5th SS Panzer Division Wiking
| 5th SS Panzer Division | |
|---|---|
Unit insignia
|
|
| Active | 1941–45 |
| Country |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Branch |
 Waffen-SS
|
| Type | Panzer |
| Role | Armoured warfare |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | Eastern Front (World War II) |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner Obergruppenführer Herbert Otto Gille Oberführer Eduard Deisenhofer Standartenführer Johannes Mühlenkamp Oberführer Karl Ullrich |
The 5th SS Panzer Division was a Panzer 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 the course of World War II, the division served on the Eastern Front during World War II. It surrendered in May 1945 to the American forces in Austria.
After the invasion of Poland in 1939, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler sought to expand the Waffen-SS with foreign military volunteers for the "crusade against Bolshevism". The enrolment 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).
The Nordic formation, originally organised as the Nordische Division (Nr. 5), was to be made up of Nordic volunteers mixed with ethnic German Waffen-SS personnel. The SS Infantry Regiment Germania of the SS-Verfügungs-Division, which was formed mostly from ethnic Germans, was transferred to help form the nucleus of a new division in late 1940. In December 1940, the new SS motorised formation was to be designated SS-Division (mot.) Germania, but after its formative period, the name was changed, to in January 1941. The division was formed around three motorised infantry regiments: Germania, Westland, and Nordland; with the addition of the SS Artillery Regiment 5. Command of the newly formed division was given to Brigadeführer Felix Steiner, the former commander of the Verfügungstruppe SS Regiment "Deutschland".
After formation the division was sent to Heuberg in Germany for training and by April 1941, SS Division was ready for combat. It was ordered east in mid-May, to take part with Army Group South's advance into the Ukraine during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. In June 1941 the Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS was formed from volunteers from that country. After training, 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 division since the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. In spring 1943 the Finns 2-year contract ended, and the Finnish battalion was withdrawn. During that same timeframe, the was removed to help form the core of the new 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland. They were replaced by the Estonian infantry battalion Narwa.
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Wikipedia