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. The participation of foreign legions in the war against the USSR was supposed to show, according to Himmler's plan, a common 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 SS troops and the European Community.
In 1941, foreign volunteers were recruited into the national volunteer legions and corps, ranging in strength from one battalion to a regiment. Similar names were given to various anti-communist units created in 1917-1920 in Europe. In 1943, most of the legions were reformed 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 in companies along ethnic 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 frame for the early formation of independent national legions. By August 1, 1941, the regiment [461] numbered 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 existing personnel was distributed between the national legions and parts of the V-SS.
From the moment of formation and until the last day, the SS-Standartenführer Otto Reich was the commander of the regiment.
Volunteer Legion "Netherlands"
The creation of the legion began on June 12, 1941 in the Krakow area, a little later the legion's frame was transferred to the Arus-Nord training ground. The basis of the legion was the Dutch battalion from the disbanded regiment "Nordwest". Another contingent that arrived at the formation was a battalion, created from the ranks of the assault troops of the Dutch National Socialist Movement. The battalion departed from Amsterdam on October 11, 1941 and joined up with volunteers already trained in Arus.
By Christmas 1941, the legion was a motorized regiment of three battalions and two companies (the 13th infantry gun company and the 14th anti-tank company). Before being sent to the front, the total strength 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 Libava, 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 the positions assigned to it in the area of the Novgorod-Tosna road. The legion received the baptism of fire in the battle at Goose Gora near Volkhov (north of Lake Ilmen). After that, 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, which was part of the legion, arrived at 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 reinforced by ethnic Germans from Northern Schleswig. After a short rest and resupply, in July 1942 the legion took part in the destruction [462] of the remnants of the Soviet 2nd Shock Army and, according to some reports, took part in the capture of General Vlasov himself. The rest of the summer and autumn the legion spent in operations at Krasnoe 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 number 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 assigning the name General Seiffardt to the first company of the legion.
In addition to the gratitude of the OKW, the legion had another difference, its rottenführer Gerardus Muyman from the 14th anti-tank company in one of the battles knocked out thirteen Soviet tanks and on February 20, 1943 was awarded the knight's cross, thus becoming the first of the German volunteers to be awarded this honor. On April 27, 1943, the legion was withdrawn from the front and sent to the Grafenwehr training ground.
On May 20, 1943, the Netherlands Volunteer Legion was officially disbanded, in order to be born again on October 22, 1943, but already as the 4th SS Nederland Volunteer Tank Grenadier Brigade.
Volunteer Corps "Denmark"
Eight days after the German attack on 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 for 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 an infantry battalion of 480 people were organized. In August, one officer and 108 Danes from the disbanded Nordwest regiment were added to the battalion. At the end of August, a liaison office 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 [463] to Treskau to join the corps reserve company. By December 31, 1941, the number of the corps increased to 1164 ranks, and about a month later it increased by another hundred people. Until the spring of 1942, the corps personnel underwent training.
On May 8-9, the Danish battalion was transported by plane to the Heiligenbeil area (East Prussia), and then to Pskov, to the North Army Group. Upon arrival, the corps was tactically subordinate to the SS Totenkopf Division. From May 20 to June 2, 1942, the corps participated in battles north and south of the Demyansk fortifications, where it distinguished itself by destroying the Soviet bridgehead. In early 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 replaced and camped in the woods near Vasilivshino. On the morning of June 11, the Red Army launched a counterattack and returned the Bolshoy Dubovichi occupied by the Germans, by mid-afternoon the situation deteriorated even more and von Lettov-Vorbek ordered the corps to retreat. After this battle, the number of companies ranged from 40 to 70 people in each. Having taken up the defensive position in the Vasilivshino area, the corps was replenished with a reserve staff that arrived from Poznan. On July 16, the Red Army attacked and occupied Vasilivshino, and on the 17th attacked the Danish battalion with tanks supported by aviation. Vasilivshino was again occupied by the Germans on 23 July, the extreme left flank of this position was occupied by a corps. On the twenty-fifth of July, the Danes were withdrawn to the reserve. By August 1942, the battalion had lost 78% of its initial strength, which was the reason for its withdrawal from the Demyansk region and sent 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 the ranks were again gathered in Copenhagen and returned to Mitava. 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 that, the corps spent three weeks in reserve. On Christmas Eve, the Danes were attacked by a Soviet division and retreated from their occupied Kondratovo, [464] but on December 25, the corps recaptured Kondratovo. On January 16, 1943, the cauldron at Velikiye Luki was closed, and the Danes moved to a position north of Myshino - Kondratovo, where they remained until the end of February. On February 25, the corps attacked and captured the enemy stronghold on Tide - this was the last battle of the Danish volunteers.
At the end of April 1943, the remaining Danes were sent to the Grafenwehr training ground. On May 6, the corps was officially disbanded, but most of the Danes remained to continue serving in the newly formed Nordland division. In addition to the Danes, a large number of ethnic Germans from northern Schleswig served in this part. White emigres 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 Frederik von Schalburg March 1 - June 2, 1942, Legions Hauptsturmführer K. B. Martinsen June 2-10, 1942, SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Albrecht von Lettow-Vorbeck June 9-11, 1942, again K. B. Martinsen June 11, 1942 - May 6, 1943), Legions-Sturmbannführer Peder Nirgaard-Jacobsen May 2-6, 1943
In April 1943, after the disbandment of the volunteer corps from its veterans who had returned to Denmark, Martinsen created the Danish counterpart of the German SS. Officially, this unit was first named "Danish German Corps", and then the "Schalburg" corps in memory of the deceased corps commander. This corps was not part of the W-SS and did not in any way belong to the SS organization. In the second half of 1944, under pressure from the Germans, the Schalburgcorpset was transferred to the V-SS and reorganized into the SS Schalburg training battalion, and then into the SS Seeland guard battalion.
Volunteer Legion "Norway"
With the beginning of the war of Germany against the USSR, the idea of the need for real participation of the Norwegians in hostilities on the side of Germany was widespread in Norway.
Recruitment points were opened in major Norwegian cities, and by the end of July 1941 the first three hundred Norwegian volunteers had left for Germany. After arriving in Kiel, they were sent to the Fallinbostel training area. Here on the first of August 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 staff of the legion, according to the order of the FHA SS, was supposed 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. A spare 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 included in the 2nd SS Infantry Brigade. After the arrival of the legion, they began to carry out patrol service, and then took part in the 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 arrived at the front, a police company of the Norwegian Legion, created in Norway from pro-German-minded police officers. Its commander was the SS-Sturmbannführer and the leader of the Norwegian SS, Janas Lee. The company operated 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 joined with the 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 the ranks [466] of the Legion 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 Grafenwehr training ground, where the legion was disbanded on May 20, 1943. However, most of the Norwegians responded to the call of V. Quisling 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 officers of the Norwegian police. After completing the training, the company arrived at the front and was included in 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 people of its composition were sent to Oslo, and in December 1944 the company was disbanded. At the time of formation, the company was commanded by SS-Hauptsturmführer Age Heinrich Berg, and then SS-Obersturmführer Oskar 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 1 August 1941, Legions Sturmbannführer Finn Hannibal Kjellstrup from 29 September 1941, Legions Sturmbannführer Arthur Kvist from autumn 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 gave the Germans 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 [467] experience, that is, participants in the "winter war", were distributed among the units of the "Viking" division, and the rest of the volunteers were gathered in Vienna. From Vienna, they were transferred to the Gross Born training area, where they formed the Finnish SS volunteer battalion (previously referred to as the SS volunteer battalion "Nordost"). The battalion consisted of a headquarters, three rifle companies and a company of heavy weapons. 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 losses of the division. 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 sector to 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 stream of the German retreat, went all the way from Mal-gobek (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 Grafenwehr training ground. From Grafenwehr, the Finnish battalion was transferred to Ruhpolding, where it was disbanded on July 11, 1943.
During the existence of the battalion, Finnish volunteers also served as part of the war correspondent unit and in the reserve infantry battalion "Totenkopf" No. 1. Attempts to create a completely new Finnish SS unit in 1943-1944 were unsuccessful, and the formation of the SS "Kalevala" unit was discontinued … The most famous Finnish volunteer was Obersturmführer Ulf Ola Ollin of the 5th SS Panzer Regiment, of all Finns he received the most [468] awards, and his tank, the Panther, numbered 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 British served in the ranks of the V-SS, but until 1943, no attempts were made to form an English legion in the Waffen-SS. The initiator of the creation of the British division was John Amery, the son of the former British Minister for Indian Affairs. John Amery himself was a well-known anti-communist and even fought on the side of General Franco in the Spanish Civil War.
Originally from the British who lived on the continent, Amery created the British Anti-Bolshevik League, which was to create its own armed formations to be sent to the Eastern Front. After a long debate with the Germans, in April 1943 he was allowed to visit the English 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 telephone number of Scotland Yard before the war.
In the summer of 1943, the special unit was transferred under the control of the D-1 XA SS department, which dealt with the issues of European volunteers. In the fall of 1943, the volunteers changed their previous English uniform to the Waffen-SS uniform, while receiving SS soldiers' books. In January 1944, the former name "Legion of St. George" was changed to "British Volunteer Corps", more in line with the tradition of the B-SS. It was planned to increase the size of the corps to 500 people at the expense of prisoners of war, and put Brigadier General Parrington, who was captured in 1941 in Greece, at the head.
After some time, the composition of the British was divided into groups for use at the front. Volunteers were assigned to various parts of the Waffen-SS. The largest number of volunteers was taken to the Kurt Eggers regiment of military correspondents [469], 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 BFK to the III SS Panzer Corps. After the famous air raid of the Western Allies on Dresden, the BFK was transferred to the Lichterfelde barracks in Berlin, where those who had returned 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 specified battalion, the BFK took part in the defense of Schonberg on the western bank of the Oder on March 22.
With the beginning of the storming of Berlin, most of the British went to break through to the Western allies, to whom they surrendered in the Mecklenburg area. The remaining individual volunteers took part in street fighting along with the Nordland division.
In addition to the British, volunteers from the colonies, commonwealth countries and America were recruited into the BFK.
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 Hans Werner Ropke Alexander Dolezalek - until the end of the war.
Indian Volunteer Legion
The Indian Legion was formed 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 the security service, first to Holland, and then to France (guarding the Atlantic Wall). On August 8, 1944, the legion was transferred to the SS forces with the designation "Indian Legion of the Waffen-SS". Seven days later, the Indian volunteers were transported by train from Lokanau to Poyrz.
On arriving in the Poyyrz area, the Hindus were attacked by the Poppies, and in late August, the Legion fought the Resistance en route from Shatrow to Allier. In the first week of September, the legion reached the Berry Canal. Continuing [470] the movement, the Indians fought street battles with the French regular troops in the city of Dong, and then retreated in the direction of Sankoin. In the area of Luzi, the Indians were ambushed at night, after which the legion marched in an accelerated march towards Dijon via Loir. In the battle with enemy tanks at Nuits - Site - Georges, the unit suffered heavy losses. After this battle, the Indians retreated by march through Relipemont in the direction of 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 the Hoiberg training camp, where it remained until the end of March 1945. In early April 1945, the legion was disarmed by Hitler's orders. In April 1945, the Indian Legion began moving towards the Swiss border in the hopes of obtaining asylum there and avoiding extradition to the Anglo-Americans. Breaking through the Alps to the Lake Constance region, the Indian volunteers were surrounded and captured by the French Poppies and the Americans. Since 1943, the so-called Guards Company, located in Berlin and created for ceremonial purposes, existed as part of the Indian regiment. During the war, the company apparently continued to remain in Berlin. During the storming of Berlin, Indians in SS uniform participated in its defense, one of them was even taken prisoner by the Red Army, all of them, probably, were the ranks of the aforementioned "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 [471]. This unit was created from the activists of the ZBOR organization and the radical military. The unit commander was appointed Colonel Konstantin Mushitsky, who was the adjutant of the Yugoslav Queen Maria before the war. The team soon turned into an excellent anti-partisan unit, which was recognized even by 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 the Ustash arbitrariness. Soon, KFOR divisions began to emerge throughout Serbia, these divisions were known as "detachments", during 1942 their number increased to 12, the composition of the detachment, as a rule, included 120-150 soldiers and several 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 SDKKomand was reorganized into the SDKorpus, which consisted of five battalions of 500 people each. The corps did not hide its monarchical orientation and even went to parades in Belgrade under the banner with monarchist slogans. At the beginning of 1944, the KFOR and the new volunteers were reorganized into 5 infantry regiments (Roman numbers I through V) of 1,200 fighters each and an artillery battalion of 500 people. In addition, a school for recruits and a hospital in Logatec were later established as part of KFOR. On October 8, 1944, corps units began their retreat from Belgrade. The next day, the SDKorpus 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 the ranks of the Waffen-SS and continued to wear their previous ranks and obey the Serbian command. After the retreat from Belgrade, the KFOR units, together with the Chetniks and the Germans, fled to 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 regiments of the SDK (I and V regiments), by order of the commander of the Chetniks in Slovenia, General Damjanovic, left in the direction of the Italian border, crossing which they surrendered on May 1. The remaining three regiments II, III and IV, under the command of the chief of staff of the KFOR, Lieutenant Colonel Radoslav [472] Tatalovich, took part in the battles with the NOAU near Ljubljana, after which they retreated into 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 the usual three-battalion regiment at the SS Heidelager training camp (near Debitz, on the territory of the General Government). Soon after being fully staffed, the legion was designated as 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 tank-grenadier 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 the Estonian SS Volunteer Grenadier Battalion "Narva". From March 1944 it operated as the 111 / 10th SS Westland Regiment. Without engaging in major battles, the battalion, together with the division, operated as part of the 1st Panzer Army in the Izyum-Kharkov region. The baptism of fire of the Estonians took place on July 19, 1943 in the battle for Hill 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 the Estonian volunteers distinguished themselves on August 18 of the same year in the battle for heights 228 and 209 near Klenovaya, where, interacting with a company of "tigers" from the SS Totenkopf tank regiment, 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 tools. Continuing the fighting in the ranks of the Viking division, the Estonians along with it ended up in the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky cauldron in the winter of 1944, after leaving which they suffered huge losses. In April, the division received an order to withdraw the Estonian battalion from its composition, the Estonians were given a touching farewell, after which they departed for the place of the new formation.
Caucasian SS military unit
In the early years of the war, a large number of units from the natives of the Caucasus were created as part of the German army. Their formation took place mainly on the territory of occupied Poland. In addition to the front-line army units, various police and punitive units were formed from the Caucasians. In 1943, in Belarus, in the Slonim district, two Caucasian police battalions of the Schutzmannschaft were created - the 70th and 71st. Both battalions took part in anti-partisan operations in Belarus, being subordinate to the chief of the anti-bandit formations. Later, these battalions became the basis for the North Caucasus security brigade being formed in Poland. By order of Himmler on 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 subordinate to the HSSPF "Adriatic Coast" of SS-Obergruppenführer Globochnik. On August 11, the brigade was reorganized into the Caucasian corps by order of Berger, and in less than a month it was renamed the Caucasian formation. The recruitment of the unit was accelerated by the transfer of 5,000 employees from the 800, 801, 802, 803, 835, 836, 837, 842 and 843 army field battalions. The unit 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 was previously part of the East Turkic SS formation, was transferred to the compound. 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 compound were issued by the British to the Soviet side.
In contrast to the next unit, Caucasian émigré officers were in all command positions, and the commander of the unit itself was SS-Standartenführer Arvid Toyerman, a former officer of the Russian Imperial Army.
East Turkic military unit of the SS
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 unpromising use of Asians by the Wehrmacht, dreamed of the sole leadership of all Turkic units. To this end, he went first to Berger, and then to 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 the V-SS by 30,000 Turkestanis, and to the second, the implementation of sabotage in Soviet Central Asia and the organization of anti-Soviet demonstrations. The major's proposals were accepted and, in November 1943, on the basis of the 450th and 480th battalions, the 1st East Muslim SS regiment was created.
The formation of the regiment took place not far from Lublin, in the town of Ponyatovo. In January 1944, it was decided to deploy the regiment into the SS Noye Turkestan division. 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 headquarters of the regiment was located in the town of Yuratishki, not far from Minsk. On March 28, 1944, during one of such operations, the commander of the Mayr-Ma-der regiment was killed, his place was taken by SS-Hauptsturmführer Billig. Compared to the previous commander, he was not popular with his people, and a number of excesses took place in the regiment, as a result of which Billig was displaced, and the regiment was transferred to the von Gottberg battle group. In May, the regiment took part in a large anti-partisan operation [475] near Grodno, after which, together with other national units in late May - early June, it was withdrawn to the territory of Poland. In July 1944, the regiment was sent to the Neuhammer training ground for replenishment and rest, but soon it was 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 4 August, both regiments became subordinate to Battle Group Reinefarth. In Warsaw, Turkestanis operated in the Wola city district. In early 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 East Turkic SS unit. The Muslim regiment was renamed into the "Turkestan" military group with a force of one battalion, the rest of the regiment, together with reinforcements from the Volga-Tatar army units, made up the "Idel - Ural" military group. In addition, an SS assembly camp for Turkic volunteers was set up in the vicinity of Vienna. On October 15th, 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 2317 soldiers. In December, the "Azerbaijan" military group was taken from the compound. This group was transferred to the Caucasian formation. In December, the compound 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 Miyava. At the request of the Soviet representatives, the rebels shot Alimov. For this reason, about 300 Turkestanis again deserted to the Germans. Despite this sad experience, two days later the Germans organized officer courses to train native officers of the formation 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, in the Vienna SS-Obersturmbannfuehrer Anton Ziegler [476], another 2227 Turkestanis, 1622 Azerbaijanis, 1427 Tatars and 169 Bashkirs were gathered in Vienna. All of them were preparing to join the ranks of the Turkic SS unit. In March 1945, the compound was transferred to the 48th Infantry Division (2nd Formation). In April 1945, the 48th division and the Turkic unit 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 East Muslim SS Regiment and the East Turkic SS Formation were commanded by: SS-Obersturmbannführer Andreas Mayer-Mader - November
1943-28 March 1944, SS-Hauptsturmführer Biel-lig - 28 March - 6 April 1944, SS-Hauptsturmführer Hermann - 6 April - May 1944, SS-Sturmbannführer Reserve Franz Liebermann - June - August
1944, SS-Hauptsturmführer Rainer Olzscha - September - October 1944, SS-Hauptsturmführer Wilhelm Hintersatz (under the pseudonym Harun al Rashid) - October - December 1944, SS-Hauptsturmführer Furst - January - May 1945. Mullahs were in all parts of the compound, and Nagib Khodiya was the supreme imam of the entire compound.
Losses of SS troops
During the Polish campaign, the losses of the V-SS were estimated at several dozen people. The superiority of the German army in armament and the lightning-fast course of the campaign reduced the losses of the Waffen-SS 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, prepared positions in advance and the availability of modern artillery from the allies became an obstacle on the way of the SS to victory. During the western campaign, the Waffen-SS lost about 5,000 people. During the fighting, officers and non-commissioned officers led the soldiers into the attack by personal example, which, according to the generals of the Wehrmacht, led to unreasonably large losses among the officers of the Waffen-SS. Undoubtedly, the percentage of losses among the officers of the Waffen-SS was higher than in the units of the Wehrmacht, but the reasons for this should not be sought in poor training or in the method of fighting. In parts of the Waffen-SS, a corporate spirit reigned [477] and there was no such 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 "Fuehrer principle" and that is why, in attacks, SS officers were ahead of their soldiers and died with them.
On the Eastern Front, the SS men 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, the losses of the SS increased even more. According to the most conservative estimates, in the period from September 1, 1939 to May 13, 1945, the SS troops lost more than 253,000 soldiers and officers killed. During the same time, 24 Waffen-SS generals were killed (not counting those who committed suicide and police generals), and two SS generals were shot by court order. The number of wounded in the SS by May 1945 was about 400,000 people, and some of the SS men were wounded more than twice, but after recuperation they still returned to duty. According to Leon Degrel, of the entire Waffen-SS Walloon unit, 83% of the soldiers and officers were injured one or more times. Perhaps, in a number of divisions, the percentage of those who were injured was less, but I think it did not fall below 50%. The SS troops had to operate mainly in the occupied territories, and by the end of the war they had lost more than 70,000 people missing in action.
