21st SS Police Regiment | |
---|---|
Country | |
Branch | Schutzstaffel |
Type | Security |
Size | Regiment |
Garrison/HQ | Wehrkreis XIII, Böhmen-Mähren |
The 21st SS Police Regiment (German : SS-Polizei-Regiment 21) was initially named Police Regiment Moravia (Polizei-Regiment Mähren) when it was formed in 1939 after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties in Moravia. It was redesignated as the 21st Police Regiment in mid-1942 before it received the SS title in early 1943.
German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.
The German occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945) began with the German annexation of Czechoslovakia's border regions known collectively as the Sudetenland, under terms outlined by the Munich Agreement. German leader Adolf Hitler's pretext for this action was the alleged privations suffered by the ethnic German population living in those regions. New and extensive Czechoslovak border fortifications were also located in the same area.
Moravia is a historical region in the Czech Republic and one of the historical Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early modern Margraviate of Moravia was a crown land of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, an imperial state of the Holy Roman Empire, later a crown land of the Austrian Empire and briefly also one of 17 former crown lands of the Cisleithanian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867 to 1918. During the early 20th century, Moravia was one of the five lands of Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1928; it was then merged with Czech Silesia, and eventually dissolved by abolition of the land system in 1949.
Police Regiment Moravia was created shortly after the occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. Assigned were four battalions numbered I through IV, although they were renumbered in the 200 series in October. Some of these were transferred elsewhere and only partially replaced so that the regiment had three battalions in early 1941, Police Battalions (Polizei-Batallion) 84, 315, and 318. All of these units were transferred to Russia after Operation Barbarossa in June and were gradually replaced by various newly formed companies under the command of Reserve Police Battalion Holleschau. When the regiment was renamed in July 1942, the newly arrived Police Battalion 32 became the regiment's first battalion, the existing separate companies became the second battalion and the third battalion was newly raised, although the headquarters companies for the last two battalions were not formed until 23 January 1943. [1] All of the police regiments were redesignated as SS police units on 24 February. In April, I Battalion became part of Police Rifle Regiment 34 (Polizei-Schützen-Regiment) and was later replaced by a newly formed unit. II Battalion was transferred to Hungary in March 1944 and was redesignated as II Battalion of the 1st SS Police Regiment in August. [2]
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, which started on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. The operation stemmed from Nazi Germany's ideological aims to conquer the western Soviet Union so that it could be repopulated by Germans, to use Slavs as a slave-labour force for the Axis war effort, and to seize the oil reserves of the Caucasus and the agricultural resources of Soviet territories.
A battalion is a military unit. The use of the term "battalion" varies by nationality and branch of service. Typically a battalion consists of 300 to 800 soldiers and is divided into a number of companies. A battalion is typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. In some countries, the word "battalion" is associated with the infantry.
The 1st SS Police Regiment was initially named the 1st Police Regiment when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties in Occupied Europe. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943. Later that year it was disbanded and its battalions were reassigned to other SS Police units. The regiment was reformed in late 1944 in Hungary, but was absorbed by 35th SS and Police Grenadier Division in early 1945.
The 4th SS Police Regiment was named the 4th Police Regiment when it was temporarily formed in 1939 from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties during the invasion of Poland. The second formation was ordered in 1942 from existing Order Police units in Occupied France. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943.
The 2nd SS Police Regiment was initially named the 2nd Police Regiment when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties in Occupied Europe. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943.
The 3rd SS Police Regiment was named the 3rd Police Regiment when it was temporarily formed in 1939 from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties during the invasion of Poland. The second formation was ordered in 1942 from existing Order Police units in the Netherlands. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943. It remained in the Netherlands for the rest of World War II.
The 5th SS Police Regiment was initially named the 5th Police Regiment when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties in Occupied Serbia. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943. The regiment was disbanded at the end of 1944.
The 6th SS Police Regiment was initially named the 6th Police Regiment when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties on the Eastern Front. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943.
The 7th SS Police Regiment was named the 7th Police Regiment when it was formed from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties in Occupied Norway. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943. It remained in Norway for most of the rest of World War II.
The 8th SS Police Regiment was initially named the 8th Police Regiment when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties on the Eastern Front. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943.
The 10th SS Police Regiment was initially named the 10th Police Regiment when it was formed in 1942 by the redesignation of Police Regiment South for security warfare in the occupied Soviet Union. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943.
The 12th SS Police Regiment was initially named the 12th Police Regiment when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police units (Ordnungspolizei) in Germany. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943. The regimental headquarters was disbanded in early 1944, but its battalions remained in service.
The 16th SS Police Regiment was initially named the 16th Police Regiment when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police units (Ordnungspolizei) for security duties on the Eastern Front. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943.
The 19th SS Police Regiment was initially named the 19th Police Regiment when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties in Occupied Europe. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943.
The 20th SS Police Regiment was initially named Police Regiment Bohemia when it was formed in 1939 after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties in Bohemia. It was redesignated as the 20th Police Regiment in mid-1942 before it received the SS title in early 1943.
The 22nd SS Police Regiment was initially named the 4th Police Regiment when it was formed in 1939 from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for rear-area security duties during the invasion of Poland. It then became Police Regiment Warsaw. It was redesignated as the 22nd Police Regiment in mid-1942 before it received the SS title in early 1943.
The 23rd SS Police Regiment was initially named Police Regiment Kraków when it was formed in late 1939 after the German invasion of Poland from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties there. It was redesignated as the 23rd Police Regiment in mid-1942 before it received the SS title in early 1943.
The 24th SS Police Regiment was initially named Police Regiment Radom when it was formed in late 1939 after the German invasion of Poland from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties there. It was redesignated as the 24th Police Regiment in mid-1942 before it received the SS title in early 1943.
The 25th SS Police Regiment was initially named Police Regiment Lublin when it was formed in late 1939 after the German invasion of Poland from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties there. It was redesignated as the 25th Police Regiment in mid-1942 before it received the SS title in early 1943.
The 26th SS Police Regiment was initially named Police Regiment North Norway when it was formed in early 1941 after the German invasion of Norway in 1940 from existing Order Police units for security duties there. It was redesignated as the 26th Police Regiment in mid-1942 before it received the SS title in early 1943.
The 27th SS Police Regiment was initially named Police Regiment South Norway when it was formed in early 1941 after the German invasion of Norway in 1940 from existing Order Police units for security duties there. It was redesignated as the 27th Police Regiment in mid-1942 before it received the SS title in early 1943.
The 28th SS Police Regiment Todt was initially named the 28th Police Regiment when it was formed in mid-1942 from existing Order Police units for security duties in Occupied Norway. All of its units were transferred to other regiments shortly after forming; it was reformed as the 28th Police Regiment Todt later that year. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943.
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.