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{{short description|German armored division}}
{{redirect-distinguish|ss wiking|SS Viking|SS Wiking 1}}
{{redirect-distinguish|ss wiking|SS Viking|SS Wiking 1}}
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{{more citations needed|date=December 2018}}
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{{Infobox military unit
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name = 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking
|unit_name = 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking
|image = 5th_SS_Division_Logo.svg
|image = 5th SS Division Logo.svg
|image_size = 175px
|image_size = 175px
|caption = Unit insignia
|caption = Unit insignia
|dates = 1941–45
|dates = 1941–45
|country = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
|country = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
|branch = [[Image:Flag Schutzstaffel.svg|23px]] [[Waffen-SS]]
|branch = {{flagicon|Schutzstaffel}} [[Waffen-SS]]
|type = [[Infantry]]<br>[[Panzer]]
|type = [[Infantry]]<br>[[Panzer]]
|role = [[Armoured warfare]]
|role = [[Armoured warfare]]
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|march =
|march =
|mascot =
|mascot =
|battles = [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]
|battles =
{{tree list}}
* [[World War II]]
** [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]
*[[Operation Barbarossa]]
*** [[Operation Barbarossa]]
*[[Case Blue]]
*** [[Case Blue]]
*[[Third Battle of Kharkov]]
*** [[Third Battle of Kharkov]]
*[[Operation Citadel]]
*** [[Operation Citadel]]
*[[Operation Spring Awakening]]
*** [[Operation Spring Awakening]]
*[[Operation Harvest Festival]]
*** [[Operation Harvest Festival]]
{{tree list/end}}
|native_name={{lang|de| 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking}}
|native_name={{lang|de| 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking}}
}}
}}


The '''5th SS Panzer Division Wiking''' ({{lang-de| 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking}}) or '''SS Division Wiking''' was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight [[Waffen-SS]] divisions of [[Nazi Germany]]. It was recruited from foreign volunteers in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, the Netherlands and Belgium under the command of German officers. During [[World War II]], the division served on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]. It surrendered on 9 May 1945 to the American forces in Austria, with some soldiers, like [[Egon Kuhn]], becoming active as warning people for the dangers of [[Neo-Nazism]].
The '''5th SS Panzer Division Wiking''' ({{langx|de| 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking}}) or '''SS Division Wiking''' was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight [[Waffen-SS]] divisions of [[Nazi Germany]]. During [[World War II]], the division served on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]. It surrendered on 9 May 1945 to the American forces in Austria.


The division contained large contingents of foreign volunteers from Northern European countries including, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, the Netherlands and Belgium.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Butler |first=Rupert |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm51650889 |title=SS-Wiking: the history of the Fifth SS Division, 1941-45 |date=2002 |publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1-932033-04-5 |location=Havertown, PA |oclc=ocm51650889}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Quarrie |first=Bruce |title=Hitler's Teutonic Knights: SS panzers in action |date=1986 |publisher=P. Stephens ; Distributed by Sterling Pub. Co |isbn=978-0-85059-764-6 |location=Wellingborough : New York, N.Y}}</ref> The Division's Scandinavian composition and combat service on the Eastern Front, was used in German wartime propaganda to encourage additional foreign recruitment for the Waffen-SS.
==Formation and training==

After the German [[invasion of Poland]] in 1939, [[Heinrich Himmler]], the head of the [[SS]], sought to expand the [[Waffen-SS]] with foreign military volunteers for the Nazi "crusade against Bolshevism". The enrollment began in April 1940 with the creation of two regiments: the Waffen-SS Regiment Nordland (for Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish volunteers), and the Waffen-SS Regiment Westland (for Dutch and Flemish volunteers).<ref>McNab, pp. 167, 178</ref>
==Formation, training and demographics==
After the German [[invasion of Poland]] in 1939, [[Heinrich Himmler]], the head of the [[SS]], sought to expand the [[Waffen-SS]] with foreign military volunteers for the Nazi "crusade against Bolshevism". The enrollment began in April 1940 with the creation of two regiments: the Waffen-SS Regiment Nordland (for Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and a minority of Icelandic volunteers), and the Waffen-SS Regiment Westland (for Dutch and Flemish volunteers).<ref>McNab, pp. 167, 178</ref>


The Nordic formation, originally organised as the ''Nordische Division'' (Nr. 5), was to be made up of Nordic volunteers mixed with German Waffen-SS personnel. The SS Infantry Regiment Germania of the ''SS-Verfügungs-Division'', which was formed mostly from Germans, was transferred to help form the nucleus of a new division in late 1940.<ref>McNab, p. 167</ref> In December 1940, the new SS motorised formation was to be designated as SS-Division Germania, but after its formative period, the name was changed, to SS Division Wiking in January 1941.<ref>Stein, pp. 103, 104</ref> The division was formed around three motorised infantry regiments: Germania, Westland, and Nordland; with the addition of an artillery regiment. Command of the newly formed division was given to [[Felix Steiner]], the former commander of the ''Verfügungstruppe SS Regiment Deutschland''.<ref>Stein, p. 103</ref>
The Nordic formation, originally organised as the ''Nordische Division'' (Nr. 5), was to be made up of Nordic volunteers mixed with German Waffen-SS personnel. The SS Infantry Regiment Germania of the ''SS-Verfügungs-Division'', which was formed mostly from Germans, was transferred to help form the nucleus of a new division in late 1940.<ref>McNab, p. 167</ref> In December 1940, the new SS motorised formation was to be designated as SS-Division Germania, but after its formative period, the name was changed, to SS Division Wiking in January 1941.<ref>Stein, pp. 103, 104</ref> The division was formed around three motorised infantry regiments: Germania, Westland, and Nordland; with the addition of an artillery regiment. Command of the newly formed division was given to [[Felix Steiner]], the former commander of the ''Verfügungstruppe SS Regiment Deutschland''.<ref>Stein, p. 103</ref>


After formation, the division was sent to Heuberg in Germany for training; by April 1941, it was ready for combat. The division was ordered east in mid-May, to take part with [[Army Group South]]'s advance into [[Ukraine]] during [[Operation Barbarossa]], the invasion of the Soviet Union.<ref>McNab, p. 178</ref> In June 1941, the [[Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS]] was formed from volunteers from that country. This unit was attached to the SS Regiment Nordland of the division. About 430 Finns who fought in the [[Winter War]] served within the SS Division Wiking since the beginning of Barbarossa. In spring 1943, the Finns' 2-year contract ended, and the Finnish battalion was withdrawn. During that same timeframe, the Regiment Nordland was removed to help form the core of the new [[11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland|SS Division Nordland]]. They were replaced by the [[Estonian_Legion#Battalion_Narwa|Estonian Battalion Narwa]].<ref name="Littlejohn 1987 p. 53">Littlejohn (1987) p. 53.</ref>
After formation, the division was sent to Heuberg in Germany for training; by April 1941, it was ready for combat. The division was ordered east in mid-May, to take part with [[Army Group South]]'s advance into [[Ukraine]] during [[Operation Barbarossa]], the invasion of the Soviet Union.<ref>McNab, p. 178</ref> In June 1941, the [[Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS]] was formed from volunteers from that country. This unit was attached to the SS Regiment Nordland of the division. About 430 Finns who fought in the [[Winter War]] served in the SS Division Wiking from the beginning of Barbarossa.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/10/world/europe/finnish-volunteers-very-likely-participated-in-killing-of-jews-in-wwii.html |title=Finnish Volunteers "Very Likely" Participated in the Killing of Jews|work=The New York Times |date=11 February 2019 }}</ref> In spring 1943, the Finns' two-year contract ended, and the Finnish battalion was withdrawn. During that same timeframe, Regiment Nordland was transferred to help form the core of the new [[11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland|SS Division Nordland]]. They were replaced by the [[Estonian Legion#Battalion Narva|Estonian Battalion Narwa]].<ref name="Littlejohn 1987 p. 53">Littlejohn (1987) p. 53.</ref>

== Operational history ==


==Invasion of the Soviet Union==
=== Invasion of the Soviet Union ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Hummel-025-22, Russland, SS-Division "Wiking", Panzerspähwagen.jpg|thumb|upright|Troops of the division in the [[Soviet Union]] in 1941.]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Hummel-025-22, Russland, SS-Division "Wiking", Panzerspähwagen.jpg|thumb|upright|Troops of the division in the [[Soviet Union]] in 1941.]]


The division took part in [[Operation Barbarossa]], the invasion of the Soviet Union, advancing through [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]], today's Ukraine. In August the division fought for the bridgehead across the [[Dnieper River]]. Later, the division took part in the heavy fighting for [[Rostov-on-Don]] before retreating to the [[Mius River]] line in November. In the summer of 1942, the unit took part in Army Group South's offensive [[Fall Blau|Case Blue]], aimed at capturing [[Stalingrad]] and the [[Baku]] oilfields. In late September 1942, Wiking participated in the operation aimed to capture the city of [[Grozny]], alongside the [[German 13th Panzer Division|13th Panzer Division]]. The division captured Malgobek on 6 October, but the objective of seizing Grozny and opening a road to the [[Caspian Sea]] was not achieved. The division took part in the attempt to seize [[Vladikavkaz|Ordzhonikidze]]. The Soviet [[Operation Uranus]], the encirclement of the [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|6th Army]] at Stalingrad, brought any further advances to a halt and later necessitated a retreat from the Caucasus.
The division took part in [[Operation Barbarossa]], the invasion of the Soviet Union, advancing through [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]], today's Ukraine. In July and August, Wiking participated in the encirclement battles at [[Battle of Uman|Uman]] and [[Battle of Kiev (1941)|Kiev]]. Later in August, the division fought for the bridgehead across the [[Dnieper River]] at [[Dnepropetrovsk]]. Finally, the division took part in the heavy fighting for [[Rostov-on-Don]] before retreating to the [[Mius River]] line in November, to hold for the winter.


In February 1942, the Soviet winter offensive had established breakthroughs on either side of the transportation hub of [[Izium]]. A {{lang|de|Kampfgruppe}} was formed around the 1st battalion of the {{lang|de|Germania}} regiment and the division's assault gun battery and sent north to help contain the Soviet thrusts. By the 25th of February, this {{lang|de|Kampfgruppe}} was virtually annihilated in defensive battles near Izium against superior Soviet armored forces. Ultimately the front had been stabilized however, and conditions had been set for the devastating Axis counterattack at the [[Second Battle of Kharkov]] a few months later.<ref>Gilbert pp. 181-182.</ref>
After [[Operation Winter Storm]], the failed attempt to relieve the 6th Army, [[Erich von Manstein]], the commander of Army Group South, proposed another attempt towards Stalingrad. To that end, Wiking entrained on 24 December; however, by the time it arrived on 31 December, it was forced to cover the withdrawal of [[Army Group A#Eastern Front.2C 1942|Army Group A]] from the Caucasus towards [[Rostov-on-Don]]. The division escaped through the Rostov gap on 4 February.


During the spring of 1942, the division received reinforcements for the coming offensive, including a battalion of Finnish infantry and a battery of StuG III's to replace earlier losses. In early June 1942, Wiking received its panzer battalion, making it among the first SS Divisions to be given its own armored contingent. The panzer battalion had just under sixty tanks, and was made up of two companies of [[Panzer III]]s and one company of [[Panzer IV]]s. The battalion was commanded by veteran SS officer [[Johannes Mühlenkamp]].<ref>Gilbert pp. 195-196.</ref>
==1943–1945==

In the summer of 1942, the unit took part in Army Group South's offensive [[Fall Blau|Case Blue]], with orders to capture [[Rostov-on-Don|Rostov]] and the [[Maykop|Maikop]] oil fields. After capturing both targets, the division came to a halt in the foothills of the Caucasus on 14 August. In late September 1942, Wiking participated in the operation aimed to capture the city of [[Grozny]], alongside the [[German 13th Panzer Division|13th Panzer Division]]. After much difficulty, the division captured the Malgobek ridge on 6 October, but the objective of seizing Grozny and opening a road to the [[Caspian Sea]] was not achieved. The division took part in the attempt to seize [[Vladikavkaz|Ordzhonikidze]]. The Soviet [[Operation Uranus]], the encirclement of the [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|6th Army]] at Stalingrad, brought any further advances to a halt and later necessitated a retreat from the Caucasus.

After [[Operation Winter Storm]], the failed attempt to relieve the 6th Army, [[Erich von Manstein]], the commander of Army Group South, proposed another attempt towards Stalingrad. To that end, {{lang|de|Wiking}} entrained on 24 December; however, by the time it arrived at [[Zimovniki]] on 30 December, the Wehrmacht was retreating westwards. The Wiking Division was tasked with covering the retreat of Kleist's [[First Panzer Army]] back across the [[Don (river)|Don]]. Wiking held Simovniki for seven days, covering the retreat of several large German formations, taking high casualties in the process. The division escaped through the Rostov gap and took up a new defensive position at [[Donetsk|Stalino]] on 5 February.<ref>Gilbert pp. 202-204.</ref>

=== Ukraine, 1943/44 ===
In early 1943, the division fell back to Ukraine south of [[Kharkov]], recently abandoned by the [[II SS Panzer Corps]] commanded by [[Paul Hausser]]. In the remaining weeks of February, the Corps, including Wiking, engaged Mobile Group Popov, the major Soviet armoured force named after [[Markian Popov]] during the [[Third Battle of Kharkov]]. As the post-Stalingrad Soviet offensive exhausted itself, Manstein was able to stabilize the front.
In early 1943, the division fell back to Ukraine south of [[Kharkov]], recently abandoned by the [[II SS Panzer Corps]] commanded by [[Paul Hausser]]. In the remaining weeks of February, the Corps, including Wiking, engaged Mobile Group Popov, the major Soviet armoured force named after [[Markian Popov]] during the [[Third Battle of Kharkov]]. As the post-Stalingrad Soviet offensive exhausted itself, Manstein was able to stabilize the front.


In 1943, [[Herbert Gille]] was appointed to command the division. The SS Regiment Nordland, along with its commander [[Fritz von Scholz]], were removed from the division and used as the nucleus for the new [[11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland|SS Division Nordland]]. The Finnish Volunteer Battalion was also withdrawn and they were replaced by the [[Estonian_Legion#Battalion_Narwa|Estonian Battalion Narwa]].<ref name="Littlejohn 1987 p. 53"/>
In 1943, [[Herbert Gille]] was appointed to command the division. The SS Regiment Nordland, along with its commander [[Fritz von Scholz]], were removed from the division and used as the nucleus for the new [[11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland|SS Division Nordland]]. The Finnish Volunteer Battalion was also withdrawn and they were replaced by the [[Estonian Legion#Battalion Narva|Estonian Battalion Narwa]].<ref name="Littlejohn 1987 p. 53"/>


In the summer of 1943, the division, along with the 23rd Panzer Division, formed the reserve for Manstein's Army Group in [[Operation Citadel]]. Immediately following the German failure in the [[Battle of Kursk]], the Red Army launched two counter-offensives, [[Operation Kutuzov]] and [[Operation Rumyantsev]]. Wiking, together with the SS Divisions Totenkopf and Das Reich, was sent to the Mius-[[Bogodukhov]] sector. The Soviets took Kharkov on 23 August and began advancing towards the [[Dnieper River|Dnieper]]. In October the division was pulled out to a quiet sector of the line just as the [[Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive]] overtook Army Group South.
In the summer of 1943, the division, along with the 23rd Panzer Division, formed the reserve for Manstein's Army Group in [[Operation Citadel]]. Immediately following the German failure in the [[Battle of Kursk]], the Red Army launched two counter-offensives, [[Operation Kutuzov]] and [[Operation Rumyantsev]]. Wiking, together with the SS Divisions Totenkopf and Das Reich, was sent to the Mius-[[Bogodukhov]] sector. The Soviets took [[Kharkiv]] on 23 August and began advancing towards the [[Dnieper River|Dnieper]]. In October the division was pulled out to a quiet sector of the line just as the [[Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive]] overtook Army Group South.


In November 1943 the division participated in [[Operation Harvest Festival]], engaging in the mass murder of thousands of Jews at [[Majdanek concentration camp]].{{sfn|Silberklang|2013|p=406}}
In November 1943 the division participated in [[Operation Harvest Festival]], engaging in the mass murder of thousands of Jews at [[Majdanek concentration camp]].{{sfn|Silberklang|2013|p=406}}
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In the aftermath of the fall of Kiev in late December 1943, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts of the Red Army encircled several German divisions during the [[Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket]] in January 1944. Over 60,000 soldiers, including the Wiking division, were trapped along the Dnieper River. Roughly half of German forces broke out of the encirclement. Similar to other formations in the pocket, Wiking suffered heavy casualties and lost nearly all of its heavy equipment.
In the aftermath of the fall of Kiev in late December 1943, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts of the Red Army encircled several German divisions during the [[Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket]] in January 1944. Over 60,000 soldiers, including the Wiking division, were trapped along the Dnieper River. Roughly half of German forces broke out of the encirclement. Similar to other formations in the pocket, Wiking suffered heavy casualties and lost nearly all of its heavy equipment.


In early March 1944, while still refitting after its ordeal in the Cherkassy Pocket, the division was ordered to the town of [[Kovel]] to help contain a Soviet breakthrough. Only a portion of the division's strength, equipped only with small arms, and the division commander Gruppenführer [[Herbert Gille]], made it into Kovel before being surrounded by Soviet forces. A breakout was deemed impractical, as there were over 2,000 German wounded in the city.
<!-- [[Image:5SSWK-PzV-SPW.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Panzer V|Panther Ausf. A]] and an [[SdKfz 251]]/1 of the 5.SS-Panzer-Division ''Wiking'', July 1944.]]
To bolster the strength of the division, the [[5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Wallonien|5th SS-Sturmbrigade ''Wallonien'']] was attached to the division, under the command of [[Leon Degrelle]]. On January 24, Red Army tank formations encircled the German forces of XLII and [[XI Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|XI Army Corps]] near [[Korsun-Shevchenkivskyy|Korsun]], including the division. During the battle of the [[Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket]], ''Wiking'' fought on the eastern side of the pocket. While ''General der Artillerie'' [[Wilhelm Stemmermann]], the overall commander of the pocket, moved his forces to the west in readiness for an attempt to breakout, ''Wiking'', along with the 5th ''SS Sturmbrigade'' acted as the rearguard. While attempting to break out, the division suffered heavy losses in men and materiel. Afterwards, the ''Wallonien'' brigade was withdrawn from the division.


By the end of March 1944, a relief force had been assembled outside of the pocket, led by Obersturmführer [[Karl Nicolussi-Leck]]. This force was built around the 8th Company of Wiking's 5th Panzer regiment, which had just received sixteen new [[Panther Tank|Panther tanks]]. Fighting through determined Soviet resistance and heavy snow, the relief force broke through to the pocket on 30 March. Now able to be resupplied and receive reinforcements, Gille conducted counterattacks throughout April, culminating in the scattering of Soviet forces around Kovel on 24 April.<ref>Gilbert pp. 278-279.</ref>
After rest and refit, ''Wiking'' was sent to [[Kovel]]. Gille's unit was soon encircled by the Red Army. The 2nd Battalion, SS Panzer Regiment 5 ''Wiking'', equipped with newly arrived [[Panther tank]]s, along with the 3rd Battalion, SS Panzergrenadier Regiment ''Germania'', well equipped and up to strength, arrived at the front from Germany and established a corridor to the trapped forces. Unlike the previous encirclement at Korsun, ''Wiking'' retained most of its equipment.


Through May, the division received replacements for earlier losses, including [[Panzer IV]]s, [[Sturmgeschütz IV|Stug IVs]], and [[Panther Tank|Panther tanks]]. In early June the division was ordered west, to new defensive positions at [[Lukiv|Maciejow]]. On 6 July, the Soviet armored advance reached Maciejow. Wiking's tanks and AT guns were well dug-in and camouflaged, and were able to destroy over 300 Soviet armored vehicles in three days of fighting. After bringing the Red Army's advance to a standstill in that sector, Wiking was dispatched to Poland on July 13, 1944.<ref>Gilbert pp. 281.</ref>
==Warsaw battles==
[[File:Warsaw Uprising - Cyprian Odorkiewicz (1944).jpg|thumb|[[Warsaw Uprising]] insurgents inspect war trophies including an armband with the ''Wiking'' name]]
[[File:Warsaw Uprising - Captured SdKfz 251 (1944).jpg|thumb|left|A German [[SdKfz 251]] armoured fighting vehicle of the ''Wiking'' Division captured by the Polish insurgents]]
In late-August 1944, the division was ordered back to [[Modlin Fortress]] on the [[Vistula River]] line near [[Warsaw]] where it joined the newly formed [[Army Group Vistula]]. Fighting alongside the [[Luftwaffe|Luftwaffe's]] [[Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring|''"Hermann Göring" Panzer Division'']], the division participated in the [[Battle of Radzymin (1944)|Battle of Radzymin]]. The German counterattacks brought the Soviet offensive to a halt and the front line stabilized for the rest of the year.


=== Warsaw ===
The division remained in the Modlin area, grouped with the 3 SS ''Totenkopf'' and the [[IV SS Panzer Corps]]. Gille was promoted to the command of the new ''SS Panzer'' Corps, and after a brief period with ''Oberführer'' Dr. [[Eduard Deisenhofer]] in command, ''Standartenführer'' [[Johannes Mühlenkamp]], commander of the SS Panzer Regiment 5 ''Wiking'', took command. Battles around Modlin followed for the rest of the year. In October, Mühlenkamp was replaced by ''Oberführer'' [[Karl Ullrich]], who lead the division for the rest of the war.
[[File:Warsaw Uprising - Captured SdKfz 251 (1944).jpg|thumb|A German [[SdKfz 251]] armoured fighting vehicle of the ''Wiking'' Division captured by the Polish insurgents]]
In late-August 1944, the division was ordered back to [[Modlin Fortress]] on the [[Vistula River]] line near [[Warsaw]] where it joined the newly formed [[Army Group Vistula]]. Fighting alongside the [[Luftwaffe|Luftwaffe's]] [[Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring|''"Hermann Göring" Panzer Division'']] and [[SS Division Totenkopf]] the division participated in the [[Battle of Radzymin (1944)|Battle of Radzymin]]. The German counterattacks brought the Soviet offensive to a halt and the front line stabilized for the rest of the year.[[File:Warsaw Uprising - Cyprian Odorkiewicz (1944).jpg|thumb|[[Warsaw Uprising]] insurgents inspect war trophies including an armband with the ''Wiking'' name]]The division remained in the Modlin area, grouped with the 3 SS ''Totenkopf'' and the [[IV SS Panzer Corps]]. Gille was promoted to the command of the new ''SS Panzer'' Corps, and after a brief period with ''Oberführer'' [[Eduard Deisenhofer]] in command, ''Standartenführer'' [[Johannes Mühlenkamp]], commander of the SS Panzer Regiment 5 ''Wiking'', took command. Battles around Modlin followed for the rest of the year. In October, Mühlenkamp was replaced by ''Oberführer'' [[Karl Ullrich]], who led the division for the rest of the war.


=== Hungary ===
In late-December 1944, the German forces, including [[IX SS Mountain Corps]], were encircled in [[Budapest]]. The IV SS Panzer Corps was ordered south to join [[Hermann Balck|Hermann Balck's]] [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|6th Army]] for a relief effort codenamed [[Operation Konrad]].
In late-December 1944, the German forces, including [[IX SS Mountain Corps]], were encircled in [[Budapest]]. The IV SS Panzer Corps was ordered south to join [[Hermann Balck|Hermann Balck's]] [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|6th Army]] for a relief effort codenamed [[Operation Konrad]].


As a part of [[Operation Konrad]] I, the 5th SS Panzer Division ''Wiking'' was committed to action on 1 January 1945, fighting alongside the 3rd SS Panzer Division ''Totenkopf''. Near Tata, the advance columns of the ''Wiking'' attacked the [[Soviet Fourth Guards Tank Army|4th Guards Army]]. The Soviet forces halted the German advance at [[Bicske]], 28 kilometres from [[Budapest]]. After the failure of Konrad I, ''Wiking'' was moved south of [[Esztergom]], near the [[Danube]] bend.
==Budapest relief attempts==
As a part of Operation ''Konrad I'', the 5th SS Panzer Division ''Wiking'' was committed to action on 1 January 1945, fighting alongside the 3rd SS Panzer Division ''Totenkopf''. Near Tata, the advance columns of the ''Wiking'' attacked the [[Soviet Fourth Guards Tank Army|4th Guards Army]]. The Soviet forces halted the German advance at [[Bicske]], 28 kilometres from Budapest. After the failure of Konrad I, ''Wiking'' was moved south of [[Esztergom]], near the [[Danube]] bend.


The second relief attempt, Operation ''Konrad II'', got under way on 7 January with ''Wiking'' advancing south towards Budapest. By 12 January, the ''SS Panzergrenadier Regiment Westland'' had reached [[Pilisszentkereszt]], 20 kilometres from Buda. Despite initial successes, the division was unable to exploit its breakthrough and was ordered to pull back and regroup.
The second relief attempt, Operation Konrad II, got under way on 7 January with ''Wiking'' advancing south towards Budapest. By 12 January, the ''SS Panzergrenadier Regiment Westland'' had reached [[Pilisszentkereszt]], 20 kilometres from Buda. Despite initial successes, the division was unable to exploit its breakthrough and was ordered to pull back and regroup.


A third attempt, Operation ''Konrad III'', in cooperation with the [[German III Panzer Corps|III Panzer Corps]], took place 100 kilometres to the south. It started on 20 January and achieved initial tactical success. The quick redeployment of more Red Army troops prevented a German breakthrough, turning the German forces back by 28 January. By the end of January, ''Wiking'' and ''Totenkopf'' had suffered 8,000 casualties, including 200 officers. -->
A third attempt, Operation Konrad III, in cooperation with the [[German III Panzer Corps|III Panzer Corps]], took place 100 kilometres to the south. It started on 20 January and achieved initial tactical success. The quick redeployment of more Red Army troops prevented a German breakthrough, turning the German forces back by 28 January. By the end of January, ''Wiking'' and ''Totenkopf'' had suffered 8,000 casualties, including 200 officers.

On 13 February 1945, the division was ordered west to Lake Balaton, where ''Oberstgruppenführer'' [[Sepp Dietrich]]'s [[6th Panzer Army|6th SS Panzer Army]] was preparing [[Operation Spring Awakening]], an offensive at [[Lake Balaton]].<ref name="Stein 1984 p. 238">Stein (1984) p. 238.</ref> Gille's remained as a support to the 6th SS Panzer Army during the beginning of the operation. Dietrich's army made "good progress" at first, but as they drew near the Danube, the combination of the muddy terrain and strong Soviet resistance ground them to a halt.<ref name="Stein 1984 p. 238"/> The division performed a holding operation on the left flank of the offensive, in the area between [[Lake Velence]]-[[Székesfehérvár]]. As the operation progressed, the division was engaged in preventing Soviet efforts at outflanking the advancing German forces. On 16 March, the Soviets forces counterattacked in overwhelming strength causing the Germans to be driven back to their starting positions.<ref>Dollinger (1967) p. 182.</ref> On 24 March, another Soviet attack threw the IV SS Panzer Corps back towards [[Vienna]]; all contact was lost with the neighbouring I SS Panzer Corps, and any resemblance of an organised line of defence was gone. Wiking withdrew into Czechoslovakia. The division surrendered to the American forces near [[Fürstenfeld]], Austria on 9 May.
On 13 February 1945, the division was ordered west to [[Lake Balaton]], where ''Oberstgruppenführer'' [[Sepp Dietrich]]'s [[6th Panzer Army|6th SS Panzer Army]] was preparing [[Operation Spring Awakening]], an offensive at Lake Balaton.<ref name="Stein 1984 p. 238">Stein (1984) p. 238.</ref> Gille's remained as a support to the 6th SS Panzer Army during the beginning of the operation. Dietrich's army made "good progress" at first, but as they drew near the Danube, the combination of the muddy terrain and strong Soviet resistance ground them to a halt.<ref name="Stein 1984 p. 238"/> The division performed a holding operation on the left flank of the offensive, in the area between [[Lake Velence]]-[[Székesfehérvár]]. As the operation progressed, the division was engaged in preventing Soviet efforts to outflank the advancing German forces. On 16 March, the Soviets forces counterattacked in overwhelming strength, causing the Germans to be driven back to their starting positions.<ref>Dollinger (1967) p. 182.</ref> On 24 March, another Soviet attack threw the IV SS Panzer Corps back towards [[Vienna]]; all contact was lost with the neighbouring I SS Panzer Corps, and any resemblance of an organised line of defence was gone. Wiking withdrew into Czechoslovakia. The division surrendered to the American forces near [[Fürstenfeld]], Austria on 9 May.


==War crimes==
==War crimes==
Following the shooting death of [[Hilmar Wäckerle]], one of the division's officers, in the city of [[Lviv]], Jews in the area were rounded up by members of the division's logistics units led by ''Obersturmführer'' Braunnagel and ''Untersturmführer'' Kochalty. A gauntlet was then formed by two rows of soldiers. Most of these soldiers were from the Wiking's logistics units, but some were members of the [[1st Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)|German 1st Mountain Division]]. The Jews were then forced to run down this path while being struck by rifle butts and bayonets. At the end of this path stood a number of SS and army officers who shot the Jews as soon as they entered a bomb crater being used as a mass grave. About 50 or 60 Jews were killed in this manner.<ref>Rhodes, Richard (2003). ''Masters of Death: The SS-Einsatzgruppen and the Invention of the Holocaust''. p. 63, Vintage.</ref>
Following the killing of [[Hilmar Wäckerle]], one of the division's high ranking field officers, in the city of [[Lviv]], Jews in the area were rounded up by members of the division's logistics units led by ''Obersturmführer'' Braunnagel and ''Untersturmführer'' Kochalty. A gauntlet was then formed by two rows of soldiers. Most of these soldiers were from the Wiking's logistics units, but some were members of the [[1st Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)|German 1st Mountain Division]]. The Jews were then forced to run down this path while being struck by rifle butts and bayonets. At the end of this path stood a number of SS and army officers who shot the Jews as soon as they entered a bomb crater being used as a mass grave. About 50 or 60 Jews were killed in this manner.<ref>Rhodes, Richard (2003). ''Masters of Death: The SS-Einsatzgruppen and the Invention of the Holocaust''. p. 48, Vintage.</ref>


In addition, historian Eleonore Lappin, from the Institute for the History of Jews in Austria, has documented several cases of war crimes committed by members of Wiking in her work ''The Death Marches of Hungarian Jews Through Austria in the Spring of 1945''.<ref name="Lappin">Lappin</ref>
In addition, historian Eleonore Lappin, from the Institute for the History of Jews in Austria, has documented several cases of war crimes committed by members of Wiking in her work ''The Death Marches of Hungarian Jews Through Austria in the Spring of 1945''.<ref name="Lappin">Lappin</ref>
On 28 March 1945, 80 Jews from an evacuation column, although fit for the journey, were shot by three members of Wiking and five military policemen. On 4 April, 20 members of another column that left [[Graz]] tried to escape near the town of [[Eggenfelden]], not far from [[Gratkorn]]. Troops from the division stationed there apprehended them in the forest near Mt. Eggenfeld, then herded them into a gully, where they were shot. On 7–11 April 1945, members of the division executed another eighteen escaped prisoners.<ref name="Lappin"/>

In 2013 the [[NRK]] quoted "the first Norwegian [to publicly admit] that he participated in war crimes and extermination of Jews in Eastern Europe"<ref name="autogenerated1">[http://www.nrk.no/fordypning/--nordmenn-deltok-i-drap-pa-sivile-1.11262316 Olav Tuff (91): Vi brente en kirke med sivilister]</ref> during World War II, former soldier of the division Olav Tuff, who admitted: "In one instance in Ukraine during the autumn of 1941, civilians were herded like cattle—into a church. Shortly afterwards soldiers from my unit started to pour gasoline onto the church and somewhere between 200 and 300 humans were burned inside [the church]. I was assigned as guard, and no one came out."<ref name="autogenerated1"/>


The 2014 Norwegian book ''Morfar, Hitler og jeg'' (Grandfather, Hitler and I) quotes the diary of a division soldier from 1941 to 1943: "and then we cleaned a Jew hole".<ref name=Jewhole>[http://www.klassekampen.no/article/20140927/ARTICLE/140929960 Ei ny fortid] [A new past] "Bestefaren Per Pedersen Tjøstland var frontkjempar i 5. SS Panzer-divisjon Wiking frå 1941–1943, og skreiv for bladet Germaneren. Hans eigne dagbøker og artiklar er ei hovudkjelde, men Jackson skriv at det er umulig å vite nøyaktig kva han var med på. Kanskje seier det sitt at han bruker uttrykket «så rensket vi et jødehull»"</ref>
On 28 March 1945, 80 Jews from an evacuation column, although fit for the journey, were shot by three members of Wiking and five military policemen. On 4 April, 20 members of another column that left [[Graz]] tried to escape near the town of Eggenfeld, not far from [[Gratkorn]]. Troops from the division stationed there apprehended them in the forest near Mt. Eggenfeld and then herded them into a gully, where they were shot. On 7–11 April 1945, members of the division executed another eighteen escaped prisoners.<ref name="Lappin"/>


==Organisation==
In 2013 the [[NRK]] quoted "the first Norwegian [to publicly admit] that he participated in war crimes and extermination of Jews in Eastern Europe"<ref name="autogenerated1">[http://www.nrk.no/fordypning/--nordmenn-deltok-i-drap-pa-sivile-1.11262316 Olav Tuff (91): Vi brente en kirke med sivilister]</ref> during World War II, former soldier of the division, Olav Tuff, who admitted: "In one instance in Ukraine during the autumn of 1941, civilians were herded like cattle—into a church. Shortly afterwards soldiers from my unit started to pour gasoline onto the church and somewhere between 200 and 300 humans were burned inside [the church]. I was assigned as guard, and no one came out."<ref name="autogenerated1"/> His story is not corroborated with other sources. The 2014 Norwegian book ''Morfar, Hitler og jeg'' (Grandfather, Hitler and I) quotes the diary of a division soldier from 1941 to 1943: "and then we cleaned a Jew hole".<ref name=Jewhole>[http://www.klassekampen.no/article/20140927/ARTICLE/140929960 Ei ny fortid] [A new past] "Bestefaren Per Pedersen Tjøstland var frontkjempar i 5. SS Panzer-divisjon Wiking frå 1941–1943, og skreiv for bladet Germaneren. Hans eigne dagbøker og artiklar er ei hovudkjelde, men Jackson skriv at det er umulig å vite nøyaktig kva han var med på. Kanskje seier det sitt at han bruker uttrykket «så rensket vi et jødehull»"</ref>


==Commanders==
=== Commanders ===
{{Officeholder table start
{{Officeholder table start
| showorder = y
| showorder = y
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{{Officeholder table end}}
{{Officeholder table end}}


=== Order of battle ===
== Organisation ==
The organisation structure of this SS [[Formation (military)|formation]] was as follows:<ref>Williamson Gordon. "The SS Hitler´s Instrument of the Power". KAISER, appendix, p. 244, "Schlachtordnung der Waffen-SS/Waffen-SS Order of Battle"; copyright 1994 by Brown Packaging Books Ltd., London.</ref>
The organisation structure of this SS [[Formation (military)|formation]] was as follows:<ref>Williamson Gordon. "The SS Hitler´s Instrument of the Power". KAISER, appendix, p. 244, "Schlachtordnung der Waffen-SS/Waffen-SS Order of Battle"; copyright 1994 by Brown Packaging Books Ltd., London.</ref>


{|
{| style="background:none;"
!align="left" colspan="1"| Designation (English)<ref>MILITÄRISCHES STUDIENGLOSAR ENGLISCH Teil II/ Teil III, Deutsch – Englisch, Abkürzung Begriff, Bundessprachenamt (Stand Januar 2001).</ref>
!align="left" colspan="1"| Designation (English)<ref>MILITÄRISCHES STUDIENGLOSAR ENGLISCH Teil II/ Teil III, Deutsch – Englisch, Abkürzung Begriff, Bundessprachenamt (Stand Januar 2001).</ref>
!align="left" colspan="1"| Designation (German)<ref>Official designation as to „Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv“ in [[Freiburg im Breisgau]], stores of the [[Wehrmacht]] and [[Waffen-SS]].</ref>
!align="left" colspan="1"| Designation (German)<ref>Official designation as to „Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv“ in [[Freiburg im Breisgau]], stores of the [[Wehrmacht]] and [[Waffen-SS]].</ref>
Line 248: Line 265:
*** 2. Battalion
*** 2. Battalion
*** 3. Battalion
*** 3. Battalion
** SS Regiment [[Nordland]]
** SS Regiment Nordland
*** 1. Battalion
*** 1. Battalion
*** 2. Battalion
*** 2. Battalion
*** 3. Battalion
*** 3. Battalion
** SS Regiment [[Westland (region), Netherlands|Westland]]
** SS Regiment Westland
*** 1. Battalion
*** 1. Battalion
*** 2. Battalion
*** 2. Battalion
Line 272: Line 289:


==See also==
==See also==
*[[List of Waffen-SS divisions]]
*[[SS Panzer Division order of battle]]
*[[Battle of Jaworów]] – the final battle of SS Germania regiment
*[[Battle of Jaworów]] – the final battle of SS Germania regiment
*[[Per Pedersen Tjøstland]]
*[[Organisation of a SS Panzer Division]]
*[[Waffen-SS in popular culture]]
*[[Waffen-SS in popular culture]]


Line 282: Line 301:


===Bibliography===
===Bibliography===
* {{cite book | last = Gilbert | first = Adrian | title = Waffen-SS: Hitler's Army at War | publisher = Da Capo Press | year = 2019 | isbn = 978-0-306-82466-1}}
* {{cite web|last=Lifton|first=Robert Jay|title=What made this man Mengele?|publisher=The New York Times Company|url=http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/100/mengle.htm|year=1985|access-date=2009-03-29| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090418005837/http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/100/mengle.htm| archive-date= 18 April 2009 | url-status= live}}
* {{cite web|last=Lifton|first=Robert Jay|title=What made this man Mengele?|publisher=The New York Times Company|url=http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/100/mengle.htm|year=1985|access-date=2009-03-29| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090418005837/http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/100/mengle.htm| archive-date= 18 April 2009 | url-status= live}}
* {{cite book | last = Dollinger | first = Hans | title = The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan | year = 1967 | orig-year = 1965 | publisher = Bonanza | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-517-01313-7 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/declinefallofnaz0000doll }}
* {{cite book | last = Dollinger | first = Hans | title = The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan | year = 1967 | orig-year = 1965 | publisher = Bonanza | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-517-01313-7 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/declinefallofnaz0000doll }}
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|access-date=2009-03-28| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090219123909/http://www1.yadvashem.org/download/about_holocaust/studies/lappin_full.pdf| archive-date= 19 February 2009 | url-status= live}} pp.&nbsp;25–26
|access-date=2009-03-28| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090219123909/http://www1.yadvashem.org/download/about_holocaust/studies/lappin_full.pdf| archive-date= 19 February 2009 | url-status= live}} pp.&nbsp;25–26
* {{cite book | first = David | last = Littlejohn | title = Foreign Legions of the Third Reich Vol. 1 Norway, Denmark, France | publisher = Bender Publishing | year = 1987 | isbn = 978-0912138176 }}
* {{cite book | first = David | last = Littlejohn | title = Foreign Legions of the Third Reich Vol. 1 Norway, Denmark, France | publisher = Bender Publishing | year = 1987 | isbn = 978-0912138176 }}
* {{cite book | last = McNab | first = Chris | title = Hitler's Elite: The SS 1939-45 | publisher = Osprey Publishing | year = 2013 | isbn = 978-1782000884 }}
* {{cite book | last = McNab | first = Chris | title = Hitler's Elite: The SS 1939-45 | publisher = Osprey Publishing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IpCHCwAAQBAJ | year = 2013 | isbn = 978-1782000884 }}
* {{Cite book|title=The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939–1945|author=Stein, George H|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=1984|isbn=0-8014-9275-0}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939–1945|author=Stein, George H|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=1984|isbn=0-8014-9275-0}}
* {{Cite book
* {{Cite book
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}}
}}
*{{cite book |last1=Silberklang |first1=David |title=Gates of Tears: The Holocaust in the Lublin District |date=2013 |publisher=Yad Vashem |location=Jerusalem |isbn=978-965-308-464-3 |language=en|title-link=Gates of Tears: the Holocaust in the Lublin District }}
*{{cite book |last1=Silberklang |first1=David |title=Gates of Tears: The Holocaust in the Lublin District |date=2013 |publisher=Yad Vashem |location=Jerusalem |isbn=978-965-308-464-3 |language=en|title-link=Gates of Tears: the Holocaust in the Lublin District }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
|last1=Nash
|first1=Douglas E.
|last2=Spezzano
|first2=Remy
|title=Kampfgruppe Mühlenkamp: 5. Ss-Panzer Division "Wiking", Eastern Poland, July 1944
|date=2016
|publisher=RZM Imports
|location=Southbury
|isbn=9780974838984}}
* {{cite book
|last1=Nash
|first1=Douglas E.
|last2=Spezzano
|first2=Remy
|title=Unternehmen Ilse: 5. Ss-Panzer Division "Wiking" Eastern Front 27 April 1944
|date=2019
|publisher=RZM Publishing
|location=Southbury
|isbn=978-0974838991}}
* {{cite book
|last1=Nash
|first1=Douglas E.
|title=From the realm of a dying sun. Volume I, IV. SS-Panzerkorps and the battles for Warsaw, July-November 1944
|date=2019
|publisher=Casement
|location=Philadelphia
|isbn=9781612006369}}
* {{cite book
|last1=Nash
|first1=Douglas E.
|title=From the realm of a dying sun. Volume II, IV. SS-Panzerkorps in the Budapest relief efforts, December 1944-February 1945
|date=2020
|publisher=Casement
|location=Philadelphia
|isbn=9781612008745}}
* {{cite book
|last1=Nash
|first1=Douglas E.
|title=From the realm of a dying sun. Volume III, IV. SS-Panzerkorps from Budapest to Vienna, February-May 1945
|date=2021
|publisher=Casement
|location=Philadelphia
|isbn=9781612009575}}

==External links==
* [https://www.feldgrau.com/ww2-german-5th-ss-panzer-division-wiking/ 5.SS-Panzer-Division “Wiking”]


{{SS Divisions}}
{{SS Divisions}}
{{German Armoured Divisions of World War II}}
{{German Armoured Divisions of World War II}}
{{Subject bar
{{Subject bar
| portal1=Military of Germany
| portal2=Tanks
| portal3=World War II
| commons=y
| commons=y
| commons-search=Category:5th SS Panzergrenadier Division Wiking
| commons-search=Category:5th SS Panzergrenadier Division Wiking
}}
}}



{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

==External links==
* [https://www.feldgrau.com/ww2-german-5th-ss-panzer-division-wiking/ 5.SS-Panzer-Division “Wiking”]


{{DEFAULTSORT:5th SS Panzer Division Wiking}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:5th SS Panzer Division Wiking}}
[[Category:Waffen-SS divisions|#05]]
[[Category:Security units of Nazi Germany established in 1941]]
[[Category:Panzer divisions of the Waffen-SS]]
[[Category:Panzer divisions of the Waffen-SS]]
[[Category:Panzergrenadier divisions of the Waffen-SS]]
[[Category:Foreign volunteer units of the Waffen-SS]]
[[Category:Foreign volunteer units of the Waffen-SS]]
[[Category:Dutch collaborators with Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:Security units of Nazi Germany established in 1941]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1941]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1941]]
[[Category:Panzergrenadier divisions of the Waffen-SS]]
[[Category:Ukraine in World War II]]
[[Category:Ukraine in World War II]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945]]
[[Category:The Holocaust in Ukraine]]
[[Category:The Holocaust in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Collaboration with the Axis Powers]]
[[Category:1941 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:1941 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:1945 disestablishments in Germany]]
[[Category:1945 disestablishments in Germany]]
[[Category:Warsaw Ghetto Uprising]]

Latest revision as of 10:27, 14 December 2024

"ss wiking" redirects here. Not to be confused with SS Viking or SS Wiking 1.
5th SS Panzer Division Wiking
5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking
Unit insignia
Active1941–45
Country Nazi Germany
BranchSchutzstaffel Waffen-SS
TypeInfantry
Panzer
RoleArmoured warfare
SizeDivision
Engagements
Commanders
Notable
commanders

The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking (German: 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking) or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. During World War II, the division served on the Eastern Front. It surrendered on 9 May 1945 to the American forces in Austria.

The division contained large contingents of foreign volunteers from Northern European countries including, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, the Netherlands and Belgium.[1][2] The Division's Scandinavian composition and combat service on the Eastern Front, was used in German wartime propaganda to encourage additional foreign recruitment for the Waffen-SS.

Formation, training and demographics

[edit]

After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, sought to expand the Waffen-SS with foreign military volunteers for the Nazi "crusade against Bolshevism". The enrollment began in April 1940 with the creation of two regiments: the Waffen-SS Regiment Nordland (for Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and a minority of Icelandic volunteers), and the Waffen-SS Regiment Westland (for Dutch and Flemish volunteers).[3]

The Nordic formation, originally organised as the Nordische Division (Nr. 5), was to be made up of Nordic volunteers mixed with German Waffen-SS personnel. The SS Infantry Regiment Germania of the SS-Verfügungs-Division, which was formed mostly from Germans, was transferred to help form the nucleus of a new division in late 1940.[4] In December 1940, the new SS motorised formation was to be designated as SS-Division Germania, but after its formative period, the name was changed, to SS Division Wiking in January 1941.[5] The division was formed around three motorised infantry regiments: Germania, Westland, and Nordland; with the addition of an artillery regiment. Command of the newly formed division was given to Felix Steiner, the former commander of the Verfügungstruppe SS Regiment Deutschland.[6]

After formation, the division was sent to Heuberg in Germany for training; by April 1941, it was ready for combat. The division was ordered east in mid-May, to take part with Army Group South's advance into Ukraine during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.[7] In June 1941, the Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS was formed from volunteers from that country. This unit was attached to the SS Regiment Nordland of the division. About 430 Finns who fought in the Winter War served in the SS Division Wiking from the beginning of Barbarossa.[8] In spring 1943, the Finns' two-year contract ended, and the Finnish battalion was withdrawn. During that same timeframe, Regiment Nordland was transferred to help form the core of the new SS Division Nordland. They were replaced by the Estonian Battalion Narwa.[9]

Operational history

[edit]

Invasion of the Soviet Union

[edit]
Troops of the division in the Soviet Union in 1941.

The division took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, advancing through Galicia, today's Ukraine. In July and August, Wiking participated in the encirclement battles at Uman and Kiev. Later in August, the division fought for the bridgehead across the Dnieper River at Dnepropetrovsk. Finally, the division took part in the heavy fighting for Rostov-on-Don before retreating to the Mius River line in November, to hold for the winter.

In February 1942, the Soviet winter offensive had established breakthroughs on either side of the transportation hub of Izium. A Kampfgruppe was formed around the 1st battalion of the Germania regiment and the division's assault gun battery and sent north to help contain the Soviet thrusts. By the 25th of February, this Kampfgruppe was virtually annihilated in defensive battles near Izium against superior Soviet armored forces. Ultimately the front had been stabilized however, and conditions had been set for the devastating Axis counterattack at the Second Battle of Kharkov a few months later.[10]

During the spring of 1942, the division received reinforcements for the coming offensive, including a battalion of Finnish infantry and a battery of StuG III's to replace earlier losses. In early June 1942, Wiking received its panzer battalion, making it among the first SS Divisions to be given its own armored contingent. The panzer battalion had just under sixty tanks, and was made up of two companies of Panzer IIIs and one company of Panzer IVs. The battalion was commanded by veteran SS officer Johannes Mühlenkamp.[11]

In the summer of 1942, the unit took part in Army Group South's offensive Case Blue, with orders to capture Rostov and the Maikop oil fields. After capturing both targets, the division came to a halt in the foothills of the Caucasus on 14 August. In late September 1942, Wiking participated in the operation aimed to capture the city of Grozny, alongside the 13th Panzer Division. After much difficulty, the division captured the Malgobek ridge on 6 October, but the objective of seizing Grozny and opening a road to the Caspian Sea was not achieved. The division took part in the attempt to seize Ordzhonikidze. The Soviet Operation Uranus, the encirclement of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, brought any further advances to a halt and later necessitated a retreat from the Caucasus.

After Operation Winter Storm, the failed attempt to relieve the 6th Army, Erich von Manstein, the commander of Army Group South, proposed another attempt towards Stalingrad. To that end, Wiking entrained on 24 December; however, by the time it arrived at Zimovniki on 30 December, the Wehrmacht was retreating westwards. The Wiking Division was tasked with covering the retreat of Kleist's First Panzer Army back across the Don. Wiking held Simovniki for seven days, covering the retreat of several large German formations, taking high casualties in the process. The division escaped through the Rostov gap and took up a new defensive position at Stalino on 5 February.[12]

Ukraine, 1943/44

[edit]

In early 1943, the division fell back to Ukraine south of Kharkov, recently abandoned by the II SS Panzer Corps commanded by Paul Hausser. In the remaining weeks of February, the Corps, including Wiking, engaged Mobile Group Popov, the major Soviet armoured force named after Markian Popov during the Third Battle of Kharkov. As the post-Stalingrad Soviet offensive exhausted itself, Manstein was able to stabilize the front.

In 1943, Herbert Gille was appointed to command the division. The SS Regiment Nordland, along with its commander Fritz von Scholz, were removed from the division and used as the nucleus for the new SS Division Nordland. The Finnish Volunteer Battalion was also withdrawn and they were replaced by the Estonian Battalion Narwa.[9]

In the summer of 1943, the division, along with the 23rd Panzer Division, formed the reserve for Manstein's Army Group in Operation Citadel. Immediately following the German failure in the Battle of Kursk, the Red Army launched two counter-offensives, Operation Kutuzov and Operation Rumyantsev. Wiking, together with the SS Divisions Totenkopf and Das Reich, was sent to the Mius-Bogodukhov sector. The Soviets took Kharkiv on 23 August and began advancing towards the Dnieper. In October the division was pulled out to a quiet sector of the line just as the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive overtook Army Group South.

In November 1943 the division participated in Operation Harvest Festival, engaging in the mass murder of thousands of Jews at Majdanek concentration camp.[13]

In the aftermath of the fall of Kiev in late December 1943, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts of the Red Army encircled several German divisions during the Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket in January 1944. Over 60,000 soldiers, including the Wiking division, were trapped along the Dnieper River. Roughly half of German forces broke out of the encirclement. Similar to other formations in the pocket, Wiking suffered heavy casualties and lost nearly all of its heavy equipment.

In early March 1944, while still refitting after its ordeal in the Cherkassy Pocket, the division was ordered to the town of Kovel to help contain a Soviet breakthrough. Only a portion of the division's strength, equipped only with small arms, and the division commander Gruppenführer Herbert Gille, made it into Kovel before being surrounded by Soviet forces. A breakout was deemed impractical, as there were over 2,000 German wounded in the city.

By the end of March 1944, a relief force had been assembled outside of the pocket, led by Obersturmführer Karl Nicolussi-Leck. This force was built around the 8th Company of Wiking's 5th Panzer regiment, which had just received sixteen new Panther tanks. Fighting through determined Soviet resistance and heavy snow, the relief force broke through to the pocket on 30 March. Now able to be resupplied and receive reinforcements, Gille conducted counterattacks throughout April, culminating in the scattering of Soviet forces around Kovel on 24 April.[14]

Through May, the division received replacements for earlier losses, including Panzer IVs, Stug IVs, and Panther tanks. In early June the division was ordered west, to new defensive positions at Maciejow. On 6 July, the Soviet armored advance reached Maciejow. Wiking's tanks and AT guns were well dug-in and camouflaged, and were able to destroy over 300 Soviet armored vehicles in three days of fighting. After bringing the Red Army's advance to a standstill in that sector, Wiking was dispatched to Poland on July 13, 1944.[15]

Warsaw

[edit]
A German SdKfz 251 armoured fighting vehicle of the Wiking Division captured by the Polish insurgents

In late-August 1944, the division was ordered back to Modlin Fortress on the Vistula River line near Warsaw where it joined the newly formed Army Group Vistula. Fighting alongside the Luftwaffe's "Hermann Göring" Panzer Division and SS Division Totenkopf the division participated in the Battle of Radzymin. The German counterattacks brought the Soviet offensive to a halt and the front line stabilized for the rest of the year.

Warsaw Uprising insurgents inspect war trophies including an armband with the Wiking name

The division remained in the Modlin area, grouped with the 3 SS Totenkopf and the IV SS Panzer Corps. Gille was promoted to the command of the new SS Panzer Corps, and after a brief period with Oberführer Eduard Deisenhofer in command, Standartenführer Johannes Mühlenkamp, commander of the SS Panzer Regiment 5 Wiking, took command. Battles around Modlin followed for the rest of the year. In October, Mühlenkamp was replaced by Oberführer Karl Ullrich, who led the division for the rest of the war.

Hungary

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In late-December 1944, the German forces, including IX SS Mountain Corps, were encircled in Budapest. The IV SS Panzer Corps was ordered south to join Hermann Balck's 6th Army for a relief effort codenamed Operation Konrad.

As a part of Operation Konrad I, the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking was committed to action on 1 January 1945, fighting alongside the 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf. Near Tata, the advance columns of the Wiking attacked the 4th Guards Army. The Soviet forces halted the German advance at Bicske, 28 kilometres from Budapest. After the failure of Konrad I, Wiking was moved south of Esztergom, near the Danube bend.

The second relief attempt, Operation Konrad II, got under way on 7 January with Wiking advancing south towards Budapest. By 12 January, the SS Panzergrenadier Regiment Westland had reached Pilisszentkereszt, 20 kilometres from Buda. Despite initial successes, the division was unable to exploit its breakthrough and was ordered to pull back and regroup.

A third attempt, Operation Konrad III, in cooperation with the III Panzer Corps, took place 100 kilometres to the south. It started on 20 January and achieved initial tactical success. The quick redeployment of more Red Army troops prevented a German breakthrough, turning the German forces back by 28 January. By the end of January, Wiking and Totenkopf had suffered 8,000 casualties, including 200 officers.

On 13 February 1945, the division was ordered west to Lake Balaton, where Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich's 6th SS Panzer Army was preparing Operation Spring Awakening, an offensive at Lake Balaton.[16] Gille's remained as a support to the 6th SS Panzer Army during the beginning of the operation. Dietrich's army made "good progress" at first, but as they drew near the Danube, the combination of the muddy terrain and strong Soviet resistance ground them to a halt.[16] The division performed a holding operation on the left flank of the offensive, in the area between Lake Velence-Székesfehérvár. As the operation progressed, the division was engaged in preventing Soviet efforts to outflank the advancing German forces. On 16 March, the Soviets forces counterattacked in overwhelming strength, causing the Germans to be driven back to their starting positions.[17] On 24 March, another Soviet attack threw the IV SS Panzer Corps back towards Vienna; all contact was lost with the neighbouring I SS Panzer Corps, and any resemblance of an organised line of defence was gone. Wiking withdrew into Czechoslovakia. The division surrendered to the American forces near Fürstenfeld, Austria on 9 May.

War crimes

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Following the killing of Hilmar Wäckerle, one of the division's high ranking field officers, in the city of Lviv, Jews in the area were rounded up by members of the division's logistics units led by Obersturmführer Braunnagel and Untersturmführer Kochalty. A gauntlet was then formed by two rows of soldiers. Most of these soldiers were from the Wiking's logistics units, but some were members of the German 1st Mountain Division. The Jews were then forced to run down this path while being struck by rifle butts and bayonets. At the end of this path stood a number of SS and army officers who shot the Jews as soon as they entered a bomb crater being used as a mass grave. About 50 or 60 Jews were killed in this manner.[18]

In addition, historian Eleonore Lappin, from the Institute for the History of Jews in Austria, has documented several cases of war crimes committed by members of Wiking in her work The Death Marches of Hungarian Jews Through Austria in the Spring of 1945.[19] On 28 March 1945, 80 Jews from an evacuation column, although fit for the journey, were shot by three members of Wiking and five military policemen. On 4 April, 20 members of another column that left Graz tried to escape near the town of Eggenfelden, not far from Gratkorn. Troops from the division stationed there apprehended them in the forest near Mt. Eggenfeld, then herded them into a gully, where they were shot. On 7–11 April 1945, members of the division executed another eighteen escaped prisoners.[19]

In 2013 the NRK quoted "the first Norwegian [to publicly admit] that he participated in war crimes and extermination of Jews in Eastern Europe"[20] during World War II, former soldier of the division Olav Tuff, who admitted: "In one instance in Ukraine during the autumn of 1941, civilians were herded like cattle—into a church. Shortly afterwards soldiers from my unit started to pour gasoline onto the church and somewhere between 200 and 300 humans were burned inside [the church]. I was assigned as guard, and no one came out."[20]

The 2014 Norwegian book Morfar, Hitler og jeg (Grandfather, Hitler and I) quotes the diary of a division soldier from 1941 to 1943: "and then we cleaned a Jew hole".[21]

Organisation

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Commanders

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No. Portrait Commander Took office Left office Time in office
1
Felix Steiner
Steiner, FelixSS-Obergruppenführer
Felix Steiner
(1896–1966)		1 December 19401 May 19432 years, 151 days
2
Herbert Gille
Gille, HerbertSS-Gruppenführer
Herbert Gille
(1897–1966)		1 May 19436 August 19441 year, 97 days
3
Eduard Deisenhofer
Deisenhofer, EduardSS-Standartenführer
Eduard Deisenhofer
(1909–1945)		6 August 194412 August 19446 days
4
Johannes-Rudolf Mühlenkamp
Mühlenkamp, JohannesSS-Standartenführer
Johannes-Rudolf Mühlenkamp
(1910–1986)		12 August 19449 October 194458 days
5
Karl Ullrich
Ullrich, KarlSS-Oberführer
Karl Ullrich
(1910–1996)		9 October 19445 May 1945208 days

Order of battle

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The organisation structure of this SS formation was as follows:[22]

Designation (English)[23] Designation (German)[24]
  • SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 9 "Germania"
  • SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 10 "Westland"
  • SS Panzer Regiment 5
  • SS Panzer Artillery Regiment 5
  • SS-Panzergrenadierregiment 9 "Germania"
  • SS-Panzergrenadierregiment 10 "Westland"
  • SS-Panzerregiment 5
  • SS-Panzerartillerieregiment 5
  • 5th SS Panzer Division Structure (1940):[25]
    • SS Regiment Germania
      • 1. Battalion
      • 2. Battalion
      • 3. Battalion
    • SS Regiment Nordland
      • 1. Battalion
      • 2. Battalion
      • 3. Battalion
    • SS Regiment Westland
      • 1. Battalion
      • 2. Battalion
      • 3. Battalion
    • 5. SS Artillerie
      • 1. Battalion
      • 2. Battalion
      • 3. Battalion
      • 4. Battalion
    • 5. SS Support Battalion
    • 5. SS Engineer Battalion
    • 5. SS Tank-Destroyer Battalion
    • 5. SS Anti-Tank Battalion
    • 1. Sanitary Company
    • 2. Sanitary Company
    • 1. Defense and Works Company
    • 2. Defense and Works Company
    • 3. Defense and Works Company

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Butler, Rupert (2002). SS-Wiking: the history of the Fifth SS Division, 1941-45. Havertown, PA: Casemate. ISBN 978-1-932033-04-5. OCLC 51650889.
  2. ^ Quarrie, Bruce (1986). Hitler's Teutonic Knights: SS panzers in action. Wellingborough : New York, N.Y: P. Stephens ; Distributed by Sterling Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-85059-764-6.
  3. ^ McNab, pp. 167, 178
  4. ^ McNab, p. 167
  5. ^ Stein, pp. 103, 104
  6. ^ Stein, p. 103
  7. ^ McNab, p. 178
  8. ^ "Finnish Volunteers "Very Likely" Participated in the Killing of Jews". The New York Times. 11 February 2019.
  9. ^ a b Littlejohn (1987) p. 53.
  10. ^ Gilbert pp. 181-182.
  11. ^ Gilbert pp. 195-196.
  12. ^ Gilbert pp. 202-204.
  13. ^ Silberklang 2013, p. 406.
  14. ^ Gilbert pp. 278-279.
  15. ^ Gilbert pp. 281.
  16. ^ a b Stein (1984) p. 238.
  17. ^ Dollinger (1967) p. 182.
  18. ^ Rhodes, Richard (2003). Masters of Death: The SS-Einsatzgruppen and the Invention of the Holocaust. p. 48, Vintage.
  19. ^ a b Lappin
  20. ^ a b Olav Tuff (91): Vi brente en kirke med sivilister
  21. ^ Ei ny fortid [A new past] "Bestefaren Per Pedersen Tjøstland var frontkjempar i 5. SS Panzer-divisjon Wiking frå 1941–1943, og skreiv for bladet Germaneren. Hans eigne dagbøker og artiklar er ei hovudkjelde, men Jackson skriv at det er umulig å vite nøyaktig kva han var med på. Kanskje seier det sitt at han bruker uttrykket «så rensket vi et jødehull»"
  22. ^ Williamson Gordon. "The SS Hitler´s Instrument of the Power". KAISER, appendix, p. 244, "Schlachtordnung der Waffen-SS/Waffen-SS Order of Battle"; copyright 1994 by Brown Packaging Books Ltd., London.
  23. ^ MILITÄRISCHES STUDIENGLOSAR ENGLISCH Teil II/ Teil III, Deutsch – Englisch, Abkürzung Begriff, Bundessprachenamt (Stand Januar 2001).
  24. ^ Official designation as to „Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv“ in Freiburg im Breisgau, stores of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS.
  25. ^ Baxter, Ian (2018-05-30). 5th SS Division Wiking at War 1941-1945: History of the Division. Pen & Sword Books Limited. ISBN 9781526721341.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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  • Nash, Douglas E.; Spezzano, Remy (2016). Kampfgruppe Mühlenkamp: 5. Ss-Panzer Division "Wiking", Eastern Poland, July 1944. Southbury: RZM Imports. ISBN 9780974838984.
  • Nash, Douglas E.; Spezzano, Remy (2019). Unternehmen Ilse: 5. Ss-Panzer Division "Wiking" Eastern Front 27 April 1944. Southbury: RZM Publishing. ISBN 978-0974838991.
  • Nash, Douglas E. (2019). From the realm of a dying sun. Volume I, IV. SS-Panzerkorps and the battles for Warsaw, July-November 1944. Philadelphia: Casement. ISBN 9781612006369.
  • Nash, Douglas E. (2020). From the realm of a dying sun. Volume II, IV. SS-Panzerkorps in the Budapest relief efforts, December 1944-February 1945. Philadelphia: Casement. ISBN 9781612008745.
  • Nash, Douglas E. (2021). From the realm of a dying sun. Volume III, IV. SS-Panzerkorps from Budapest to Vienna, February-May 1945. Philadelphia: Casement. ISBN 9781612009575.
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