Division zV
The Division zV (Division for Retaliation) was a major German military organization at the end of World War II . The association was responsible for the use of long-range weapons such as the V2 and later also the V1 . It consisted partly of Wehrmacht soldiers and partly of soldiers from the Waffen SS . Then there were civil technicians. SS-Obergruppenführer Hans Kammler was in command .
history
Until the attack on Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944, the V2 weapon was under the control of the Wehrmacht. As a result, Heinrich Himmler was appointed Chief of Army Armaments and Commander of the Replacement Army. The missile weapons were also under his control. In August 1944, Himmler appointed Hans Kammler as special representative for A4 matters.
The latter claimed responsibility not only for production, but also for the use of the missiles. At about the same time, the launching facilities in France were lost due to the advance of the Allies following the landing in Normandy . After the conquest of Paris , this city became one of the main missile targets alongside the British capital, London .
At the beginning of September 1944, the units for deploying the V2 were divided into:
1st group north
- Artillery Division 485
- Teaching and testing battery 444
- SS launcher battery 500
2nd group south
- Artillery Division 836
The zV division was responsible for deploying the V2. The division's headquarters were initially in Haaksbergen . Group Nord launched the first rockets on London and Paris on September 7th. A short time later, the South Group began attacking Mons and Lille . There were disputes over competence between Kammler and Himmler on the one hand and the Wehrmacht on the other. The SS retained the upper hand. Since then, sole management has been with Kammler.
The attempt to use the missiles against the advancing Allied troops themselves proved ineffective. On Hitler's orders, the V2 was only used against London and Antwerp from October 1944 . Two high-pressure pumps ( V3 ) at Artillery Department 785 in Trier and the four-stage Rheinbote missile of Artillery Department (motorized) 709 were added as additional weapon systems . This was shot down mainly against Antwerp. The V3 was used against Luxembourg . With the advance of the Allies, the long-range weapons were moved further and further east.
In January 1945 the Flak Regiment 155 of the Wehrmacht with V1 cruise missiles was subordinated to the division . With the formation of the Army Corps zV in February 1945, all long-range weapon units were under Kammler's command.
The division was now divided into:
- Artillery Division 485 (V2)
- Teaching and testing battery 444 (V2)
- SS launcher battery 500 (V2)
- Artillery Department 836 (V2)
- Artillery Division 705 (V3)
- Artillery division (motorized) 709 (Rheinbote)
- Flak Regiment 155 (W) (V1)
The V3 ended in mid-February 1945. In contrast, the V2 units should be reinforced. In this context, previous sub-units were renamed. Ultimately, due to the overall situation, there was no reinforcement. A V2 was last shot down in March 1945. A short time later, the last V1 was also fired. At the beginning of April 1945 Hitler ordered no more explosives to be made available for long-range weapons. The division began to be converted into an armored infantry unit . But this never came to an end.
War Crimes and the End
According to the decision of the Arnsberg Regional Court of 1957/58, the division's staff had been in Suttrop in the Sauerland from September or October 1944 . During this time, Kammler expanded the position of the SS by filling leadership positions such as that of the Ia with people from the Waffen SS. The divisional court also consisted of members of the SS. Tensions existed between members of the Wehrmacht and those of the SS. The soldiers of the Wehrmacht had a constant feeling of surveillance and threat. During the massacre in the Arnsberg Forest in March 1945, 208 slave laborers were murdered by members of the staff on orders from Kammler . Later the staff was moved to what is now Lower Saxony. In order not to fall into the hands of the Red Army , the division surrendered to the Americans at the end of the war after previous negotiations.
Individual evidence
- ^ LG Arnsberg of February 12, 1958, 3 KS 1/57 In: Justice and Nazi crimes. Vol. XIV. Serial, No. 458 pp. 561–625, on the division of a. Pp. 571-573.
- ^ Volkhard Bode: Missile traces: Armory and military base Peenemünde. Berlin 2013, p. 136.