SS-Verfügungstruppe

SS-Verfügungstruppe
SS insignia worn on the helmets of SS-Verfügungstruppe.
Active	1934–1940
Country	Germany
Allegiance	Adolf Hitler
Branch	Waffen-SS
Type	Motorized Infantry
Role	Schnelltruppen (Mobile troops)
Size	Division
Garrison/HQ	Berlin
Colors	Black, White, Red
Commanders
Notable commanders	Brigadeführer Paul Hausser Oberführer Felix Steiner Obergruppenfuhrer Sepp Dietrich

The SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT) (English: SS Dispositional Troops) was formed in 1934 as combat troops for the Nazi Party (NSDAP). They were involved in the German invasion of Poland in 1939. By 1940 these military SS units had become the nucleus of the Waffen-SS.

On 17 August 1938 Adolf Hitler decreed that the SS-VT was neither a part of the police nor the German Wehrmacht, but military-trained men at the disposal of the Führer. At the time of war, the SS-VT were to be placed at the disposal of the army.

The SS-VT, was formed on 24 September 1934 from a merger of various Nazi and paramilitary formations such as the SS Special Detachments (SS-Sonderkommandos) and the Headquarters Guard (SS-Stabswache) units. The SS-VT was to be made up of three regiments modeled on the infantry regiments of the German Army (Heer) and according to their regulations. Each regiment would contain three battalions, a motorcycle company and mortar company. The unit was officially designated SS-Verfügungstruppe ("Dispositional troops", i.e. troops at the personal disposal of the Führer). The men were to be volunteers who had completed their service in the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD; Reich Labour Service).

The existence of the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT) was publicly declared on 16 March 1935 by Hitler in a speech at the Reichstag. The SS-VT had to depend on the German Army for its supply of weapons and military training, and they had control of the recruiting system through local draft boards responsible for assigning conscripts to the different branches of the Wehrmacht to meet quotas set by the German High Command (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht or OKW in German). The SS was given the lowest priority for recruits, thereby limiting its size.

In 1936, Himmler selected former Lieutenant General Paul Hausser to be Inspector of the SS-VT with the rank of Brigadefuhrer. Hausser worked to transform the SS-VT into a credible military force that was a match for the regular army. The SS-VT trained alongside Hitler's personal body guard the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), which had also been formed from the SS-Stabswache and SS-Sonderkommando Berlin. The LSSAH under the command of Josef "Sepp" Dietrich continued to serve exclusively as a personal protection unit for Hitler and an honor guard during this timeframe.