Combat group Mäder
The Mäder Combat Group (Lithuanian name: Tėvynės apsaugos rinktinė (TAR) , translated Patriotic Defense Force ) was a short-lived military unit that hastily formed in northwest Lithuania towards the end of the Second World War to fight nearby Soviet troops. Formed from local Lithuanians, the unit was directly subordinate to the German Wehrmacht . Their German commander was Hellmuth Mäder , after whom the unit was also named on the German side. Mäder tried to build the unit up to full division strength, but it failed. The total number of members is estimated at 6,000 Lithuanian volunteers. On October 7, 1944, the Mäder Combat Group took up defensive positions at Seda (German: Schwenden) against the Soviet 19th Panzer Corps of the 6th Guard Army. The combat group Mäder suffered heavy losses near Seda. As a result, the unit had to withdraw from Lithuania across the German border into the East Prussian Memel . In East Prussia , the severely decimated unit was disbanded and the Lithuanian volunteers were distributed to German pioneer units.
literature
- Kęstutis, K .: Lietuvos karas. (German: The Lithuanian War) - Kaun .: Lietuvos politinių kalinių ir tremtinių sąjunga (German: Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees), 1999. ISBN 9986-577-28-4 . (Lithuanian)
- Nigel, T .; Carlos, CJ: Germany's Eastern Front Allies (2): Baltic Forces. - Osprey Publishing, 2012. ISBN 978-1-78096-734-9 . (English)
- Tarpukario ir rezistencijos laikotarpio Lietuvos generolų sąrašas ir jų amžinojo poilsio vietos / Stoliarovas, A. - Lietuvos kariuomenės generolų klubas (English list of the Lithuanian generals in the interwar and resistance period) and their places of perpetual peace and quiet . ISBN 978-609-412-030-5 . (Lithuanian)