Foreign volunteer legions and SS corps on the eastern front. Special forces magazine "brother" - archive: the fall of the "fortress holland indonesians in the dutch division ss

On May 10, 1940, a separate German assault group of paratroopers under the command of Captain W. Koch of 438 fighters in a surprise attack captured the central fort in the Eben-Emael fortification system of Belgium. This brilliant operation, carried out with minimal losses, went down in the history of the special forces as an exemplary and became the hallmark of the German airborne forces, officially called in Germany the parachute-jaeger (Fallschirmjager). The success of this attack for a long time overshadowed the first strategic airborne operation in Holland, which also began on May 10, and was part of the Gelb (literally: yellow) plan to capture France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. For the first time, it was planned to use more than 15 thousand people from the airborne units in this operation.

Creation

In September 1935, in the area of Berdichev, Skvira and Kiev, great maneuvers of the Red Army took place, aimed at working out the main provisions of the theory of "deep operation". They were attended by observers from England, France, Italy, Germany and Czechoslovakia. During the exercises, for the first time in world practice, a large parachute landing was dropped into the rear of the enemy, in which more than a thousand paratroopers participated. Then, two rifle regiments with heavy machine guns, amphibious tanks, guns and machine guns were parachuted by landing method. Only 2.5 thousand people. This made an impression on the German military leadership, and already in January 1936, an order was issued by the Minister of Aviation of the Third Reich E. Milch on the creation of parachute-jaeger units of the Air Force. It should be noted that in Germany at that time there was still no clear concept of the use of airborne units.
Since by 1937 Germany found itself sandwiched between two powerful defensive lines - the Maginot Line in eastern France and a strip of Liberec fortifications on the Czech-German border in the Sudeten Mountains, the Wehrmacht was inclined towards a "vertical coverage" solution. But the staff officers of the Luftwaffe proposed using paratroopers in accordance with the concept of the chief of the German General Staff in 1891-1905. A. von Schlieffen - to carry out the release of small sabotage units with a clearly defined task. For example, the destruction of the enemy headquarters or the capture of a key enemy point. The army command, on the contrary, considered it more expedient to use large forces of paratroopers in offensive operations.
As shown by the Second World War, both points of view were two sides of the same airborne medal. However, each of the warring parties defended their opinion. Some progress in resolving the conflict was achieved in the summer of 1938, when Major General of the Luftwaffe K. Student was appointed commander of the airborne forces, now represented by the 7th Aviation Division, headquartered in Tempelhof. This unit was listed in the Wehrmacht ground forces, although it consisted of parachute and glider units of the Luftwaffe, as well as transport aviation units.
The student managed to breathe a patriotic spirit into the 7th division. But more importantly, he shared the army's point of view - the use of large airborne forces. As a result, by the beginning of 1939, paratroopers of the ground forces and the air force merged into a single whole. In addition to the 7th Division, the 22nd Infantry Division was formed, deployed by landing troops using gliders and transport aircraft, as well as the landing battalion of the General Goering Regiment. The use of German paratroopers was planned during the occupation of Czechoslovakia and Poland, but this plan was rejected. It was only during the capture of Denmark and Norway in April 1940 that several airborne companies received their baptism of fire.

German offensive plan

The first versions of the Gelb plan envisaged the invasion of German troops through the key sector - the neutral strip of Holland with the city of Maastricht. The Germans believed that in the seizure of this territory, the Netherlands could turn to France and Great Britain for help. Therefore, in the fourth version of the plan, a clause appeared on the complete capture of the Netherlands. Since the country was crossed by numerous water obstacles, convenient for defense, the German headquarters decided to conduct a large airborne operation, which was to pass along the rivers and canals from Murdijk to Rotterdam and The Hague in order to capture bridges and strategic airfields. On the terrain captured in this way, the mobile units of the 18th Army were to quickly reach Rotterdam and The Hague.
The direct management of the operation was entrusted to the Student. For this purpose, a special control body was formed - the headquarters of the airborne corps, subordinate to the commander of the 2nd air fleet A. Kesselring. All military transport aviation as part of the 1st and 2nd Special Purpose Bomber Squadrons was headed by General of Aviation V. Speidel. Their number was 430 aircraft. To support the paratroopers from the air, a special aviation corps was created specifically for this operation under the command of Major General R. Putzir (250 fighters and 170 bombers). 3,500 paratroopers of the 7th Aviation Division were to parachute in the early hours of D-Day in order to capture the bridges over the Vaal and Meuse rivers, as well as four important airfields. Then, it was planned to transfer 12 thousand people from the 22nd Infantry Division under the command of Major General H. von Sponeck to these airfields on transport aircraft.
The large operation prepared by the airborne corps to capture the center of the Netherlands included the operations of the Süd group to capture the bridges at Murdijk, Dordrecht and Rotterdam and the airfield at Waalhaven. By the evening of D-Day, it was planned to deploy 4,600 people in the vicinity of Rotterdam under the direct command of Student. The second group "Nord" under the command of von Sponeck was to occupy three airfields near The Hague, surround the city and capture the royal family and the government of the Netherlands. For these purposes, it was planned to drop 9,300 fighters, divided into three groups.

Dutch plan

By 1940, the Dutch army had only a dozen divisions, and its plans included the defense of only part of the kingdom, the so-called "Fortress Holland", which was the political and economic center of the state. This part included three provinces: North Holland, South Holland and Utrecht with cities: Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht. The province of Zealand was also subject to defense, since it was through it that France and England could provide assistance in the event of an attack.
The commander of the Dutch armed forces G. Winkelmann deployed 4 divisions of the 2nd and 4th army corps from Lake Ijsselmeer to the Lek River, two brigades defended the sector of the Lek and Meuse rivers. Between the Meuse and the Belgian border, the 3rd Army Corps and the Light Division were located, and the 1st Army Corps, consisting of two divisions, was located in the Hague-Rotterdam-Amsterdam triangle, forming a reserve.

Invasion

At dawn on May 10, 1940, the German invasion began. In the north, in Valkenburg, paratroopers from the Nord group managed to capture the airfield. But as soon as the first Junkers landed, they got bogged down in too wet ground. Because of this, other planes were forced to land on the beach north of The Hague, others - to return to Germany. The airfield was attacked by Dutch aviation and artillery fire. About 600 paratroopers had to retreat to a neighboring village, and 350, several kilometers west of the airfield. An even more serious situation developed in Ipenburg. The parachutists were so scattered that they practically could not control the runway. The Dutch managed to shoot down 12 Junkers at once. The rest of the planes began to land in Valkenburg in the fields in the vicinity of the city of Berkela or directly on the Rotterdam-Hague highway. On the evening of the same day, Dutch troops, with the support of the British Royal Air Force, managed to regain control of the Ipenburg airfield. The situation in Okenburg was also deplorable for the Germans. Here the parachutists were especially scattered. Less than a quarter of the paratroopers fell into the planned landing targets. Dutch fighters, along with aviation and artillery, counterattacked, forcing the Germans to retreat south and capturing 130 people. Major General von Sponeck, with 350 men, was forced to take up defensive positions.
Two Junkers were shot down over The Hague, one of which was carrying members of the 22nd Infantry Division's headquarters. Among the wreckage, the Dutch discovered a German plan to capture the royal family. In this regard, the royal family and members of the government were evacuated to England on British warships. Queen Wilhelmina refused to leave the country, but the British persuaded the Queen to move to the British Isles.
By the end of the day on May 10, the "Nord" group failed to capture any of the three airfields; only a third of the planned number of fighters took part in the operation. Under these conditions, the German command ordered von Sponeck to withdraw the Nord group to join up with the Süd group to Rotterdam. Due to poor communications, von Sponeck was able to fulfill the order with a delay - only on May 11.
More successful were the paratroopers of the Süd group, who managed to land on six targets assigned to them. At Murdijk, they easily mastered the two great bridges across Hollands Deep. They were equally successful in Dordrecht, north of Murdijk, although the losses there were more significant. In the center of Rotterdam, 12 German seaplanes, having landed on the surface of the Meuse River and disembarked 120 soldiers, managed to capture the city bridges. The paratroopers also managed to capture the Waalhaven airfield and the airfield located in the center of Rotterdam. The Dutch tried to counterattack with the support of aircraft and warships that approached along the Meuse, but then they were driven off by German "pieces".
On the evening of May 10, the situation of the Süd group was encouraging. Waalhaven airport held firmly, as did the bridges at Murdijk and Dordrecht. In Rotterdam itself, the bridgehead created by the Germans was much weaker. On the morning of May 11, the Dutch onslaught intensified on almost all fronts. They counted on joining up with the French avant-garde advancing from Belgium. In Rotterdam, several counterattacks were launched under the command of the city's commandant, Colonel P. Sharro, with the support of aviation and artillery, but no success was achieved. On the evening of 11 May, Group Süd received reinforcements in the form of two companies, which landed directly in the combat zone on the road between Murdijk and Dordrecht. On the morning of May 12, units of the Dutch light division were able to cut off the German paratroopers from their rear. However, in the late afternoon, German tankmen from the 9th Panzer Division linked up with the paratroopers at the bridge in Murdijk, forcing the Dutch to retreat to Dordrecht. The next day, May 13, the Dutch concentrated all their efforts to attack the German bridgehead north of the bridges. But the Dutch Marines abruptly retreated when the battle was practically won. The paratroopers surrounded in one of the houses have already prepared a white flag.

"Fortress Holland" is defeated

The operation to capture Holland dragged on. Hitler, in his directive No. 11 of May 14, 1940, admitted that the Dutch army was ready for more powerful resistance than was expected of it. For military and political reasons, it was decided that the resistance should be broken as soon as possible.
On the morning of May 14, Colonel Charro received a German ultimatum, which expired at 12.30 on the same day. But Charro, deciding to play for time, expressed doubts about the authenticity of the signature on the document. While this issue was being clarified, the Germans launched an air strike on Rotterdam. As a result of the attack, the city center was destroyed, more than a thousand civilians were killed. Colonel Sharro was forced to sign an act of surrender of the city, and in the evening the Dutch command sent out a ceasefire order. On the evening of May 14, ironically, Student was seriously wounded in the head as a result of a mistake made by the soldiers of the SS unit.
The next day, 15 May, the commander of the Dutch army, General Wilkelmann, and the commander of the German 18th Army, signed the armistice act. But the battle for the Netherlands was not over yet, as the 60th and 68th French Infantry Divisions, which held the Seid-Beveland Peninsula, managed to deploy in Zealand. On May 16-17, the SS Deutschland Regiment, with the support of the Luftwaffe, occupied the port of Vlissingen and the town of Middleburg, capturing a battalion of the 68th Division. Late in the evening of May 17, the last French units, having embarked on warships, sailed from Vlissingen.

Outcomes

The airborne operation of the German Airborne Corps achieved its goal - the Netherlands was occupied within five days. But this operation cost the Germans very dearly. 2,300 paratroopers were killed and wounded, and 1,600 people were taken prisoner, of which 1,200 were taken to the British Isles. Of the 1,000 planes involved in the operation, 330 were shot down.
The greatest trials fell on the lot of the 2nd Parachute Regiment, especially in the operations to capture Valkenburg, Ipenburg and Okenburg, where it landed outside the given area and suffered heavy losses. Well-prepared and stubborn Dutch resistance became a problem for the 22nd division, as the landing strips were not secured and the aircraft landed on highways, where they came under fire from the Dutch infantry, artillery and aviation. But despite the losses, the parachute-ranger units completed the tasks that the command set for them. They managed to sow panic on the lines of communication of the Dutch troops, significantly disorganized the enemy's defense. It should be noted that the Dutch troops as a whole put up serious resistance to the Wehrmacht, especially tangible losses were suffered by the German paratroopers in battles with the Royal Marines.
After the fall of France in June 1940, it was planned to use parachute rangers in the invasion of Britain. And although the British operation was later canceled, the paratroopers received a new order to participate in the operation called "Mercury" - the capture of the island of Crete, a task that was destined to play a crucial role in the further use of paratroopers until the end of the war.

01/30/2018 - the last, unlike reposts, theme update
Every new message at least 10 days is highlighted in red, but NOT NECESSARY is at the beginning of the topic. The heading "SITE NEWS" is being updated REGULARLY, and all its links are Are active
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ANNOUNCEMENT: due to the large volume, the topic is divided into several sections:
- Russian formations of the Wehrmacht
- Representatives of the peoples the former USSR in German parts
- Aliens in German troops
- Little-known facts of participation of representatives of non-German people in parts of the Wehrmacht

Among the 13 non-German SS divisions there was one Belarusian (30th Waffen-SS grenadier division, aka 1st Belarusian), one Estonian (20th Waffen-SS grenadier division, aka 1st Estonian), one Ukrainian ( 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division "Galicia", aka 1st Ukrainian), two Latvian (15th Waffen-SS Grenadier, aka 1st Latvian) and 19th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division, aka 2nd Latvian), two Russians: 29th and 30th Waffen-SS grenadier divisions, and 36th grenadier division - mixed Russian-German (Note 14 *)

In August 1942, OKH order No. 8000 limited the maximum permissible number of "Soviet" citizens in German divisions on the Eastern Front to 15% of the total number of the division (Note 13 *)
- during the Second World War, the Germans from the volunteers of Ukraine and the Baltic States formed 200 police battalions. According to other sources, according to " National history"No. 6 (pp. 60-75) 178 such battalions were formed: 73 Ukrainian, 45 Latvian, 22 Lithuanian, 26 Estonian, 11 Belarusian and 1 Polish (Note 11 *)
- in 1943, the Wehrmacht issued another order, under No. 13, which indicated: "every serviceman of the Red Army. who left his unit and, independently or as part of a group, who voluntarily came to us, should not be considered a prisoner of war, but voluntarily sided with the German army" (Note .9*)
- the total number of Soviet citizens and Russian émigrés in the Wehrmacht, SS troops, police and paramilitary formations was up to 1.2 million people (including the Slavs - up to 700 thousand, representatives of the three Baltic peoples - up to 300 thousand, representatives of the Turkic, Caucasian and other small peoples - up to 200 thousand). About a third of this number are combat formations and units that fought on the fronts of WW2 against the armies of the anti-Hitler coalition and in the occupied territories against partisans. These included the formations of the eastern Wehrmacht troops, the SS and the police, as well as the German special services - the Abwehr and the SD. The rest were "auxiliary service volunteers" ("hivi"), personnel of the so-called. individual auxiliary police service and local self-defense units (Note 25 *). From the post-war memoirs of the head of the Wehrmacht volunteer formations, General E. Koestring: "In the summer of 1944, the total number of volunteer former citizens of the USSR in the Wehrmacht was 700 thousand people. Later, due to Vlasov's activities, it increased to at least 800-900 thousand." The German researcher G. Mende believed that during the war the number of such volunteers reached 1 million. According to the historian S. Drobyazko, at least 1.2 million former USSR citizens went over to the German side (Note 5 *). According to other sources, 1.5 million former Soviet citizens fought against the Germans in various capacities, of which 280 thousand were representatives of Central Asia.
- according to modern German data, at the beginning of 1943, 400 thousand "volunteers" from the USSR took part in the Wehrmacht, from 60 thousand to 70 thousand were in the service for maintaining order and 80 thousand in the eastern battalions; about 183 thousand people worked on the railway in Kiev and Minsk (Note 6 *)

- 150-200 thousand people (HiWi - from Hilfswillige, the so-called "Volunteer Assistants" (Note 4 *), former Soviet military personnel who offered their services in auxiliary units as drivers, cooks, orderlies,
- as of February 1945, the number of "hivi" was 600 thousand people in the ground forces, from 50 to 60 thousand in the Luftwaffe and 15 thousand people in the Kriegsmarine (Note 25 *)
- according to the Eastern Air Force Inspectorate, 300 thousand soldiers recruited in the USSR are mentioned as service personnel, of which 50 thousand served in anti-aircraft units by the end of the war

Russian formations of the Wehrmacht:
- according to the calculations of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for the rehabilitation of victims of political repression, no more than 140-170 thousand prisoners served in various German "volunteer" formations (Note 24 *)
- about 427 thousand at the beginning of 1943, of which Cossacks - 70 thousand
- 54 Eastern battalions - about 60 thousand.
- 1st Russian National SS Brigade - it is the "Squad of the Combat Union of Russian Nationalists" in the composition of 8-12 thousand people in June 1943 (Note 28 *)
- 1st Cossack Cavalry Division (summer 1943)
- formations in the 800th motorized division "Brandenburg"
- Cossack (Russian) security corps of the Wehrmacht in Ukraine: (15 regiments, more than 50 battalions and individual units - up to 30 thousand people) participated mainly against the Ukrainian UPA, the Polish AK and Soviet partisans, after 1943 the remnants were transferred to the Russian SS units
- "Russian Guard Corps" (5 regiments - 11 thousand), mainly from the Russian White emigrants of Serbia only to fight against the Yugoslav partisans, formed on 09/12/1941 (Note 8 *). 17090 people passed through the building, of which 11.5 thousand were emigrants and 6.5 thousand were former Soviet citizens. According to other, (clearly underestimated - ed.) Data, this corps numbered 5584 people (Note 12 *). Hull losses amounted to 6,700 dead
- 50 thousand; five ROA divisions (including the 15th SS Cossack Cavalry Corps based on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd cavalry divisions of the Don, Terek and Kuban Cossacks, the 600th and 650th motorized divisions). According to other sources, the 15th SS Cossack Cavalry Corps (without the Germans, 32 thousand people), aka Pannwitz Cossack Corps (Klagenfurt) never entered the ROA. In general, at the end of 1945 there were up to 110 thousand Cossacks in the Wehrmacht (Note 12 *)
- part of the Russian People's Liberation Army (RONA) - 29th SS Grenadier Division, also known as the "Kaminsky Brigade" (Note 14 *)
- 559th ROA Infantry Brigade
- training-reserve brigade of the 15th corps ROA (aka "training-reserve brigade of Koida") - 7000 people (Note 12 *)

Three Russian legions stationed in France
- The Russian National People's Army (RNNA), aka the "Osintorf Brigade" (aka the 700th Eastern Special Purpose Regiment - Note 28 *) was created at the beginning of 1942, consisting of 1,500 Soviet prisoners of war, later increased to 8 thousand. people, at the beginning of 1943 it was disbanded (into separate battalions - Note 28 *), and its servicemen became the basis of the "volunteer" regiment of the Wehrmacht (Note 13 *)
- "Experimental subdivision" Center "consisting of 6 battalions
- The ROA Air Force consisted of 300 pilots and 70 aircraft (three squadrons) and was occasionally used to support German units that fought in 1945 on the borders of Slovakia and Moravia (Note 10 *). Population - 4000-5000 people (Note 12 *). According to Hoffmann, 66 Soviet pilots flew over to the German side by 1943 only voluntarily, not to mention the downed ones, and in the first quarter of 1944 another 20 were added (Note 18 *). The Ostland night assault group was formed as part of General von Roden's 1st Air Fleet. It included a Russian squadron, which was created by a white emigrant, Captain M. Tarnovsky. This group included Colonel A. Vanyushin, who commanded the aviation of the 20th Army before capture, Heroes of the Soviet Union Captain S. Bychkov and Senior Lieutenant B. Antilevsky, Captain A. Mettl, who served in the aviation of the Black Sea Fleet, who made up the backbone of the ROA Air Force in 1945
- a separate corps of Major General Turkul (Salzburg) - 5200 people (Note 12 *)
- a separate Cossack corps of General Domanov ("Cossack camp") for September 1944 in the northern Italian city of Udine - 18395 people (Note 12 *), his "Cossack reserve" (reserve regiment - 3 thousand people) was commanded by Shkuro
- a separate anti-tank brigade Vtorov - 1260 people (Note 12 *)

Representatives of the peoples of the former USSR in the German units:

According to the estimates of the German general E. Kestring, in 1945 there were in military and auxiliary units from 900,000 to 1,000,000 people of non-German origin in the service of the Germans, of this number, there were about 400,000 in Russian units (Note 10 *) According to the general Jodl, provided at the request of Zhukov at the signing of the act of surrender of Germany, 700 thousand former citizens of the USSR fought in the Wehrmacht, not counting the RONA and Cossack units.
- Ukrainians: 180-230 thousand (of which 40 thousand remained at the beginning of 1945: the 14th SS Grenadier Division "Galychina" - 14 thousand, later renamed into the 1st Ukrainian, and the 2nd Ukrainian division, formed from 281- 1st Ukrainian reserve regiment, two guard regiments and the Ukrainian anti-tank brigade, police and security battalions, Ukrainian people's self-defense - 180 thousand, Ukrainian National Army - 8.5 thousand, auxiliary air defense units - 7.6 thousand)
- Estonians - 100 thousand (security battalions "Erna", self-defense "Omakaitse", engineer and construction battalions, Estonian Legion CC, 4 Eastern battalions, 6 border guard regiments - 38 thousand, of which four formed the Estonian Border Division (aka 300th Special Forces Division, created on 05/01/44 on the basis of the headquarters of the 13th Luftwaffe Field Division and the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th Estonian Border Guard Regiments - Note 19 *), 5 squadrons of night bombers and naval reconnaissance "Buschmann" (Note 16 *), 3 thousand auxiliary personnel of the Luftwaffe; More: 28.08.1942, the 1st Estonian SS Grenadier Regiment was formed, whose Narva battalion was included in the 5th TD Waffen -SS "Viking", by May 1943 the regiment deployed into the 3rd Estonian SS volunteer brigade, which, in turn, on 24.01.44 was transformed into the 20th Waffen-SS division with a strength of 15 thousand people (Note 34 * )
- Latvians - 25 thousand ("Latvian Legion" (23rd, 319th and 322nd police battalions), 6 border guard regiments - 18 thousand, 3 squadrons of night bombers, anti-aircraft battalion, 3 thousand auxiliary personnel of the Luftwaffe, police battalions)
- Belarusians - 70 thousand: 30th Waffen-SS grenadier division (Belarusian policemen), assault brigade "Belarus", police battalions of order and mobile police detachments - 20 thousand, self-defense - 15 thousand, railway guard battalion - 1 thousand, Belarusian regional defense - 30 thousand, auxiliary air defense units)
- Lithuanians: 50 thousand - auxiliary police battalions, Lithuanian SS legion, volunteer engineer and construction battalions, auxiliary air defense units, airfield maintenance units)
- Kalmyks - 7 thousand (5 thousand by the end of 1944 - initially 25 squadrons of the Kalmyk cavalry corps); 6 thousand for 10.10.44g (Note 5 *)
- Crimean Tatars - 10 thousand; 13.2 thousand as of 10.10.44: 12 thousand in battalions and 1.2 thousand in a security unit in Hungary (Note 5 *)
- Volga Tatars - 12.5 thousand (7 Eastern battalions of the Volga-Tatar Legion, 15 separate detachments for servicing artillery warehouses, engineering and construction tasks, construction railways); 28 thousand on 10.10.44 (excluding ROA servicemen): 11 thousand volunteers in 12 field battalions, 4 thousand in other formations, 8 thousand in working battalions. About 40 thousand according to German data as of 12/14/44: 20 thousand in ROA and about 20 thousand in "hivis". On 03/20/1945, the then head of the Tatar mediation L. Stamati counted another 19.3 thousand Tatars in field battalions, mainly in the legion, in separate combat and construction formations (excluding the SS and ROA formations). In the post-war manuscript "The Volga-Tatar Legion", it was about 40 thousand people: 12 thousand in the legion and field battalions, 1 thousand in the battalion of the Volga Finns and Chuvashes, 1 thousand in the East Turkic combat formation of the SS, 10 thousand . in 9 construction battalions and 16 thousand in separate formations and groups (Note 5 *)

Georgians: 25 thousand (Georgian Legion - 14 Eastern battalions, 30 separate detachments to service artillery warehouses, engineer-construction tasks, construction of railways); 20 thousand in battalions on 10.10.44 (Note 5 *)
- Armenians: 20 thousand (Armenian Legion - 13 Eastern battalions); 18 thousand in battalions on 10.10.44 (Note 5 *)
- Azerbaijanis - up to 40 thousand (Azerbaijani legion - 15 Eastern battalions, 21 separate detachments for servicing artillery warehouses, engineer-construction tasks, construction of railways); 20 thousand in battalions on 10.10.44 (Note 5 *)
- North Caucasians (representatives of 30 peoples) - up to 30 thousand (North Caucasian Legion - 9 Eastern battalions, 3 separate detachments for servicing artillery depots, engineer-construction tasks); 20 thousand in battalions on 10.10.44 (Note 5 *)
- Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Karakalpaks and other representatives of Central Asia - 30 thousand (Turkestan Legion - 24 Eastern battalions
- Turkmens: more than 40 thousand (20 thousand - the Boller brigade (4 reinforced workers and 1 reserve battalion, and 10 auxiliary battalions for servicing artillery depots, support, construction - 10 thousand, Eastern battalions as part of the Turkestan Legion and the Turkestan Division) (stationed in Italy) - 162nd Turkic infantry); in total, about 75 thousand on 10.10.44 (Note 5 *)
- 203 separate detachments were created (111 from the inhabitants of Central Asia, 30 from the Georgians, 21 from Azerbaijanis, 15 from the Volga Tatars, and 3 from the inhabitants of the North Caucasus) to service artillery depots, provide engineering and construction tasks, and build railways
- at the end of April 1943 in the Crimea, on the basis of the battalion of the same name, the Caucasian regiment "Bergmann" was deployed, which consisted of three separate battalions: "Berrmann-I" Georgian (5 companies), "Berrmann-II" Azerbaijani (4 companies), "Berrmann- III "Caucasian (5 companies): According to some archival materials, the personnel of the compound reached 2690 people (240 Germans and 2450 Caucasians), however, according to the historian J. Hoffmann, the total number of the regiment did not exceed 2300 soldiers and officers. According to the German data of the regiment curator from the SS, Oberlander, the number of Bergmann's personnel was more than 2,800 people. The ethnic composition was as follows: about 1080 Georgians, 420 Azerbaijanis, 160 Armenians and more than 800 North Caucasians (Note 27 *). According to other sources, T. Oberlander's "Bergman" division began to form near Poltava and initially numbered 700 people. By the spring of 1942, its number reached 2,900 (Note 17 *)
- already on 10/18/1941, the first unit from representatives of Central Asia was created - the 450th battalion in Poland under the command of Mayer-Madera, which by the end of the year consisted of 1 Azerbaijani and 6 Turkestan companies, and in the spring of 1942 took part in anti-partisan actions in Ukraine (Note 17 *)
- researcher P. Mühlen summarized the data of many sources and studies: "In the middle of 1943, there were more than 300 thousand Eastern volunteers, excluding supply, construction formations and special units, and a year later there were almost 1 million of them. The number of Caucasians among them, almost unanimous opinion, reached 110 thousand, Volga Tatars from 35 to 40 thousand, Turkestanis from 110 to 180 thousand people (Note 5 *)

Foreigners in German troops:

According to Russian data for 2017, the military forces of the German allies that crossed the border with the USSR: almost 300 thousand Romanians, 3.5 thousand Slovaks, about 20 thousand Croats, more than 200 thousand Hungarians, up to 50 thousand Spaniards, almost 200 thousand Italians
- during the years of WW2, no more than 360 thousand foreign volunteers stayed in SS units (Note 1 *)
- for 4 years of the Russian campaign, 135 thousand representatives of Western Europe took part in the ranks of the Waffen-SS. Most of them were 55 thousand Dutch, 23 thousand Flemings, 20 thousand French and 20 thousand Walloons. Moreover, until the end of the war in the German Wehrmacht, according to G. Neulen's data, 1,123,700 representatives of non-German nationalities served (Note 21 *). According to other sources, during the Second World War, the Wehrmacht and the SS troops included over 1.8 million people from among citizens of other states, of which 59 divisions, 23 brigades, several separate regiments, legions and 176 battalions were formed (Note 25 *)
- in May 1943, the two-year contracts of most of the SS volunteers from among the representatives of the "Germanic peoples" (Dutch, Belgians, Flemings, Danes, Norwegians and the like) expired, which was the reason for the disbandment of most of the foreign SS legions (SS volunteer corps "Denmark", Volunteer SS Legion "Norway", Volunteer SS Legion "Flanders", Volunteer SS Legion "Netherlands", Finnish SS Volunteer Battalion "Nordoot", a separate Norwegian ski battalion), since few of the legionnaires wanted to continue serving in the SS or the Wehrmacht (Note .fourteen*)
- Dutch - 40 (50 thousand - Note 23 *) thousand (1.5 thousand in the Navy)
- Belgians - 40 thousand, of which 20 thousand are Walloons and 20 Flemings (Note 23 *). According to other sources, 25 thousand Flemings (SS Volunteer Legion "Flanders", reorganized after the collapse of 05.1943 in the 27th Flemish SS Division "Langemark" (Note 14 *); 4 battalions "Wlaamse Wacht" (3 thousand people) , which later became the Flemish Anti-Aircraft Brigade) and the "Walloon Legion" aka 373rd Infantry Battalion (1000 people)
- Serbs - 10 thousand (Note 14 *)
- Croats - 15 thousand (Note 14 *): 369 volunteer divisions, 373, 392 infantry divisions (Note 20 * and 33 *) fought against the Yugoslav partisans (Note 20 * and 33 *), Croatian SS Volunteer Division (26 thousand people), it is also 13 I mountain division "Handshar", Croatian "Sea Legion" (at the beginning on 30.09.41 there were 363 people - (Note 2 * and 34 *), 1000 people (in the USSR until March 1944 - Note 34 *) for 60 light trophy Soviet civil (aka the 23rd flotilla of minesweepers - Note 33 * and 34 *) ships (Notes 20 * and 33 *), the Croatian Air Force - a fighter squadron (Bf-109) and a bomber squadron ("Dornier "Dо-17). According to other sources, by the end of 1943 the Croatian house-picker (militia) consisted of 5 divisions, reached the number of 130 thousand and was armed with tanks, artillery and aviation. In 1944, 30 thousand Ustash militia were attached to it ( Note 20 *). In addition, the Croatian light (1215 servicemen - Note 34 *) motorized brigade fought as part of Mussolini's army on the Eastern Front. 33 * and 34 *)
- French - 10 (more than 20 thousand - Note 23 *) thousand: 2,500 people LVF (French Legion - aka 638th 2nd battalion infantry regiment of the Wehrmacht - Note 29 *), SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment, police units Darlana - 45 thousand (Note 7 *), later united in the Charlemagne Volunteer Assault Brigade
- Danes - 6 thousand people (Note 1 * and 23 *). By 31.01.42 - "Dania" Volunteer Corps numbered 1264 people. 1800 people passed through this formation
- Albanians - in the spring of 1944 from Albanian volunteers, 21 SS mountain division "Skanderberg" (6000 people) of three regimental composition was formed
- Hungarians: about 50,000 people served in the Waffen SS (Note 26 *). In April 1944, the 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division "Maria Theresa" (8000 people) of four regimental personnel, the 25th SS Grenadier Division "Hunyadi", the 26th SS Grenadier Division "Hungaria"
- Finns - the SS volunteer battalion numbered 2000 people
- Indians - by the end of 1942 in the 950th Indian Volunteer Infantry Regiment (aka "Indian SS Legion"), there were 3,500 people (training center in Heuberg (Note 10 * and 14 *)
- The "English SS volunteer corps" (60 people) existed from 07.41 to 05.43 (Note 14 *): a volunteer battalion from the British was formed in the Hildesheim camp (Note 10 *)
- Romanians: about 6,000 people served in the Waffen SS (Note 26 *). In 1944, 2 SS regiments were formed
- from 700 to 1350 Swiss served in the SS troops
- more than 1000 volunteer Bulgarians made up the Waffen-SS anti-tank brigade, which surrendered to the Americans on 05/10/1945 in Germany
- Norwegians - 8 (6 - Note 1 * and 23 *) thousand officially created in August 1941 volunteer legion "Norway", by 20.10.1941 totaled more than 2000 people, in March 1942 was introduced into the 2nd SS Infantry Brigade ... At the end of March 1943, the legion returned to disband in Norway. However, the majority of ex-legionnaires continued to serve in the ranks of the German SS divisions (Note 34 *), 700 people - "Ski Jaeger Battalion of the SS" Norway ", 360 people" Oslo Security Battalion ", 500 people served in the German Navy
- Swedes: 315 people in the Waffen-SS (262 - Note 1 *), in addition, a battalion of Swedish volunteers fought in the Finnish army from 1941 to July 1944
- Poles: 200 thousand, of which 40 thousand are in the police
- Italians: 90 thousand since 1943, of which 50 thousand are in the Luftwaffe, 20 thousand are volunteers in the SS (in February 1944, an SS brigade of two regiments was formed)
- Spaniards: 1.5 thousand in the "Legion Espanola de Voluntarios" (Spanish Volunteer Legion). After the return of the legion in March 1944 to Spain, part of the Spaniards moved to the SS forces, where the 101st Spanish SS Volunteer Company (SS Wallonia Division) was created in September 1944, and in the spring of 1945 - the 102nd Spanish SS Company (SS Division "Nordland" (Note 22 *)

Note: the number of those who took part must be adjusted taking into account combat losses and subsequent replenishment (ed.)

TO THIS TOPIC:

- from 09/29/43, all eastern volunteers from the USSR as part of the Wehrmacht were transferred to the West by order of the General Staff No. 10570/43, where they stayed until the end of the war (Note 17 *)
- each German infantry regiment already in 1941 formed a sapper company of 100 people from Russian volunteers. As the war took on a protracted nature, the hivi states expanded. So, the supply service of each German infantry division at the end of 1942 was 700 people. Russians, and the states of the German infantry division in 1943 provided for the presence of 2050 Russians for 10 708 Germans, i.e. almost 20% of its total population (Note 30 *)
- many volunteers preferred to join the ranks of the Wehrmacht, rather than the SS troops, but since they did not form national units, their number cannot be determined - foreign volunteers, one of whose parents was of German origin, most often joined the Wehrmacht, which also makes it difficult establishing their number.
- these units were very often attached to German units, withdrawn from them, changed numerically, made up separate units in various formations, reorganized, formed in order to become part of other units under a different name. Therefore, often names such as "division", "brigade", "regiment", especially with the prefix "special purpose" had nothing in common with the established staff structure the Wehrmacht.
- in August 1943, out of 16.5 thousand personnel of the 11th SS Volunteer Tank-Grenadier Division "Nordland", about 550 Norwegian volunteers served in the 23rd Grenadier Regiment "Norge", 1400 in the 24th Grenadier Regiment "Danmark" Danish volunteers and another 115 Swedes, Dutch and Flemings, and at the end of April 1945 the Charlemagne assault battalion, formed from the remnants of the French 33rd SS Volunteer Division, joined the division

- in December 1941, Hitler ordered the formation of 4 national legions: Turkestan, Georgian, Armenian and Caucasian - Mohammedan, and on April 15, 1942 he personally authorized the use of Cossacks and Caucasians in the fight against partisans and at the front as "equal allies", which was fixed in August 1942 in the first "Regulations on local auxiliary formations in the East". In this document, the Cossacks and Turkic peoples were singled out in a separate category of "equal allies fighting shoulder to shoulder with German soldiers against Bolshevism as part of special combat units." Representatives of the Slavic and Baltic peoples were allowed to be used only as part of the anti-partisan, security, transport and economic units of the Wehrmacht.
- the number of Germans in each of the Eastern battalions almost always reached at least 50-60 people, who, as a rule, were in command positions (Note 17 *)
- from the fall of 1942 to January 1943, a training 162nd volunteer division was created in Ukraine from Turkestanis and Caucasians (consisting of 6 legions: 3 Turkestan and one Georgian, Azerbaijani and Armenian, numbering about an infantry regiment each), which fought in 1944 in Italy already as a field. If the training division numbered about 12 thousand people, including: Turkestanis about 5 thousand, the rest about 2 thousand of each nationality, then the field 162nd division had about 17 thousand, of which: legionnaires - about 9 thousand; Germans - about 8 thousand (Note 3 *). According to other sources, from May 1942 to May 1943, 5 legions were formed as part of the 162nd Infantry Division, consisting of 25 marching battalions, 2 reinforced half-battalions, 7 construction battalions and 3 reserve battalions. The legions in this division should not be confused with the Eastern Legions created on the territory of Poland. In April 1943 the division received the status of a field division and consisted of half of the Germans, half of the representatives of the peoples of the USSR (Note 17 *)
- in the monograph of the German historian I. Hoffmann, the Eastern Legions, created before the end of 1943 and only under the auspices of the command of the Eastern Legions, were taken into account, although there were similar formations as part of the formed 162nd Infantry Division in Ukraine, separate units as part of the Wehrmacht in Crimea and other eastern battalions, whose numbers are not mentioned in the above classification of I. Hoffmann. According to I. Hoffmann, "the first wave" consisted of 15 battalions created before late autumn 1942, among them 6 Turkestan battalions - 450th, 452nd, 781st, 782nd, 783rd, 784th; 2 Azerbaijani - 804th, 805th; 3 North Caucasian - 800th (Circassian), 801st (Dagestan), 802nd (Ossetian); 2 Georgian - 795th, 796th and 2 Armenian - 808th, 809th. These battalions were sent to the Eastern Front and by the spring of 1943, 21 battalions of the "second wave" were formed: 5 Turkestan battalions - 785th, 786th, 787th, 788th, 789th; 4 Azerbaijani - 806th, 807th, 817th, 818th; 1 North Caucasian - 803rd; 4 Georgian - 797th, 798th, 799th, 822nd; 4 Armenian - 810th, 811th, 812th, 813th and 3 Volga-Tatar - 825th, 826th, 827th. In the second half of 1943, 17 battalions of the "third wave" were created: 3 Turkestan battalions - 790th, 791st, 792nd; 2 Azerbaijani - 819th, 820th; 3 North Caucasian - 835th, 836th, 837th; 2 Georgian - 823rd, 824th; 3 Armenian - 814th, 815th, 816th and 4 Volga-Tatar - 828th, 829th, 830th, 831st. Thus, in total on the territory of Poland in 1942-1943, no less than 14 Turkestan, 8 Azerbaijani, 7 North Caucasian, 8 Georgian, 9 Armenian and 7 Volga-Tatar battalions were created, with a total number of about 53 thousand people (Note 17 * )
- on 07/08/1943, according to German data, there were 78 volunteer battalions, 1 regiment and 122 companies, in addition to them about 220 thousand khivis (Note 17 *)
- in 1944 there were about 60 separate volunteer battalions on the Western Front. mainly for carrying coastal defense. In addition, most of the German divisions on the Western Front also included volunteer battalions. They consisted of Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Caucasians (Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis), Kazakhs and Turkestanis (Note 3 *)

AS AN AFTERWORD: I will immediately make a reservation that it is nothing more than my personal opinion, which appeared after reading only those factual data that came into my field of vision. And nevertheless, I got the strong impression that the combat efficiency of almost all foreign formations for a long time did not correspond to that adopted in the Wehrmacht and the SS troops, and units created from former Soviet military personnel and emigrants, at best, were only suitable for anti-partisan warfare in the occupied territories. At the end of the war, behind the sonorous names often hid poorly coordinated in a combat relation and undermanned and unmanned military collectives, which only on paper were combat units, which without a trace and almost instantly disappeared in the crucible of battles.

NOTES:
(Note 1 *) - E. Wallen “I am an SS volunteer. Hitler's Berserker "
(Note 2 *) - Balakin "Marine company" collection of "Navies of the Balkan states and the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean"
(Note 3 *) - V. Makarov "Generals and officers of the Wehrmacht tell"
(Note 4 *) - collection "Army series" 1997 "Wehrmacht infantry" part 3
(Note 5 *) - I. Gilyazov "Legion" Idel-Ural "
(Note 6 *) - B. Kovalev "German occupation and collaboration"
(Note 7 *) - L. Semenenko "The Great Patriotic War... How it was"
(Note 8 *) - A. Timofeev "Hitler's Serbian Allies"
(Note 9 *) - B. Belozerov "Front without Borders 1941-1945."
(Note 10 *) - S. Auski "Betrayal and treason. The troops of General Vlasov in the Czech Republic"
(Note 11 *) - P.Stankeras "Lithuanian police battalions. 1941-45"
(Note 12 *) - O. Smyslov "Hitler's Fifth Column"
(Note 13 *) - S. Verevkin "The Second World War. Torn Pages"
(Note 14 *) - G. Williamson "SS - an instrument of terror"
(Note 15 *) - S. Kozhin "How K. Zaslonov Died" magazine "Military Historical Archive" 12 \ 2002
(Note 16 *) - M. Zefirov "Aces of World War II. Allies of the Luftwaffe. Estonia, Latvia, Finland"
(Note 17 *) - I. Gilyazov "Legion" Idel-Ural "
(Note 18 *) - M. Antilevsky "Aviation of General Vlasov"
(Note 19 *) - R. Ponomarenko "SS tank units in the Baltic States: the history of the SS tank brigade" Gross "magazine" Arsenal-collection "6 \ 2013
(Note 20 *) - "100 battles that changed the world. Balkans 1941-45" №145
(Note 21 *) - H. Ferten "On fire of the Eastern Front. Memoirs of an SS volunteer"
(Note 22 *) - M. Zefirov "WW2 Aces. Allies of the Luftwaffe: Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria"
(Note 23 *) - T. Ripley "Elite Forces of the Third Reich"
(Note 24 *) - Y. Rubtsov "Penalties of the Great Patriotic War. On the Screen and in Life"
(Note 25 *) - V. Ignatov "Executioners and Executions in the History of Russia and the USSR"
(Note 26 *) - R. Ponomarenko "Soviet Germans and other Volksdeutsches in the SS troops"
(Note 27 *) - E. Abrahamyan "Caucasians in the Abwehr"
(Note 28 *) - I. Ermolaev "Under the Banners of Hitler"
(Note 29 *) - O. Beida "The French Legion in the Service of Hitler"
(Note 30 *) - S. Drobyazko "Russian Liberation Army"
(Note 31 *) -
(Note 32 *) -
(Note 33 *) - S. Romanko "For the Fuhrer and the Head of the Party"
(Note 34 *) - M. Kustov "The Fuhrer's Mercenaries"
(Note 35 *) - M. Zefirov "Aces of WW2. Allies of the Luftwaffe - Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria"

"France was defeated in two months, Norway in a month and a half, Holland in five days, Denmark in one ..." We like to repeat this list, comparing it with the fierce battles on the Eastern Front, of course. It is strange that Luxembourg has been forgotten for some reason.
It is foolish, of course, to reproach the small countries of Europe (France does not count) that they say they did not defeat Hitler in 1940 .. And even more so, "not to notice" the difference in the military potentials of the Benelux and the USSR.
So, May 1940, the battle for Holland.

Dutch armored car Landsverk M38

Gollan Marines on the March

Holland was a neutral country and until recently hoped to avoid participation in the war. Therefore, the country's armed forces were formed and equipped according to the principle "and so it goes." When the situation in Europe became alarming and things turned into a serious fight, measures were nevertheless taken to strengthen the defenses.
As a result, by May 1940, the Dutch armed forces looked like this.
Army - 1,500 officers and 6,500 regular soldiers, after the mobilization of reservists, the army reached 115,000 bayonets. The equipment was weak. There was a shortage of modern weapons, communications and everything else. There were no tanks. They were replaced by armored vehicles brought together in separate squadrons. The artillery was hopelessly outdated.
The Air Force had about 150 combat-ready aircraft (many modern and with good combat qualities), plus 44 seaplanes of the Navy.
The navy consisted of 4 cruisers, 8 destroyers, 23 submarines, 28 minesweepers, 5 torpedo boats.
A large fleet for such a small country. Which is not surprising, however, given the vast overseas possessions. Most of the ships were in the colonies.
That's all. Such "power" was to crush the Wehrmacht.

In general, the Dutch General Staff soberly assessed the situation and chose the only correct defense plan. Realizing the impossibility of defending the entire territory of the country, it was decided to meet the enemy at the prepared and fortified positions of the "Fortress Holland", a vast fortified area in the north of the country. By May 1940, the main forces of the army were concentrated there.

Dutch gunners on exercises. February 1940

Dutch fortifications after the end of the fighting, 1940

On May 10, 1940, Germany attacked Holland. The invasion was carried out by a powerful group of German troops under the command of Field Marshal von Bock. The balance of forces was overwhelming - 22 Wehrmacht divisions against 9 Dutch ones.
But the main surprise for the Dutch was the massive use of airborne assault forces by the Germans. The 7th and 22nd Airborne Divisions of the Luftwaffe were assigned tasks of a strategic scale. They had to not only swiftly seize the most important bridges, airfields and road junctions, but also destroy the command of the Dutch army in The Hague.
While the Wehrmacht was just crossing the border, Luftwaffe paratroopers fell from the sky in the areas of Dodrecht, Murdek and Rotterdam. At the beginning of the operation, the paratroopers were able to successfully capture a number of important bridges, but then they met fierce resistance from the Dutch who came to their senses. The defenders of the airfields and bridges began to counterattack. They were clearly not going to give up just like that. The fighting was heavy and in places the Germans had a hard time.

The paratroopers were rescued by the complete superiority of the Luftwaffe in the air, which made it possible to continuously throw in reinforcements and suppress the Dutch with bomb strikes. The excellent training and fighting qualities of the parachutists themselves also affected. Nevertheless, the stubborn resistance of the enemy did not allow the German paratroopers to complete all their tasks. In particular, they were unable to attack the main headquarters of the Dutch army.
Meanwhile, the Wehrmacht was rapidly advancing inland. On May 13, the assault on the "Fortress Holland" began. Here, too, the battles were fierce. The attacks of the Germans were replaced by the counterattacks of the Gollan. The battles were short-lived, but heavy. Naturally, in this situation, the Dutch troops could not hold out for long. Too unequal forces, terrorist bombing by German aviation, which had nothing to oppose (although Dutch pilots shot down several Luftwaffe planes), and also an understanding of the hopelessness of their position, all this played a role. Holland surrendered on May 14.
Nevertheless, most of the fleet, part of the aviation and several thousand soldiers managed to leave for England in order to continue the fight. The very fact of Holland's resistance in that situation (and far from being "symbolic" as they sometimes say) does honor to her army.
And even more so, the soldiers did not deserve reproaches. They did their duty by doing what they could.
And the government surrendered, realizing that there was no chance for a long defense and help from the allies, and further resistance would only lead to huge casualties and destruction. Apparently, this was the only way out at that moment.
Here are some photos.

Dutch machine gunners

Dutch soldiers at a disguised bunker

Dutch officers master the radio transmitter

Dutch army officers

Holland, in my opinion, is such a German Ukraine. The language is close, so is the culture. Once I read the memoirs of the Dutch SS man Hendrik Ferten - I got the impression that perhaps half of Holland dreamed of joining the Reich.
Well, they resisted for 4 days, in the end.
After the occupation, the National Socialist Movement became the only political force - the official one, of course. Nationaal-Sozialistische Beweging.
The assault battalions of the NSB - 4500 people - received the rights to exercise police functions.
By October 1942, 100,894 people participated in the movement. At that time, almost 9 million people lived in the Netherlands. That is, exactly the same 1%.

SS Troop
Already on May 25, 1940, the SS Westland standard was created, By February 1941 - 600 volunteers. Then the SS Viking division was deployed from this regiment.
On April 3, 1941, the "Nordwest" regiment was created - 1,400 Dutchmen were included in the regiment.

Volunteer Legion "Netherlands".
They began to form on July 12, 1941. On January 9, 1941 - 2,937 Dutch. Then 700 Germans and 26 Flemings joined the same legion. They fought in the area of the notorious Myasny Bor. By the end of July 1942, 1,197 people remained in the legion. Replenished with the Germans. After the winter battles near Leningrad, having suffered heavy losses, the legion was disbanded.

4th SS volunteer tank-grenadier brigade "Netherlands".
They began to form on July 19, 1943. By the end of the year, the brigade consisted of 6899 people. They threw them under Narva. As a result of the fighting from January 1 to April 13, the total losses were 3,728 people. Supplemented by the Germans. Then the brigade was smashed with terrible force.
So, on July 26, the 48th brigade regiment was surrounded and destroyed in the Asula forest. Of the 700 people, 350 were captured, the rest were destroyed. Only 9 people left the entourage. By the end of January 1945, 80 people remained in the ranks of the 49th regiment. During the evacuation from Liepaja, the transport "Moira", on which the surviving Dutchmen were, was sunk by a Soviet submarine. Only a few made it to Holland. Moira joked, yes.

23rd SS Volunteer Tank-Grenadier Division "Netherlands".
Those who survived the Narva battles were reorganized into a new division. With all the reinforcements, this division numbered 4020 people. Since there were not enough people - and where did they go, I wonder? - there were no reconnaissance, air defense and communications units in the division. The Dutch were thrown into the city of Arnswald, on the offensive. Apparently, the headquarters believed that since a division is on paper, it means a division. German documents don't lie, yes. Under the future Polish city of Choszczno, the Klotz regiment was completely destroyed in a few hours of fighting. The remnants began to flee to the Passau area, where the Dutch and the Germans were brought together from two regiments into one battalion. But still a division on paper. There, parkically, immediately, they were overtaken by Soviet troops. As a result, 300 people left Frankfurt an der Oder. They immediately fell into Halbe's cauldron. from where about 100 Dutchmen infiltrated. They surrendered to the Americans on May 7, 1945.

Volunteer SS Grenadier Brigade "Landsturm Netherlands".
They began to create it to fight against British saboteurs and the Resistance in the spring of 1943. By the fall of 1943, 26 officers and 1912 soldiers served. They were sent to northern Belgium in September 1944.

34th volunteer tank-grenadier division "Landsturm Netherlands".
A new division was formed from the brigade. February 10, 1945. The total number of the division is 6,000 people. And if in 1940 the Dutch army resisted for 4 days, then in 1945 the Dutch SS fought with the Allied troops even when the Germans surrendered. Only after May 9 did they begin to surrender.

Security battalion SS "North-West".
600 people. On September 17, 1944, in battles with the British, he lost about 400 people and fled.

SS Field Hospital of the Volunteer Legion "Netherlands".
160 doctors, paramedics, orderlies. And also nurses - up to 1,500 Dutch girls.

SS building parts
7,500 Dutch.

Dutch SS.
This is a separate structure. That is, the German SS are separate, and the Dutch SS are separate. however, on November 1, the Dutch SS were renamed the German SS in the Netherlands. 3727 people.
From these volunteers, more volunteers were selected for the Feldmeier Sonderkommando. The task is to kill without trial and investigation of those who were suspected of participating in the Resistance. At least 55 people were killed.

Dutch police.
The old one is dissolved, the new one is recruited. 16,000 people.
Of them:
Police volunteer battalion SS "Netherlands" - 750 people.
Security Service "Lower Saxony" - unknown.
The control team is the guard of the transit Jewish camps - 300 people.
Auxiliary Police (Hypo) - 2000 people. Participated in deportations.
The water security team of the police "Eiselmir" - 300 people. They hunted downed allied pilots.

OTHER KIND OF TROOPS.
VERMACHT - 800 people. The fact is that the SS, not the Wehrmacht, had the prerogative of recruiting volunteers from the Germanic peoples.
KRIGSMARINE - 1500 people.
LYUFTWAFFE - 5 pilots are known. How many in the air defense and in the BAO is unknown.
THE NETHERLANDS WORK SERVICE - 21,000 people. Of these, 15,000 are boys and 6,000 are girls. Of these, 1200 visited Russia, where, together with the Todt Organization, they built fortifications.
WORKING SERVICE HOLLAND - Hitler's plans were to colonize Ukraine. So, 30,000 Dutchmen were preparing to move to Ukraine. The first began arriving in 1942. For their protection, the RSG was created - 400 people.
AUTOMOTIVE NSCC - 8000 Dutch. The exact losses are unknown. It is known that about 300 Dutch drivers were killed in Stalingrad.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TeNo) - 4500 people. They were armed, by the way, with captured Soviet rifles. When they were thrown to the front, they already received German carbines.
ORGANIZATION OF TODT - according to various sources, up to 80,000 Dutchmen served in the German construction battalion.

Traditionally, it is believed that Holland supplied the most volunteers for the Reich. About 10 thousand Dutchmen were killed. These losses do not include losses of work services, NSCC, Technical Assistance and OT. Although they also wore military uniforms and had weapons.

Security battalion SS "North-West".
600 people. On September 17, 1944, in battles with the British, he lost about 400 people and fled.

SS Field Hospital of the Volunteer Legion "Netherlands".
160 doctors, paramedics, orderlies. And also nurses - up to 1,500 Dutch girls.

SS building parts
7,500 Dutch.

Original taken from ivakin_alexey v Flemings in the SS and the Wehrmacht

No, not Belgians. Namely the Flemings.
Flemings live in the north and make up 60% of the population of Belgium. They speak Dutch. At the same time, until 1980, the official language was French. Education was conducted exclusively in French. It was only in 1993 that Dutch became the official language in Northern Belgium. Moreover, for the national majority. And the tension between the Walloons and the Flemings still persists.
It is no wonder that even during the First World War, the Flemings collaborated with the Germans. The Germans are both.
The same thing happened in World War II, but on a large scale.
A little background ...
Joris van Severen. Organized the Union of Dutch National Socialists (Verdinazo is an abbreviation for that). In early May, he was arrested by the police, handed over to the French and shot without trial. He and 22 of his associates. The place of the Union was taken by the Flemish National Union - under the Germans, its number reached 100,000. Of these, 12 thousand - "Black Brigade" - assault units. The German-Flemish workers' community, in turn, advocated the incorporation of Flanders into Germany. 51 thousand people.
Of all these Nazis, 27,000 Flemings left for Germany in the summer and autumn of 1944.
"We are Germans, 200% German, and we will fight to be accepted as such in the German Reich."
And, of course, already in June 1940 the first Flemish volunteers appeared in the SS Westland and Nordwest standards.
En masse, the Flemings go to the SS in the summer of 1941.

Volunteer Legion "Flanders".
Already on August 6, the first 405 volunteers marched through Brussels. On November 10, 1941 - 1112 people (950 Flemings and 162 Germans). From November 16 we entered the battles. Tosno. Mga. Kirishi. Visit. By November 18, 654 people remained in the ranks. Since January 1942 they have been on the Volkhov front. Including battles with the 2nd shock army of the Red Army. By March 1943, 50 people remained in the ranks.

6th SS volunteer assault brigade "Langemark".
Created on the basis of the legion, having sent there the Flemings from "Viking" and "Das Reich". Well, replenishment. By October 1943 - 2068 people. She fought in Ukraine - Zhitomir, Berdichev, Kamenets-Podolsky. By March 1944, 400 people survived. After that, the brigade was taken to rest and replenishment. Again, about 2,000 people. After the rest, they threw me near Narva. July 27 they entered the battle. By September 20, 130 people were withdrawn from the front. The rest are over. Interesting fact- On July 27, SS navigator Remi Schrijner destroyed 4 tanks, on July 28, already - 30 T-34s. And on July 29, three companies of the Flemings were completely destroyed.

27th SS volunteer tank-grenadier division "Langemark".
Whether for complacency, or to calm Hitler, German staff officers in the last year of the war began to rename the brigades in divisions. At least on paper.
On October 19, 1944, this happened to the Flemings. 130 men were named a division and began looking for reinforcements. By April 1945 it was possible to reach the number of 4102 people. At the same time, parts of the division every now and then pulled out to the front. In December, for example, two battalions were pulled into the Ardennes. And in February 1945, the division was thrown into Pomerania, under a Soviet steel rink. How many of them survived under the blows of Soviet troops - no one knows.

Hitler Youth of Flanders.
There were some. From the boys born in 26-28, a battalion was created in 1944 and transferred to the "Langemark" division. The quantity is unknown, the fate is also unknown.

Flemish SS
Just as in Holland, the Flemish SS were first created, later renamed the German SS in Flanders. By July 1944 there were 3499 people.

Security "Sint Troyden"
They guarded Luftwaffe airfields. The number is unknown.

Auxiliary Feljandarmerie.
The number is unknown. The fact of participation in the battles near Arnhem of 60 Flemish feljandarms was noted.

Security group "Nordland".
Guarded communications. 500 people.

Security building SD.
100 people.

VERMACHT
Flemish Factory Guard
100 people at the Cockeril plant is what is known from one plant. The total number is unknown. However, the Wehrmacht was able to create a brigade from this guard.

Flemish security brigade of the Wehrmacht, later Flemish anti-aircraft brigade.
3362 people.

Flemish guard.
2900 people.

Police battalion of the Flanders People's Grenadier Division.
They began to create in the fall of 1944. In May 1945, they planned to deploy the battalion into a brigade, yeah. For some reason, it did not work out and the battalion was torn apart. It is known that the Flemish police defended the Berlin restaurant "At the Zoo".

Village guards:
27,790 people.

LUFTWAFFE:
2 pilots. Ground personnel - unknown.

KRIGSMARINE:
500 people.

NSKK:
In May 1943 - 3267 people.

ORGANIZATION OF TODT:
- 30 thousand employees
- 5000 security guards.

IMPERIAL LABOR SERVICE:
2000 Flemings of both sexes.

VOLUNTARY LABOR SERVICE OF FLANDRIA
2,400 boys and 500 girls annually.

GERMAN RED CROSS:
500-700 nurses.

Next time about the Walloons.

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