38th SS Division Nibelungen

38th SS Division Nibelungen

Insignia of the 38th SS Division Nibelungen
Active March–May 1945
Country  Germany
Allegiance Adolf Hitler
Branch Waffen-SS
Size Division
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Richard Schulze-Kossens

The 38th SS Division Nibelungen was a German military unit of World War II. It was formed in March 1945 from the staff and students of the SS-Junkerschule at Bad Tölz.

It was first given the title of the SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz Division, but was renamed the SS-Division Junkerschule and finally the 38th SS Grenadier Division Nibelungen. This name was selected by the commander of the cadet school Richard Schulze-Kossens and comes from German mythology, where it was the name of a lineage of dwarves who were defeated by Siegfried.[1] [2]

Formation

The division never consisted of more than around 6,000 men, the strength of a normal brigade.[1][2]

Alongside the men of the Junkerschule, the division also received some additional units, one being the SS special use Begleitkommando-SS and two Zollgrenzschutz (Customs Border Guards) battalions. Soldiers from the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord, a company from 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen, officers from the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Russian), 600 Frenchmen with their Swiss Major Hersche and a battalion of Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) were also taken on strength.[1][2]

The first Divisional commander was Richard Schulze-Kossens, who at the time was the Commanding officer of the SS-Brigade Nibelungen and the Junkerschule at Bad Tölz.[1][2] He was followed by Martin Stange on 12 April, (Heinz Lammerding and Karl von Oberkamp were also assigned as commanders, but never took up the post).[1][2]

The division had two Grenadier regiments: the 95th, under the command of Sturmbannführer Markus Faulhaber and the 96th, commanded by Sturmbannführer Walter Schmidt.[1][2]

The division's 38th Panzerjäger Abteilung (anti-tank battalion) received the majority of its men from the Prinz Eugen division and officers from Nord.[1][2] The unit received about 10 Jagdpanzer 38(t) tank destroyers on 15 April, which were backed by some 75 mm towed PaK 40 anti-tank guns (the Abteilung served under 17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen from 17 to 24 April, until it came under its parent division).

Active service

The 38th SS division was ready for battle on 24 April 1945, when it entered the ranks of the XIII SS Army Corps on the Danube river Front, facing American forces on the southern bank.[1][2]

The Nibelungen was supposed to hold the corps' right wing from Vohburg to Kelheim, but the line was too long for the division's strength, so it withdrew to a new front on 26 April, which it held until 28 April.[1][2] The following day it had to retreat again across the Isar river to a new position south of Landshut, while coming under strong pressure on its flanks.[1][2] The next day the division retreated once again, this time to a defensive line northwest of Pastetten and on 1 May it had to withdraw almost 20 km to Wasserburg.[1][2] The US 20th Armored Division then breached the division's front on 2 May, forcing the Nibelungen to retreat once more to Chiemsee.[1][2] The remains of the division regrouped on 4 May and established a new line west of Oberwössen. It surrendered to the American forces on 8 May 1945.[1][2]

The German actor Hardy Kruger was among the members of the Hitler Youth battalion that was incorporated into the division. He was later captured by advancing units of the US Army.

Commanders

Order of battle (April 1945)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "waffenss".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "junkerschule".
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