ϟϟ-Division „Wiking“ Advance to Spearhead the Attack on Grozny

SS-Panzer-Abteilung 5 Wiking

Volunteers of the SS-Division Wiking

The Commander of the 1.Panzer-Armee Generaloberst Ewald von Kleist ordered the SS-Division Wiking to spearhead the attack on Grozny. Working in cooperation with General der Panzertruppen Traugott Herr's 13.Panzer-Division, a plan was arranged to capture the vital Chechen city. On September 26 1942, the last German effort north of the Terek river in the Caucasus began. The Wiking was in a position to launch its attack southward. As they reached the Terek River, the Soviet defences solidified. They had to break through several obstacle belts, constructed by the Soviets south of Mozdok, and through Malgobek and Sagopshin to reach the Georgian Road, over which the Soviets were receiving American war materials from Iran. Malgobek was the key to an assault on Grozny. Realizing the difficult situation, SS-Gruppenführer Felix Steiner divided Wiking into four columns, each with separate objectives, but all aimed at breaching the Soviet defences and opening a road to the Caspian Sea. Top image: SS-Panzer-Abteilung 5 Wiking in the Caucasus. U.S. National Archives Records Administration. Bottom image: Austrians, Danes, Dutch, Flemings, Finns, Germans, Norwegians and Swedes in the multinational Wiking Division in Caucasous in 1942. Both photos taken by Waffen-SS war correspondent SS-Kriegsberichter Willi Altstadt. U.S. National Archives.