Unternehmen Edelweiß: ϟϟ-Division „Wiking“ Advances into the Caucasus

Wikinger out in the Caucasian sunflower fields

SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 5 Wiking in the Caucasus

Operation Edelweiß was a German plan to gain control over the Caucasus and capture the oilfields of Maykop, Grozny and ultimately Baku and end Soviet's ability to sustain itself. The operation started very well for the German forces, and the Soviet Armies defending below the Don River quickly melted away. To defend the oil fields from destruction by retreating Soviet units, the Brandenburgers special forces supported by local nationalist Cossacks infiltrated deep behind enemy lines, often dressed as the dreaded Soviet secret police, the NKVD. These troops were tasked with capturing bridges and roadways ahead of advances and holding them until relieved. The Brandenburgers helped clear the way in many sectors, penetrating further into the Soviet Union than any unit before it. Meanwhile, the SS-Division Wiking penetrated deeply into the Caucasus, facing thousands of ambushes and encounters against an enemy that was impossible to pin down. The divisions tank commander SS-Sturmbannführer Johannes Mühlenkamp's SS-Panzer-Abteilung 5 attacked between the Don and the Kuban in July and August of 1942, hitting the constantly withdrawing enemy and breaking all resistance. However, a long and difficult way still lay in front of the Wiking: over 500 kilometres of steppes, interlaced with little rivers gave the enemy the opportunity again to escape into the vastness of the area and to appear again unexpectedly in another position and to attack. Even in peacetime, a march by a large motorized division with its approximately 2,000 heavy vehicles and numerous other trucks and motorcycles on the Caucasian steppe would have been a tiresome effort with many difficulties. March route of the division: Maykop-Labinskaja-Armavir-Georgiewsk. Top image: a young volunteer of the Wiking in the Caucasian sunflower fields during the German "oil campaign" in August 1942. Photo by SS-Kriegsberichter Willi Altstadt. Credit: Karl Mensburg. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Bottom image: tank destroyer Marder II of the SS-Panzerjägerabteilung 5 of the Wiking in the North Caucasus during the opening phase of Edelweiß. The Marders were not assault vehicles or tank substitutes; they were best employed in defensive or overwatch roles. During combat, the Marders often used to flank enemy tanks and destroy them from the side or rear. Credit: Julius Backman. Commons: Bundesarchiv.