5th Panzer Division of SS "Viking": history, composition, description

To increase the effectiveness of military operations on the Soviet-German front, the fascist generals formed some divisions from among the SS soldiers, whose main task was the implementation of repressions.

Formation and renaming of the division

One of the most bloody and cruel parts of the Fuehrer during the Great Patriotic War - the 5th Panzer Division of the SS "Viking". The formation of the division began on November 20, 1940. Initially, the military and technical component was modeled on a motorized infantry division. The 5th Panzer Division of the SS "Viking" was originally called "Germany". In January 1941, this military unit received a name that brought him sad fame. But the division was not yet tank, but was called a volunteer motorized infantry division.

During 1941, the formation of the tank division continued. For example, in April, the regiment "Westland" and "Nordland" were introduced into the structure of the unit. Another renaming was made on November 9, 1942. By the way, it's not the name that has changed, but the essence of the division. She became a panzergrenadier.

The final formation of the 5th Panzer Division of the SS "Viking" (description below) was in 1943. October 22 this year, Hitler's decree was renamed the tank division.

5th Vanking SS Panzer Division: commanders

Note that all the commanders of the "Viking" were regular SS men, who perfectly master the wisdom of military affairs. As already mentioned, in this division there was a symbiosis between the Chekists and the military.

So, from December 1, 1940 to May 1, 1943, the division was commanded by Felix Steiner. From May 1, 1943 and until August 6, 1944, the command was entrusted to Herbert Otto. Then the leaders of the tank division changed more often. Oberfuhrer Daisenhoffer did not hold office for a month. Standartenfuhrer Molenkamp commanded until October 9, 1944. The last commander of the division "Viking" was Carl Ulrich. He vacated his post three days before the actual day of victory - May 5, 1945.

The structure of the division (1941-1943)

The 5th Panzer Division of the SS Viking was quite strong in technical and organizational terms. The composition of the military unit, as well as the number of soldiers constantly changed. Let's look at the picture by year. In 1941, the division had three motorized infantry regiments, a Finnish voluntary association, an artillery regiment. In addition, there was an anti-tank unit, an intelligence service, a communications service and an economic unit.

In 1942, the division already included more units. This refers to three panzer-regenar regiments (in fact, the same as in 1941), tank, anti-tank, volunteer ("Nord-Ost") regiments, anti-aircraft and combat engineer battalions, spare parts and economic units. Analyzing, you can understand that the "Viking" was strengthened already in the course of hostilities.

In November 1943, the 5th Panzer Division of the SS "Viking" became even more multifaceted in structure:

- 1 tank regiment, which included 2 battalions;

- 2 panzergrenadier regiments;

- assault, anti-aircraft and artillery brigades;

- motorized infantry battalions;

- Volunteer units of Estonians and Finns;

- self-propelled reconnaissance, sapper, repair and communication battalions;

- gendarmes;

- Field hospital and other support forces.

In comparison with 1942, the division intensified, apparently, even more. What is the reason for this, if we take into account all the problems of the fascist troops of that period? With the increase in the aggression of the Red Army, the successful offensives of the Soviet forces in the territories occupied by the Nazis, the fascists destroyed all infrastructure on the ground and intensified repressions against the local population. The SS units were great specialists in the destruction of people.

The structure of the SS Viking forces in 1944-1945

But in 1944, when the war was already smoothly passing from the territory of the USSR to other European countries, the 5th Panzer Division of the SS Viking gradually weakened. The development of the structure of the unit due to the imminent defeat in the war became futile, so at the time of August 1944, the division remained such parts:

- 1 tank regiment;

- 2 panzergrenadier regiments;

- reconnaissance, artillery, assault, anti-tank and anti-aircraft units;

- Repair battalion;

- Field hospital;

- gendarmes and military correspondents ;

- parts of the supply and sanitary battalion.

Combat route of the division

During the whole war, parts of the Viking fought on different points of the front. The command moved the division into the most important places of military clashes with the army of the USSR at one time or another. The division "Viking" participated in the Great Patriotic War from June 29, 1941 to May 5, 1945. Accurate data on losses in manpower for the entire period of the war does not exist, or they are still stored in archives under the label "secret".

This force began its military way in Western Ukraine. Further fought in the central part of Ukraine, the North Caucasus and the Donbas. Took part in the Hitler operation "Citadel" (the Dnepropetrovsk-Kharkov line) and in the opposition to the conduct of the offensive by the Red Army of Korsun-Shevchenko.

Arming the "Viking"

I would like to focus on the technical arsenal of the division. For example, in the arsenal of tank regiments there were a lot of PF Kpfw III tanks. Such a model with various modifications was commercially produced from 1938 to 1943. Combat weight ranged from 21.8 to 23 tons. The length of the models was also different: from 541 cm to 641 cm. The width is standard - 2.95 meters. The height ranged from 2.44 to 2.5 meters.

The machines PF Kpfw ІІІ armor was strong enough. For example, the thickness of the frontal part - not less than 50-70 mm. The sides and forehead, as well as the forehead of the tower, were cast in a thickness of 30 to 50 mm. The roof and the bottom were thin enough - from 10 to 17 mm, which made it possible for Soviet aviation to often tear these tanks from the air. On all modifications, the designers installed one cannon with a caliber of 50 mm and two machine guns with a caliber of 7.92 mm. These tanks were quite mobile. The average speed along the country road was 18 km / h.

Psychology of SS soldiers "Viking"

The 5th Panzer Division of the SS "Viking" was special in the army of the Wehrmacht. The fact is that most of the military formations were formed exclusively from the Germans. Here, on the contrary, the Germans practically did not exist. In the soldier's tank corps soldiers from the countries already conquered by the fascists from the Baltic states and Scandinavia served. The important point was that no one drove people into this division by force. In tank forces, people entered the service voluntarily. They were traitors to their homeland, who bought into the propaganda of the fascists. Also in the voluntary union were people who did not fit the existing political system in their states, and criminals who did not want to answer before the law. In the literature about the division are given the dialogues of soldiers who understand the imminence of defeat in the war. Most of them emphasize that no one is waiting for them at home. The impoverishment and lack of faith in the future without Hitler's rule over the whole world made the Viking soldiers fearless warriors who gave their lives for the victory of Nazism.