List of SS (/SS-Polizei) units in Yugoslavia

Discussions on all (non-biographical) aspects of the Freikorps, Reichswehr, Austrian Bundesheer, Heer, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Fallschirmjäger and the other Luftwaffe ground forces. Hosted by Christoph Awender.
User avatar
Ivan Ž.
Host - Music section
Posts: 8467
Joined: 05 Apr 2005, 13:28
Location: Serbia

#31

Post by Ivan Ž. » 01 Feb 2006, 12:27

Here's something interesting:
this SS-Mann, Josef Hehl, was KIA in Serbia in September 1943
(in an unknown place to me- "Hoscenica" :? )

Image
(source: eBay)
Image

He belonged to an SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment,
so he must have been a part of some "guest SS unit".

Which unit could this be?

/Ivan

Mark V.
Member
Posts: 1509
Joined: 22 Apr 2002, 21:50
Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia

#32

Post by Mark V. » 01 Feb 2006, 13:49

Zdravo Ivane!

Have a look at http://www.volksbund.de .
Volksbund gives his place of death Moscenica (= Moščenica) Croatia.

Nachname: Hehl
Vorname: Josef
Dienstgrad: Grenadier
Geburtsdatum: 27.08.1907
Geburtsort: Kassenbeuren
Todes-/Vermisstendatum: 02.09.1943
Todesort: Moscenica, Kroatien

As you can see from the map bellow Moščenica (red star) is near Petrinja and the only SS-unit stationed there at that time frame was SS-Freiw.Pz.Gren.Div. Nordland, with HQs Rgt.Danmark and III./Danmark located in Petrinja.
Attachments
map.gif
map.gif (77.87 KiB) Viewed 6480 times


User avatar
Ivan Ž.
Host - Music section
Posts: 8467
Joined: 05 Apr 2005, 13:28
Location: Serbia

#33

Post by Ivan Ž. » 01 Feb 2006, 13:53

Well done, Mr.Holmes!! :wink:

Cheers,
Ivan

Mark V.
Member
Posts: 1509
Joined: 22 Apr 2002, 21:50
Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia

#34

Post by Mark V. » 01 Feb 2006, 14:07

You're wellcome, EagleEye ;) !

User avatar
Ivan Ž.
Host - Music section
Posts: 8467
Joined: 05 Apr 2005, 13:28
Location: Serbia

#35

Post by Ivan Ž. » 01 Feb 2006, 14:12

:lol: :wink:

User avatar
AAA
Member
Posts: 455
Joined: 31 May 2004, 18:25
Location: Cold and dark

#36

Post by AAA » 19 Feb 2006, 20:38

Ivan,

The Latvian 15th and 19th SS divisions were never anywhere near Yugoslavia, nor any of the units of those divisions. The furthest south they ever were was Pomerania - you can cross them out.

I have not seen any indication that the Latvian Shuma police battalions (which later were incorporated into the divisions) were in Yugoslavia. Since they were active in Southern Ukraine, and were shuttled all over the area in security tasks, it is possible some of them wound up in Yugoslavia at some stage in transit.

There may have been some some individual Latvians with with SS Fallschirmjäger Battalion 500 when they jumped in after Tito in Bosnia.

Police battalion Ostland - interesting unit. Two Estonian companies and one Latvian. Mainly active in Ukraine. I have been looking for some source on this unit, which I also suspect has been in Yugoslavia, but can find nothing. Latvian literature doesn't mention it at all.

Larry D.
Member
Posts: 4103
Joined: 05 Aug 2004, 00:03
Location: Winter Springs, FL (USA)

#37

Post by Larry D. » 20 Feb 2006, 00:32

Police battalion Ostland - interesting unit. Two Estonian companies and one Latvian. Mainly active in Ukraine. I have been looking for some source on this unit, which I also suspect has been in Yugoslavia, but can find nothing. Latvian literature doesn't mention it at all.
Be assured, there is absolutely no evidence that Ostland was in wartime Yugoslavia nor were any of the Lett./Est./Lit./Weiss./Ukr. etc., Schuma-Btle., at least not that I have ever seen mentioned in the German military and SS records or in the postwar Yugoslav literature.

--Larry

User avatar
Ivan Ž.
Host - Music section
Posts: 8467
Joined: 05 Apr 2005, 13:28
Location: Serbia

#38

Post by Ivan Ž. » 20 Feb 2006, 00:44

Thanks for infos, "AAA" & Larry.

So, those were some disinformations.

Cheers,
Ivan

User avatar
Dieter Zinke
In memoriam
Posts: 9841
Joined: 02 Dec 2003, 10:12
Location: Koblenz / germany

Re: List of SS (/SS-Polizei) units in Yugoslavia

#39

Post by Dieter Zinke » 20 Feb 2006, 10:56

Ivanwss wrote:Please help me make a list of SS & SD units which operated in Yugoslavia 1941-1945.
(including Srem, Banat & Bačka regions)

Waffen-SS units:
31. SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division "Batschka" (X 1944 - ?)

SS-Polizei units:
04. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "SS-Polizei" (X 1944)

Some sources also mention next Waffen-SS divisions:
14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS "Galizien"
15. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS "Lettland"
19. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS "Latvia"
20. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS "Estland"

Thanks in advance,
Ivan
Ivan,

the correct names are complicated and repeatedly changed

31. SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division:
The honor title sometimes inofficially assigned to this division was "Böhmen-Mähren", but never "Batschka". Indeed the division never received any title.

the correct names of the 4. division were:
Polizei-Division,
SS-Polizei-Division
SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division
4. SS-Polizei-Panzer-Grenadier-Division
- but never "SS-Polizei" as title

14. Galizische SS-Freiwilligen-Division, then
14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (ukrainische Nr. 1)

15. Lettische SS-Freiwilligen-Division, then
15. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (lettische Nr. 1)

19. Lettische SS-Freiwilligen-Division
19. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (lettische Nr. 2)

20. Estnische SS-Freiwilligen-Division, then
20. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (estnische Nr. 1)


Dieter Z.

User avatar
Ivan Ž.
Host - Music section
Posts: 8467
Joined: 05 Apr 2005, 13:28
Location: Serbia

Re: List of SS (/SS-Polizei) units in Yugoslavia

#40

Post by Ivan Ž. » 20 Feb 2006, 12:28

Hello, Dieter.
Different sources mentioned different names
and I know those you've corrected definitely aren't official ones.

But 31.SS Division was never "Böhmen-Mähren".
It was unofficially called "Batschka", "Lombard", "Kukuruz"
and ex-"Kama" soldiers even called it 31.SS-Gebirgs-Division.

"Böhmen-Mähren" was Trabandt's KG.

(off-topic: was 35. SS- und Polizei-Grenadier-Division ever called "SS-Polizei-Division II" ? )

Cheers,
Ivan

User avatar
Dieter Zinke
In memoriam
Posts: 9841
Joined: 02 Dec 2003, 10:12
Location: Koblenz / germany

Re: List of SS (/SS-Polizei) units in Yugoslavia

#41

Post by Dieter Zinke » 20 Feb 2006, 16:21

Ivanwss wrote:Hello, Dieter.
Different sources mentioned different names and I know those you've corrected definitely aren't official ones.
But 31.SS Division was never "Böhmen-Mähren". It was unofficially called "Batschka", "Lombard", "Kukuruz" and ex-"Kama" soldiers even called it 31.SS-Gebirgs-Division.
Cheers, Ivan
Ivan, unfortunately you are mistaken. I wrote: The honor title sometimes inofficially assigned to this division was "Böhmen-Mähren".
The official name was ever 31. SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division. All other statements are nonsense. (other different names are "so-called" but even inofficial).
Lombard (see his file) was Kommandeur der 31. SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division.
Die Regimenter der Division tragen nicht wie die Division selbst die Bezeichnung “Freiwilligen-Grenadier-“, sondern, nach Übernahme der 23. Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS “Kama“, weiterhin die Bezeichnung “SS-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment“.
Ivanwss wrote:Hello, Dieter.
"Böhmen-Mähren" was Trabandt's KG.
Cheers, Ivan
Trabandt was, according to his file and other original sources, "Kommandeur der Kampfgruppe “Böhmen-Mähren“ (31. SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division), gebildet aus Stab und mit Studenten der Schule"; Einsatz im Raum Zistersdorf, zuletzt unter dem XVII. Armee-Korps der 17. Armee
Die Kampfgruppe hat die Stärke eines Regiments. Die Terminologie verschwimmt sogar auf den OKH-Lagekarten, wo die Bezeichnungen “Trabandt 1, 2 und 3“ auftauchen. Die SS-Brigade “Böhmen“, mit 1 Regiment nördlich des Korps Bünau unter AOK 8 eingesetzt, wird eingegliedert, das SS-Regiment “Mähren“ wird zur “Kampfgruppe Trabandt 3“, das SS-Regiment “Mähren“ plus die Heerespanzerjagdbrigade 2 wird schließlich als “Kampfgruppe Siegmann“ bezeichnet

Ivanwss wrote:Hello, Dieter.
Off-topic: was 35. SS- und Polizei-Grenadier-Division ever called "SS-Polizei-Division II" ?
Cheers, Ivan
The unit was never authorized a honour title such as "SS-Polizei-Division II"

Dieter Z.

User avatar
Ivan Ž.
Host - Music section
Posts: 8467
Joined: 05 Apr 2005, 13:28
Location: Serbia

#42

Post by Ivan Ž. » 20 Feb 2006, 20:09

Hello, Dieter.
It looks like we have an misunderstanding here,
but I think it's alles klar.
Two different units:
Lombard's 31.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division (with no official title)
and Trabandt's SS-KG "Böhmen und Mähren", aka SS-Pz.Gren.Div. "Böhmen und Mähren".
But ex-"Kama" men did use "Gebirgs" term in divisional title (31.SS)*. (*R. Pencz, "For the Homeland").

Cheers,
Ivan

User avatar
Dieter Zinke
In memoriam
Posts: 9841
Joined: 02 Dec 2003, 10:12
Location: Koblenz / germany

#43

Post by Dieter Zinke » 20 Feb 2006, 20:32

Cheers :D

Marc Rikmenspoel
Member
Posts: 1131
Joined: 12 Sep 2004, 07:44
Location: Denver, Colorado USA

#44

Post by Marc Rikmenspoel » 20 Feb 2006, 20:56

Just to verify the clarifications, when the Waffen-SS veterans first began to assemble and establish histories and such for their wartime units, there was a lot of confusion to clear up. they made some mistakes themselves at first, such as confusing the division with no title (the 31. SS-FGD) with the divisional KG with no # (SS-KG Division Böhmen-Mähren). This has long been sorted out, but many inferior books still try to quote research done in the 1960's, and thus continue to present the mistaken IDs.

I've never seen anything, BTW, to indicate that the 35. SS-Polizei-Grenadier Division was ever known as "Polizei Division II." Anything along those lines might be a reference to its vehicle sign, which was "*II" and based on that of the original SS-Polizei Division, which was "*I" (and now that I think about it, even those may have been postwar creations, since why would the "I" be needed until there was a second division, which wasn't until the last months of the war).

User avatar
Ivan Ž.
Host - Music section
Posts: 8467
Joined: 05 Apr 2005, 13:28
Location: Serbia

#45

Post by Ivan Ž. » 20 Feb 2006, 22:16

Hello, Marc.
I think the only source I've seen mentioning "SS-Pol.Div.II" title
is a small book called "Waffen-SS in action".
I've never researched this unit and never took time to check this claim.
We should have discussed this here,
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... sc&start=0
but nevermind now.

One unit had remained mysterious here:
Muselmanische SS-Freiwilligen-Legion.
Any ideas what could this be...?
(1st page, Christoph Awender's 1st post, 1st link)

/Ivan

Post Reply

Return to “Heer, Waffen-SS & Fallschirmjäger”