And so, today we will talk about how the combat path of the SS division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" ended. This connection has always been in a special account among the rulers of the Third Reich, and was distinguished by fanaticism, contempt for death and loss. But even they couldn't stop the blows Soviet armies, and were ultimately destroyed.

We will start from the end of 1944, when not only Soviet troops reached the borders of the Reich ( East Prussia), and the Allies themselves. Hitler planned to strike at the Anglo-American troops in order to force them into negotiations, and for this purpose a large-scale offensive was organized in the Ardennes region on December 16, 1944.

The main task of defeating the enemy was assigned to the SS tank units, which included the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte. Despite the fact that the German troops were able to break through the Allied front, they failed to enter the operational space due to lack of fuel and difficult terrain.

By December 26, the Americans, having created a multiple superiority in both manpower and tanks, went on the offensive. The German offensive had lasted ten days up to this point, and ended in complete failure. But the 1st SS Panzer Division was sent for the next military operation, which was planned on the territory of Hungary. The 1st SS Panzer Division lost about 50% of its tanks and self-propelled guns, but they were able to restore it in just a month, because it was this unit that had priority in obtaining military equipment.

And so, as part of the 6th SS Panzer Army, the 1st Panzer Division was supposed to push back Soviet troops back to Budapest, which the Red Army took in stubborn battles. The 1st SS Panzer Division was to seize the bridgehead for the offensive. The battles were fought against units of the 24th Guards Rifle Corps, and despite the fact that the Russians were pushed back, it was no longer necessary to speak of any suddenness of the strike.

Parts of the 3rd Ukrainian Front were able to prepare for the German attack, and 67 anti-tank guns were deployed per 1 kilometer. Nevertheless, the Germans had nothing to lose, and on March 6 (some sources indicate March 7), the last major offensive of the Wehrmacht began. For three days the 1st SS Panzer fought against Soviet soldiers, and at the cost of huge losses broke through two lines of defense, and the 30th Soviet Rifle Corps was in fact defeated. Nevertheless, the command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front deployed additional forces in time, which included Soviet heavy self-propelled guns - German tank destroyers.

On March 15, units of the 1st SS Panzer Division made a breach of the maximum scale of 30 kilometers, but they failed to break the last echelon of the Soviet defense, they did not have enough strength.

As a result, 10% of the personnel (18,000 people) and 80% of military equipment were lost. It is rather difficult to say exactly how many Germans lost tanks and self-propelled guns, historian Alexei Isaev calls the minimum figure of 250 pieces of equipment.

However, the defeat for the division came later than the failed offensive. When the Soviet troops went on the offensive against the 6th SS Panzer Army. The attack was carried out without any operational pause, and units of the 1st SS Panzer Division managed to be divided into several independent groups at once, which had to be destroyed.

But, due to the fact that the remnants of the 1st Panzer Division were lucky to fight in the mountainous terrain of Eastern Austria, and this made it possible to restrain the Soviet offensive for the time being. However, by the beginning of May, only 55% of the manpower of the 1st SS Panzer Division remained. If we take into account the fact that after the defeat in March, 10% of manpower was lost, then we can safely say that the German unit was defeated, and the retreat to the demarcation line saved it from complete destruction. There, the remnants of the soldiers of the once strongest SS tank unit laid down their weapons.

On June 24, 1945, on Red Square during the Victory Parade among the abandoned banners of the SS units, the first was the flagpole of the banner of the 1st SS Panzer Division.

Emblems of SS divisions

Almost all German divisions had their own emblems or identification marks. As a rule, they were applied with white, black or yellow oil paint on the divisional military equipment and vehicles; buildings in which the ranks of the respective divisions were quartered; corresponding pointers in the locations of the parts; aircraft (if any), etc. In SS divisions, such identification marks or emblems (“Erkennungszeichen”, German: Erkennungszeichen) almost always fit into heraldic shields that had a “Varangian” or “Norman” form, or the form of a tarch, and in many cases differed from the lavalier signs of the ranks of the corresponding divisions. Although in practice such identification marks (judging by the surviving photographs) were often applied to equipment and divisional property without heraldic shields or simply fit into a circle.

1st Panzer Division "SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" . The name of the division can be translated as "SS Regiment of Adolf Hitler's personal guard". The emblem of the division was a shield-tarch with a picture of a master key (and not a key, as is often incorrectly written and thought). This choice of drawing is explained by the fact that the name of the division commander Josef (Sepp) Dietrich in German means master key (dietrich). After Joseph Dietrich was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the emblem of the division began to be framed by 2 oak leaves or a semicircular oak wreath. The division was founded on March 17, 1933 by Hitler shortly after he came to power. At the beginning of World War II, the 1st SS Division fought as a motorized infantry regiment. According to the testimonies, due to their special stamina, this unit suffered high losses, due to insufficient military training and blind fanaticism. Achievement of the set task, regardless of losses, was considered a special pride.

2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" . The name of the division can be translated into Russian as "Empire", "Power". The emblem of the division was the “wolfsangel” (wolf hook) inscribed in the shield-tarch - an old German rune-amulet that scared away wolves and werewolves (in German: “werewolves”, in Greek: “lycanthropes”, in Icelandic: “ulfhedins” , in Norwegian: "varulvov" or "vargs", in Slavonic: "volkolaks", "volkudlaks" or "volkodlaks"), located horizontally. The division was created on October 10, 1938 by the union of the "SS reserve troops" and part of the "Dead Head" SS formations.

3rd SS Panzer Division "Dead Head" ("Totenkopf"). The emblem of the division was the image of the dead (Adam's) head (skull with bones) inscribed in the shield-tarch - a symbol of loyalty to the leader until death. It was created on November 1, 1939, as a division of motorized infantry. It included parts of the SS "Dead Head", engaged in the protection of concentration camps, and the SS Danzig battalion.

4th SS Motorized Infantry Division "Police" ("Police"), also known as the "(4th) SS Police Division". This division received its 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. Founded October 1, 1939 as a Police Division from employees of the German police. February 10, 1942 passed to the Waffen-SS, to which she belonged informally.

5th SS Panzer Division "Viking". It was founded in April 1941 from the SS Nordland and Westland regiments. The division was the first to include foreigners. It was fought by foreign volunteers from "racially acceptable peoples", mostly residents of the countries of Northern Europe (Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden), as well as Belgium, the Netherlands, Latvia and Estonia. However, foreigners made up only 10% of the personnel. By the end of the war, Swiss, Russian, Ukrainian and Spanish volunteers served in the ranks of the division. The emblem of the division was an oblique cross (sun wheel), that is, a swastika with curved crossbars, on a heraldic shield-tarch.

6th Mountain (Mountain Rifle) Division of the SS "Nord" ("North"). It was founded in the autumn of 1942 in Finland as the SS mountain division "Nord" from the SS division "Nord". October 22, 1943 received the 6th number and became the 6th SS division. The name of this division is explained by the fact that it was recruited mainly from natives of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Latvia). The emblem of the division was the ancient German rune “hagall” (“hagalaz”) inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, which was considered a symbol of unshakable faith.

7th SS Volunteer Mountain (Mountain Rifle) Division "Prince Eugen (Eugen)". Founded in October 1942. Showed particular cruelty to the civilian population. According to the results of a military investigation in 1944, it became known that as a result of the atrocities of the division, 22 settlements With general population about 1000 people. This division, recruited mainly from ethnic Germans living in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Vojvodina, Banat and Romania, was named after the famous commander of the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" in the second half of the XVII- early XVIII in. Prince Eugene (in German: Eugen) of Savoy, who became famous for his victories over the Ottoman Turks and, in particular, won for the Roman German emperor Belgrade (1717). Eugene of Savoy also became famous in the war for Spanish inheritance his victories over the French and earned himself no less fame as a patron of the arts. The emblem of the division was a stylized and inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch the ancient Germanic rune "odal" ("otilia", "etel") with curved lower ends. The rune itself means “real estate / estate” or “heritage” and symbolizes the roots and past of a person - clan, family, homeland, home, property, traditions. However, it should be noted that some foreign and domestic runologists tend to consider such a variant of the outline of the “odal” rune (with curved lower ends) as a separate, “irregular” rune “erda” (“earth rune”). According to their interpretation, the rune of the earth and the earth goddess, bearing the same name in the Germanic languages ​​\u200b\u200b- “Erda”, symbolizes, on the one hand, the earth itself and its holiness, and on the other hand, native land, homeland, kind. Nevertheless, apparently, in the Third Reich in general, and in the SS - in particular, no distinctions were made between the runes "odal" and "Erda" (in relation to both variants of the runic sign described above, as well as in relation to the third variant - with arrow-shaped lower ends, which was used as the emblem of the Dutch SS division "Landstorm Nederland" - the name "odal rune" was used).

8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer. It was created on September 9, 1942 as an SS cavalry division. Participated in the suppression of the partisan population, acted against the Polish rebels from the Home Army in Volhynia. This division was named after the imperial knight Florian Geyer, who led during the Peasant War in Germany (1524-1526) one of the detachments of German peasants (“Black detachment”, in German: “Schwarzer Haufen”), who rebelled against the princes (large feudal lords who opposed the unification of Germany under the scepter of the emperor). Since Florian Geyer wore black armor and his "Black Squad" fought under a black banner, the SS 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 German folklore (especially song folklore), enjoying no less popularity than, say, Stepan Razin - in Russian song folklore. The emblem of the division was a straight naked sword inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, point upwards, crossing the shield from right to left diagonally and a horse's head.

9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" ("Hohenstaufen"). Created from the reserve "Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler" December 31, 1942 in France. Replenished by volunteers from all over the Reich. This division was named after the dynasty of the Swabian dukes (since 1079) and the medieval Roman-German Kaiser emperors (1138-1254) - the Hohenstaufen (Staufen). Under them, the medieval German state (“Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation”), founded by Charlemagne (in 800 AD) and renewed by Otto (n) I the Great, reached the peak of its power, subordinating Italy, Sicily, the Holy Land and Poland. The Hohenstaufen tried, relying on economically highly developed Northern Italy as a base, to centralize their power over Germany and restore the Roman Empire - "at least" - Western (within the borders of the empire of Charlemagne), ideally - the entire Roman Empire, including the Eastern Roman (Byzantine), in which, however, they did not succeed. Most well-known representatives The Hohenstaufen dynasty is considered to be the Crusader Kaisers Frederick I Barbarossa (who died during the Third Crusade) and his great-nephew Frederick II (Emperor of Rome, King of Germany, Sicilia and Jerusalem), as well as Konradin, 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 straight naked sword inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, pointing upwards, superimposed on the capital Latin letter "H" ("Hohenstaufen").

10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg". It was created on February 1, 1943 in southern France as the 10th Panzer grenadier division SS. On October 3, 1943, it was renamed and received the name Frundsberg in honor of the German Renaissance commander Georg (Jörg) von Frundsberg, nicknamed the "Father of the Landsknechts" (1473-1528), under whose command the troops of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and 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 a golden noose with him, with which he intended to strangle the Pope if he fell into his hands alive. The emblem of the 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.

11th SS Infantry Division "Nordland" ("Northern Country"). It was established in July 1943. Fought on the Eastern Front, in May 1945 was almost completely destroyed in Berlin. 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 originally a "wolf hook" without a central vertical line, and later - a heraldic shield-tarch with the image of a "sun wheel" inscribed in a circle.

12th SS Panzer Division "Hitler Youth" ("Hitler Youth"). The order to form a division from conscripts born in 1926 was signed on February 10, 1943. This division was recruited mainly from the ranks of the eponymous youth organization of the Third Reich. The emblem of the division was the ancient German "solar" rune "sig" ("sovulo", "sovelu"), inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch - a symbol of victory and the emblem of the Nazi youth organizations "Jungfolk" and "Hitler Youth", from whose members the volunteers of the division were recruited, superimposed on the master key ("alignment with Dietrich").

13th mountain (mountain) division of the Waffen SS "Khanjar" (often also referred to in military literature as "Handshar" or "Yatagan"), consisting of Croatian, Bosnian and Herzegovina Muslims (Bosnyaks). The beginning of the formation - August 1943. The division has established itself as a competent anti-partisan detachment, the main area of ​​\u200b\u200boperation is Bosnia, Serbia. The emblem of the division was a curved khanjar sword inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch - a traditional Muslim edged weapon, directed diagonally upwards from left to right. 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").

14th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS "Galicia" (Sichevyh Striltsov) she is also the Galician division No. 1, since 1945 - the Ukrainian division No. 1). The emblem of the division was the old coat of arms of the city of Lvov, the capital of Galicia - a lion walking on its hind legs, surrounded by three three-pronged crowns, inscribed in the "Varangian" ("Norman") shield. Along with the 13th SS division, the first SS division was recruited from "non-Nordic" Ukrainian volunteers - Galicians.

15th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Latvian No. 1). It was created in early 1943 and was originally called German. Lettische SS-Freiwilligen Division, renamed a division in June 1944, like the 19th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division, from the Latvian SS Legion. Almost all leading positions of the division were occupied by Latvians. The emblem of the division was originally a "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of the Roman numeral "I" above the stylized printed capital Latin letter "L" ("Latvia"). Subsequently, the division got a different sign - three stars in the background rising sun. The stars meant three Latvian provinces - Vidzeme, Kurzeme and Latgale (a similar image adorned the cockade of the servicemen of the pre-war army of the Republic of Latvia).

16th SS Infantry Division "Reichsführer SS". It was created on October 3, 1943 in Ljubljana from the SS assault brigade "Reichsführer SS". The division is responsible for the massacre at Sant'Anna di Stazzema and at Marzabotto on August 12, 1944 and October 1, 1944 respectively. It was widely used from Italy and Corsica to Hungary. This division was named after SS Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler. in a heraldic shield-tarch a bunch of three oak leaves with two acorns at the handle framed by a laurel wreath.

17th SS Panzer Division "Götz von Berlichingen" It was created in the late autumn of 1943 in the south-west of France from the 49th and 51st Panzer Grenadier Brigades and other units, among others, the 10th Panzer Division. Used in the Balkans against Tito's partisans, in France, in Normandy against 3 American divisions, Saarpfalz, Bavaria. This division was named after the hero of the Peasant War in Germany (1524-1526), ​​the imperial knight Georg (Götz, Goetz) von Berlichingen (1480-1562), the fighter against the separatism of the German princes for the unity of Germany, the leader of the rebel peasants and the hero of the drama Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "Goetz von Berlichingen with an iron hand" (Knight Goetz, who lost his hand in one of the battles, ordered to make an iron prosthesis instead of it, which he owned no worse than others - a hand of flesh and blood). The emblem of the division was the iron hand of Goetz von Berlichingen clenched into a fist (crossing the shield-tarch from right to left and from bottom to top diagonally).

18th SS Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division Horst Wessel. It was created from the 1st SS Infantry Brigade on January 25, 1944 in the Zagreb (Celje) region in western Croatia. The formation of the division was planned from the employees of the SA, however, due to their insufficient number, the division was staffed by Hungarian Germans. This division was named after one of the "martyrs of the Nazi movement" - the commander of the Berlin attack aircraft Horst Wessel, who composed the song "Banners up"! (which became the anthem of the NSDAP and the "second anthem" of the Third Reich) and was killed by communist militants. The emblem of the division was a straight naked sword with the tip up, crossing the shield-tarch from right to left diagonally. According to the surviving data, this division also had another emblem, which was the Latin letters SA stylized as runes (SA - Sturmabteilungen, i.e. "assault squads" - Horst Wessel was one of the leaders), inscribed in a circle.

19th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Latvian No. 2). Formed on the basis of the "Latvian Volunteer Brigade" in January 1944. Most of the soldiers and officers up to the regimental commanders were Latvians. 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 received another tactical sign - an upright right-sided swastika on the "Varangian" shield. The swastika - the “fiery cross” (“ugunskrusts”) or the “cross (of the god of thunder) Perkon” (“perkonkrusts”) has been a traditional element of the Latvian folk ornament for centuries.

20th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Estonian No. 1). The formation began in February 1944 and was carried out on a voluntary basis. Everyone wishing to serve in this unit had to meet the requirements of the SS troops for health and ideological considerations. The emblem of the division was the “Varangian” (“Norman”) heraldic shield with the image of a straight naked sword, point upwards, crossing the shield diagonally from right to left and superimposed on the capital Latin letter “E” (“Estonia”). According to some reports, this emblem was sometimes depicted on the helmets of Estonian SS volunteers.

21st mountain (mountain) division of the Waffen SS "Skanderbeg" (Albanian No. 1). It began to be created on May 1, 1944 in Northern Albania (the province of Kosovo) on the orders of Himmler. This division, recruited mainly from Albanians, was named after national hero 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 repeatedly suffered defeats from him, could not subjugate Albania to their power. The emblem of the division was the ancient coat of arms of Albania, inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch - a double-headed eagle (the ancient Albanian rulers claimed kinship with the basileus-emperors of Byzantium). According to the surviving information, the division also had another sign - a stylized image of the “Skanderbeg helmet” with goat horns superimposed on 2 horizontal stripes.

22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division "Maria Theresa" (and not "Maria Teresa", as is often incorrectly spelled). It was formed on April 29, 1944 from Hungarian volunteers. It operated as part of the Army Group South Ukraine. She received her baptism of fire in October 1944 as part of the 6th Army. Participated in the defense of Budapest, where it was actually destroyed, the remnants of the division were used in the formation of the 37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division "Lützow". 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 XVIII century. The emblem of the division was the image of a cornflower flower inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch with eight petals, a stem, two leaves and one bud - (subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Danubian monarchy, who wanted to join the German Empire, until 1918 wore a cornflower in their buttonhole - the favorite flower of the German emperor Wilhelm II of Hohenzollern).

23rd Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division of the Waffen SS "Kama" (Croatian No. 2). The formation of the division began on June 10, 1944 in eastern Croatia from Croatian, Bosnian and Herzegovina Muslims, but was not completed due to the threat to the training camp of the division by the advancing Red Army. The personnel were included in the 13th SS mountain division "Handshar", which consisted of Croatian, Bosnian and Herzegovina Muslims. "Kama" is the name of a cold weapon traditional for Balkan Muslims with a curved blade (something like a scimitar). The tactical sign of the division was a stylized image of the astronomical sign of the sun in a crown of rays on a heraldic shield-tarch. Information has also been preserved about two other tactical signs of the division. The first was a Tyr rune with two arrow-shaped processes perpendicular to the rune's trunk in its lower part; the second - the rune "odal" (similar to the tactical sign of the SS division "Prince Eugene".

23rd Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division of the Waffen SS "Netherlands" (1st Dutch) . The division appeared in February 1945, after the renaming of the SS volunteer tank-grenadier brigade "Nederland". Nominally, the division consisted of volunteers, in fact - from Dutch collaborators who fled to Germany after the allies occupied Holland, as well as from German soldiers Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS. (The division number "23" had previously been used for the never-formed 23rd SS Mountain Division "Kama" (Croatian No. 2)). Until the end of the war, the division, never numbering more than 5200 personnel, fought in Pomerania against the Red Army, before being almost completely destroyed in the encirclement at Halba. and surrendered. The emblem of the division was the rune "odal" ("otilia") with the lower ends in the form of arrows, inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch.

24th Mountain (Mountain Rifle) Division of the Waffen SS "Karst Jaegers" ("Karst Jaegers", "Karstjäger"). It was organized on August 1, 1944 and consisted mainly of Italian volunteers. Used in northern Italy, primarily in Friuli and Julian Venice, against partisans. The name of this division is explained by the fact that it was recruited mainly from the natives of the mountainous Karst region, located on the border between Italy and Yugoslavia. The emblem of the division was a stylized image of a “karst flower” (“karstbloom”), inscribed in the heraldic shield of the “Varangian” (“Norman”) form.

25th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS "Hunyadi" (Hungarian No. 1). It was formed from the employees of the Hungarian army in February 1945. The Soviet winter offensive forced a retreat to the west, where she surrendered to American forces. This division was named after the medieval Transylvanian-Hungarian Hunyadi dynasty, the most prominent representatives of which were Janos Hunyadi (Johannes Guniades, Giovanni Vaivoda, 1385-1456) and his son King Matthias Corvinus (Matyas Hunyadi, 1443-1490), who heroically fought for freedom Hungary against the Ottoman Turks. The emblem of the division was the “Varangian” (“Norman”) heraldic shield with the image of the “arrow-shaped cross” - the symbol of the Viennese National Socialist Arrow Crossed (“Nilashists”) party Ferenc Salashi - under two three-pronged crowns.

26th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS "Gömbös" (Hungarian No. 2). This division, which consisted mainly of Hungarians, was named after the Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Gyula Gömbes (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 depicting the same arrow-shaped cross, but under three three-pronged crowns.

27th SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Langemark" (Flemish No. 1). This division, formed from the German-speaking Belgians (Flemings), was named after the place of the bloody battle that took place on the territory of Belgium during the Great (First World) War, in 1914. The emblem of the division was the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of the "triskelion" ("triphos" or "triquetra").

28th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Wallonia. It was finally formed on October 18, 1944, after the 5th SS Volunteer Assault Brigade "Wallonia" was reorganized, consisting of the 69th and 70th SS Grenadier Regiments. 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 the image of a straight sword and a curved saber crossed in the shape of the letter "X" with the handles up (in rare cases - with the handles down).

29th Grenadier Infantry Division of the Waffen SS "RONA" (Russian No. 1). The formation of the division was officially announced on August 1, 1944, but the Warsaw Uprising that began soon led to the fact that the promising potential of the "division" (4-5 thousand people) was used by the German command in its suppression, where it suffered heavy losses; at the same time, the composition of the proposed division showed its extremely low combat value with an almost completely absent discipline and morality. In September 1944, together with the Dirlewanger brigade, she was transferred to the suppression of the Slovak uprising, where she operated until October 1944. By this time, the idea of ​​forming a division was finally abandoned, and the remaining personnel (about 3 thousand) were transferred to the formation of the 600th Wehrmacht Infantry Division (aka the 1st division of the ROA) where they were described by the new command as “bandits, marauders and thieves” ; by the end of October 1944, after a review of the remaining personnel stationed in Katowice, plans to form a division finally disappear. The unit as a real combat division never existed, and did not take part in the hostilities. Despite this, in popular literature it is mentioned under this name, as it actually existed. At the beginning of 1945, the 29th SS Grenadier Division "Italia" was created under the same number (No. 29). The divisional sign applied to the equipment, judging by the surviving photographs, was a broadened cross with the abbreviation "RONA" under it.

29th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS "Italy" (Italian No. 1). It arose on February 10, 1945 as the second SS division under this number (the 29th SS Grenadier Division "RONA" (Russian No. 1), was previously disbanded) from the SS Waffen-Grenadier Brigade (Italian No. 1) that already existed since November 1943. In some publications, the additional name of the division appears as "Italy" or "SS Legion Italiana". This division owed its name to the fact that it consisted of Italian volunteers who remained loyal to Benito Mussolini after he was released 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 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 of Benito Mussolini) .

30th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Russian No. 2, it is also Belarusian No. 1). It began to form on March 9, 1945 on the basis of the 1st Belarusian SS brigade, created on January 15, 1945 and consisting of one regiment. It was planned that the formation of the division would be completed by June 30, 1945, but events at the front led to the division being disbanded between April 15 and 20, 1945. The basis of the personnel was Belarusians, who had previously served in police units and detachments of the Belarusian Regional Defense, and then in the 75th and 76th regiments of the 2nd Russian. The division was not fully formed and did not take part in hostilities. The tactical sign of the division was the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of a double ("patriarchal") cross of the Holy Princess Euphrosyne of Polotsk, located horizontally.

31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division (also known as the 23rd Waffen SS Volunteer Mountain Division). It was created on October 1, 1944 on the territory of Hungary from Volksdeutsche self-defense units and soldiers from the disbanded 23rd SS mountain division "Kama". Initially, the division took part in the fighting in the Mohacs-Pecs region. There they participated in the battles near Popovac, Bortsy, Fekete Kapu. Then the division retreated to the northeast to Pechvarad, then participated in the battles south of Szeksard. Having suffered significant losses, in December 1944, the division was forced to retreat again, this time to the Dombovar area. During these battles, the division again suffered significant losses and was withdrawn to Styria, to Marburg. At the end of January 1945, the somehow replenished division was sent to Army Group Center in Silesia. Upon arrival in the Liegnitz area, the Brisken SS police regiment was introduced into its composition and sent to the front. The division first took part in the offensive in the area of ​​Schonau and Goldberg, and then went on the defensive. After that, the division defended near Murau, then withdrew to Hirschberg, then to Könnigratz, and there surrendered to the Red Army. The emblem of the division was the full-face deer head on the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield.

31st SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Bohemia and Moravia" (German: "Böhmen und Meren"). This division was formed from the natives of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, who came under the German control of the territories of the Czech Republic (after the declaration of independence by Slovakia). The emblem of the division was the Bohemian (Czech) crowned lion walking on its hind legs, and the orb crowned with a double cross on the “Varangian” (“Norman”) heraldic shield.

32nd SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "January 30". It was formed in January 1945 in the city of Kurmark from German Volksdeutsche conscripts (volunteers and mobilized), teachers of the "SS Junker Schools", instructors and cadets of SS tank and infantry schools. Initially, there were about 2000 people. The division suffered heavy losses on the Eastern Front on the Oder River, where it fought in February-March 1945. Some units defended the southern part of Berlin. The surviving remnants of the division surrendered to the Allies on May 5, 1945 in the city of Tanemünde. 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 "combat rune" - a symbol of the ancient German god of war Tyr (Tira, Tiu, Tsiu, Tuisto, Tuesco).

33rd Cavalry Division of the Waffen SS "Hungaria", or "Hungary" (Hungarian No. 3). This division was supposedly formed in Hungary in 1944-1945 from Hungarian cavalry units and was destroyed in Budapest. Information about the emblem of the division has not been preserved.

33rd Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS "Charlemagne" (French No. 1). The formation of the brigade was started back in 1944, however, this military formation became a division only on February 10, 1945 in West Prussia, after the SS Charlemagne Grenadier Waffen Brigade (French No. 1) was reorganized with giving it the status of a division. After suffering heavy losses in Pomerania on March 25, 1945, the unit was withdrawn east of Neustrelitz and was to remain there until the end of replenishment and rest. In May 1945, the division surrendered to the Soviet troops. This division was named after Frankish king Charlemagne ("Charlemagne", from the Latin "Carolus Magnus", 742-814), who was crowned emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 800 in Rome (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 emblem of the division was a dissected "Varangian" ("Norman") shield with a half of the Roman-German imperial eagle and three heraldic lilies (French: fleurs de lys) of the French kingdom.

34th SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Landstorm Nederland" ("Netherlands Militia"), (Dutch No. 2). Initially, it was an SS volunteer brigade in the Third Reich, consisting mainly of Danes and Dutch. She took part in the fighting on the western front of the European theater of World War II. In February 1945, the brigade received an order according to which it was reorganized into an SS division, despite the fact that its strength was never higher than the combat strength separate brigade. 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 of Anton-Adrian Mussert).

35th SS Police Grenadier (Infantry) Division ("Police Division II") The formation of the division began on March 16, 1945, when the 29th and 30th SS police regiments were assigned to the Waffen-SS and consisted of those mobilized for military service German police officials. The real combat potential of the division remained unknown, since the division only managed to take part in the defense of Berlin (in the Battle of the Seelow Heights) and was destroyed in an attempt to break through the Soviet defense, known in Western historiography as the Battle of Halba. Some minor parts of the division managed to surrender to American or Soviet troops in the area of ​​​​the demarcation line of the two army groups near the Elbe.

36th Grenadier Division of the Waffen SS "Dirlewanger". The SS assault brigade "Dirlewanger" - a punitive SS unit under the command of Oskar Dirlewanger, was recruited from prisoners of German prisons, concentration camps and SS military prisons. special status The brigade was marked by the fact that on the buttonholes, instead of the SS runes, its members wore the symbol of the brigade - crossed grenades. At the end of the war, the 36th SS Waffen Grenadier Division "Dirlewanger" was created on the basis of the brigade. It can only be called a division conditionally, since formally it never became one (in 1944, on the basis of this brigade, it was supposed to form a separate (36th according to the standard “through” numbering) division, but the formation was never completed, since in 1945, almost all members of the brigade were destroyed). The emblem of the division was inscribed in the "Varangian" ("Norman") shield, two crossed in the shape of the letter "X" hand grenades "mallets" with handles down.

According to the orders of the imperial leader (Reichsführer) of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, in the last months of the war, the formation of several more SS divisions was started (but not completed):

35th SS Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Police" ("Police"), it is also the 35th SS Police Grenadier (Infantry) Division. Information about the emblem of the division has not been preserved.

36th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS. Information about the emblem of the division has not been preserved.

37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division "Lützow". It was formed near Marchfeld on the Hungarian-Slovak border in February 1945. The personnel of the division was assembled from the remnants of the cavalry divisions - the 22nd "Maria Theresa" and the 8th "Florian Geyer", battered in the battles near the besieged Budapest, and, due to the recruitment of the Hungarian Volksdeutsche, was brought to the required number as quickly as possible. The division was named after the hero of the struggle against Napoleon, Major of the Prussian army Adolf von Lützow (1782-1834), who formed the first German patriots in the history of the Wars of Liberation (1813-1815) against Napoleonic tyranny. volunteer corps("black huntsmen Lutzow"). The tactical sign of the division was the image of a straight naked sword inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, point upwards, superimposed on the capital Gothic letter "L", that is, "Luttsov").

38th SS Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Nibelungen" ("Nibelungen"). It was formed on March 27, 1945 and by Hitler's personal order was sent to the Western Front. Vela fighting in Bavaria. She ended the war on May 8, 1945 in Reit im Winkl by surrendering to American troops. The division was named after the heroes of the medieval Germanic heroic epic - the Nibelungen. So the spirits of darkness and fog, elusive to the enemy and possessing countless treasures, were originally called; then - the knights of the kingdom of the Burgundians who took possession of these treasures. As you know, SS Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler dreamed of creating an "SS order state" in Burgundy after the war. The emblem of the division was the image of the winged invisibility helmet of the Nibelungs inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch.

39th Mountain (Mountain Rifle) Division of the SS "Andreas Gofer". The division was named in honor of the national hero of Austria 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. In the 20th century, the German Social Democrats composed their own song “We are the young guard of the proletariat”, and the Soviet Bolsheviks - “We are the young guard of workers and peasants” to the tune of the folk song about the execution of Andreas Hofer - “Under Mantua in Chains”. Information about the emblem of the division has not been preserved.

40th SS Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division "Feldgerrngalle" (not to be confused with the German Wehrmacht division of the same name). This division was named after the building of the "Gallery of Generals" (Feldgerrngalle), in front of which on November 9, 1923, the Reichswehr and the police of the Bavarian separatist leader Gustav Ritter von Kahr shot a column of participants in the Hitler-Ludendorff putsch against the government of the Weimar Republic. Information about the tactical sign of the division has not been preserved.

41st Infantry Division of the Waffen SS "Kalevala" (Finnish No. 1). This division, named after the Finnish heroic folk epic, began to be formed from among the Finnish Waffen SS volunteers who did not obey the order given in 1943 by the Finnish Commander-in-Chief Marshal Baron Carl Gustav Emil von Mannerheim to return from Eastern Front home and rejoin the Finnish army. Information about the emblem of the division has not been preserved.

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.

43rd Infantry Division of the Waffen SS "Reichsmarschall". This division, the formation of which was begun on the basis of parts of the German air force (Luftwaffe), left without aviation equipment, flight school cadets and ground personnel, was named after the Imperial Marshal (Reichsmarschall) of the Third Reich Hermann Goering. Reliable information about the emblem of the division has not been preserved.

44th Motorized Infantry Division of the Waffen SS "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 during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), Duke of Friedland Albrecht Eusebius Wenzel von Wallenstein (1583-1634), a Czech by birth, the hero of the dramatic trilogy of the classic of German literature Friedrich von Schiller "Wallenstein" ("Wallenstein's Camp", "Piccolomini" and "The Death of Wallenstein"). Information about the emblem of the division has not been preserved.

45th SS Infantry Division "Varyags" ("Vareger"). Initially, Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler intended to give the name "Varyags" ("Vareger") 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 "Varyags" for his Nordic SS volunteers, seeking to avoid undesirable associations with the medieval "Varangian guard" (consisting of Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, Russians and Anglo-Saxons) in the service of the Byzantine emperors. The Fuhrer had a negative attitude towards the Constantinople "basileus", considering them, like all the Byzantines, "morally and spiritually decomposed, deceitful, treacherous, corrupt and treacherous decadents", and not wanting to be associated with the rulers of Byzantium. 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 of the USSR in the Balkans, the formation of another SS division called "Vareger" ("Varangians"); however, due to the circumstances, the matter was limited to the formation in the Balkans of the "Russian (security) corps (Russian security group)" and a separate Russian regiment of the SS "Varyag".

Serbian SS Volunteer Corps. The corps consisted of former military personnel of the Yugoslav royal army (mostly of Serbian origin), most of whom were members of the Serbian monarcho-fascist movement Z.B.O.R., headed by Dmitry Letic. The tactical sign of the corps was a tarch shield and an image of a grain ear superimposed on a naked sword with the point down, located diagonally.

During the Second World War, the divisions of the SS troops were considered the elite formations of the armed forces of the Third Reich.

Almost all of these divisions had their own emblems (tactical or identification marks), which were by no means worn by the ranks of these divisions as sleeve patches (rare exceptions big picture not changed at all), but applied with white or black oil paint on divisional military equipment and vehicles, buildings in which the ranks of the respective divisions were quartered, corresponding signs in the locations of units, etc. These identification (tactical) signs (emblems) of SS divisions - almost always inscribed in heraldic shields (having the "Varangian", or "Norman", form or the form of a tarch) - in many cases differed from the lapel signs of the ranks of the corresponding divisions.

1. 1st SS Panzer Division "SS Adolf Hitler's Leibstandarte".

The name of the division means "SS Regiment of Adolf Hitler's personal guard". The emblem (tactical, or identification mark) of the division was a shield-tarch 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 very simply. The surname of the division commander Josef ("Sepp") Dietrich was "speaking" (or, in heraldic language, "vowel"). In German, "Dietrich" means "master key". After "Sepp" Dietrich was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the emblem of the division began to be framed with 2 oak leaves or a semicircular oak wreath.

2. 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich".

The name of the division - "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 old German amulet sign that scared away wolves and werewolves (in German: "werewolves", in Greek: "lycanthropes", in Icelandic: " ulfhedins", in Norwegian: "varulvov" or "vargs", in Slavic: "ghouls", "volkolaks", "volkudlaks" or "wolf laks"), located horizontally.

3. 3rd SS Panzer Division "Dead Head" ("Totenkopf").

The division got its name from the emblem of the SS - the "dead (Adam's) head" (skull with bones) - a symbol of loyalty to the leader until death. The same emblem, inscribed in the shield-tarch, also served as the identification mark of the division.

4. 4th SS Motorized Infantry Division "Police" ("Police"), also known as the "(4th) SS Police Division".

This division received its 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 "Viking".

The name of this division is explained by the fact that, along with the Germans, it was recruited from residents of the Nordic countries (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 emblem of the division was the "oblique cross" ("sun wheel"), that is, a swastika with arcuately curved 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 Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Latvia). The emblem of the division was the ancient German rune "hagall" inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch (resembling the Russian letter "Zh"). The rune "hagall" ("hagalaz") was considered a symbol of unshakable faith.

7. 7th SS Volunteer Mountain (Mountain Rifle) Division "Prince Eugen (Eugen)".

This division, recruited mainly from ethnic Germans living in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Vojvodina, Banat and Romania, was named after the famous commander of the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" in the second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries. Prince Eugene (in German: Eugen) of Savoy, who became famous for his victories over the Ottoman Turks and, in particular, won Belgrade for the Roman-German emperor (1717). Eugene of Savoy also became famous in the War of the Spanish Succession for his victories over the French and earned himself no less fame as a patron of the arts. The emblem of the division was the ancient Germanic 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 after the imperial knight Florian Geyer, who led during the Peasants' War in Germany (1524-1526) one of the detachments of German peasants ("Black detachment", in German: "Schwarzer Haufen"), who rebelled against the princes (large feudal lords who opposed the unification of Germany under the scepter of the emperor). Since Florian Geyer wore black armor and his "Black Squad" fought under a black banner, the SS regarded 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 German folklore (especially song folklore), 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, point upwards, crossing the shield diagonally from right to left, 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 Kaiser emperors (1138-1254) - the Hohenstaufen (Staufen). Under them, the medieval German state ("Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation"), founded by Charlemagne (in 800 A.D.) and renewed by Otto (n) I the Great, reached the peak of its power, subordinating Italy to its influence, Sicily, the Holy Land and Poland. The Hohenstaufens tried, relying on economically highly developed Northern Italy as a base, to centralize their power over Germany and restore the Roman Empire - "at least" - Western (within the borders of the empire of Charlemagne), ideally - the entire Roman Empire, including the Eastern Roman (Byzantine), in which, however, they did not succeed. The most famous representatives of the Hohenstaufen dynasty are the Crusader Kaisers Frederick I Barbarossa (who died during the Third Crusade) and his great-nephew Frederick II (Emperor of Rome, King of Germany, Sicily and Jerusalem), as well as Konradin, 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, point upwards, 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 Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and 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 a golden noose with him, with which he intended to strangle the Pope if he fell into his hands alive. In the ranks of the SS division "Frundsberg" served in his youth a famous German writer, laureate 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" ("Northern 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 "Hitler Youth"

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" ("sovulo", "sovelu"), inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch - a symbol of victory and the emblem of the Nazi youth organizations "Jungfolk" and "Hitler Youth", from among whose members were recruited volunteers of the division, imposed on the master key ("alignment with Dietrich").

13. 13th mountain (mountain) division of the Waffen SS "Khanjar"

(often also referred to in military literature as "Handshar" or "Yatagan"), which consisted of Croatian, Bosnian and Herzegovina Muslims (Bosnyaks). "Khanjar" is a traditional Muslim edged weapon with a curved blade (related to the Russian words "konchar" and "dagger", also meaning edged weapons). The emblem of the division was a curved sword-khanjar inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, directed diagonally upwards from left to right. 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); she is the SS division "Galicia".

The emblem of the division was the old 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 the "Varangian" ("Norman") shield.

15. 15th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Latvian No. 1).

The emblem of the division was originally a "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of the Roman numeral "I" above the stylized printed capital Latin letter "L" ("Latvia"). Subsequently, the division received another tactical sign - 3 stars against the background of the rising sun. 3 stars meant 3 Latvian provinces - Vidzeme, Kurzeme and Latgale (a similar image adorned the cockade of the military personnel of the pre-war army of the Republic of Latvia).

16. 16th SS 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 inscribed in a heraldic shield-tarch with 2 acorns near the handle framed by a laurel wreath, inscribed in a shield-tarch.

17. 17th SS Panzer Division "Götz von Berlichingen".

This SS division was named after the hero of the Peasant War in Germany (1524-1526), ​​the imperial knight Georg (Götz, Goetz) von Berlichingen (1480-1562), the fighter against the separatism of the German princes for the unity of Germany, the leader of the 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 arm in one of the battles, ordered to make an iron prosthesis for himself, which he owned no worse than others - a hand of flesh and blood). The emblem of the division was the iron hand of Goetz von Berlichingen clenched into a fist (crossing the shield-tarch from right to left and from bottom to top diagonally).

18. 18th SS Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division "Horst Wessel".

This division was named after one of the "martyrs of the Nazi movement" - the commander of the Berlin attack aircraft Horst Wessel, who composed the song "Banners up"! (which became the anthem of the NSDAP and the "second anthem" of the Third Reich) and was killed by communist militants. The emblem of the division was a naked sword with the tip up, crossing the shield-tarch from right to left diagonally. According to the surviving data, the Horst Wessel division also had another emblem, which was the Latin letters SA stylized as runes (SA = Sturmabteilungen, i.e. "storm troops"; "martyr of the Movement" Horst Wessel, after whom the division got its name , 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 received another tactical sign - an upright right-sided swastika on the "Varangian" shield. The swastika - the "fiery cross" ("ugunskrusts") or the "cross (of the god of thunder) Perkon" ("perkonkrusts") has been a traditional element of the 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, point upwards, 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) division of the Waffen SS "Skanderbeg" (Albanian No. 1).

This division, recruited mainly from Albanians, was named after the national hero of the Albanian people, Prince George Alexander Kastriot (nicknamed by the Turks "Iskander-beg" or, for short, "Skanderbeg"). While Skanderbeg (1403-1468) was alive, the Ottoman Turks, who repeatedly suffered defeats from him, could not subjugate Albania to their power. The emblem of the division was the ancient coat of arms of Albania, inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch - a 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 18th century. The emblem of the division was the 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 the German Empire, until 1918 wore cornflower in their buttonhole - the favorite flower of the German emperor Wilhelm II of Hohenzollern).

23. 23rd Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division of the Waffen SS "Kama" (Croatian No. 2)

consisting of Croatian, Bosnian and Herzegovinian Muslims. "Kama" is the name of a cold weapon traditional for the Balkan Muslims with a curved blade (something like a scimitar). The tactical sign of the division was a stylized image of the astronomical sign of the 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 a rune "Tyur" with 2 arrow-shaped processes perpendicular to the trunk of the rune in its lower part.

24. 23rd Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division of the Waffen SS "Netherlands"

(Dutch No. 1).

The name of this division is explained by the fact that its personnel were recruited mainly from the Dutch (Dutch) Waffen SS volunteers. The emblem of the division was the rune "odal" ("otilia") with the lower ends in the form of arrows, inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch.

25. 24th Mountain (Mountain Rifle) Division of the Waffen SS "Karst Jaegers" ("Jägers Karst", "Karstjäger").

The name of this division is explained by the fact that it was recruited mainly from the natives of the mountainous Karst region, located on the border between Italy and Yugoslavia. The emblem of the division was a stylized image of a "karst flower" ("karstbloom"), inscribed in the heraldic shield of the "Varangian" ("Norman") form.

26. 25th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the 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 of which were Janos Hunyadi (Johannes Guniades, Giovanni Vaivoda, 1385-1456) and his son King Matthias Corvinus (Matyas Hunyadi, 1443- 1490), who heroically fought for the freedom of Hungary against the Ottoman Turks. The emblem of the division was the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of the "arrow-shaped cross" - the symbol of the Viennese National Socialist party "Arrow Crossed" ("Nigerlashists") Ferenc Salashi - under 2 three-pronged crowns.

27. 26th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS "Gömbös" (Hungarian No. 2).

This division, which consisted mainly of Hungarians, was named after the Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Gyula Gömbes (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 depicting the same arrow-shaped cross, but under 3 three-pronged crowns.

28. 27th SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Langemark" (Flemish No. 1).

This division, formed from the German-speaking Belgians (Flemings), was named after the place of the bloody battle that took place on the territory of Belgium during the Great (First World) War, in 1914. The emblem of the division was the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of the "triskelion" ("triphos" or "triquetra").

29. 28th SS Panzer Division. Information about the tactical sign of the division 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 the image of a straight sword and a curved saber crossed in the shape of the letter "X" with the handles up.

31. 29th Grenadier Infantry Division of the Waffen SS "RONA" (Russian No. 1).

This division - "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 broadened cross with the abbreviation "RONA" under it.

32. 29th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the 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 he was released 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 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 of Benito Mussolini) .

33. 30th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Russian No. 2, it is also Belarusian No. 1).

This division consisted mainly of former fighters of the "Belarusian Regional Defense" detachments. The tactical badge of the division was the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of a 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 a 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 (also known as the 23rd Waffen SS Volunteer Mountain Division).

The emblem of the division was the head of a deer full face on the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield.

35. 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Bohemia and Moravia" (German: "Böhmen und Meren").

This division was formed from the natives of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, who came under the German control of the territories of the Czech Republic (after the declaration of independence by Slovakia). The emblem of the division was the Bohemian (Czech) crowned lion walking on its hind legs, and the orb crowned with a double cross on the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield.

36. 32nd SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) 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 "combat rune" - a symbol of the ancient German god of war Tyr (Tira, Tiu, Tsiu, Tuisto, Tuesco).

37. 33rd Cavalry Division of the Waffen SS "Hungaria", or "Hungary" (Hungarian No. 3).

This division, which consisted 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 after the Frankish king Charlemagne ("Charlemagne", from the Latin "Carolus Magnus", 742-814), who was crowned emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 800 in Rome (which included the territories of modern Northern Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and part of Spain), and is considered the founder of modern German and French statehood. The emblem of the division was a dissected "Varangian" ("Norman") shield with a half of the Roman-German imperial eagle and 3 heraldic lilies (French: fleurs de lys) of the French kingdom.

39. 34th SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Landstorm Nederland" (Dutch No. 2).

"Landstorm Nederland" means "Netherlands 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 Netherlands National Socialist movement of Anton-Adrian Mussert).

40. 36th SS Police Grenadier (Infantry) Division ("Police Division II")

consisted of the ranks of the German police 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 Grenadier Division of the Waffen SS "Dirlewanger".

The emblem of the division was inscribed in the "Varangian" ("Norman") shield 2 crossed in the shape of the letter "X" hand grenades - "mallets" with 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 imperial leader (Reichsführer) SS Heinrich Himmler, was started (but not completed):

42. 35th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the SS "Police" ("Police"), it is also the 35th Police Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the SS. Information about the tactical sign (emblem) of the division has not been preserved.

43. 36th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS. Information about the emblem of the division has not been preserved.

44. 37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division "Lützow".

The division was named in honor of the hero of the fight against Napoleon, Major of the Prussian army Adolf von Lützow (1782-1834), who formed the first in the history of the Wars of Liberation (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, point upwards, inscribed in a heraldic shield-tarch, superimposed on the capital Gothic letter "L", that is, "Lützow").

45. 38th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the SS "Nibelungen" ("Nibelungen").

The division was named after the heroes of the medieval Germanic heroic epic - the Nibelungen. So the spirits of darkness and fog, elusive to the enemy and possessing countless treasures, were originally called; then - the knights of the kingdom of the Burgundians who took possession of these treasures. As you know, SS Reichsführer 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 invisibility helmet of the Nibelungs inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch.

46. ​​39th mountain (mountain rifle) division of the SS "Andreas Gofer".

The division was named in honor of the national hero of Austria 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 zind di junge garde des proletariats"), and the Soviet Bolsheviks - "We are the young guard of workers and peasants." Information about the emblem of the division has not been preserved.

47. 40th SS Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division "Feldgerrngalle" (not to be confused with the German Wehrmacht division of the same name).

This division was named after the building of the "Generals' Gallery" (Feldgerrngalle), in front of which on November 9, 1923, the Reichswehr and the police of the Bavarian separatist leader Gustav Ritter von Kahr shot down a column of participants in the Hitler-Ludendorff coup against the government of the Weimar Republic. Information about the tactical sign of the division has not been preserved.

48. 41st Infantry Division of the Waffen SS "Kalevala" (Finnish No. 1).

This SS division, named after the Finnish heroic folk epos, began to be formed from among the Finnish Waffen SS volunteers who did not obey the order given in 1943 by the Finnish Commander-in-Chief Marshal Baron Carl Gustav Emil von Mannerheim to return from the Eastern Front to their homeland and re-join the Finnish army . Information about the emblem of the division has not 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 Infantry Division of the Waffen SS "Reichsmarschall".

This division, the formation of which was started on the basis of parts of the German air force ("Luftwaffe"), left without aviation equipment, cadets of flight schools and ground personnel, was named after the Imperial Marshal (Reichsmarschall) of the Third Reich Hermann Goering. Reliable information about the emblem of the division 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 during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), Duke of Friedland Albrecht Eusebius Wenzel von Wallenstein (1583-1634), a Czech by birth, the hero of the dramatic trilogy of the classic of German literature Friedrich von Schiller "Wallenstein" ("Wallenstein's Camp", "Piccolomini" and "The Death of Wallenstein"). Information about the emblem of the division has not been preserved.

52. 45th SS Infantry Division "Varyags" ("Vareger").

Initially, SS Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler intended to give the name "Varyags" ("Vareger") 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 "Varyags" for his Nordic SS volunteers, seeking to avoid undesirable 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 "Vasileus", considering them, like all Byzantines, "morally and spiritually decomposed, deceitful, treacherous, corrupt and treacherous decadents", and not wanting 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 since the era crusades), and it is no coincidence that in the Western European lexicon there is even a special concept of "Byzantinism" (meaning: "treachery", "cynicism", "meanness", "groveling before the strong and ruthlessness towards the weak", "treachery" ... in general , "the Greeks are 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 of the USSR in the Balkans, the formation of another SS division called "Vareger" ("Varangians"); however, due to the circumstances, the matter was limited to the formation in the Balkans of the "Russian (security) corps (Russian security group)" and a separate Russian regiment of the SS "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 military personnel of the Yugoslav royal army (mainly of Serbian origin), most of whom were members of the Serbian monarcho-fascist movement Z.B.O.R., headed by Dmitry Letic. The tactical sign of the corps was a tarch shield and an image of a grain ear superimposed on a naked sword with the point down, located diagonally.

The divisions of the SS troops (Waffen SS) were selected units, the true elite of the Nazi armed forces during the Second World War. The SS Division Das Reich (which, in German, means the Empire, or more precisely, the State), is the subject of this book, which sets out the background to the formation of this elite SS military unit, including the history of the origin of the SS division - FT (Ferfügungstruppe or Ferfügungstruppen ), its organization, the number of personnel recruited into it, the most famous commanders and lower ranks, who especially distinguished themselves in the course of hostilities. The book also pays considerable attention to the description of the military training of the ranks of the Waffen SS, symbols, uniforms, banners and insignia of the division's military personnel.

The book "SS Panzer Division Das Reich" describes in detail the combat path of the division that fought during the Second World War both on the Western and Eastern fronts. It describes the participation of the division in the invasion of Poland, in the defeat of Belgium, Holland and France, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the battles of Kharkov and Kursk, the defense of Normandy, the Ardennes offensive, an unsuccessful attempt to break the encirclement around Budapest and in the defense of Vienna, where the division actually bled to death , having worthily completed his military career. The dark spot in the history of the division, connected with the participation of its servicemen in the “cleansing operations” carried out in the French city of Tulle and the destruction of the town of Oradour-sur-Glan, did not remain ignored. Illustrated with rare photographs, the book "SS Panzer Division Das Reich" - in contrast to countless publications that demonize the SS in general and the SS troops - in particular, and from the not so numerous, but, nevertheless, apologetic publications about the SS that are found on the modern book market , immensely extolling their merits and dignity and at the same time trying by any means to justify or hush up the crimes they committed! - represents a truly truthful, that is, unfictional and unvarnished, story of one of the best military formations of Nazi Germany during the Second World War - the most terrible and bloody conflict in the history of mankind.

INSTEAD OF INTRODUCTION

ARMOR IS STRONG AND OUR TANKS ARE FAST

It was the second day of the "Ardennes breakthrough" - the last German offensive on the Western Front. The morning of this December 17, 1944 here on western slopes Belgian Ardennes, turned out to be damp and foggy. There was a fine, cold rain, brought from the Atlantic by a gusty northerly wind. A full-fledged American armored artillery battalion, consisting of twenty-seven of the latest Sherman medium tanks, twenty-six field and anti-tank artillery pieces, and two hundred US Army soldiers and officers, approached the southern outskirts of the small town of Malmedy. The quarters of the city, vaguely showing through the veil of heavy morning fog, seemed to be quite close. American tankers, leaning out of the towers to the waist, were talking cheerfully through throat phones. Suddenly…

Something very large and at the same time very fast flashed through the fog, and a German Panther medium tank with a cross on the armor jumped out from under the slope of the ravine at the American armored column, turning the long trunk of the turret gun on the move. The carriage of the head American gun, crushed by the Panther's caterpillar, crunched. She quickly jumped over the next two, now, close, no longer dangerous anti-tank guns. Obliquely, almost on the move, with some kind of laughing anguish, spitting out a smoky-red sheaf of fire, the Panther's gun hit - and immediately pulled the ammunition on the lead American Sherman. Deadly pecking barrel, "Sherman" instantly turned into a brightly flaming torch. From somewhere on the side, out of the fog, two more German tanks and, turning around abruptly, fired machine guns at the American gun servants. Two more brand-new Shermans flared up, without having had time to prepare for battle, and the rest, heavily breaking the formation, a frightened herd of Arizona bulls, rushed down the long, gentle slope, cowardly exposing their angular ash-colored shells to the hissing German Panther shells. sides with white pentagrams ...

The destruction was complete. Sixteen burned-out Shermans and the bodies of seventy (according to other sources - seventy-one) killed Americans remained on the field of a tank battle, which lasted no more than a quarter of an hour. The entire cannon artillery battery was completely destroyed. At the same time, the Germans did not lose a single person. The success of the German tank attack near Malmedy could go down in the annals of the world military science, as one of the fastest and most effective tactical tank operations of World War II. I could have, but I didn't. There were a number of reasons for this.

First, the German plan to throw the Anglo-American "Western Allies" into Atlantic Ocean from whence they sailed failed. After persistent requests from Roosevelt and Churchill to "save Private Ryan," Stalin threw Soviet troops on three central fronts into a massive offensive, which forced the command of the German Wehrmacht to transfer the most combat-ready units from Western Front to East. The German offensive in the Ardennes was stopped - the Anglo-Americans were saved.

Secondly, the brilliant victory at Malmedy was won not just by some Germans, but by the SS troops (Waffen SS), which, apparently, even before the appropriate verdict of the Nuremberg International Tribunal, it was tacitly decided to consider, together with all the SS, criminal organization - although with the same success one could consider the Soviet troops of the NKVD, who fought on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, responsible for all the crimes committed by the executioners of the NKVD in Stalin's camps and dungeons, only because they were both considered "NKVDists" and wore the same uniform!

Thirdly, the victory at Malmedy was won not just by some SS troops, but by the 1st SS Panzer Division, which bore the name of Adolf Hitler, which could be interpreted not only in a purely military, but also in an undesirable symbolic sense.

Fourthly, the command of the American Expeditionary Forces, defying all the rules of officer honor, did not want to admit in the face of History that their troops were so quickly and ingloriously defeated at Malmedy. The destruction, within just a quarter of an hour, of an entire armored artillery battalion with the forces of only three German medium tanks, could only be explained by two reasons:

1) the complete mediocrity of the American military leadership (but the Americans, of course, could not recognize this - the “honor of the uniform” did not allow!);

2) excellent moral and combat training of the enemy (but the recognition of this fact, of course, would deal a blow to fighting spirit the US Army, which was not particularly resilient - its companies in Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq, etc. serve as an example).

However, turning a blind eye to the truth, one could try to find (or, to be more precise, invent) the third reason for what happened. And the Anglo-American wise men followed this third path.

A few days after the stabilization of the front in the Ardennes, the radio station of the British Royal Air Force transmitted an information report (of course, without prudently saying that the information it transmitted did not come from military intelligence, from the battlefield, but from the opposite side - from across the ocean, from special services USA!). The report reported that the Germans, in order to create the impression of the defeat of American troops near Malmedy, killed several hundred (!) Captured (!) American soldiers, allegedly specially brought in advance for this purpose to the Malmedy region from Germany.

Country: Third Reich.

Type: motorized division.

1939 - SS division reserve troops (German: SS-Division Verfügungstruppe),

1940 - Reich,

1942 - 2nd Motorized Division "Das Reich" (2.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Das Reich),

the final name was given in 1943.

Motto: "My honor is called "loyalty"" (German: "Meine Ehre heißt Treue").

Participation in World War II:

Invasion of France.
Smolensk battle (1941).
Battle for Moscow.
Rzhev battle.
Battle of Kursk
Kharkov operation (1943).
resistance to the Normandy landings.
Arden operation.

Insignia: sleeve cuff tape

Known commanders: Paul Hausser, Wilhelm Bittrich, Matthias Kleinhesterkamp.

The SS Reserve Division (German: SS-Verfügungsdivision) was formed on October 10, 1938 by combining the “SS Reserve Troops” (German: SS-Verfügungstruppen) with a part of the “Totenkopf” SS formations. Type of troops - motorized infantry (German: Panzergrenadier).

The first commander is SS Gruppenfuehrer Paul Hausser.

Connection history.

SS division "reserve army" (SS-Division Verfügungstruppe).

In the Polish campaign in September 1939, individual regiments of the division were included in the larger formations of the Wehrmacht. Paul Hausser with the Deutschland Regiment, propaganda and reconnaissance unit was attached to the headquarters of the Kempf Panzer Division. Regiment "Germany" became a reserve part of the 14th Army under the command of General List. The shock assault battalion served with the life standard of von Reichenau's 10th Army. The Der Fuhrer Regiment was kept in a special reserve during the entire campaign and did not take an active part in the battles.

In 1940, the division participated in campaigns in the West (Netherlands, France).

SS Division "Reich".

Transformed into the SS division "Reich" (in Russian sources also "Reich") on February 25, 1941. Participated in the capture of Yugoslavia in April 1941. On the evening of April 12, 1941, SS Hauptsturmführer Klingenberg, at the head of the reconnaissance patrol of the Reich division, occupied the capital of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and officially (in the presence of a German diplomatic person) accepted the keys to the city from the mayor of Belgrade.

Eastern front.

From 06/22/41 - was part of the 46th Corps (motorized) of the 2nd Panzer Group (Guderian), Army Group Center:

Smolensk battle.

Since 1942, she fought in the Rzhev region.

The composition of the division in 1941-42:

• SS Regiment "Der Fuhrer".
• SS Regiment "Deutschland".
• 11th infantry regiment SS.
• Artillery Regiment:

1. Battery of assault guns.
2. Anti-tank battalion.
3. Motorcycle Battalion.
4. Reconnaissance Battalion.
5. Sapper Battalion.
6. Anti-aircraft gun battalion.
7. Communication Battalion.

SS Motorized Division "Reich".

Reorganized since November 1942 in Normandy (Northern France).

From February 1943 on the southern sector of the Eastern Front (Third Battle for Kharkov).

April 20, 1943 USSR, after the third battle for Kharkov. Walter Krueger at the Knight's Cross ceremony.

T-34 tanks from the Das Reich division.

Grenadiers and armored vehicles of the Harmel battle group in Kharkov, 1943.

Division units participated in punitive operations in the occupied territories.

In July 1943, as part of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps - in the Battle of Kursk (participated in battles with the 5th Guards Tank Army of General Rotmistrov near Prokhorovka). In August 1943 - on the Mius Front. Then the fighting in Ukraine, from February 1944 - assigned to France.

In October 1943, it was renamed from a motorized to a tank division (in fact, even before the renaming, it corresponded to the state of a tank division).

From July 1944 - in the battles in Normandy. At the end of 1944, she participated in the Battle of the Ardennes, in February-March 1945 - in battles in Hungary, in April 1945 she retreated to the Czech Republic, in May 1945 she surrendered to American troops in Austria.

The composition of the division in 1943-45:

• 2nd SS Panzer Regiment.
• SS Grenadier Regiment "Deutschland".
• Grenadier Regiment of the SS "Der Fuhrer".
• SS Grenadier Regiment "Langemark".
• Artillery Regiment.

1. Assault gun battalion.
2. Rocket mortar battalion.
3. Anti-tank battalion.
4. Anti-aircraft artillery battalion.
5. Reconnaissance Battalion.
6. Sapper Battalion.
7. Communication Battalion.

Tank division (Pz Kpfw VI Ausf H "Tiger") near Kursk. June 1943. The belonging of the tank to this unit, as well as the period of time, unequivocally follow from the characteristic tactical emblem applied to the frontal armor.

Commanders:

• Oberstgruppenführer Paul Hausser, October 19, 1939 - October 14, 1941.
• Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich, October 14, 1941 - December 31, 1941.
• Obergruppenführer Matthias Kleinheisterkamp, ​​December 31, 1941 - April 19, 1942.
• Obergruppenführer Georg Keppler, April 19, 1942 - February 10, 1943.
• Brigadeführer Herbert-Ernst Wahl, February 10, 1943 - March 18, 1943.
• Oberführer Kurt Brazak, March 18, 1943 - March 29, 1943
  Obergruppenführer Walter Krüger, March 29, 1943 - October 23, 1943.
• Gruppenfuehrer Heinz Lammerding, October 23, 1943 - July 24, 1944.
• Standartenführer Christian Tichsen, July 24, 1944 - July 28, 1944.
• Oberführer Otto Baum, July 28, 1944 - October 23, 1944.
• Gruppenfuehrer Hans Lammerding, October 23, 1944 - January 20, 1945.
• Standartenführer Karl Kreutz, January 20, 1945 - January 29, 1945.
• Gruppenfuehrer Werner Ostendorf, January 20, 1945 - March 9, 1945.
• Standartenführer Rudolf Lehmann, March 9, 1945 - April 13, 1945.
• Standartenführer Karl Kreutz, April 13, 1945 - May 8, 1945.

Applications.

Document #1.

SS Panzergrenadier Division Divisional Headquarters 01/07/43.

"Das Reich"

Order for the day

Soldiers of the SS Panzer-Grenadier Division "Das Reich"!

The Führer calls us to the East. Together with other units of the SS troops and the army, he assigned us tasks that would require us to go either on the attack or on the defensive. We will do it!

We are grateful to the Fuhrer for demanding the most from us. He relies on us, and we will prove to him that we are his faithful followers. Let everyone in difficult times remember our motto, the motto of the SS: “SS man! Your honor is loyalty!”

The SS Panzergrenadier Division "Das Reich" must carry out an order in memory of our fallen comrades.

Document #2.

Certificate from the head of the 7th department of the political department on the composition and condition of enemy formations in the offensive zone of the Voronezh Front

We are currently facing the following enemy units.

Army Corps of the SS, consisting of the divisions "Reich", "Adolf Hitler", "Grossdeutschland", "Totenkopf".

The SS corps was transferred from France on January 16, 1943. Of the four divisions of this corps, two divisions initially operated: "Grossdeutschland" and "Adolf Hitler", then the Reich division appeared, replacing the defeated division "Grossdeutschland", and in last days the action of the "Dead Head" division is noted.

Since December 1942, the SS Army Corps has been called the Panzergrenadier Corps. According to the testimony of prisoners of war, the name "grenadier" was given to the best divisions in honor of the continuation of the traditions of the grenadiers of the time of Frederick the Great.

Each SS division has two motorized grenadier regiments, tank and artillery regiments. For example, the Reich division consists of the Deutschland SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment, the Fuhrer Motorized Regiment, the Langemark Motorized Rifle Regiment and the 2nd Artillery Regiment.

Commander of the SS Panzer Corps - Lieutenant General Gausser (Obergruppenführer).

The commander of the Reich division is Lieutenant General Keppler (Obergruppenführer).

The commander of the division "Dead Head" - Lieutenant General Eike.

The commander of the division "Adolf Hitler" - Lieutenant General Dietrich.

Commander of the division "Grossdeutschland" - Colonel General Kasnitz.

Commander of the "Deutschland" regiment - Colonel Carmel.

The commander of the regiment "Der Führer" - Obersturmbannführer Kumm.

The divisions are completed in most of the ages of 1923-1924. birth. 75% are Germans from Germany, the rest are Germans from other countries. There is a small number of non-Germans (Czechs, Poles, Croats).

Noteworthy is the fact that in the SS divisions there are many soldiers from the Volksdeutsche, and not from the Reichsdeutsche, that is, the majority are Germans from Slovakia, Croatia and other occupied countries. The parents of most of the interviewed soldiers are members of the National Socialist Party, and the soldiers themselves were brought up in the organizations of the Nazi youth and fooled by nationalist propaganda.

As a survey of prisoners of war showed, the soldiers of these divisions for the most part represent a rather raw contingent. This is a replenishment poured into the divisions in 1942, during their reorganization after the winter fighting in Russia. The officers are exclusively Germans.

The SS divisions were supposed to finish training their personnel in March. In early January, the entire corps was unexpectedly transferred to the Eastern Front. There was a rumor that the corps was tasked with helping the encircled Stalingrad group. We reached Stalino, and it was impossible to go further.

The reorganization of the SS corps took place in France. The soldiers of the SS divisions arrived with the confidence of a German victory and that they would stop the Russian advance. The stories of soldiers demoralized by heavy fighting and a hasty retreat had a depressing effect on the mood of those approaching the front.

First, two SS divisions were sent to the front: "Reich" and "Grossdeutschland", then "Adolf Hitler", and recently the appearance of the "Dead Head" division has been noted at the front. The divisions suffered heavy losses. During the retreat to Kharkov, the Reich lost, for example, 53 tanks out of 80. At first, they were tasked with delaying the advance of the Red Army along the Volchanok, Kupyansk line, but under the onslaught of our troops, they retreated to Kharkov, and then beyond Kharkov.

Retreating, SS units committed incredible atrocities against the civilian population: they killed men, the elderly and children, blew up and destroyed all industrial buildings and residential buildings in cities, and burned entire villages. In Kharkov, they destroyed all large public buildings and industrial enterprises.

Head of the 7th Department of Political Administration

Voronezh Front Lieutenant Colonel Kirsanov.

TsAMO. F.203. Op.2777. D. 1, L.59-64.

Document #3.

Brief description of the enemy divisions operating in front of the Voronezh Front, as of May 15, 1943

SS Panzer Division "Reich". The division includes the 1st and 2nd motorized regiments, a tank regiment and an artillery regiment. Motorized regiments - three battalions, artillery regiment - four divisions.

The division commander is Gruppenführer Kepler. The commander of the mp "Fuhrer" - Obersturmführer Kumm. The commander of the Deutschland MP is Obersturmbannführer Harmil. The division was formed in 1939 from independent personnel regiments, participated in the war with Poland, fought with great audacity. She was transferred to the Eastern Front in early July 1941. She acted in the Smolensk direction, fighting in the area of ​​Orsha and Yelnya. Later it advanced on the Volokolamsk, Rzhev and Sychev directions. In these battles, she lost almost all of her personnel. In March 1942, she was assigned to Germany for replenishment and reorganization, after replenishment she was transferred to France. The personnel was almost completely renewed (no more than 20% of the old regular soldiers remained). The division was replenished mainly by volunteers from members of the Hitler Youth League, gathered from various regions of Germany. Age structure 19-22 years. The term of study is 9 months.

In January 1943, the division was transferred a second time to the Eastern Front. The Fuhrer Regiment with an artillery battalion and a tank company plunged into the echelons on 01/08/43 and followed the railway. to Stalino, where he arrived on January 21, from Stalino, parts of the regiment departed on a march to Voroshilovgrad. On January 25, 1943, they took up defensive positions east of Voroshilovgrad. In defensive battles near Voroshilovgrad, according to the testimony of prisoners, he had heavy losses, many frostbitten. In the first half of February 1943, he was transferred to the Kharkov direction, where on February 8 he became part of his division. The Deutschland regiment, the motorcycle regiment, the division headquarters and other special units of the division unloaded in the Kyiv region in the period 01/18-27/43 and were transferred by march to the Kharkov, Volchansk region, where in the first days of February, advanced units entered into battle with our advancing troops. After unsuccessful oncoming battles, units of the Reich division from 02/07/43 began to retreat with battles from the line of the Seversky Donets River in the direction of Kharkov, Merefa, Krasnograd. By 02/20/43, the division withdrew to Krasnograd, from where it launched a counterattack on Pavlograd and on February 25 captured Pavlograd. By March 20, the division reached the Seversky Donets River in the Starosaltovsky direction, after which it was replaced by the 11th TD and transferred to the Belgorod region. During the fighting (January - March), the division lost up to 2,000 people killed and over 2,000 people frostbitten. The strength and combat composition of the division as of May 15, 1943 is: 7,000 people, 50 guns, 62 anti-tank guns, 40 mortars, 260 machine guns, 80 tanks. German victory.

CONCLUSION: the Reich division has losses of up to 30%, is currently replenished to full strength, the training of soldiers is high, the offensive spirit is not undermined, it is a combat-ready formation.

Document #4.

Army order

On July 18, the 2nd SS Panzer Corps leaves the 4th Panzer Army. In the second half of March, the corps, with its three panzer-grenadier divisions, as part of the army, stopped the great Russian winter offensive at the moment of its apogee and strengthened the German front. In the most difficult conditions, the SS corps fought shoulder to shoulder with the army units and endured the brunt of the struggle in the big spring battle. With incomparable fighting spirit, the corps pushed back the Russians shock armies and turned, with the recapture of Kharkov and Belgorod, a threatening catastrophe into a glorious victory. After weeks of recovery that were filled with tough academic work, the corps on July 5 again entered into action. Well-fortified enemy positions were stormed with a strong offensive spirit, which, in the toughest tank battles, broke the counterattacks launched by the Russian tank corps.

I affirm that the 2nd SS Panzer Corps has demonstrated loyalty, firmness and exemplary courage throughout the entire period of subordination to the 4th Panzer Army, and I convey to him my gratitude and my highest recognition. If now the command assigns new, difficult tasks to the corps, then I am sure that the corps will also successfully cope with them, with loyalty to the Fuhrer, on the day of the German victory.

Literature.

Penaud, Guy - "La "Das Reich" 2e SS Panzer Division" (Parcours de la division en France - 560 pages), Editions de La Lauze/Périgueux - ISBN 2-912032-76-8

Akunov V. SS division "Reich". History of the Second SS Panzer Division. 1939-1945. - Moscow: Yauza, 2006. - 416 p. — 4,000 copies. — ISBN 5-87849-197-4

Ponomarenko R. SS division "Reich". March to the East 1941-1942. - Moscow: Yauza-Press, 2009. - 288 p. - (SS troops in battle. You need to know the enemy!). — 5,000 copies. — ISBN 978-59955-0043-8

Ponomarenko R.O. 1943. SS division "Reich" on the Eastern Front. - Moscow: Yauza-Press, 2010. - 512 p. — ( trench truth Wehrmacht). - 3000 copies. — ISBN 978-5-9955-0086-5

Mattson G.L. History of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich. 1939-1945 = SS-DAS REICH. The history of the second SS division 1939-45. - Moscow: AST: AST MOSCOW: Transitbook, 2006. - 189, p. — 5,000 copies. — ISBN 5-17-036614-0 (LLC AST Publishing House), 5-9713-2419-5 (LLC Publishing House AST MOSCOW), 5-9578-4101-3 (Tranzitkniga LLC)

Note: material used