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On 28 April, the Red Army started a full-scale offensive into the central sector. Fighting was intense, the ''Sturmbataillon'' Charlemagne was in the center of the battle zone around the Reich Chancellery. SS-''[[Unterscharführer]]'' [[Eugene Vaulot]], who had destroyed two tanks in Neukölln, used his ''Panzerfaust''s to claim six more near the ''Führerbunker''. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by Krukenberg on 29 April.<ref>Forbes (2010) [2006] p. 439.</ref> Vaulot did not survive the battle being killed three days later.<ref>Landwehr (2012) p. 153</ref>
On 28 April, the Red Army started a full-scale offensive into the central sector. Fighting was intense, the ''Sturmbataillon'' Charlemagne was in the center of the battle zone around the Reich Chancellery. SS-''[[Unterscharführer]]'' [[Eugene Vaulot]], who had destroyed two tanks in Neukölln, used his ''Panzerfaust''s to claim six more near the ''Führerbunker''. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by Krukenberg on 29 April.<ref>Forbes (2010) [2006] p. 439.</ref> Vaulot did not survive the battle being killed three days later.<ref>Landwehr (2012) p. 153</ref>


Reduced to approximately thirty able men, most members of the ''Sturmbataillon'' had been captured or escaped Berlin on their own, or in small groups. Most of those who made it to France were apprehended and sent to Allied prisons and camps. Fenet was sentenced to 20 years of forced labour, but was released from prison in 1959. Others were shot upon capture by the French authorities. [[Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque|General Philip Leclerc]], the French divisional commander who had served under the Americans, was presented with a defiant group of 11-12 captured Charlemagne Division men.<ref>This incident took place 8 May 1945, at [[Bad Reichenhall]] in [[Bavaria]]</ref> The [[Free France|Free French]] General immediately asked them why they wore a [[Nazi Germany|German]] uniform, to which one of them replied by asking the General why he wore an American one (the Free French wore modified US army uniforms). The group of French ''Waffen-SS'' men was later [[summary execution|executed without any form of military tribunal]] procedure.<ref>{{Cite book | first=Jonathan | last=Trigg | title=Hitler's Gauls: The History of the 33rd Waffen Division Charlemagne | location= | publisher=History Publishing Group | year= 2009 | isbn=978-0-7524-5476-4 | page=161}}</ref>
Reduced to approximately thirty able men, most members of the ''Sturmbataillon'' had been captured or escaped Berlin on their own, or in small groups. Most of those who made it to France were apprehended and sent to Allied prisons and camps. Fenet was sentenced to 20 years of forced labour, but was released from prison in 1959. Others were shot upon capture by the French authorities. [[Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque|General Philip Leclerc]], the French divisional commander who had served under the Americans, was presented with a group of 11-12 captured Charlemagne Division men.<ref>This incident took place 8 May 1945, at [[Bad Reichenhall]] in [[Bavaria]]</ref> The [[Free France|Free French]] General immediately asked them why they wore a [[Nazi Germany|German]] uniform, to which one of them replied by asking the General why he wore an American one (French Army uniform stocks had been plundered en masse by the Germans during the occupation). The group of French ''Waffen-SS'' men were later shot.<ref>{{Cite book | first=Jonathan | last=Trigg | title=Hitler's Gauls: The History of the 33rd Waffen Division Charlemagne | location= | publisher=History Publishing Group | year= 2009 | isbn=978-0-7524-5476-4 | page=161}}</ref>


==Commanders==
==Commanders==

Revision as of 03:45, 13 December 2015

33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French)
Active1941-1944 (as LVF), 1944–1945
CountryFrance Vichy France
AllegianceNazi Germany Germany[1]
Branch Waffen-SS
EngagementsWorld War II

The 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French) and Charlemagne Regiment are collective names used for units of French volunteers in the Wehrmacht and later Waffen-SS during World War II. From estimates of 7,400 to 11,000 at its peak in 1944,[2] the strength of the division fell to just sixty men in May 1945.

They were one of the last German units to see action in a pitched battle during World War II, where they participated in the defence of central Berlin and the Führerbunker against Soviet infantry and armor. They were among the last to surrender in the house-to-house and street-to-street fighting during the final days of the Battle in Berlin.

Its crest is a representation of the dual empire of Charlemagne, which united the Franks in what would become France and Germany. The Imperial eagle on the dexter side represents East Francia (Germany) and the fleurs-de-lys on the sinister side represents West Francia (France).

Formation and history

The Charlemagne division was formed in 1944, combining troops serving in other French units of the German armed forces, as well as from the paramilitary Franc-Garde of the Milice.

File:Charlemagne Division SOldiers.jpg
Soldiers of the Légion des Volontaires Français, when still part of the Wehrmacht

LVF

The original French unit in the German army was the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (French: Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchévisme, or LVF). The LVF was also known by its official German designation, the 638th Infantry Regiment (Infanterieregiment 638). The LVF was mainly recruited from Pro-Fascist Frenchmen and elements among French prisoners of war. The LVF fought near Moscow in November 1941 as part of the 7th Infantry Division. In 1942 the men were assigned to anti-partisan duties in the Byelorussian SSR (Belarus). At the same time, another unit was formed in France, La Légion Tricolore (Tricolor Regiment) but this unit was absorbed into the LVF six months later.

The LVF's French commander, Colonel Roger Labonne, was relieved in mid-1942, and the unit was attached to various German divisions until June 1943 when Colonel Edgar Puaud took command. The LVF saw action in the Ukraine during this period. In June 1944, hours before the LVF's planned departure to France, it was called into action when Army Group Centre's front crumpled under the Red Army's summer offensive. The unit was attached to the 4th SS Police Regiment and fought near Babruysk.

A new recruiting drive in Vichy France attracted 3,000 applicants, mostly members of collaborationist militia and university students. This unit, the 8th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade France was led by a former Foreign Legionnaire, SS-Obersturmbannführer Paul Marie Gamory-Dubourdeau. The 1st battalion, of about 1,000 men, was attached to SS Division Horst Wessel and sent to Galicia. In heavy fighting against the Red Army the battalion suffered serious casualties.

Charlemagne

In September 1944, a new unit, the Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS "Charlemagne" (französische Nr.1), also known as the Französische Brigade der SS was formed out of the remnants of the LVF and French Sturmbrigade, both of which were disbanded. Joining them were French collaborators fleeing the Allied advance in the west, as well as Frenchmen from the German Navy, the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK), the Organisation Todt and the Milice. SS-Brigadeführer Gustav Krukenberg took actual command with Puaud (now an SS-Oberführer), as nominal French commander.

The two main infantry regiments were Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS 57 and 58. Veterans of the Sturmbrigade were the nucleus of Regiment 57 and the LVF formed the core of Regiment 58. The LVF also manned the artillery battalion, the headquarters company and the engineer company. The reaction of the LVF to their transfer into the SS was mixed.

In February 1945, the unit was officially upgraded to a division and renamed 33. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS "Charlemagne". At this time it had a strength of 7,340 men. The Charlemagne Division was sent to fight the Red Army in Poland, but on 25 February it was attacked while deploying from the railhead at Hammerstein (present day Czarne) in Pomerania, by troops of the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front. Opposing the Frenchmen were four Red Army infantry divisions and two tank brigades. The lightly armed French troops had not re-equipped prior to their departure, and they had no radios and few maps. The only anti-tank weapons that had been issued was the Panzerfaust; a single shot, recoilless weapon.

On the night of 3 March, the Charlemagne was sent sent to defend the nearby town of Körlin with orders to "hold at all costs". At noon the next day, a strong Red Army force hit Körlin from the southwest. The French were able to hold their positions during the day. The Division was ordered to immediately withdraw to the west, to avoid being trapped, and was broken into three battlegroups (Kampfgruppen). Only the battlegroup commanded by Krukenberg survived, as they retreated to the Baltic coast, and were evacuated by sea to Denmark and later sent to Neustrelitz for refitting. Around 4,800 men had been lost, including SS-Oberführer Puaud.

Defence of Berlin

A French volunteer

By early April 1945, Krukenberg commanded only about 700 men organized into a single infantry regiment with two battalions (Battalions 57 and 58) and one heavy support battalion without equipment. He released about 400 men to serve in a construction battalion; the remainder, numbering about 350, had chosen to go to Berlin.[3]

On 23 April the Reich Chancellery in Berlin ordered Krukenberg to proceed to the capital with his men, who were reorganized as Sturmbataillon ("assault battalion") "Charlemagne". As the men assembled at the Marktplatz of Alt-Strelitz, a black Mercedes fast approached. As the car went passed the column of men, Krukenburg and several other officers quickly stood at attention, recognising Reichsführer-SS Himmler, who had just come from a meeting with Count Folke Bernadotte at the Swedish consulate in Lübeck to offer surrender terms to the western allies. The SS men were disappointed that Himmler did no stop and instead sped on pass.[4]

Between 320 and 330 French troops arrived in Berlin on 24 April after a long detour to avoid Soviet advance columns.[5] Sturmbataillon "Charlemagne" was attached to the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland. The arrival of the French bolstered the Nordland Division whose "Norge" and "Danmark" Panzergrenadier regiments had been decimated in the fighting. Both equaled roughly a battalion. SS-Brigadeführer Krukenberg was appointed the commander of (Berlin) Defence Sector C on 25 April. This command included the Nordland Division, following the dismissal of its previous commander, SS-Brigadeführer Joachim Ziegler on the same day.[6]

The soldiers noted that the first night in Berlin was unnaturally quiet.[7] They walked from West to East Berlin, to a brewery near the Hermannplatz. Here fighting began, with Hitler Youth firing Panzerfausts at Soviet tanks belonging to advance guards near the Tempelhof Airport. The Sturmbataillon assisted in the defence of the district.

Supported by Tiger II tanks and the 11th SS Panzer-Battalion "Hermann von Salza", the Sturmbataillon took part in a counterattack on the morning of 26 April in Neukölln. The counterattack ran into an ambush by Soviet troops using a captured German Panther tank. The regiment lost half of the available troops in Neukölln on the first day. It later defended Neukölln's Town Hall. Given that Neukölln was heavily penetrated by Soviet combat groups, Krukenberg prepared fallback positions for Sector C defenders around Hermannplatz. He moved his headquarters into the opera house. As the Nordland Division withdrew towards Hermannplatz the French and some attached Hitler Youth destroyed several Soviet tanks; one machine gun position by the Halensee bridge managed to hold up Soviet forces for 48 hours.[8]

The Soviet advance into Berlin followed a pattern of massive shelling followed by assaults using house-clearing battle groups of about 80 men in each, with tank escorts and close artillery support. On 27 April, the remnants of Nordland were pushed back into the central government district (Zitadelle sector) in Defence sector Z. There, Krukenberg's Nordland headquarters was a carriage in the Stadtmitte U-Bahn station.[9] Fighting was very heavy and by 28 April, some one-hundred Soviet tanks had been destroyed in the southeast of Berlin within the S-Bahn. Sixty-two of those were claimed by the Charlemagne Sturmbataillon, which was now under the command of SS-Hauptsturmführer Henri Joseph Fenet. Fenet and his battalion were given the area of Neukölln, Belle Alliance Platz, Wilhelmstrasse and the Friedrichstrasse to defend.

Fenet, who was now wounded in the foot, withdrew with the battalion to the vicinity of the Reich Aviation Ministry in the central government district under the command of SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke. For the success of the battalion during the Battle in Berlin, Mohnke awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross to Fenet on 29 April 1945.

On 28 April, the Red Army started a full-scale offensive into the central sector. Fighting was intense, the Sturmbataillon Charlemagne was in the center of the battle zone around the Reich Chancellery. SS-Unterscharführer Eugene Vaulot, who had destroyed two tanks in Neukölln, used his Panzerfausts to claim six more near the Führerbunker. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by Krukenberg on 29 April.[10] Vaulot did not survive the battle being killed three days later.[11]

Reduced to approximately thirty able men, most members of the Sturmbataillon had been captured or escaped Berlin on their own, or in small groups. Most of those who made it to France were apprehended and sent to Allied prisons and camps. Fenet was sentenced to 20 years of forced labour, but was released from prison in 1959. Others were shot upon capture by the French authorities. General Philip Leclerc, the French divisional commander who had served under the Americans, was presented with a group of 11-12 captured Charlemagne Division men.[12] The Free French General immediately asked them why they wore a German uniform, to which one of them replied by asking the General why he wore an American one (French Army uniform stocks had been plundered en masse by the Germans during the occupation). The group of French Waffen-SS men were later shot.[13]

Commanders

Order of battle

  • SS-Waffen-Grenadierregiment 57 (französisches Nr. 1)
    • I. Bataillon
    • II. Bataillon
  • SS-Sturm-Bataillon 58
  • SS-Waffen-Grenadierregiment 58 (französisches Nr. 2)
    • I. Bataillon
    • II. Bataillon
  • SS-Artillerieabteilung 33 (Artillery Battalion)
  • SS-Pionier-Kompanie 33 (Engineer Company)
  • SS-Nachrichten-Kompanie 33 (Signals Company)
  • SS-Feldersatz-Kompanie 33 (Field Hospital Company)
  • SS-Nachschub-Bataillon 33 (Logistics Battalion)

Different names

During their existence the units were known by various names including:

Französisches Grenadier-Infanterie-Regiment 638 (Légion des Volontaires Français)
Französische SS-Freiwilligen-Sturmbrigade
Französisches SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment
Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS Charlemagne (französische Nr.1)
33. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS Charlemagne (französische Nr.1)

See also

References

  1. ^ Herbert, Tint (1972). French Foreign Policy since the Second World War. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, p. 112, ISBN 978-0-297-99488-6.
  2. ^ Bishop, Chris (2005) p. 186.
  3. ^ Forbes (2010) [2006] p. 394.
  4. ^ Forbes (2010) [2006] p. 394.
  5. ^ Forbes (2010) [2006] pp. 396-398.
  6. ^ Beevor (2002) pp. 301, 302.
  7. ^ Forbes (2010) [2006] p. 398.
  8. ^ Beevor (2002) p. 303.
  9. ^ Beevor (2002) p. 323.
  10. ^ Forbes (2010) [2006] p. 439.
  11. ^ Landwehr (2012) p. 153
  12. ^ This incident took place 8 May 1945, at Bad Reichenhall in Bavaria
  13. ^ Trigg, Jonathan (2009). Hitler's Gauls: The History of the 33rd Waffen Division Charlemagne. History Publishing Group. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-7524-5476-4.
  14. ^ Bishop, Chris. The Essential Vehicle Identification Guide - Waffen-SS Divisions 1939-1945, Amber Books Ltd. 2007, p 180.

Bibliography

  • Beevor, Antony (2002). Berlin: The Downfall 1945, Viking-Penguin Books. ISBN 0-670-88695-5.
  • Bishop, Chris (2005). SS Hitler's Foreign Divisions: Foreign Volunteers in the Waffen-SS 1940-1945, ISBN 978-1904687375.
  • Forbes, Robert (2010) [2006]. For Europe: The French Volunteers of the Waffen-SS. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3581-0.
  • Landwehr, Richard (1989). Charlemagne's Legionnaires: French Volunteers of the Waffen-SS, 1943-1945. Silver Spring, MD: Bibliophile Legion Books. ISBN 0-918184-07-X.
  • Landwehr, Richard (2012). French Volunteers of the Waffen-SS. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-475065-01-5.
  • Le Tissier, Tony (2010). Charlemagne - The 33rd Waffen-SS Grenadier Division of the SS. Pen & Sword, ISBN 978-1-84884-231-1
  • Trigg, Jonathan (2009). Hitler's Gauls: The History of the 33rd Waffen Division Charlemagne. History Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7524-5476-4.
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