The
Brandenburgers were members of the
Brandenburg GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
commandoThe term commando, in English, means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means élite light infantry and/or special forces units, specialised in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and effect...
unit during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Units of Brandenburgers operated in almost all fronts - the invasions of
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
and
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
, in the
Battle of FranceIn World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed from 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations...
, in
Operation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km front...
, in
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
and the invasion of
CreteCrete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km²...
,
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
,
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
and
YugoslaviaYugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century.The first country to be known by this...
. Some units were sent to infiltrate
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
,
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
,
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, southeastern Europe, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East...
countries and
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
. They also trained for
Operation FelixOperation Felix was the codename for a proposed German seizure of Gibraltar during the Second World War. It never got beyond the staff study stage, even though planning continued into 1944, primarily because of Francisco Franco's reluctance to commit Spain to enter the war on the Axis...
, the planned seizure of
GibraltarGibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers and shares a land border with Spain to the north...
, and
Operation SealionOperation Sea Lion was Nazi Germany's plan to invade England during World War II, beginning in 1940. However, to have any chance of success, the operation required air supremacy over the English Channel...
. The unit had stunning successes early in the war acting as advance units that captured strategic bridges, tunnels and rail yards in Poland and the Netherlands.
| Brandenburger Regiment |
| Bataillon Ebbinghaus |
| Lehr und Bau Kompanie z.b.V. 800 |
| Bataillon Brandenburg |
| Regiment Brandenburg |
| Division Brandenburg |
| Infanterie-Division Brandenburg (mot) |
| Panzergrenadier-Division Brandenburg |
The unit was the brainchild of Hauptmann (Captain)
Theodor von HippelTheodor von Hippel was the German army and intelligence officer responsible for the formation and training of the Brandenburgers commando unit. As a Hauptmann , von Hippel had served under General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck during the First World War in the East African theatre, where Lettow-Vorbeck...
who, after having his idea rejected by the traditionalist
ReichswehrThe Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
, approached Admiral
Wilhelm CanarisWilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944 and member of the German Resistance.- Early life and World War I :...
, commander of the German Intelligence Service, the
AbwehrThe Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
.
Regiment
Brandenburg evolved out of the Abwehr’s 2nd Department, and was used as a commando unit during the first years of the war. Initially the unit consisted mainly of former German expatriates fluent in other languages. Until 1944 it was an
OKHOberkommando des Heeres was Nazi Germany's High Command of the Army from 1936 to 1945. Oberkommando der Wehrmacht commanded OKH only in theory...
unit rather than a unit of the regular army (
HeerThe German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Traditionally the German military forces have been composed of Army, the Navy, and an Air Force after World War I. It was reinstalled in 1955 as the West German Army and as a part of the newly formed...
). The unit steadily expanded until it was reallocated to the
Großdeutschland Panzer Korps to be used as a frontline combat unit.
Origins – the Abwehr
During
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, Commander of the
East AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
n theatre, conducted a brilliant
guerrillaGuerrilla warfare is the irregular warfare warfare and combat in which a small group of combatants use mobile military tactics in the form of ambushes and raids to combat a larger and less mobile formal army....
war against the Allied colonial troops. At the same time in the Middle East,
T. E. LawrenceLieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British military officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt of 1916–18...
was enjoying great success using Arab hit-and-run tactics against the
TurksThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
. Hauptmann Theodor von Hippel had served under Lettow-Vorbeck in Africa, and after the war became a strong advocate of the tactics pioneered by his former commander and the British Lawrence.
Hippel’s vision was reminiscent of that of
David StirlingColonel Sir Archibald David Stirling DSO OBE was a Scottish laird, mountaineer, World War II British Army officer, and the founder of the Special Air Service.-Life before the war:...
, founder of the British
SASThe Special Air Service is a special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model for the special forces of other countries. The SAS forms a significant section of United Kingdom Special Forces alongside the Special Boat Service , Special Reconnaissance Regiment , and the...
. Hippel proposed that small, élite units, highly trained in sabotage and fluent in foreign languages, could operate behind enemy lines and wreak havoc with the enemy’s command, communication and logistical tails. When Hippel approached the
ReichswehrThe Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
, his idea was rebuffed. The traditionalist
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
n officers saw this clandestine form of warfare would be an affront to the rules of war, and claimed that men who fought that way would not deserve to be called soldiers. Undaunted, Hippel then took his idea to Admiral
Wilhelm CanarisWilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944 and member of the German Resistance.- Early life and World War I :...
, commander of the German Intelligence service, the
AbwehrThe Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
. Hippel was employed in the Abwehr’s 2nd Department, and given the task of making his vision a reality.
Bataillon Ebbinghaus – Poland
The original formation, designated Bataillon
Ebbinghaus was formed mostly from VolksdeutscheVolksdeutsche is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to describe ethnic Germans living outside of the Reich. This is in contrast to Imperial Germans , German citizens living within Germany...
who were fluent in Polish. The battalion was formed with support of the OKW, which had been arranged by Canaris, but meant that the unit fell under Wehrmacht command. During Fall WeissFall Weiss translates as Case White following the German military's naming convention.Fall Weiss may refer to two military operations:* Fall Weiß , the German strategic plan for a war with Poland...
, the battalion had a magnificent debut. The Ebbinghausers
had created confusion in the Polish rear by capturing or destroying major road and rail junctions, as well as helping the advancing troops by securing vital bridges and other strategic targets and preventing their demolition. Despite the success of the Bataillon Ebbinghaus
, it was disbanded immediately after the campaign.
Abwehr takes control – Brandenburgers
Canaris gave Hippel the go-ahead to create an Abwehr controlled unit along the lines of the Ebbinghaus
Battalion. Basing the new formation on many of the former Ebbinghausers
, Hippel formed the original regimentA regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. A regiment can be broken into two distinct categories, one being an administrative unit which is responsible for non-operational management of battalions , while the other being a deployable combat...
, Lehr und Bau Kompanie z.b.V. 800 (or Training and Construction Company No. 800) on 25 October 1939.
Recruitment for the company was almost directly contrary to those of Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler , one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, served as Chief of the German Police and Minister of the Interior...
’s SS. Rather than recruiting only those who embodied the AryanAryan is an English language loanword denoting variously*in historical or dated usage,**the Indo-Iranian languages and their speakers, viz. the Iranian and Indo-Aryan peoples**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers,...
ideal of the übermensch, Hippel scoured the Reich to find Slavs, Poles and other ethnics willing to fight for Germany. Some applicants had reached Germany through the British blockade to enlist. Every recruit had to be fluent in at least one foreign language. However, many recruits were fluent in several. The recruits were also schooled in the customs and traditions of their specific region. Knowing every habit and mannerism in their area of operations would enable the men to blend in and operate as effective saboteurs.
The formation was barracked at Stendal in the old Mark of
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
,
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and had training grounds nearby in Friedenthal (Oranienburg). The influx of new recruits meant that on 15 December 1939, less than three months after its founding, the company was expanded and redesignated Bataillon Brandenburg (Brandenburg Battalion). The men of the Bataillon came to be known as the
Brandenburgers.
The original battalion consisted of four
companiesA company is a military unit, typically consisting of 75-200 soldiers. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
; organised along ethnic 'Front' lines, as shown below. The battalion also included a Motorcycle platoon and a Fallschirm-platoon.
- 1. Kompanie (based in Baden bei Wien
Baden is a spa town in the Austrian state of Lower Austria and the capital of the Baden district. Located about 26 kilometres south of Vienna, frequently the name is given as Baden bei Wien ; this name, however, is not official, but can be used to distinguish it from other cities of the same name...
), men from Baltic/Russian territories
- 2. Kompanie (based in Brandenburg an der Havel), men who had lived in English-speaking territories and North Africa
- 3. Kompanie (based in Bad Münstereifel
Bad Münstereifel is a historical spa town in the district of Euskirchen, Germany, with about 19,000 inhabitants, situated in the far south of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia...
), SudetenSudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia associated with Bohemia.The name is derived from the...
Germans / Yugoslavia
- 4. Kompanie (based in the Lower Rhine
The Lower Rhine region or Niederrhein is a region around the Lower Rhine section of the river Rhine in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany between approximately Neuss and Düsseldorf to the South and the Dutch border around Emmerich to the North...
), Volksdeutsche Ethnic Germans from countries such as PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
As the battalion expanded further, it created more mixed units. The so-called Arabic Brigade was nominally connected to the Brandenburgers, took its orders from the German oriental mission, and was composed mainly of men from the
CaucasusThe Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region between at the border of Europe and Asia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain ....
.
France and the Low Countries – Yugoslavia
The
Brandenburgers saw extensive action in Fall Gelb. On 8 May, two nights before the opening of the offensive the
Brandenburgers went into action. Donning the enemies' uniforms over their own German ones (so they could quickly change in case of capture and be treated as POWs rather than spies and facing execution), small groups began to cross the border into the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
,
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
and
LuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small, landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany...
.
One of many actions from the opening days of the campaign was the seizure of the
MeuseThe Meuse , is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
bridge in the Dutch town of
GennepGennep is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands.- Population centres :Aaldonk, Dam, De Looi, Diekendaal, Gennep, Heijen, Hekkens, Milsbeek, Ottersum, Smele, Ven-Zelderheide and Zelder.- The city of Gennep :...
. An 8 man team, led by Leutnant Wilhelm Walther, was tasked with capturing the bridge intact. At 2am on May 10, Walther’s team, now disguised as Dutch
military policeMilitary police are normally the police of a military organization.Military police may refer to:* a section of the military solely responsible for policing the armed forces...
escorting German prisoners, made their assault. Two guard posts were destroyed, but three Brandenburgers were wounded and the team was pinned down. Dressed in a Dutch uniform, Walther advanced across the bridge. The confused defenders hesitated, allowing the rest of the team to take them out, seizing the bridge and disabling the
detonatorA detonator is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common....
s. Many more operations like this took place over the course of the campaign.
However on another bridge,
Brandenburgers were arrested by Dutch troops and shot as spies.
After the capitulation of France, the
Brandenburgers (along with the elite Infantrie-Regiment
Großdeutschland) were moved to northern France in preparation for
Operation SeelöweOperation Sea Lion was Nazi Germany's plan to invade England during World War II, beginning in 1940. However, to have any chance of success, the operation required air supremacy over the English Channel...
. After the invasion was called off, the Battalion moved to southern France and began training for another operation that was not to be,
Operation FelixOperation Felix was the codename for a proposed German seizure of Gibraltar during the Second World War. It never got beyond the staff study stage, even though planning continued into 1944, primarily because of Francisco Franco's reluctance to commit Spain to enter the war on the Axis...
, the proposed assault on
GibraltarGibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers and shares a land border with Spain to the north...
.
During this time, the Battalion was again enlarged, and redesignated Regiment Brandenburg. Along with the increase in size, the Regiment also received Coastal Raider and specialist Tropical components.
After Mussolini’s botched invasion of Greece, Hitler was forced to postpone his invasion of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
and invade Yugoslavia and Greece – a plan codenamed Operation Marita – and to be launched on 6 April 1941. Again, the Brandenburgers were to play a role, with a large 54 man team from III./Regiment Brandenburg (the Sudeten and Slavic battalion) seizing the vital dockyards at
OrşovaOrşova is a port city on the Danube river in southwestern Romania's Mehedinţi County . It is situated just above the Iron Gates, on the spot where the Cerna River meets the Danube.- History :The first documented mention of its name was in 1150 under the Latin name Ursova...
on the
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
a day before the opening of the campaign.
Training and Structure
Despite the increased size, the Brandenburgers were still highly skilled. The training was physically and mentally demanding, with focuses on foreign languages,
small unit tacticsSmall unit tactics is the application of military doctrine for the combat deployment of platoons and smaller units in a particular strategic and logistic environment.-Squad Structure:...
,
parachutingParachuting, also known as skydiving, is the activity of jumping from enough height to deploy a fabric parachute and land.The history of diving starts with Andre-Jacques Garnerin who made successful parachute jumps from a hot-air balloon in 1797...
, demolitions,
covert operationA covert operation is a military, intelligence, or political activity carried out in such a way that the identity of the sponsors of the operation is concealed or kept secret...
s, use of vehicles and aircraft and familiarity with enemy weapons, including
tankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities...
s. Some sub-units were specifically trained as pilots or trained in
forgeryForgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents , with the intent to deceive. The similar crime of fraud is the crime of deceiving another, including through the use of objects obtained through forgery...
, demolitions or
camouflageCamouflage is a method of crypsis that allows an otherwise visible organism or object to remain indiscernible from the surrounding environment through deception. Examples include a tiger's stripes and the battledress of a modern soldier...
. One company was formed from 127 expert cross country skiers, and was specially trained to fight in the frozen wastes of the northern
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. The company was also equipped with
dog sledA dog sled is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function.-History:...
s.
In action, a Brandenburger unit could consist of two-man teams, to 12-man
squadIn military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition this organization is referred to as a section...
s, to full 300-man companies, depending on the mission requirements. At this stage in the war, virtually all Brandenburger operations took place behind enemy lines. The units operated along the lines of the
SASThe Special Air Service is a special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model for the special forces of other countries. The SAS forms a significant section of United Kingdom Special Forces alongside the Special Boat Service , Special Reconnaissance Regiment , and the...
teams. Often they used captured equipment or disguised themselves as soldiers from the opposite side, sometimes including false identification papers, but unlike their allied counterparts, the Brandenburgers were very particular about donning another nation's uniform. This
chivalric codeChivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood. It is usually associated with ideals of knightly virtues, honor and courtly love. The word is derived from the French word chevalier, indicating one who rides a horse Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of...
, while perhaps rather anachronistic, required that men always wore their German uniform beneath the enemy's, and before combat, the men would hold fire until they made their own uniforms visible. While this led credence to the claim that Brandenburgers were soldiers, not spies, it also led to the capture of several units who refused to break these orders and open fire before revealing their 'true colours'.
Despite these precautions to remain within the rules of war, all Brandenburgers carried a
suicide pillA suicide pill is a pill, capsule, ampoule or tablet containing a fatally poisonous substance that a person ingests deliberately in order to quickly cause his/her own death...
when operating behind enemy lines.
North Africa
When the
Afrika KorpsThe German Afrika Korps was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
shipped to Libya, Brandenburgers did also. The men, raised as four companies of special Tropical Units, were fluent in either
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
or
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
and used captured
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
vehicles to operate behind enemy lines in raids and
reconnaissanceReconnaissance is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information. Militarily, its shorthand Canadian and British form is recce , its American usage form is recon...
missions, mirroring the actions of the British LRDG. Generalfeldmarschall
Erwin RommelErwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , was perhaps the most famous German Field Marshal of World War II....
at first disapproved of the Brandenburgers, but after he saw the damage being inflicted by the LRDG and Stirling’s SAS, he realised their value and accepted their unorthodox methods. The unit was charged with disrupting British supply lines, but it was difficult to resupply them or provide transportation, so most men were either killed or captured.
Operation Barbarossa - Ostfront
The first German units to cross the Soviet frontier in June 1941 were the men of the Brandenburg Regiment. On the first day, Brandenburgers seized road and rail junctions, secured river crossings and wreaked havoc with the already inadequate Soviet communications and supply lines.
During the early days of Barbarossa, a Brandenburger unit seized the bridge over the
DaugavaThe river Daugava or Western Dvina or Dzvina , not to be confused with Northern Dvina, is a river rising in the Valdai Hills, Russia, flowing through Russia, Belarus, and Latvia, draining into the Gulf of Riga in Latvia, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The total length of the river is...
in Dünaburg (in
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
). This prevented a halt in the advance of
Heeresgruppe NordArmy Group North was a strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics....
on
LeningradSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
.
Meanwhile, the "Küstenjäger-Abteilung" (or Coastal Raiders Battalion) performed many
amphibiousAmphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
raids along the coasts of the
Black Seaur a loser!The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to...
, The
BalticThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
and the
Sea of AzovThe Sea of Azov is the world's shallowest sea, linked by the Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south. It is bounded on the north by Ukraine, on the east by Russia and on the west by the Crimean peninsula. The Don River flows into it.-Geology and bathymetry:The sea is long and wide and has...
.
In
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
, the Brandenburgers operated in co-operation with the volunteer Ukrainian unit Ukrainische Gruppe Nachtigall in support of
Heeresgruppe SüdArmy Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
. The units enjoyed overwhelming success, despite the questionable actions of some of the Ukrainian units.
In early August 1942, a Brandenburger unit of 62 Baltic and Sudeten Germans led by
FreiherrThe German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding the names of people, or later , before family names...
Adrian von Fölkersam penetrated farther into enemy territory than any other German unit. They had been ordered to seize and secure the vital
MaikopMaykop or Maikop may refer to:*Maykop, capital of the Republic of Adygea, Russia*Maykop culture, prehistoric culture of the northern Caucasus, ca. 3500 BCE–2500 BCE...
oilfields. Disguised as dreaded
NKVDThe People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including...
men, and driving Soviet trucks, Fölkersam’s unit passed through the Soviet front lines and moved deep into hostile territory. The Brandenburgers ran into a large group of
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
deserters fleeing from the front. Fölkersam saw an opportunity to use them to the unit’s advantage. By persuading them to return to the Soviet cause, he was able to join with them and move almost at will through the Russian lines.
Operating under false identity of NKVD Major Truchin based in Stalingrad, Fölkersam explained his role in recovering the deserters to the Soviet commander in charge of Maikop's defenses. The commander not only believed Fölkersam, but the next day gave him a personal tour of the city's defenses. By August 8, the German spearheads were only 12 miles away. The Brandenburgers made their move. Using grenades to simulate an artillery attack, they knocked out the military communications center for the city. Fölkersam then went to the Russian defenders and told them that a withdrawal was taking place. Having seen Fölkersam with their commander and lacking any communications to rebut or confirm his statement, the Soviets began to evacuate Maikop. The German spearhead entered the city without a fight on August 9, 1942.
This is only one example of the hundreds of missions performed by the Brandenburgers during the advance into Russia.
By 1943, the most common mission assignment was long range reconnaissance. During the 1942 advance of
Heeresgruppe SüdArmy Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
in Ukraine, the Brandenburgers revived their role from the early days of the campaign, forging ahead of the
PanzerA Panzer is a German tank. Attributively, the term also refers to armoured military forces, as in panzer divisions or panzer battles.- Etymology :Panzer is a loanword from the German , meaning "armour"...
columns, seizing bridges, road and rail junctions, and attacking the Soviet command and control structure. Mostly, these missions were performed by units of 20-60 Brandenburgers, dressed as Soviets and driving captured Red Army vehicles.
Between January and April 1943, the Brandenburgers were expanded to the size of a
divisionA 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...
, and specialized subunits for
U-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
crews, air defense,
artilleryArtillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
, tank, antitank and combat engineering were created. Men were transferred from the Afrika Korps and
KriegsmarineThe Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi regime, superseding the Reichsmarine, and the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht.-Command structure:Adolf Hitler was the commander-in-chief...
, and also Muslims from Yugoslavia and volunteers from India.
Brandenburg Division - the Balkans
By late 1942, the majority of the Brandenburg regiment was being used in fire brigade
duties, acting as elite infantry and plugging gaps in the German lines. In February 1943, the Brandenburgers were pulled out of the line and moved back to Germany. The Regiment was being expanded again, this time to become Division Brandenburg. The division's first commander was to be Generalmajor Alexander von Pfuhlstein. The division was to be formed by four regiments. One regiment was returned to the Eastern front, to resume duties as a
fire brigade, One battalion was sent to Africa to continue harassing the Allies in the Mediterranean. The remainder of the division was sent to the Balkans, to engage in anti-
PartisanThe Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II resistance movement engaged in the fight against Axis forces and their collaborators in Yugoslavia during the Yugoslav People's Liberation War from 1941 to 1945...
operations.
On May 25, 1944, specialist members of the division, attached to SS-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 500, took part in
Operation RösselsprungThe Raid on Drvar , codenamed Operation Rösselsprung , was an attack by the Waffen-SS and the Luftwaffe that aimed to disrupt the command structure of the Yugoslav Partisans by eliminating their Supreme Headquarters, and capturing their commander, Marshal Josip Broz Tito...
, an airborne operation to capture Yugoslav Partisan leader
TitoJosip Broz Tito Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz Tito (Cyrillic script: Јосип Броз Тито, (7 or 25 May 1892 – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. He was Secretary-General (later President) of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (1939–80), and went on to lead the World War II...
at his headquarters near
DrvarDrvar is a town and municipality in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, located on the road between Bosansko Grahovo and Bosanski Petrovac, also near Glamoč. It is administratively part of Canton 10 of the Federation.-Name:...
, thereby ending communist resistance in the Balkans. Tito escaped just before the SS-Fallschirmjäger reached the cave in which he made his headquarters and the SS-Fallschirmjäger were forced to withdraw to the town cemetery, where they dug in and endured a night of ferocious partisan assaults. German casualties were 213 killed, 881 wounded, and 51 missing, with a total of about 6000 on the Partisan side (German wartime estimates). SS-Fallschirmjäger-Btl 500 was all but wiped out, one of four times this happened to the unit and its successor, SS-Fallschirmjäger-Btl 600, in the eighteen months from November 1943 to May 1945.
Dodecanese Islands
In mid 1943, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy ousted the Fascist dictatorship of
Benito MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini,
KSMOM GCTE was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism. He became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and began using the title Il Duce by...
and changed sides. Following this, many Brandenburger units were moved from the Balkans, and took part in actions to disarm Italian soldiers and secure regions vital to the German war effort.
One vital area was the island of
KosKos or Cos is a Greek island in the south Sporades group of the Dodecanese, next to the Gulf of Gökova/Cos. It measures by , and is from the coast of Bodrum, Turkey and the ancient region of Caria. The island has both fertile plains and mountainous highlands with a population of 30,947...
, in the
DodecaneseThe Dodecanese are a group of 12 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, off the southwest coast of Turkey, southward of the island of Samos and northeastward of the island of Crete...
island chain off the coast of
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
. Kos had been secured by British troops in September 1943, and a large garrison of allied Italian troops was also present. The island had a vital airstrip, and had to be recaptured. Along with
LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...
Fallschirmjägerare German paratroopers. Fallschirmjäger of Germany in World War II were the first to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. They came to be known as the "Green Devils" by the Allied forces they fought against...
s, men of the Küstenjäger-Abteilung along with the Fallschirm-Kompanie of the Brandenburg Division took part. The Brandenburgers, under command of Leutnant Langbein, landed at night on the southern coast of the island, and quickly subdued the beach defenses, controlled by Italian troops. The unit then advanced to the town encountering no resistance, and began clearing the town. After investigating several caves, the unit discovered a stash of
alcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. An important group of acohols is formed by the simple acyclic alcohols, the general formula for which is C
nH
2n+1OH...
. Many of the men indulged themselves with a few drinks. After nightfall, Langbein realised that the alcohol had made his men tired and dulled their alertness. He secured a stock of Pervitin, a stimulant, and administered it to his men. Mixed with the alcohol, Pervitin created a sense of controlled rage among the men, and when the British and Italians attacked later in the evening, the Brandenburgers repulsed them with ease and assaulted and captured the British and Italian positions, linking up with the
Fallschirmjägerare German paratroopers. Fallschirmjäger of Germany in World War II were the first to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. They came to be known as the "Green Devils" by the Allied forces they fought against...
s and securing the island.
Loss of Abwehr control - transfer to the Front
Since the beginning, Admiral Canaris and the Abwehr had been watched closely by Himmler's SS intelligence service, the
SDThe Sicherheitsdienst was primarily the intelligence service of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the Gestapo, which the SS had infiltrated heavily...
, commanded by
Walter SchellenbergWalter Friedrich Schellenberg was a German SS-Brigadeführer who rose through the SS to become, following the abolition of the Abwehr in 1944, head of foreign intelligence....
.
The anti-Nazi views of the Abwehr came to a head in July 1944, when several high ranking Abwehr officials, including Canaris himself, were implicated in the
July 20 plotThe 20 July plot of 1944 was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, inside his "Wolf's Lair" field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi regime...
to kill Hitler. Control of the Brandenburg division was passed to the SD, but in September 1944 it was decided that special operations units were no longer necessary. The Brandenburg Division became Infanterie-Division
Brandenburg (mot), was equipped as a motorised infantry division and transferred to the Eastern front.
1,800 men (including Freiherr Adrian von Fölkersam) managed to obtain transfers to SS-Standartenführer
Otto SkorzenyOtto Skorzeny was an SS-Obersturmbannführer in the German Waffen-SS during World War II. After fighting on the Eastern Front, he commanded a rescue mission that freed the deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from captivity...
's SS-Jagdverbände and continue operating as special forces till the end of the war.
For the rest of the division, the return to conventional operations damaged
moraleMorale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used for the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...
, but despite this, the Brandenburgers were still considered élite, and so was assigned to
Panzerkorps Großdeutschland along with its old training partner from 1940-41, the Großdeutschland division. The Brandenburg fought well in the Eastern front, being involved in the fighting retreat through the Baltic States and into
East PrussiaEast Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia...
.
In late 1944, the division was equipped with a Panzer Regiment and redesignated Panzergrenadier-Division
Brandenburg and returned to the front. The Brandenburgers were involved in heavy fighting near MemelThe Battle of Memel or the Siege of Memel took place when the Soviets launched their Memel Offensive Operation in late 1944. The offensive led to a three-month blockade of German forces in a small bridgehead in the town and its port....
, until their withdrawal, along with the Großdeutschland, via ferry to
PillauBaltiysk , prior to 1945 known by its German name Pillau , is a Russian seaport town in Kaliningrad Oblast. It is situated on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, 29 miles from Kaliningrad, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separating the Vistula Bay from the Gdańsk Bay. Baltiysk is the...
. The division was all but annihilated during the heavy fighting near Pillau, and while some survivors surrendered to the British in
Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the two historical duchies of Schleswig and Holstein...
in May, many Brandenburgers, highly skilled in evading detection, simply disappeared.
Postwar period: Ex-Brandenburgers as Advisers in Foreign Service
The Brandenburgers who escaped death or capture during the war were, like many special forces soldiers, not willing or able to lay down the sword and return to civilian life. Many ex-Brandenburgers were accepted into the
French Foreign LegionThe French Foreign Legion is a unique unit in the French Army, established in 1831. The legion was specifically created for foreign nationals wishing to serve in the French Armed Forces, but commanded by French officers. However, it is also open to French citizens, who amount to 24% of recruits...
. It is interesting to note that at
Dien Bien PhuDien Bien Phu is a town in northwestern Vietnam. It is the capital of Dien Bien province, and is known for the events there during the First Indochina War, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, during which the region was a breadbasket for the Viet Minh.-Population:Statistics on Dien Bien Phu's population...
, a large number of French Legionnaires were Germans - ex-
Waffen-SSThe Waffen-SS was the combat arm 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 the Wehrmacht Heer regular army, but was never formally part of it...
and -
HeerWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
men, with several ex-Brandenburgers among them. The Russians also almost certainly used ex-Brandenburgers as advisers and operatives in their security forces.
Many other Brandenburgers travelled to Africa, South America or Asia to operate as mercenaries or advisers. The successive coups d'etat in the many newly formed African states provided work for ex-Brandenburgers. The head of
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n Security services during
Sukarno'sSukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia. He helped the country win its independence from the Netherlands and was President from 1945 to 1967, presiding with mixed success over the country's turbulent transition to independence...
rule was a Brandenburg veteran. Chinese communist leader
Mao ZedongMao Zedong was a Chinese revolutionary, political theorist and Communist leader. He led the People's Republic of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976...
was advised by an ex-Brandenburger, as was Congolese Separatist
Moise TshombeMoïse Kapenda Tshombe was a Congolese politician.- Biography :He was the son of a successful Congolese businessman and was born in Musumba, Congo. He received his education from an American missionary school and later trained as an accountant...
. Many Brandenburgers also found employment in the Egyptian forces of
Muhammad NaguibMuhammad Naguib was the first President of Egypt, serving from the declaration of the Republic on June 18, 1953 to November 14 1954. Along with Gamal Abdel Nasser, he was the primary leader of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which ended the rule of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in Egypt and Sudan...
.
Orders of battle
Battalion Brandenburg - December 1939
- 1. Company
- 2. Company
- 3. Company
- 4. Company
- Motorcycle platoon
- Parachute platoon
Division Brandenburg – February 1943 - March 1944
- Division staff
- Jäger Regiment - 1 Brandenburg
- Jäger Regiment - 2 Brandenburg
- Jäger Regiment - 3 Brandenburg
- Jäger Regiment - 4 Brandenburg
- Tropische Einheiten Brandenburg
- Coastal Raiders Battalion Brandenburg
- Parachute Battalion Brandenburg
- Signal Company Brandenburg
- Independent Companies -
- 14.Company
- 15.Parachute Company
- Auxiliary Units -
- Lehrregiment Brandenburg z.b.v Nr.800 (Training Regiment)
Panzergrenadier-Division Brandenburg - 1944-1945.
- Division Staff
- Panzer Regiment Brandenburg
- Jäger(mot) Regiment 1 Brandenburg
- Jäger(mot) Regiment 2 Brandenburg
- Panzerjäger
Panzerjäger are German armoured fighting vehicles of the Second World War.-Origin of the name:The designation "Panzerjäger" is derived from the branch of service going by the same name. "Jäger" was the common labeling for highly mobile infantry troops in German armies...
Battalion Brandenburg
- Artillery Regiment Brandenburg
- Heeres Flak Battalion Brandenburg
- Reconnaissance Battalion Brandenburg
- Pionier Battalion Brandenburg
- Signals Battalion Brandenburg
- Supply Train
See also
- Battle of Velikiye Luki
The Velikiye Luki offensive operation was executed by the forces of the Red Army's Kalinin Front against the Wehrmacht's 3rd Panzer Army during the Winter Campaign of 1942-1943 with the objective of liberating the Russian city of Velikiye Luki as part of the northern pincer of the Rzhev-Sychevka...
- KSK
KSK may refer to:* Karşıyaka S.K. .* Kommando Spezialkräfte .* Kill Switch...Klick .* Kissing Suzy Kolber...
or Kommando SpezialkräfteThe Kommando Spezialkräfte is part of Germany's Special Forces. Organized under the Special Operations Division The Kommando Spezialkräfte (Special Forces Command, KSK) is part of Germany's Special Forces. Organized under the Special Operations Division The Kommando Spezialkräfte (Special Forces...
, has a disputed heritage of the Brandenburgers
- Special Staff F
Special Staff F was the cover name for a German military mission to Iraq during World War II. Sonderstab F was created on 20 May 1941 and ceased to exist on 20 June 1941.-Description:...