German infantry division
Military unit
The
Volunteer Legion Netherlands
(
Dutch
:
Vrijwilligerslegioen Nederland
) was a
collaborationist
military formation recruited in the
German-occupied Netherlands
during
World War II
. It was formed in the aftermath of the
German invasion of the Soviet Union
and fought on the
Eastern Front
in the
Waffen SS
alongside similar formations from other parts of
German-occupied Western Europe
. It was the largest Dutch SS unit.
The Volunteer Legion was renamed the
4th SS Panzer Grenadier Brigade Netherlands
in October 1943. It was officially re-designated as a
division
in February 1945 but never grew to larger than a brigade.
Background
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]
When the
Germans invaded
in May 1940, several political parties in the
Netherlands
sympathized with the
authoritarian
and
anti-democratic
ideals of
Nazi Germany
. The most important was the
National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands
(
Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland
, NSB), led by
Anton Mussert
, founded in 1931 on the example of the
Nazi Party
in Germany. It initially gained limited interest from the Dutch lower-middle class but never gained widespread support. It polled only three percent in 1939.
After the
invasion of Poland
in 1939,
Heinrich Himmler
, head of the
SS
, sought to expand the
Waffen-SS
with "Germanic" volunteers from other countries. The enrollment began in April 1940 with the creation of two regiments: the Waffen-SS Regiment Nordland (for Danish, Norwegian and Swedish volunteers), and the Waffen-SS Regiment Westland (for Dutch and Flemish volunteers).
Recruitment in the Netherlands was given an air of respectability by the support of Dutch General Staff officer Lieutenant-General
Hendrik Seyffardt
. By April 1941, volunteers began arriving in
Hamburg
. By July 1941, the Dutch were organized into SS Volunteer Unit Niederlande. The formation was the size of a reinforced infantry battalion, with five motorized companies. The unit was again redesignated, this time as SS Volunteer Legion Niederlande under General Seyffardt. In November 1941, the legion was ordered to the front near
Leningrad
, under the overall command of
Army Group North Rear Area
.
Northern Russia and Yugoslavia
[
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]
The Legion arrived at the
Volkhov River
in mid-January 1942 and was engaged in
rear-security activities
. In late June, it was transferred north in support of units at the
Siege of Leningrad
. The unit was then to take part in an offensive
Operation Nordlicht
, which was ultimately called off to deal with the Soviet
Sinyavino Offensive
. The Legion was then moved south near
Lake Ladoga
. At the end of 1942, it was merged with the
2nd SS Infantry Brigade
.
In January 1943, Dutch troops were heavily involved in defending against Soviet attempts to lift the siege at Leningrad. One 19-year old Dutch gun crew leader, Gerardus Mooyman, destroyed 23 Russian tanks with his
Pak 40
in about a month of fighting. He became the first foreigner to be awarded
Knight’s Cross
.
[1]
On 6 February, General Seyffardt, while campaigning for new recruits in Amsterdam, was assassinated by the
Dutch resistance
.
In April 1943, the unit was sent to Germany to be reformed as the SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland. The brigade was to consist of two
Panzergrenadier
regiments under the command of SS-Oberfuhrer
Jurgen Wagner
. In September 1943, the Brigade sent to the
Independent State of Croatia
(
Yugoslavia
) to join SS-Obergruppenfuhrer
Felix Steiner
's
III SS Panzer Corps
currently forming in the area. Upon its arrival, the Brigade received 1,500 Dutch recruits, drawn from the
SS Division Wiking
. During its time there, elements of the brigade were engaged in rear-security operations. During this period, the brigade was redesignated 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland. At this time, its strength stood at 9,342 men.
[
citation needed
]
Retreat
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]
On 25 December 1943, the brigade was transferred, along with Steiner's SS Corps, to
Oranienbaum, Russia
in
Army Group North
's sector. The corps was deployed to the area near Oranienbaum as part of the
18th Army
. The Soviet
Krasnoye Selo?Ropsha Offensive
cut through the weak infantry units formed out of the
9th
and
10th Luftwaffe Field Divisions
. The unit, alongside the
SS Division Nordland
, soon retreated to avoid encirclement by General
Leonid A. Govorov
's
Leningrad Front
. In the face of the Soviet
Kingisepp?Gdov Offensive
, the unit retreated to the
Narva River
in
Estonia
, where it took part in the
Battle of Narva
deployed on the
Ivangorod
bridgehead.
The launch of
Operation Bagration
on 22 June threatened the German positions. On 23 July, Steiner ordered a withdrawal to the
Tannenberg Line
. The unit was destroyed from the air on 24 July, with only a few personnel reaching the Tannenberg Line a week later. The regiment was ordered to be reformed at
Schlochau
. In September,
Leon Degrelle
's battle group from
SS Brigade Wallonien
was placed under the command of Nederland.
The unit arrived in the area near Gumi-Wolmar in mid-October. The Soviet forces cut off Army Group North in the Courland area, creating the
Courland Pocket
. During the unit's presence in Courland, Wagner ordered the reprisal executions of an unknown number of civilians. On 26 January 1945, the brigade received orders to evacuate the pocket by sea and report to the
Swinemunde
-
Stettin
area to participate in the defence of the
Oder
line. The brigade arrived in German territory on 4 February.
End of war and aftermath
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]
On 10 February, the brigade was redesignated 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nederland, with a strength of 1,000 men. The new division was attached to Steiner's
Eleventh SS Panzer Army
, defending the Northern Oder region. The Nederland took part in the abortive
Operation Sonnenwende
, and the battles near
Altdamm
in February 1945.
In April 1945, the division was split into two battle groups. The Soviet offensive of 16 April had broken the German lines by 25 April, cutting the lines of communication between the two units. One of the battle groups broke out to the west, surrendering to the
US Army
. The other battle group was pushed south by the Soviet offensive, into the area around
Halbe
. The remnants of the unit were absorbed into
Kampfgruppe Vieweger
of the
15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian)
. The unit was destroyed in the
Halbe pocket
.
After the war, the unit personnel were tried in the Netherlands, with several death sentences handed down. Wagner was extradited to Yugoslavia in 1947 to stand trial for
war crimes
. Found guilty before the Yugoslav military tribunal, he was sentenced to death and executed on 27 June 1947.
Commanders
[
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]
- SS-
Sturmbannfuhrer
Herbert Garthe (? November 1941 ? ? February 1942)
- SS-
Oberfuhrer
Otto Reich
(? February 1942 ? 1 April 1942)
- SS-
Obersturmbannfuhrer
Arved Theuermann (1 April 1942 ? ?)
- SS-
Standartenfuhrer
Josef Fitzthum
(? ? ?)
- SS-
Brigadefuhrer
Jurgen Wagner
(20 April 1944 ? 1 May 1945)
See also
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]
References
[
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]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Van Roekel, Evertjan (2021).
As Political Soldiers We Face Moscow's Hordes: Dutch Volunteers in the Waffen-SS
. Wilmington, DE: Vernon Press.
ISBN
9781648893346
.
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