3rd SS Police Regiment

Last updated
3rd SS Police Regiment
CountryFlag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Branch Schutzstaffel
TypeSecurity
Size Regiment
Garrison/HQ Wehrkreis VI

The 3rd SS Police Regiment (German : SS-Polizei-Regiment 3) was named the 3rd Police Regiment (Polizei-Regiment 3) 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.

Contents

Formation and organization

The first incarnation of the 3rd Police Regiment was formed on 8 September 1939 in Katowice, Poland, from elements of Police Group 1 (Polizeigruppe 1) for security duties in the rear area of the 14th Army during the Polish Campaign. The regiment was presumably disbanded after the end of the campaign. [1]

The regiment was ordered to be reformed in July 1942 in the Netherlands, but the regimental headquarters and the signal company were not formed until 2 September in The Hague. [2] Police Battalion 66 (Polizei-Batallion 66) in Tilburg and Police Battalion 68 in Amsterdam were redesignated as the regiment's first and second battalions, respectively. The third battalion of 12th SS Police Regiment in Westerbork was later redesignated as the third battalion of the regiment. In turn, the first battalion was redesignated as III./Police Regiment 5 at the beginning of 1943 and was replaced by the redesignation of the first battalion of Police Regiment 16 in February, then rebuilding in Tilsit, East Prussia (now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast). It was later based in Tilburg. [3] All of the police regiments were redesignated as SS police units on 24 February 1943. [4]

Notes

  1. Arico, pp. 20; Tessin & Kanapin, p. 553
  2. Tessin & Kanapin, p. 616
  3. Arico, pp. 209, 216–17, 305–06; Tessin & Kanapin, p. 616
  4. Tessin & Kannapin, p. 557

Related Research Articles

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 battalions 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 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 9th SS Police Regiment was initially named the 9th 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 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 14th SS Police Regiment was initially named the 14th Police Regiment when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police units (Ordnungspolizei) for security duties on the Eastern Front. The regiment was destroyed in January 1943 and the survivors were used to rebuild it in Southern France several months later. The second incarnation was formed from existing police units. It was given an honorary SS title. Shortly before the end of the war, the regiment was absorbed into the 3rd SS Police and Infantry Regiment of the 35th SS and Police Grenadier Division.

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 17th SS Police Regiment was initially named the 17th 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 18th SS Mountain Police Regiment was initially named the 18th Mountain 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 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.

References