29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (Italian No. 1)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS
(Italian No. 1)

Troop registration number of the 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS

Troop registration
active February 10, 1945 to May 1945
Country German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) German Empire
Armed forces Flag of the Schutzstaffel.svg Armed SS
Branch of service Grenadiers
Type division
structure See outline
commander
list of Commanders

The 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (Italian No. 1) , also known as Legione SS Italiana (Italian SS Legion), was created on February 10, 1945 as the second SS division with this number - (compare 29th Waffen -Grenadier Division of the SS "RONA" , which was prematurely disbanded) - from the Waffen Grenadier Brigade of the SS (Italian No. 1) set up in November 1943 . In some publications, "Italia" is also used as a division nickname .

Origin and background

After the Kingdom of Italy had concluded a unilateral armistice with the Allies on September 8, 1943 after the fall of fascism ( Armistice of Cassibile ), the German Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS occupied northern Italy and disarmed the Italian troops standing there, if they did not want to were to continue the fight on the German side. The establishment of the Social Republic of Italy on September 23, 1943 with Benito Mussolini as head of state made it possible to recruit Italians into the Waffen SS. On October 2, 1943, Heinrich Himmler and Gottlob Berger drafted a program for the deployment of the Italian militia units by the Waffen SS , which was approved by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

Lineup

At the end of October 1943, around 15,000 volunteers began their training at the Münsingen military training area , and soon afterwards around 9,000 recruits were decommissioned because they were unsuitable and transferred to the police or as workers in the armaments industry. However, the soldiers initially wore the SS runes on the collar tabs of their uniforms on a red instead of a black background. On the left sleeve, the imperial eagle held a bundle of lictors instead of the swastika . The division badge also showed a bundle of lictors, albeit in a slightly different form, with the ax over the rods instead of in between, as is usually the case.

On November 23, 1943, 13 militia battalions were sworn in and handed over to the SS training staff in Italy under the leadership of SS brigade leader Peter Hansen, where they were used in a "bloody fratricidal war" against partisans . The unit was subordinate to SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff in his function as the highest SS and Police Leader (HöSSPF) in Italy and was now called the Italian SS Volunteer Legion , but shortly afterwards it was renamed the 1st Assault Brigade Italian Volunteer Legion .

The members of this association were referred to as Legionari ( legionaries ), especially in Italy . First in common usage, and practically immediately afterwards, also in the official reports.

commitment

In April 1944, three battalions of the brigade were used against the Allied bridgehead at Anzio and Nettuno with surprisingly good success. For these achievements, the soldiers received permission from Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler to use the SS runes on the usual black, instead of the previous red, underground. Several soldiers received awards and the regimental flag was given a silver medal. The command of 7 September 1944, the name was changed to Waffen Grenadier Brigade of the SS (Italian no. 1) and was the General Command Lombardia of Army Group C assumed. In September 1944, the Italian SS Brigade Leader Pietro Mannelli took over command for a short time before he was again entrusted with internal services and the recruitment of further personnel. He was one of only two Italians who achieved general rank in the Waffen SS . With the influx of more recruits, the workforce grew to 15,000 by December 1944. In the spring of 1945 the division formed the Binz combat group under the command of SS-Oberführer Ernst Tzschoppe (their last commander) , which until the collapse of the German front in Italy in mid-April, against French units on the western borders in Piedmont , as well as against Italians Partisans fought in Lombardy .

The last parts of the division surrendered on April 30, 1945 American armored forces in the city of Gorgonzola .

structure

(The structure of the Waffen Grenadier Brigade of the SS (Italian No. 1) is the same as that of the division)

  • Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment of SS 81 (Italian No. 1) (I. – III.)
  • Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS 82 (Italian No. 2) (I. – III.)
  • Waffen-Artillerie-Regiment of the SS 29 (Italian No. 1) (I., II.)
  • Fusilier Battalion 29th Vendetta
  • Panzerjäger detachment 29
  • SS Pioneer Company 29
  • SS News Company 29
  • SS replacement battalion
  • Officers battalion

Commanders

literature

  • Nicola Guerra: I volontari italiani nelle Waffen-SS: pensiero politico, formazione culturale e motivazioni al volontariato; una storia orale . Chieti: Solfanelli, 2014 ISBN 9788874978588

swell

  1. RF-SS, Tgb.Nr. 35/143/43 g. dated October 2, 1943
  2. The Chief of OrdPol, Kdo IO (3) 1 No. 578/43 of October 2, 1943
  3. ^ Rolf Michaelis The Grenadier Divisions of the Waffen SS , II, p. 179.
  4. SS-FHA, Amt II Org.Abt. Ia / II, Tgb.Nr. 2940/44 g.Kdos. September 7, 1944

See also