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2nd SS Division Das Reich

 
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The SS Division Das Reich (germ. 2.SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich) was one of the thirty-eight division
Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or Formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps....
s fielded by the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel or SS. It was founded in Germany in 1939 after the SS was split into two units but the title of Waffen-SS only became official on 2 March, 1940....
 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. It is one of the most well-known and researched of all the SS divisions.

It served from the invasion of France and took part in several major battles on the Eastern Front (particularly in the battle of Prokhorovka against The 5th Guards Tank Army at the titanic Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk

The Battle of Kursk refers to Nazi Germany and Soviet Union operations on the Eastern Front of World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk in July and August 1943....
), before it was pulled back to France and took part in the fighting in Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge

The Ardennes Offensive was a major German offensive launched towards the end of World War II through the forested Ardennes of Belgium , France and Luxembourg on the Western Front ....
 and the last, desperate fighting in Hungary and Austria.

The symbol for the Das Reich division was the wolf's hook or Wolfsangel
Wolfsangel

The Wolfsangel is a symbol originating in Germany. It is also known as the Wolf's Hook or Doppelhaken. The upright variant is also known as "thunderbolt" and the horizontal variant as "werewolf"....
 rune.

the 1939 invasion of Poland
Fall Weiss

Fall Weiss translates as Case White following the German military's naming convention.Fall Weiss may refer to two military operations:...
, three SS regiment
Regiment

A regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. Depending on the nation, military branch, mission, and organization, a modern regiment resembles a brigade, in that both range in size from a few hundred to 5,000 soldiers ....
s (Deutschland, Der Führer, and Germania) were grouped into a division
Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or Formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps....
, the SS-Verfügungstruppe
SS-Verfügungstruppe

The SS-Verf?gungstruppe were combat divisions of the SS, trained according to the regulations of the German Armed Forces . They were the precursor of the later-developed Waffen-SS....
 ("Special-Purpose Troops").






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The SS Division Das Reich (germ. 2.SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich) was one of the thirty-eight division
Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or Formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps....
s fielded by the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel or SS. It was founded in Germany in 1939 after the SS was split into two units but the title of Waffen-SS only became official on 2 March, 1940....
 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. It is one of the most well-known and researched of all the SS divisions.

It served from the invasion of France and took part in several major battles on the Eastern Front (particularly in the battle of Prokhorovka against The 5th Guards Tank Army at the titanic Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk

The Battle of Kursk refers to Nazi Germany and Soviet Union operations on the Eastern Front of World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk in July and August 1943....
), before it was pulled back to France and took part in the fighting in Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge

The Ardennes Offensive was a major German offensive launched towards the end of World War II through the forested Ardennes of Belgium , France and Luxembourg on the Western Front ....
 and the last, desperate fighting in Hungary and Austria.

The symbol for the Das Reich division was the wolf's hook or Wolfsangel
Wolfsangel

The Wolfsangel is a symbol originating in Germany. It is also known as the Wolf's Hook or Doppelhaken. The upright variant is also known as "thunderbolt" and the horizontal variant as "werewolf"....
 rune.

History


Early war and the SS-VT - 1939/1940

For the 1939 invasion of Poland
Fall Weiss

Fall Weiss translates as Case White following the German military's naming convention.Fall Weiss may refer to two military operations:...
, three SS regiment
Regiment

A regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. Depending on the nation, military branch, mission, and organization, a modern regiment resembles a brigade, in that both range in size from a few hundred to 5,000 soldiers ....
s (Deutschland, Der Führer, and Germania) were grouped into a division
Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or Formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps....
, the SS-Verfügungstruppe
SS-Verfügungstruppe

The SS-Verf?gungstruppe were combat divisions of the SS, trained according to the regulations of the German Armed Forces . They were the precursor of the later-developed Waffen-SS....
 ("Special-Purpose Troops"). After Poland, the Germania regiment, was sent to form another division 5th SS Panzergrenadier Division Wiking, and a new third regiment was created (SS Regiment 11); together with the existing two regiments became the 2nd SS Division Das Reich
Reich

, is a German language loanword cognate with the English reign, region, and rich, but used most often to designate an empire, realm, or nation. The qualitative connotation from the German is "imperial, sovereign state." It is cognate with the North Germanic languages rike/rige, , , ; as found in bishopric....
. Das Reich first took part in the Campaigns in the West against the Low Countries and France in 1940, as the SS-V.T.-Division. First seeing action in the main drive for the Dutch central front and Rotterdam
Rotterdam

Rotterdam ; city and municipality in the Netherlands province of South Holland, situated in the west of the Netherlands. The municipality is the List of cities in the Netherlands with over 100,000 people in the country, with a population of 584,046 on 1 January 2007 and comprises the southern part of the Randstad, the List of metropolitan are...
. After Rotterdam had been captured, the Division, along with other divisions, intercepted a French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 force and forced them back to the area of Zeeland
Zeeland

Zeeland , also called Zealand in English language and Zeelandic, is a province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium....
 and Antwerp
Antwerp

||-||-||-||}Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions....
. They were next used to mop-up small pockets of resistance in the areas already captured by the German advance. The Division was then transferred to France and helped breach a stiffly defended canal line, and then participated in the drive on Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
. At the end of the Campaign, it had advanced all the way to the Spanish
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 Frontier.

War in the East - 1941