The SS-Division Reich was with Army Group Center under Feldmarschall Fedor von Bock during the
Barbarossa. It fought with
Panzergruppe Guderian as part of Generaloberst Heinz Guderian's Eastern Front Elite, first in the drive on Moscow, then toward Kiev, then Moscow again. It was the first Waffen-SS division created, though the title “1st” was reserved for Adolf Hitler's elite bodyguard, the Leibstandarte SS. The Reich's manpower strength was 19,021 officers and men in June 1941. By June 28 1941
Panzergruppe 2, led by Guderian, and Generaloberst Hermann Hoth's
Panzergruppe 3 had encircled three Soviet armies and captured over 320,000 men in the Białystok-Minsk pockets. The two panzer groups then pressed ahead, linking up on the far side of Smolensk on July 27 in another double envelopment. Two more Soviet armies were trapped and destroyed, and another 300,000 troops taken prisoner. Reich suffered heavy losses defending the Yelna position as the Kiev Pocket was formed and closed. It then broke through the Moscow defences south of Borodino and came within a few kilometers of the Soviet capital. Soon, German troops found themselves suffering from the winter cold. Then, when the Soviets launched their first major counter-attack late in 1941, the Reich provided an unparalleled example of tenacity. Hammered by
Stalin's organs, the Katyusha multiple rocket launcher, tanks and massed infantry supported by fresh well equipped Siberian divisions, the Waffen-SS more than justified their reputation as the eastern army's fire brigade. The men of the SS-Division Reich, the title became
Das Reich in May 1942, fought from the first to the last day of the war on almost every front, they rushed from one battle crises to another, filled with absolute consciousness of their duty, many thousands of them sacrificing their young lives. Top image: Messerschmitt Bf 110 E-2s belonging to Luftwaffe unit Schnellkampfgeschwader 210 over Belarus or Russia in 1941. The SKG 210 flew over the Central part of the front supporting the German army's encirclement and overrunning of Soviet land forces in the Białystok and Minsk areas in the early phase of the campaign, and flew in support of the advancing Army Group Centre advance to Moscow. Credit: Alan Lathan. Second image: volunteers of the German-Austrian SS-Regiment Der Führer of the Reich. The photo is believed to have been taken while the Reich was subordinate to Gen.Oberst Heinz Guderian's command in 1941. c. Bundesarchiv. Third image: men of the Reich with a Sd.Kfz 10 half-track passing a Belarusian village during Barbarossa. The half-track bears the white divisional insignia, the
Wolfsangel rune, flanked by the tactical sign on the left front mudguard. Reich's vehicles also carried a white 'G', standing for Panzergruppe Guderian. Photo by SS-Oscharf. and SS-KB Wolfgang Wiesebach. The war correspondent Wiesebach was reported as MIA on June 9 1944 in North Bosnia. c. Bundesarchiv. Bottom image: the screenshot captures a solemn moment as a bunch of flowers is tenderly placed on the grave of a fallen comrade of the Reich. Note the variety of
camouflage patterns used in the Waffen-SS. Credit: Karl Mensburg. Die Deutsche Wochenschau.
The Wolfsangel is an ancient runic symbol that was believed to be able to ward off wolves. It's a non-fictional historic symbol that was indeed derived from a device for trapping wolves.
ReplyDeleteAccording to A. Lathan the top picture shows S9 EH 4443, S9 FH 4452 and S9 GH 4465 over White Russia and all downed during a raid against Wjasma Air Base near Mitino in 1941.
ReplyDeleteSome interesting uniform details, in contrast to his men, the lieutenant wears the 'old style' collar tabs issued for ss-standarte 3 back in 1938, and the photo depicts him wearing what appears to be the ss jawless skull cap badge used from 1923 to 1934. The cap itself is probably converted from a wehrmacht field cap and displays an embroidered non-ss cap eagle, and, furthermore, the ss eagle worn by all waffen-ss troops on their upper left sleeve is missing. By the way, the men of the regiment Der führer fought to the death in 1941. Only a handful survived the winter battles outside Moscow.
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