28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonia (Walloon No. 1)
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28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division "Wallonia" (Walloon No. 1) |
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|---|---|
 Troop registration |
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| active | October 18, 1944 to May 1945 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire
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| Armed forces |
 Armed SS
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| Branch of service | Panzergrenadiers |
| Type | division |
| structure | See outline |
| commander | |
| list of | Commanders |
On October 18, 1944, the 5th SS Volunteer Assault Brigade "Wallonia" , consisting of the SS Grenadier Regiments 69 and 70, was reclassified in the southern Hanover area to the 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division "Wallonia" . In this context, the name "Wallonia" refers to the origin of the volunteers from Wallonia in Belgium .
commitment
The majority of the soldiers already served in the Eastern campaign with the SS brigade "Wallonia", which was formed on June 1, 1943 from the Walloon Legion (Wallonia Infantry Battalion 373) of the army and fought in the Cherkassy basin battle (January / February 1944). The formation of the 28th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division "Wallonia" continued until January 1945 . From January 1945 the Wallonia Division was engaged in strong defensive battles on the Eastern Front .
In Pomerania and in the battle for the Oder bridgehead near Stettin , it proved its worth . They were transferred to the Pomeranian Front under the 11th Army that same month. The division was under the command of XXXIX. Panzer Corps and fought on the right wing of the 11th Army . In mid-February 1945 the 28th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division "Wallonia" took part in the attacks in the Stargard area. However, these came to a standstill east of the Madusees . As a result of the standstill at the Madüsee, the regiments were now III. (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps was relocated to defend the front between Stargard and the Oder .
On March 4, 1945, Stargard was evacuated and the retreat to the Oder began. Heavy fighting between Greifenhagen and Stettin weakened the division further. Subsequently, the division was subordinated to the Vistula Army Group as a reserve unit . After the defensive line at Randowbruch had been broken, the division, which in the meantime only had battalion strength, withdrew to Schleswig-Holstein , while remnants surrendered at Schwerin and Brandenburg . Their commander, Léon Degrelle , fled to Denmark and went on to Norway, from where he escaped by plane to Spain, where he died in 1994.
Areas of application
- October 1944 to January 1945 (installation in the southern Hanover area)
- January to March 1945 (XXXIX Panzer Corps, III SS Panzer Corps in the Stargard area)
- April 1945 (Greifenhagen / Stettin area, retreat to Brandenburg)
structure
- SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment 69
- SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment 70
- SS Volunteer Artillery Regiment 28
- SS tank destroyer division 28
- SS Panzer Reconnaissance Department 28
- SS News Department 28
- SS Pioneer Battalion 28
- SS supply company 28
- SS Flak Company 28
- SS administration company 28
- SS medical company 28
- SS Veterinary Company 28
- SS Replacement Battalion 28
- SS storm battalion
- The division never got beyond brigade strength.
Commanders
- 1943 to February 1944: SS-Sturmbannführer Lucien Lippert (killed on February 13, 1944 in the Cherkassy Kesselschlacht )
- October 1944 to April 1945: SS standard leader Léon Degrelle
literature
- Léon Degrelle : The Lost Legion. Experience report of the commander of the Legion "Wallonia". 1972.
- Bouysse, Grégory - Waffen-SS Wallons volume 1: officiers, Lulu.com, 2013
- Walter Held: Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS in World War II. A bibliography of German-language post-war literature. 5 volumes, 1978.
- Rolf Michaelis : The Panzer Grenadier Divisions of the Waffen SS. 2nd Edition. Michaelis-Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-930849-19-4 .
