7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen

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7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen
7th SS Division Logo.svg
Insignia of 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen (Odal rune)
Active 1942 - 1945
Country Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Allegiance Adolf Hitler
Branch Waffen SS
Role Mountain Infantry
Size Division
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Artur Phleps

The 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen. was formed on March 1942 from Volksdeutsche (ethnic German) volunteers from Vojvodina, the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), Hungary and Romania, it was initially called the SS-Freiwilligen-Division Prinz Eugen. (SS-Volunteer Division Prinz Eugen). It was engaged in anti-Partisan operations in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during World War II.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Formation

Artur Phleps, the Prinz Eugen's first commander

The division was formed in late 1941 following the Invasion of Yugoslavia, initially from German-speaking Danube Swabian Selbschutz in the Serbian province of Banat.

"After the initial rush of Volksdeutsche to join, voluntary enlistments tapered off, and the new formation did not reach division size. Therefore, in August 1941, the SS discarded the voluntary approach, and after a favorable judgement from the SS court in Belgrade, imposed a mandatory military obligation on all Volksdeutsche in Banat, the first of its kind for non-Reich Germans."[3]

One of the reasons for the forced conscription of ethnic Germans was the disappointingly low amount of volunteers for the division after the initial recruitments (no more than 5000). While the division remained "volunteer" in name, few of the conscripted ethnic Germans actively sought entry into the unit. SS Reichsführer Himmler had announced that the wishes of the Volksdeutsche were irrelevant, while in connection with the Balkan Germans the SS head of recruitment Gottlob Berger remarked: "kein Mensch [kümmert] [sich ja] darum, was wir unten mit unseren Volksdeutschen tun" ("no person cares what we do with our ethnic Germans in the South").[4] Ethnic Germans in the Balkans were therefore powerless and could not oppose conscription into the SS.

The unwillingness of ethnic Germans to serve in the unit is illustrated by a mutiny of 173 Croatian[citation needed] Germans of the division in 1943 in Bosnia. Apparently the men of mixed ancestry did not speak German and were mistreated by their superiors as a result. Himmler intervened personally in the problem and even ordered any NCO that insulted the mother of the Croatian German troops to be shot on the spot (the insulting of mothers being common in the Balkans)[verification needed][5] Many of these men preferred service in the Army of the NDH for a variety of reasons.

In 1942, the Pančevo-based unit was declared a Mountain Division. They were issued with non standard German weapons and used captured equipment such as Czech machine guns and French light tanks.[1]

When the division was formed, it was assigned to the Balkans as an anti-|Partisan mountain division.[1]

The division's first action was in the Serbian-Montenegro border in the mountains east of the Ibar River and afterwards it took part in the Fourth anti-Partisan Offensive in the Zagreb-Karlovac area, where together with Italian forces attempted to defeat the Partisans commanded by Josip Broz Tito, the operation failed and most of the Partisans managed to evade the main attack.[1]

[edit] 1943

The Division attacked Mostar in Hercegovina and also deployed units northwest of Sarajevo. The operation was successful and Draža Mihailović and his forces were forced to retreat to Serbia.

From 15 May-15 June, the division took a part in the Fifth anti-Partisan Offensive aiming to pin Tito's main force of about 20,000 Partisans against the Zelengora mountain, in southeastern Bosnia.[6][7][8][9] During the battle, the division received a task to move through the Italian zone in order to block the possible advance of Partisans towards the Adriatic sea and Albania, to close the south-east part of the encirclement and then advance north over mountainous terrain to crush the Partisan forces. After the main group of the Partisans headed by 1st Proletarian Division broke out of the encirclement, two battalions of the division that were moved to cover the left bank of the Sutjeska river and block the Partisan's escape route were surprised by the attack of three battalions of 1st Dalmatian and one from 5th Montenegro Brigade at Tjentište pushing them back. They recovered their positions during a night battle and decimated most Partisan units.[citation needed]

In August 1943, the division became a part of the XV Mountain Corps and was sent to the Dalmatian coast, to disarm the Italian forces in September 1943 after the Italian Government had surrendered to the Allies. It then occupied Hvar, Brač and Korčula islands and the Pelješac peninsula and participated in Operation Landstrum, another anti-Partisan operation in Omiš, Ploče and Biokovo.[1]

The division was reorganized on 22 October 1943 and was renamed the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen. In November, the unit was attached to the V SS Mountain Corps and took part in anti-Partisan Operations Kugelblitz and Schneesturm in December 1943.[1][2]

[edit] 1944

Vehicles of Prinz Eugen's 7th Panzer Battalion (including SOMUA S35 and Hotchkiss H39 tanks) laagering on the outskirts of a Bosnian town.

In March 1944, the division was involved in more anti-Partisan actions Operation Maibaum (April 1944) and the Seventh anti-Partisan Offensive which began on 25 May 1944. This operation had the task of killing or capturing Tito, and the operation was spearheaded by the 500th SS Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon and supported by the Brandenburg Regiment.[1]

In May, the division also saw action in Operations Waldausch, Freie in June, Jagd in July and Rübezahl (12–30 August), which prevented the partisans escaping into Montenegro. During that time, the Soviet Red Army had advanced to the Balkans and the division had begun fighting Russian and Bulgarian units suffering heavy casualties in the process.[1]

On 21 September, Obergruppenführer Artur Phleps—the division’s first commander—was believed to have been killed when en route from Montenegro to Transylvania.[1]

The division's next action was together with the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian), the 23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama (2nd Croatian) and the 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian) were given the task of creating a corridor which would allow the retreat of 35,000 German soldiers from Greece and the Aegean.[1]

On 20 October, the Partisans and Russians liberated Belgrade and the division was the rear guard for the German retreat.

In the beginning of November, the SS 1st Albanian Skanderbeg Division was disbanded and its remnants incorporated into the 14th Regiment of Prinz Eugen, which received its honor title Skanderbeg.[1][2]

[edit] 1945

In January 1945, the division was again in action against the Russians and the Partisans at Otok and Vukovar.

The retreat from Bosnia continued and Prinz Eugen retreated through the NDH in April 1945. On 10 May, the division retreated towards Celje in Slovenia where it surrendered on 11May to Yugoslav forces.[1][2]

[edit] War Crimes

The division is infamous for its cruelty[1] and massive atrocities committed in the area of Nikšić in Montenegro:

“ Everything they came across they burnt down, they murdered and pillaged. The officers and men of the SS division Prinz Eugen committed crimes of an outrageous cruelty on this occasion. The victims were shot, slaughtered and tortured, or burnt to death in burning houses. Where a victim was found not in his house but on the road or in the fields some distance away, he was murdered and burnt there. Infants with their mothers, pregnant women and frail old people were also murdered. In short, every civilian met with by these troops in these villages was murdered. In many cases, whole families who, not expecting such treatment or lacking the time for escape, had remained quietly in their homes were annihilated and murdered. Whole families were thrown into burning houses in many cases and thus burnt. It has been established from the investigations entered upon that 121 persons, mostly women, and including 30 persons aged 60-92 years and 29 children of ages ranging from 6 months to 14 years, were executed on this occasion in the horrible manner narrated above. The villages [and then follows the list of the villages] were burnt down and razed to the ground. ”

—Dr. Dušan Nedeljković, Yugoslav State Commission, Document D-940, [10]

[edit] Commanders

[edit] Order of battle

[edit] October 1943 - Croatia

  • Division Staff
  • SS-Volunteer Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 13
  • SS-Volunteer Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 14 "Skanderberg"
  • SS-Volunteer Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment 7
  • SS-Volunteer Gebirgs Reconnaissance Battalion (mot) 7
  • SS-Panzer Battalion 7
  • SS-Panzerjäger Battalion 7
  • SS-Gebirgs-Pionier-Battalion 7
  • SS-Gebirgs-Flak Battalion 7
  • SS-Radfahr-Battalion 7
  • SS-Cavalry Battalion 7
  • SS-Gebirgs-Signals Battalion 7
  • SS-Gebirgs-Reserve Battalion 7
  • SS-Medical Battalion 7
  • SS-Feldgendarmerie-Troop 7
  • SS-Volunteer Gebirgs Veterinary Company 7
  • SS-Volunteer Gebirgs War Reporter platoon 7
  • SS-Divisions Versorgungs Truppen 7

[edit] November 1944 - Balkans

  • Division Staff
  • SS-Volunteer-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 13 Artur Phleps
  • SS-Volunteer Gebrigsjäger-Regiment 14 Skanderbeg
  • SS-Volunteer Gebrigs Artillery Regiment 7
  • SS-Volunteer Gebirgs-Reconnaissance Battalion (mot) 7
  • SS-Panzer-Battalion 7
  • SS-Gebirgs-Panzerjäger Battalion 7
  • SS-Sturmgeschutz Battalion 7
  • SS-Gebirgs-Pionier-Battalion 7
  • SS-Flak Battalion 7
  • SS-Radfahr-Reconnaissance Battalion 7
  • SS-Cavalry Battalion 7
  • SS-Motorcycle Battalion 7
  • SS-Gebirgs-Signals Battalion 7
  • SS-Reserve Battalion 7
  • SS-Medical Battalion 7
  • SS-Volunteer Gebirgs Veterinary Company 7
  • SS-Volunteer Gebirgs War Reporter Platoon 7
  • SS-Propaganda-Zug
  • SS-Feldgendarmerie-Troop 7
  • SS-Werkstatt-Company 7
  • SS-Nachshub-Company 7
  • SS-Reserve Battalion 7
  • SS-Wirtschafts-Battalion 7
  • SS-Wehrgeologisches-Battalion 7

[edit] Alternative names

  • Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division
  • SS-Freiwilligen-Division Prinz Eugen
  • SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen
  • 7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "xishistory". http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=1971. 
  2. ^ a b c d German Order of Battle, Volume 3 By Samuel W. Jr Mitcham, p. 148
  3. ^ Valdis O. Lumans, Himmler's Auxiliaries: The Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle and the German National minorities of Europe, 1939-1945 (University of North Carolina Press, 1993), p. 235.
  4. ^ Wittmann, A.M., "Mutiny in the Balkans: Croat Volksdeutsche, the Waffen-SS and Motherhood", East European Quarterly XXXVI No. 3 (2002), p. 258-260
  5. ^ Wittmann, A.M., "Mutiny in the Balkans: Croat Volksdeutsche, the Waffen-SS and Motherhood", East European Quarterly XXXVI No. 3 (2002), p. 265
  6. ^ Lampe, John, Yugoslavia as History: Twice There Was a Country, 2nd ed. New York, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 200
  7. ^ Cox, John, The history of Serbia, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002, ISBN 0-313-31290-7, pg.90
  8. ^ Merriam, Ray, Waffen-SS, Volume 7 de World War II Arsenal Series, Merriam Press, 1999, ISBN 1-57638-168-4, p. 4
  9. ^ Germany and the second World War, Volume 2; Volume 5, Oxford University Press, 1990, ISBN 0-19-820873-1, p. 175
  10. ^ http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-20/tgmwc-20-196-02.shtml

[edit] Further reading

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