6th SS Mountain Division Nord

6th SS Mountain Division Nord

Insignia of 6th SS Mountain Division Nord (Hagall rune)
Active September 1941 – May 1945
Country  Germany
Allegiance Adolf Hitler
Branch Waffen-SS
Type Gebirgsjäger
Role Mountain warfare
Size Division
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Matthias Kleinheisterkamp
Lothar Debes

The 6th SS Mountain Division Nord was a German unit of the Waffen-SS during World War II, formed in February 1941 as SS Kampfgruppe Nord (SS Battle Group North).

The Division was the only Waffen-SS unit to fight in the Arctic Circle when it was stationed in Finland and northern Russia between June and November 1941. It fought in Karelia until the Finnish armistice in September 1944 when it marched on foot 1,600 km through Finland and Norway. It arrived in Denmark in December and then transferred to western Germany. It fought in the Nordwind offensive in January 1945, where it suffered heavy losses. In early April 1945 the division was destroyed after several days of combat against the US 71st Infantry Division near Budingen, Germany.

Their logo features the Hagal (Armanen rune).

Formation

After the 1940 Norwegian Campaign and the successful conquest of mainland Norway, Adolf Hitler did not want units of the Wehrmacht (regular army) to guard the new border between occupied Norway and the Soviet Union, created when Joseph Stalin annexed northernmost Finland, so he decided to send units of the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-Death's Head Units) formed from concentration camp guards.

The first unit to assemble in Kirkenes, was the SS Battalion Reitz, named after their commander Obersturmbannführer Wilhelm Reitz. The SS 9th "Totenkopf" Regiment, led by Obersturmbannführer Ernst Deutsch soon followed.

They were joined in the Spring of 1941, by the SS 6th and 7th Regiments and moved into positions at Salla in northern Finland. The formation was well equipped but barely trained, and the commanding General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst did not trust their fighting ability.

Operation Barbarossa

The original plan for Operation Arctic Fox

The formation was in position on the Norwegian–Finnish border by late June and as the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) started they were committed to the attack, in Operation Arctic Fox.

Involved in the battle at Salla, against strong Soviet forces they suffered 300 killed and 400 wounded in the first two days of the invasion.

The battle at Salla was a disaster: the thick forests and heavy smoke from forest fires disoriented the troops, and the units completely fell apart.

The Brigade got a new unit attached, SS Gebirgsjäger (Mountain) Artillery Regiment 6, and was now designated as a Division, the SS Division "Nord". In September 1941 SS Division "Nord" was attached to the Finnish III Corps under Finnish General Hjalmar Siilasvuo (this was the only time that an SS Division was under the command of a non-German officer), and took up new positions at Louhi, Kiestinki.

By the end of 1941, it had suffered severe casualties. Over the winter of 1941–42 it received replacements from the general pool of Waffen-SS recruits, supposedly younger and better trained than the SS men of the original formation.

1942/1943

The rebuilt Division was called into action against the Soviet spring offensive in 1942 and this time managed to hold its lines. Throughout the rest of 1942 and through 1943 it remained on the Kestenga front, which was quiet compared to other areas of the Eastern Front. In September 1942, the unit was renamed the SS Gebirgs-Division "Nord" (SS Mountain Division "North") and in October 1943 became the 6th SS Gebirgs-Division "Nord".

1944/1945

In the Soviet summer offensive the division held its lines in heavy fighting until it was ordered to withdraw from Finland, upon the conclusion of a separate armistice between the Finns and the Soviets in September 1944. The 6th SS Mountain Division then formed the rear guard for the three German corps withdrawing from Finland in Operation Birch and from September to November 1944 marched 1,600 kilometers to Mo i Rana, Norway, where it entrained for the southern end of the country. The Norwegian Ski-Battalion unit was then left behind, in accordance with their contracts. They were merged into "SS-und-Schi-Jäger-Polizei-Battalion 506 (mot.) with app. 50% men from different German Police units in South Norway. The rest of the Division headed for Germany.

After crossing the Skagerrak in a naval convoy, the division briefly refitted in Denmark. The Division's losses were replaced for the greater part of young Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) who had received only a brief training and had not volunteered but been drafted to the Waffen SS in the normal conscription procedure. Their fighting value was therefore correspondingly lower than had been the case with the former personnel and naturally lowered the combat abilities of the entire division.

The division was slated for participation in the German offensive in the Ardennes known as the Battle of the Bulge, but did not assemble in Aarhus, Denmark, until 20 December, several days after the attack had already begun.

Instead, the division was allotted to Operation Nordwind in the Low Vosges mountains of southeastern France. Arriving at the front lines just before New Year’s Day. Nord was the largest German division involved in Nordwind, and it had young and fit personnel compared to regular Army outfits. By 2 January, part of the division (SS Gebirgs Regiment 12 and 506th Battalion) went into action against the U.S. 45th Infantry Division, attached to 361st Volksgrenadier Division. For six days the SS men fought in and around the town of Wingen, finally being pushed back by the Americans with most of the battle group killed or captured.

On 16 January, the SS Gebirgs Regiment 11 surrounded six companies of the American 157th Infantry Regiment. The Americans were forced to surrender three days later, losing 482 men. The Nord advanced for four more days before being stopped by American counterattacks.

The Division remained on the western front after the Nordwind offensive, fighting the Americans around Trier and Koblenz on the Moselle River in March. By Easter 1945 it numbered about 2,000 soldiers, including stragglers from other units. It still had six howitzers and an assault gun. The division refused to give up, and moved east to re-establish contact with other German units. However, as it moved, it drew the attention of the US Army by cutting American lines of communication. In early April 1945 over the course of several days the U.S. 71st Division fought a series of meeting engagements with the 6th SS Division Nord. As a result, the division was destroyed, its personnel scattered or captured.

Names used

Commanders

Area of operations

Staff headquarters

Manpower strength

Order of battle

Order of battle 1941

At its inception in September 1941 the division was made up of the following units:[2]

Order of battle 1942

After being designated SS-Gebirgs-Division „Nord“ on 15 January 1942 the divisions units were all renamed as Gebirgs (Mountain) units and the infantry regiments renamed and renumbered. The division was given the number 6 on 22 October 1943. The new structure was as follows:

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Halle, Frode 1972: Fra Finland til Kaukasus. Nordmenn på østfronten 1941–1945. Litt av deres historie—fortalt av dem selv. [From Finland to the Caucasus. Norwegians on the Eastern Front 1941–1945. Some of their history—told by themselves]. Dreyers forlag. p.231
  2. ↑ http://startext.net-build.de:8080/barch/MidosaSEARCH/RS3-6-24190/index.htm

Further reading

Insignia

Vehicle Insignia:

Collar Patches:

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