1st Cossack Division
Encyclopedia
The 1st Cossack Division was a Russian Cossack
division of the German Army
that served during World War II
. It was created on the Eastern Front
mostly out of Don Cossacks
already serving in the Wehrmacht
, those who escaped from the advancing Red Army
and Soviet POWs. In 1945, the division was transferred to the Waffen SS. At the end of the war the unit ceased to exist.
, where they were placed under the command of the Second Panzer Army and were used to provide rear area security to the army.
The Division's first fighting engagement was on October 12, 1943, when the unit was dispatched against Yugoslav
partisans in Fruška Gora
Mountains. In the operation the Cossacks aided by 15 tanks and 1 armoured car captured the village of Beocin with the partisan HQ. Subsequently the unit was used to protect the Zagreb
-Belgrade
railroad and the Sava
valley. Several regiments of the division took part in several anti-partisan operations and guarded the Sarajevo railroad against the partisans. As part of a wide anti-partisan operation Napfkuchen the Cossack division was transferred to Croatia
, where it fought against partisans and chetniks
in 1944.
In 1944 the unit saw heavy action in Yugoslavia and suffered losses when Siberian Cossacks
2nd Regiment was surrounded by the partisans and held on for several days until other Cossack regiments were able to provide relief and break the encirclement.
The Cossacks' first engagement against the Red Army happened in December of 1944 near Pitomača
. The fighting resulted in Soviet withdrawal from the area. In January of 1945 the 1st Cossack Division together with the 2nd Cossack Division was transferred to the Waffen-SS
. As 1. SS-Kosaken-Kavallerie-Division it became part of the newly formed XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps.
At the end of the war Cossacks of the division found themselves in Austria
and surrendered to British
troops. Even though they were given assurances that they would not be turned over to the Soviets, they nevertheless were forcibly removed from the compound and transferred to the USSR. This event became known as the Betrayal of the Cossacks
. Most of the Cossacks were executed for treason.
The total numerical strength of the Division was 13.000 Cossacks and 4.500 Germans.
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
division of the German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
that served during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was created on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
mostly out of Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks were Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don.- Etymology and origins :The Don Cossack Host was a frontier military organization from the end of the 16th until the early 20th century....
already serving in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, those who escaped from the advancing Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and Soviet POWs. In 1945, the division was transferred to the Waffen SS. At the end of the war the unit ceased to exist.
Military history
Upon the formation of the unit in April of 1943 the Division was dispatched to CroatiaCroatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, where they were placed under the command of the Second Panzer Army and were used to provide rear area security to the army.
The Division's first fighting engagement was on October 12, 1943, when the unit was dispatched against Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
partisans in Fruška Gora
Fruška Gora
Fruška Gora is a mountain in north Syrmia. Most part of the territory is located within Vojvodina, Serbia, but a smaller part on its western side overlaps the territory of Croatia...
Mountains. In the operation the Cossacks aided by 15 tanks and 1 armoured car captured the village of Beocin with the partisan HQ. Subsequently the unit was used to protect the Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
-Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
railroad and the Sava
Sava River
The Sava is a river in Southeast Europe, a right side tributary of the Danube river at Belgrade. Counting from Zelenci, the source of Sava Dolinka, it is long and drains of surface area. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia, along the northern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and through Serbia....
valley. Several regiments of the division took part in several anti-partisan operations and guarded the Sarajevo railroad against the partisans. As part of a wide anti-partisan operation Napfkuchen the Cossack division was transferred to Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, where it fought against partisans and chetniks
Chetniks
Chetniks, or the Chetnik movement , were Serbian nationalist and royalist paramilitary organizations from the first half of the 20th century. The Chetniks were formed as a Serbian resistance against the Ottoman Empire in 1904, and participated in the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II...
in 1944.
In 1944 the unit saw heavy action in Yugoslavia and suffered losses when Siberian Cossacks
Siberian Cossacks
Siberian Cossacks were Cossacks who settled in the Siberian region of Russia from the end of the 16th century, following the Yermak Timofeyevich's conquest of Siberia. In early Siberia practically the whole Russian population, especially the serving-men were called Cossacks, but only in the loose...
2nd Regiment was surrounded by the partisans and held on for several days until other Cossack regiments were able to provide relief and break the encirclement.
The Cossacks' first engagement against the Red Army happened in December of 1944 near Pitomača
Pitomaca
Pitomača is a municipality in Croatia in the Virovitica–Podravina County. It has a population of 10,465 , 98% which are Croats....
. The fighting resulted in Soviet withdrawal from the area. In January of 1945 the 1st Cossack Division together with the 2nd Cossack Division was transferred to the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
. As 1. SS-Kosaken-Kavallerie-Division it became part of the newly formed XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps.
At the end of the war Cossacks of the division found themselves in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and surrendered to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
troops. Even though they were given assurances that they would not be turned over to the Soviets, they nevertheless were forcibly removed from the compound and transferred to the USSR. This event became known as the Betrayal of the Cossacks
Betrayal of the Cossacks
The Repatriation of Cossacks after WW2, also known as the Betrayal of the Cossacks, the Tragedy of Drau or the Massacre of Cossacks at Lienz refers to the forced repatriation to the USSR of the Cossacks and ethnic Russians who were allies of Nazi Germany during the Second World War.The...
. Most of the Cossacks were executed for treason.
Commanders
- Lieutenant-General Helmuth von PannwitzHelmuth von PannwitzHelmuth von Pannwitz was a German general who distinguished himself as a cavalry officer during the First and the Second World Wars. Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht and Supreme Ataman of the XV...
- Colonel Hans-Joachim von Schultz
- Colonel von Baath
- Colonel Alexander von Boesse
- Colonel Konstantin Wagner
Order of battle
The 1st Cossack Division was created on August 4, 1943 by combining the Cossack Platow Cavalry Regiment of von Pannwitz with the Jungschults Cavalry Regiment. The 1st Cossack Division was composed of the following units:1st Brigade
(under command of Colonel Wagner)- Regiment I: Don CossacksDon CossacksDon Cossacks were Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don.- Etymology and origins :The Don Cossack Host was a frontier military organization from the end of the 16th until the early 20th century....
(Don-Kosaken Reiter-Regiment 1) - Regiment II: Siberian CossacksSiberian CossacksSiberian Cossacks were Cossacks who settled in the Siberian region of Russia from the end of the 16th century, following the Yermak Timofeyevich's conquest of Siberia. In early Siberia practically the whole Russian population, especially the serving-men were called Cossacks, but only in the loose...
(Sibirisches Kosaken-Reiter-Regiment 2) - Regiment IV: Kuban CossacksKuban CossacksKuban Cossacks or Kubanians are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are of descendants of two major groups who were re-settled in the Western Northern Caucasus during the Caucasus War in the late 18th century...
(Kuban-Kosaken-Reiter-Regiment 4) - Caucasus Artillery Battalion
2nd Brigade
(under command of Colonel von Schulz)- Regiment III: Kuban CossacksKuban CossacksKuban Cossacks or Kubanians are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are of descendants of two major groups who were re-settled in the Western Northern Caucasus during the Caucasus War in the late 18th century...
(Kuban-Kosaken-Reiter-Regiment 3) - Regiment V: Don CossacksDon CossacksDon Cossacks were Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don.- Etymology and origins :The Don Cossack Host was a frontier military organization from the end of the 16th until the early 20th century....
(Don-Kosaken-Regiment 5) - Regiment VI: Terek Cossacks (Terek-Kosaken-Regiment 6)
- Caucasus Artillery Battalion
Auxiliary troops
- 55th Recon Battalion
- 55th Artillery Regiment
- 55th Engineer Battalion
- 55th Signal Battalion
- 55th Supply Section
- 55th Medical Battalion
The total numerical strength of the Division was 13.000 Cossacks and 4.500 Germans.
Further reading
- Cossacks in German and Italian Service http://web.archive.org/web/20070406125812/http://www.battlefront.co.nz/Article.asp?ArticleID=930
- François de Lannoy. Pannwitz Cossacks: Les Cosaques de Pannwitz 1942 - 1945
- Richard Landwehr. Steadfast Hussars: The Last cavalry Divisions of the Waffen-SS