VI SS Army Corps (Latvian) | |
---|---|
Active | 1943–45 |
Country | Nazi Germany |
Branch | Waffen-SS |
Size | Corps |
Engagements | World War II |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch |
VI SS Army Corps (Latvian) or VI. SS-Freiwilligen-Armeekorps (Lettisches)(German) was a corps of the Waffen-SS during World War II. It was formed in October 1943 to command the Latvian Waffen-SS divisions. It fought in the northern sector of the Eastern Front as part of the 18th Army. They were part of Army Group North until early 1945, when it was subordinated to Army Group Courland. In October 1944, they were encircled by the Red Army and spent the remainder of the war in the Courland Pocket, until they surrendered at the end of the war. [1] [2]
The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland was a Waffen-SS division primarily raised with Germans and ethnic Germans from Romania, but also foreign volunteers from Western Europe. It saw action, as part of Army Group North, in the Independent State of Croatia and on the Eastern Front during World War II.
The 12th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army, established in 1940.
The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps was a Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The (Germanische) part of its designation was granted as it was composed primarily of foreign volunteer formations.
The Battle of Narva was a World War II military campaign, lasting from 2 February to 10 August 1944, in which the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for possession of the strategically important Narva Isthmus.
The Volunteer Legion Netherlands was a collaborationist military formation recruited in the German-occupied Netherlands during World War II. It was formed in the aftermath of the German invasion of the Soviet Union and fought on the Eastern Front in the Waffen SS alongside similar formations from other parts of German-occupied Western Europe. It was the largest Dutch SS unit.
The 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS was a foreign infantry division of the Waffen-SS that served alongside the Wehrmacht during World War II. According to some sources, the division was under Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's overall command but was not an integral part of the Schutzstaffel (SS). It was officially activated on 24 January 1944, and many of its soldiers had been members of the Estonian Legion and/or the 3rd Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade, which had been fighting as part of German forces since August 1942 and October 1943 respectively. Both of the preceding formations drew their personnel from German-occupied Estonia. Shortly after its official activation, widespread conscription within Estonia was announced by the German occupying authorities. The division was formed in Estonia around a cadre comprising the 3rd Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade, and was initially known as the 20th Estonian SS Volunteer Division. By 1944, a total of 60.000 Estonians were fighting in the ranks of the SS and Wehrmacht.
The IV SS Panzer Corps was a panzer corps of the Waffen-SS which saw action on the Eastern Front and in the Balkans during World War II.
The military occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany was completed on 10 July 1941, by Germany's armed forces. Initially, the territory of Latvia was under the military administration of Army Group North, but on 25 July 1941, Latvia was incorporated as Generalbezirk Lettland, subordinated to Reichskommissariat Ostland, an administrative subdivision of Nazi Germany. Anyone not racially acceptable or who opposed the German occupation, as well as those who had cooperated with the Soviet Union, was killed or sent to concentration camps in accordance with the Nazi Generalplan Ost.
The Courland Pocket was an area of the Courland Peninsula where Army Group North of Nazi Germany and the Reichskommissariat Ostland were cut off and surrounded by the Red Army for almost a year, lasting from July 1944 until 10 May 1945.
The 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS , originally called the Latvian SS-Volunteer Division was an infantry division of the Waffen-SS during World War II. It was formed in February 1943, and together with its sister unit, the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS formed the Latvian Legion.
The 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS also Legione SS Italiana was an SS formation of Nazi Germany during World War II. It was originally created in the Italian Social Republic in 1943 as the Italian Legion, later renamed to a brigade. The unit was upgraded to division status on 10 February 1945.
The 14th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II. It was created in 1940 by the conversion of the 4th Infantry Division.
The V SS Mountain Corps was a Waffen-SS formation that existed in the later periods of World War II. The corps fought against the Yugoslav Partisans in the Balkans as part of the 2nd Panzer Army from October 1943 to December 1944. At this time it rarely had more than two understrength divisions. In 1945, the corps fought on the Oder line as part of the 9th Army, in the Frankfurt (Oder) area, and in the Battle of Berlin that followed.
The 2nd SS Infantry Brigade (mot.) was formed on the 15 May 1941, under the command of Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld with the 4th and 5th SS Infantry Regiments and began its operational service in September in the Army Group North Rear Area, under which command it would spend its entire existence. It gradually began to incorporate foreign legions of the SS under its operational control. After the western legions departed for refit, it began operating with Latvian volunteer formations and eventually was redesignated the 2nd Latvian SS Infantry Brigade and on the 18 May 1943, and used as the cadre in the formation of the Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS in January 1944.
The 25th Infantry Division was a military unit of the German Wehrmacht. It was later reclassified to 25th Motorized Infantry Division, and in June 1943 to the 25th Panzergrenadier Division.
The 15th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during the interwar period and World War II, active from 1934 to 1945.
Oskars Perro was Latvian soldier and writer. He was the first Latvian to be awarded the Iron Cross in the Second World War.
The 31st Infantry Division was a German infantry division of the Army during World War II. It participated in the invasion of Poland in 1939 then the invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940. As part of Panzergruppe 2. of Army Group Centre, it was involved in the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. After hard fighting throughout 1941 and 1942 it joined the 9th Army and fought in the Battle of Kursk in July and August 1943. Along with the rest of the 9th Army, the division conducted a fighting withdrawal for the remainder of 1943, during which it sustained heavy casualties. In the early stages of the Soviet Operation Bagration of June to August 1944, the 31st Infantry Division was destroyed, a fate which subsequently befell most of Army Group Centre. The division was officially disbanded on 18 July 1944.
The 205th Infantry Division was a German infantry division of the Heer during the Second World War. It was initially known as the 14th Landwehr Division.
The 330th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German army during World War II. It was active between 1941 and 1943.