ϟϟ-Panzer-Abteilung 5 „Wiking“ in the Maykop area in North Caucasus

Finnish SS-Untersturmführer during the Battle of the Caucasus

SS-Panzer-Abteilung 5 Wiking

The battle of the Caucasus lacked the sweeping manoeuvres which annihilated the Soviet forces during the 1941 summer campaign. This time, the Soviet commanders and soldiers learned to withdraw and regroup their forces in order to launch ferocious counterattacks. In the first week of August in 1942, the SS-Division Wiking's spearheads were in the foothills of the Caucasus mountains and resistance started to stiffen in the huge sunflower fields that were all over region. They moved through shoulder-high tobacco fields in full bloom, through sunflower fields and past waving grain. SS-Sturmbannführer Johannes Mühlenkamp wrote after the war: After a march, there was suddenly a large open area in the middle of a forest. Lineinaja was on the western edge of the clearing. My tanks moved out in battle order and then took off for the city. Between the tanks were the Finnish volunteers. The Finns took part in the tank attack by double timing. Our attack broke over Lineinaja like a storm. The Finns could no longer be controlled. They frequently lunged at the enemy soldiers, swinging their typical Finnish knives. With the fighting around Linejuaja, Wiking's offensive operations for the Maykop oil region had ended. They had been dramatic enough, and a tense time for the troops and command alike. The last offensive action in this region was fought on August 14 1942. Top image: a Finnish SS-Untersturmführer of the Finnisches Freiwilligen-Bataillon der Waffen-SS in the Caucasus 1942, armed with a Luger and a traditional Finnish Puukko knife. Credit: Karl Mensburg. PD. Bottom image: a Panzer III of SS-Panzer-Abteilung 5 Wiking in Maykop area in August 1942. The tanker crews were subject to the most claustrophobic conditions. Panzer III was a medium tank developed in the 1930s. It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside and support similar Panzer IV which was originally designed for infantry support. However, as the Germans faced the formidable Soviet T-34, more powerful anti-tank guns were needed. Credit: Facundo Filipe. Commons: Bundesarchiv.