries with 280 mm naval guns (2 guns per battery). Almost all of the RGK's artillery was concentrated in the direction of the main attacks, and all of it was motorized.
To ensure comprehensive preparation for combat operations, the Wehrmacht strike groups included: 34 artillery instrumental reconnaissance divisions, 52 separate engineer battalions, 25 separate bridge-building battalions, 91 construction battalions and 35 road-building battalions.
Aviation: 4 were concentrated to strike the USSR air fleet Luftwaffe, plus Allied aviation. In addition to 3,217 bombers and fighters, the Reich Air Force had 1,058 reconnaissance aircraft, which played a vital role in supporting the actions of ground forces and the German Navy. Plus 639 transport and communications aircraft. Of the 965 German single-engine Bf.109 Messerschmitt fighters, almost 60% were aircraft of the new Bf.109F modification; they were superior in speed and climb rate not only to the old ones soviet fighters“I-16” and “I-153”, but also new ones, just arriving in the Red Army Air Force, “Yak-1” and “LaGG-3”.
The Reich Air Force had big amount units and communications and control units, which made it possible to maintain their high controllability and combat effectiveness. IN Air Force Germany included anti-aircraft divisions that provided air defense ground forces and rear facilities. Each anti-aircraft division included air surveillance, warning and communications units, logistics and technical support. They were armed with 8-15 anti-aircraft divisions with 88-mm Flak18/36/37 anti-aircraft guns, 37-mm and 20-mm Flak30 and Flak38 anti-aircraft automatic guns, including quadruple installations of 20-mm Flakvierling38/1 automatic guns. At the same time, the Air Force anti-aircraft divisions interacted well with ground forces, often moving directly along with them.
In addition to the armed forces themselves, the striking power was reinforced by numerous auxiliary paramilitary forces, such as the Speer Transport Corps, the Todt Organization, the National Socialist Automobile Corps and the Reich Labor Service. They carried out logistical, technical and engineering support tasks for the Wehrmacht. There were many volunteers there from Western and Eastern European countries that were not formally at war with the USSR.
To summarize, it must be said that this military machine at that time had no equal. It was not for nothing that Berlin, London and Washington believed that the USSR would not withstand the blow and would fall within 2-3 months. But we miscalculated once again...
Sources:
Isaev A.V. Unknown 1941. The stopped blitzkrieg. M., 2010.
Pykhalov I. The Great Slandered War. M., 2005.
Pykhalov I. The great slandered leader. Lies and truth about Stalin. M., 2010.
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