7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen
Encyclopedia
The 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen
. was formed on March 1942 from Volksdeutsche
(ethnic Germans) volunteers from Vojvodina
, Croatia
, 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 Balkans
during World War II
.
The Prinz Eugen was formed in late 1941 following the Nazi 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 unit 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 Serbia-Banat, the first of its kind for non-Reich Germans."
One of the reasons for the forced conscription of Balkan Germans was the disappointingly low amount of volunteers for the Prinz Eugen 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"). In other words, ethnic Germans in the Balkans were 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 Germans of Prinz Eugen in 1943 in Bosnia. The men of mixed ancestry probably 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). Many of the Croatian German conscripts actually preferred service in the Croatian Domobrani units for a variety of reasons.
In 1942, the Pančevo
-based unit was declared a Gebirgs (Mountain) Division. They were issued with non standard German weapons but used captured equipment such as Czech
machine guns and French
light tanks.
When the Division was formed, it was assigned to the Balkans
as an anti-partisan
mountain division.
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 Fall Weiß 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.
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 one of the bloodiest battles in World War II, so called Fall Schwarz (also known as "Fifth Offensive" or Battle of the Sutjeska), aiming to pin Tito's main force of about 20,000 partisans against the Zelengora
mountain, in southeastern Bosnia. During the battle, the division received task to move through Italian zone in order to block possible advance of Partisans towards Adriatic sea and Albania, to close south-east part of encirclement and then advance north over mountains terrain to crush Yugoslav Partisan forces. After main group, headed by 1st Proletarian Division already broke encirclement, two battalions moved to cover left bank of Sutjeska and block escape route were surprised by attack of three battalions of 1st Dalmatian and one from 5th Montenegro Brigade at Tjentište pushing them back. They recovered their positions during night battle and decimated most partisan units.
In August 1943, Prinz Eugen became a part of the XV Gebirgs Armee korps and sent to the Dalmatia
n 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
.
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 in Kugelblitz and Schneesturm in December 1943.
the assault on Drvar
, which began on 25 May 1944. This operation had the task of killing or capturing Tito, and the division was supported by the 500th SS Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon
and the Brandenburg Regiment
.
In May, the Division also saw action in Operations Waldausch, Freie in June, Jagd in July and Rübezahl (12–30 Auguset), 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.
On 21 September, Obergruppenführer
Artur Phleps
—the division’s first commander—was believed to have been killed when en route from Montenegro to Transylvania.
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
.
On 20 October, the Russians captured Belgrade
and Prinz Eugen 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.
.
The retreat from Bosnia continued and Prinz Eugen retreated to Croatia in April 1945. On 10 May, the Division retreated towards Celje
in Slovenia where it surrendered on May 11 to Yugoslav forces.
in Montenegro
:
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...
. was formed on March 1942 from Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche - "German in terms of people/folk" -, defined ethnically, is a historical term from the 20th century. The words volk and volkische conveyed in Nazi thinking the meanings of "folk" and "race" while adding the sense of superior civilization and blood...
(ethnic Germans) volunteers from Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, it was initially called the SS-Freiwilligen-Division Prinz Eugen. (SS-Volunteer Division Prinz Eugen). It was engaged in anti-partisan operations in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Formation
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, initially from German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking Danube Swabian Selbschutz in the Serbian province of Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
.
"After the initial rush of Volksdeutsche to join, voluntary enlistments tapered off, and the new unit 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 Serbia-Banat, the first of its kind for non-Reich Germans."
One of the reasons for the forced conscription of Balkan Germans was the disappointingly low amount of volunteers for the Prinz Eugen 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
Gottlob Berger
Gottlob Berger was a German Nazi who held the rank of Obergruppenführer during World War II and was later convicted of war crimes.In 1939, he was Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's main recruiting officer...
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"). In other words, ethnic Germans in the Balkans were 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 Germans of Prinz Eugen in 1943 in Bosnia. The men of mixed ancestry probably did not speak German and were mistreated by their superiors as a result. Himmler intervened personally in the problem and even ordered any NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
that insulted the mother of the Croatian German troops to be shot on the spot (the insulting of mothers being common in the Balkans). Many of the Croatian German conscripts actually preferred service in the Croatian Domobrani units for a variety of reasons.
In 1942, the Pančevo
Pancevo
Pančevo is a city and municipality located in the southern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina, 15 km northeast from Belgrade. In 2002, the city had a total population of 77,087, while municipality of Pančevo had 127,162 inhabitants. It is the administrative center of the South Banat...
-based unit was declared a Gebirgs (Mountain) Division. They were issued with non standard German weapons but used captured equipment such as Czech
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
machine guns and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
light tanks.
When the Division was formed, it was assigned to the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
as an anti-partisan
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
mountain division.
The division's first action was in the Serbian-Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
border in the mountains east of the Ibar
Ibar
-Places:* Ibar , in Montenegro and Serbia* Ibar Reserve in Rila, Bulgaria* Ibar Rocks, a rock formation in Antarctica* Ibar highway, in Serbia-People:* Ibar of Beggerin , Irish saint* Íbar of Killibar Beg, Irish saint...
River and afterwards it took part in Fall Weiß in the Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
-Karlovac
Karlovac
Karlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia. The city proper has a population of 49,082, while the municipality has a population of 59,395 inhabitants .Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County...
area, where together with Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
forces attempted to defeat the partisans commanded by Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
, the operation failed and most of the partisans managed to evade the main attack.
1943
The Division attacked MostarMostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
in Hercegovina and also deployed units northwest of Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
.
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 one of the bloodiest battles in World War II, so called Fall Schwarz (also known as "Fifth Offensive" or Battle of the Sutjeska), aiming to pin Tito's main force of about 20,000 partisans against the Zelengora
Zelengora
Zelengora is a mountain within the Sutjeska National Park in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has an altitude of 2,014 metres ....
mountain, in southeastern Bosnia. During the battle, the division received task to move through Italian zone in order to block possible advance of Partisans towards Adriatic sea and Albania, to close south-east part of encirclement and then advance north over mountains terrain to crush Yugoslav Partisan forces. After main group, headed by 1st Proletarian Division already broke encirclement, two battalions moved to cover left bank of Sutjeska and block escape route were surprised by attack of three battalions of 1st Dalmatian and one from 5th Montenegro Brigade at Tjentište pushing them back. They recovered their positions during night battle and decimated most partisan units.
In August 1943, Prinz Eugen became a part of the XV Gebirgs Armee korps and sent to the Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
n coast, to disarm the Italian forces in September 1943 after the Italian Government had surrendered to the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
.
It then occupied Hvar
Hvar
- Climate :The climate of Hvar is characterized by mild winters and warm summers. The yearly average air temperature is , 686 mm of precipitation fall on the town of Hvar on average every year and the town has a total of 2800 sunshine hours per year. For comparison Hvar has an average of 7.7...
, Brač
Brac
Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, with an area of 396 km², making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. Its tallest peak, Vidova Gora, or Mount St. Vid, stands at 778 m, making it the highest island point in the Adriatic...
and Korčula
Korcula
Korčula is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. The island has an area of ; long and on average wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 16,182 inhabitants make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk...
islands and the Pelješac
Pelješac
Pelješac is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia...
peninsula and participated in Operation Landstrum, another anti – partisan operation in Omiš
Omiš
Omiš is a town and port in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and is a municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County. The town is situated approximately south-east of Croatia's second largest city, Split. Its location is where the emerald-green Cetina River meets the Adriatic Sea...
, Ploče
Ploce
Ploče is a town and a notable seaport in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia.The total population of Ploče is 10,102 , in the following settlements:* Baćina, population 564* Banja, population 176* Komin, population 1,222...
and Biokovo
Biokovo
Biokovo is the second-highest mountain range in Croatia, located along the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea, between the rivers of Cetina and Neretva...
.
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
V SS Mountain Corps
V SS Mountain Corps was a Waffen SS, formation at the end of World War II.The Corps fought on the Oder line as part of the 9th Army, in the Frankfurt am Oder area and in the Battle of Berlin that followed...
and took part in anti-partisan operations in Kugelblitz and Schneesturm in December 1943.
1944
In March 1944, the Division was involved in more anti-partisan action Operation Maibaum (April 1944) and the next large offensive, Operation RösselsprungOperation Rösselsprung
The Raid on Drvar , codenamed Operation Rösselsprung , was an attack by the Waffen-SS and the Luftwaffe that aimed to disrupt the command structure of the Yugoslav Partisans by eliminating their Supreme Headquarters, and capturing their commander, Marshal Josip Broz Tito...
the assault on Drvar
Drvar
Drvar is a town and municipality in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, located on the road between Bosansko Grahovo and Bosanski Petrovac, also near Glamoč. It is administratively part of Canton 10 of the Federation....
, which began on 25 May 1944. This operation had the task of killing or capturing Tito, and the division was supported by the 500th SS Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon
500th SS Parachute Battalion
The 500th SS-Parachute Battalion was the parachute unit of the Waffen-SS.The idea to form a paratrooper unit within the Waffen-SS allegedly came directly from Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler.-Creation:...
and the Brandenburg Regiment
Brandenburgers
The Brandenburgers were members of the Brandenburg German Special Forces unit during World War II.Units of Brandenburgers operated in almost all fronts - the invasion of Poland, Denmark and Norway, in the Battle of France, in Operation Barbarossa, in Finland, Greece and the invasion of Crete,...
.
In May, the Division also saw action in Operations Waldausch, Freie in June, Jagd in July and Rübezahl (12–30 Auguset), which prevented the partisans escaping into Montenegro. During that time, the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
had advanced to the Balkans and the Division had begun fighting Russian and Bulgarian units suffering heavy casualties in the process.
On 21 September, Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
Artur Phleps
Artur Phleps
Artur Martin Phleps was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian and German officer who held the rank of Obergruppenführer in the Waffen-SS during World War II. An Austro-Hungarian Army officer in World War I, he served in the Romanian Army during the interwar period, before joining the military forces...
—the division’s first commander—was believed to have been killed when en route from Montenegro to Transylvania.
The Division's next action was together with the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
The 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Its recruits were composed of Muslim Bosniaks. The Handschar division was a mountain infantry formation, the equivalent of the German "Gebirgsjäger" ...
, the 23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama (2nd Croatian)
23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama
The 23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama was a military formation composed of German officers and Bosniak soldiers in the Waffen-SS during World War II. The numerical designation "23rd" was given to the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland after the division was disbanded in...
and the 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian)
21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian)
The 21st Division of the SS Skanderbeg was a Mountain division of the SS set up by Heinrich Himmler in March 1944, officially under the title of the 21. Waffen-Gebirgs Division der SS Skanderbeg...
were given the task of creating a corridor which would allow the retreat of 35,000 German soldiers from Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and the Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
.
On 20 October, the Russians captured Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
and Prinz Eugen 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.
1945
In January 1945, the Division was again in action against the Russians and Tito's partisans at Otok and VukovarVukovar
Vukovar is a city in eastern Croatia, and the biggest river port in Croatia located at the confluence of the Vuka river and the Danube. Vukovar is the center of the Vukovar-Syrmia County...
.
The retreat from Bosnia continued and Prinz Eugen retreated to Croatia in April 1945. On 10 May, the Division retreated towards Celje
Celje
Celje is a typical Central European town and the third largest town in Slovenia. It is a regional center of Lower Styria and the administrative seat of the Urban Municipality of Celje . The town of Celje is located under Upper Celje Castle at the confluence of the Savinja, Ložnica, and Voglajna...
in Slovenia where it surrendered on May 11 to Yugoslav forces.
War Crimes
The division is infamous for its crueltyhttp://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN157181504X&id=63tr7z2356sC&pg=PA161&lpg=PA161&dq=prince+eugen+division&sig=pKItiXqYZ8L3ervCjm-1tu7GR3g and massive atrocities committed in the area of NikšićNikšić
Nikšić is a city in Montenegro . In 2003 the city had a total population about 75,000.Nikšić is located in Nikšić plain, at the foot of Mount Trebjesa. It is the center of the municipality , which is the largest in Montenegro by area...
in Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
:
Commanders
- SS-Obergruppenführer Arthur Phleps (30 Jan 1942 - 15 May 1943)
- SS-Brigadeführer Karl Reichsritter von Oberkamp (15 May 1943 - 30 Jan 1944)
- SS-Brigadeführer Otto KummOtto KummOtto Kumm, was an SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
(30 Jan 1944 - 20 Jan 1945) - SS-Brigadeführer August SchmidthuberAugust SchmidthuberAugust Schmidthuber was an SS-Brigadeführer of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen from 20 January 1944 to 8 May 1945, and the 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg from May 1944 onwards.-Biography:...
(20 Jan 1945 - 8 May 1945)
October 1943 - Croatia
- Division Staff
- SS-Volunteer GebirgsjägerGebirgsjägerGebirgsjäger, in English Mountain Riflemen, is the German designation for mountain infantry. The word Jäger is the traditional German term for rifleman...
-Regiment 13 - SS-Volunteer Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 14 "Skanderberg"
- SS-Volunteer Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment 7
- SS-Volunteer Gebirgs Reconnaissance Battalion (mot) 7
- SS-PanzerPanzerA Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
Battalion 7 - SS-PanzerjägerPanzerjägerPanzerjäger was a branch of service of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War which were the anti-tank arm-of-service who operated anti-tank artillery, and made exclusive use of the tank destroyers which were also named 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-FeldgendarmerieFeldgendarmerieThe Feldgendarmerie were the uniformed military police units of the armies of the German Empire from the mid 19th Century until the conclusion of World War II.- Early history :...
-Troop 7 - SS-Volunteer Gebirgs Veterinary Company 7
- SS-Volunteer Gebirgs War Reporter platoon 7
- SS-Divisions Versorgungs Truppen 7
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
Alternative names
- Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division
- SS-Freiwilligen-Division Prinz Eugen
- SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen
- 7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen
See also
- List of Knight's Cross Recipients 7th SS Volunteer Gebirgs Division Prinz Eugen
- Operation KopaonikOperation KopaonikOperation Kopaonik is coded name for the German-Bulgarian anti-guerrilla offensive against the Chetniks in the area of mountain Kopaonik, Goč and Jastrebac during October 1942nd, in the German occupation zone of Serbia in the Second World War...
- Yugoslav Front
Further reading
- Mitcham, Samuel W, German Order of Battle, Volume 3
- Casagrande, Thomas: Die Volksdeutsche SS-Division "Prinz Eugen", Frankfurt am Main: Campus Verlag, 2003.
- Kumm, Otto - The History of the 7. SS Mountain Division Prinz Eugen
- Pipes, Jason. "7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division "Prinz Eugen"". Retrieved July 28, 2005.
- Wendel, Marcus (2005). "7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division "Prinz Eugen"". Retrieved July 28, 2005.
- "7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division "Prinz Eugen"". German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. (Follow links for the entire unit history.) Retrieved July 28, 2005.
- The Trial of German Major War Criminals. Nuremberg, 1946