Freiwilligen-Stamm-Division

The Freiwilligen-Stamm-Division ("Regular Volunteer Division") was a German infantry division of the Wehrmacht during World War II. It was created on 1 February 1944 in Southern France. The Division was a so-called Ostlegion, which means its personnel was made up from volunteers from the Soviet Union. Specifically Freiwilligen-Stamm-Division consisted of Turkic, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Tartar, Cossack, Armenian and other Soviet volunteers, spread over five regiments. The primary purpose of the division were anti-partisan operations against the French Resistance.[1][2]

Freiwilligen-Stamm-Division
Active1 February 1944 - 8 May 1945
Country Nazi Germany
BranchArmy
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsWorld War II

In 1944, the French Maquis started numerous uprisings in France. To defeat the French forces, units of the Freiwilligen-Stamm-Division were used in various operations. This included German operations against the maquis du Mont Mouchet, maquis de l'Ain et du Haut-Jura and the maquis du Vercors.[3][2]

Part of these anti-Maquis operations also included Operation Treffenfeld, in which units of the Freiwilligen-Stamm-Division participated. During the operation, the 5th Cossack Regiment of the division conducted the Dortan Massacre at the French town of Dortan on 13/14 July 1944. Twenty-four civilians were killed in what the German command described as "reprisal measures".[4] Days later on 21 July more civilians were executed, bringing the death toll to about 35 people. The village was then burned down and left to ruins.[5]

Commanding officers
  • Generalleutnant Ralph von Heygendorff, 1 February 1944 – 11 March 1944
  • Generalmajor Wilhelm von Henning, 11 March 1944 – 12 September 1944
  • Generalmajor Bodo von Wartenberg, 12 September 1944 – May 1945

References
  1. Thomas (2000), p. 11.
  2. Lieb (2007), pp. 61–62, 119, 310, 338.
  3. Lieb (2012), pp. 17–19, 29.
  4. Lieb (2007), pp. 579.
  5. Kedward (1993), p. 280.

Bibliography
  • Kedward, Harry Roderick (1993). In Search of the Maquis : Rural Resistance in Southern France 1942-1944. Clarendon Press. ISBN 9780191591785.
  • Lieb, Peter (2007). Konventioneller Krieg oder NS-Weltanschauungskrieg. Kriegführung und Partisanenbekämpfung in Frankreich 1943/44 [Conventional or NS-ideological war. Warfare and anti-partisan fighting in France 1943/44] (in German). R. Oldenbourg Verlag. ISBN 978-3486579925.
  • Lieb, Peter (2012). Vercors 1944: Resistance in the French Alps. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1849086981.
  • Thomas, Nigel (2000). The German Army 1939-45 (5): Western Front 1943-45: Western Front, 1944-45 v. 5 (Men-at-Arms). Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1855327979.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.