During the World War period, the armed forces of the Third Reich could be divided into two major factions: one was the Wehrmacht , and the other was the SS.
The National Defense Force is a regular military unit that is loyal to the country and remains politically neutral. It is under the command of the Supreme Command and only accepts formal orders and does not obey private orders.
The SS is completely different. They are the exclusive armed forces of the Nazi Party. They are completely politically loyal to the head of state and are independent of the Wehrmacht command system.
Without the authorization of the head of state, no matter how high the military rank is, the big bosses of the National Defense Force have no right to command them. They have to give way to them when they encounter them on the road.
Since its creation, the SS has established a total of 38 division-level combat units and two semi-militarized militia armed divisions, including the most notorious Third Skeleton Division.
In the early days of World War II, the German army used lightning tactics to sweep across Western Europe , laying the basic prototype of modern warfare. In this stage of the battle, the skeleton division stood out with its strong combat effectiveness and became the C position among many ace armored units .
Compared to the "Ace Troop", people are more likely to call the Skeleton Division the "Legion of the Undead".
First of all, the place where the Skeleton Division was deployed was the Eastern Front battlefield where the average survival time was less than one day, which was no different from hell.
Secondly, they do nothing in the occupied areas. They are all actual war criminals, and massacring civilians is commonplace.
Therefore, their old opponent, the Soviet Red Army, had no choice but to treat others in their own way and set rules:
Anyone who captures the Skeleton Division, regardless of rank or seniority, even if he is a cook, He must be shot.
So, what kind of army is the Skeleton Division? What will be the outcome of such a unit with unspeakable crimes?
1. "My Glory is Loyalty"
The official name of the Skeleton Division is the "German SS 3rd Panzer Division". It got this title because of the skull mark on the battle flag.
The origin of the skull and crossbones flag can be traced back to the Prussian era.
In 1740, at the funeral of King of Prussia Frederick • William I , a skull pattern appeared. In order to commemorate this legendary hero, some troops embroidered this pattern on their military caps and uniform collar badges.
Among them, the most famous is the Guards Cavalry Regiment established in 1741.
The Guards Cavalry Regiment is uniformly dressed in black uniforms. From a distance, the white skulls are extremely eye-catching. They were extremely brave on the battlefield and frightened their enemies.
Therefore, the "skull" once became the exclusive symbol of the elite troops, accompanying the Prussian soldiers to kick France and punch Austria , and finally unified Germany.
In 1918, Germany suffered a disastrous defeat in the First World War, and this symbol was gradually forgotten by the world until 1933, when Hitler came to power.
At that time, the Nazi Party had a thug organization called "", which made great contributions to Hitler's rise to power. However, the stormtrooper Captain Röhm gradually became alienated from Germany, and Hitler began to fear this organization.
As the conflict between the two intensified, it finally broke out in the Night of Long Knives. Rohm was killed and the stormtroopers announced their disarmament.
But if the Nazi Party wants to maintain its dictatorship, it cannot do without thugs. Therefore, Hitler asked Himmler, whom he trusted, to take over Röhm's position and promoted his SS to the SS.
Before the war, the main tasks of the SS were racial persecution, elimination of political opponents, and espionage intelligence. After Hitler came to power, he sent them out to arrest people every day, so much so that prisons and detention centers across the country were overcrowded.
To solve this problem, Himmler proposed building low-cost detention facilities across the country that could accommodate large numbers of prisoners but in harsh conditions. Hitler said yes, I support you, so the infamous concentration camp was established.
But someone has to watch over the concentration camps. Who should be allowed to go?
The identity of the detainees is quite special. This matter cannot be left to the regular prison guards , so it fell to the SS again.
Himmler selected some people from the SS, formed a group of concentration camp guards, and placed them under the command of Theodore Eicke, the head of the Dalhao concentration camp. This was the predecessor of the Skeleton Division.
On March 29, 1936, the concentration camp guard was officially renamed the Skeleton Corps, using the famous skull battle flag in history, and the motto "My glory is loyalty" was written on the belt buckle.
When this force was first established, there were 3,200 men in six units, which were deployed in major concentration camps. Only Germanic men with pure blood and strong bodies could join.
Until the eve of the outbreak of World War II, Hitler instructed Himmler to expand and strengthen the SS so that it could not only govern the country but also fight wars in case of emergency.
Against this background, the Skeleton Corps replaced their guns with cannons and grew into a mechanized force integrating motorcycles, tanks , and armored vehicles .
2. The ruffians formed an army and became famous on the Eastern Front. On September 1, 1939, the German Wehrmacht served as the main force in the blitz against Poland, and the Second World War broke out. Four infantry regiments and a cavalry regiment of the SS Totenkopf also participated, but they were only responsible for the execution. As soon as
went to the battlefield, the ruffians of this group of people were fully exposed, and they did everything they could to bully the common people. They acted wantonly in the occupied areas, killing people and robbing property, making life difficult for the people wherever they went.
The Skeleton Corps has no military discipline at all and has ruined the reputation of the regular army. Therefore, at the beginning, the National Defense Forces despised them.
General Witz, commander of the Eighth Army, had repeatedly complained to his superiors about the Skeleton Corps and requested a public trial of Ike to restore the authority of the army.
However, after these evil deeds were exposed, instead of being punished, Ike and his Skeleton Corps were even more appreciated by Hitler and Himmler.
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After the Battle of Poland, in order to allow the Skeleton Corps to perform more on the battlefield, Hitler authorized it to be upgraded to a division-level combat unit and given a new designation [Third Skeleton Division].
Most of the personnel of the Skeleton Division were drawn from the concentration camp guards. Those who could join the army were not good-looking. It can be said that insects were everywhere and bastards gathered together. This is how the extremely cruel military culture of the Skeleton Division came about.
In June 1941, the Soviet-German War broke out, and the Skeleton Division was sent to the Eastern Front battlefield. At first, due to his lack of actual combat experience, he was often scolded by senior generals of the National Defense Forces.
But this group of people are not afraid of death at all. They fight like hungry wolves entering the country and gradually grow up under the baptism of shells. In order to prove their ferocity,
also took over the main offensive missions of Barbarossa , Typhoon, Spring Awakening and other operations.
But what really made the Skeleton Division infamous was the Demyansk breakout battle.
At the end of 1941, the German army failed to attack Moscow and suffered heavy losses. The Soviet army launched a counterattack, intending to encircle the main force of the German Army Group North with 1.5 million troops.
The small town of Demyansk is backed by the German army and is located at the hub of the supply line. It is a crucial link in forming an encirclement.
In 1942, the Skeleton Division, together with the 5 infantry divisions under the 16th Army and the 9th Army, totaling 120,000 people, were trapped in Demyansk. It stands to reason that at this time, we should concentrate our superior forces to break through and retreat.
But when Hitler, who was far away in Wolfsburg , heard the news, his first reaction was to order not to retreat.
At the same time, more than 200,000 Soviet troops and 500 tanks outside the encirclement have been assembled. Shells rained down and despair spread among the German troops.
In this battle, only the Skeleton Division's fighting spirit remained undiminished, and in almost every battle, it took on the dangerous task of leading the battle and rearing.
The Skeleton Division ran out of bullets and attached its bayonet. The bayonet could not be pulled out to replace the shovel. When the shovel broke, they fought with fists and teeth. I guess they continued to fight after going to hell. They held on until half a month later, when the vanguard of the Second Armored Corps came forward. Come to support.
Looking at the entire battle, the Soviets paid the price of killing 800 enemies and losing 1,000 themselves. However, they also lost 6,700 people from 20,000 people. The degree of cruelty exceeded previous human cognition.
After this battle, the Wehrmacht no longer dared to underestimate the SS. On the one hand, it is because the war has eroded the humanity of the Wehrmacht, and there are not many people left who abide by the spirit of chivalry; on the other hand, the SS can really fight, and they are really good at anything.
Therefore, every time the high command receives a new tank, it will be first given to the SS. In this way, the Skeleton Division of the SS became a "role model" for the entire army.
In view of the fact that the Skeleton Division killed 60% of the people in Demyansk, Hitler decided to transfer them back to France to rest, and did not return to the world until 1943.
During the absence of the Skeleton Division, a battle called the Battle of Stalingrad, known as the turning point of World War II, broke out on the Eastern Front. After that, the German army turned to the defensive and retreated steadily.
After that, the Skeleton Division played the role of a stumbling block, delaying the Soviet army's progress on the offensive route. From Budapest , Warsaw , they defended all the way to the banks of the Oder River, delaying the fall of Berlin to 1945.
3. Betrayal, sanctions, the ending of the Skeleton Division
On April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide. A week later, Germany surrendered.
At this time, the officers and soldiers of the Skeleton Division, who had been beaten to the point where there were not many left, fled all the way from the Eastern Front to the Western Front. Only after a pound of mud was stained on the soles of their shoes did they see the Americans on the Elbe River .
For them, this moment can be regarded as salvation.
It turns out that the Skeleton Division did nothing in the Soviet Union and killed prisoners of war and civilians without blinking an eye. Almost no one had clean hands.
Ike even said more directly: "Only when we treat our enemies ruthlessly can we be worthy of our skull armbands."
These words and actions can be regarded as crimes against humanity committed by the SS. The most divisions.
In response, the Soviet Union issued an order to kill members of the Skeleton Division without mercy. Ike himself, while flying a plane to inspect the battlefield in 1943, was hit by a Soviet anti-aircraft gun and died in a crash.
After the Soviet Union learned of the whereabouts of the Skull Division, it negotiated with the US military many times and asked for the prisoners of the Skull Division. The Americans thought that there was no use in keeping these rotten people with them, so they simply agreed and sold it to the Soviet Union.
On May 28, 1952, Baker, the last commander of the Skeleton Division, was hanged, and other members were also severely sentenced in accordance with the law.
As the saying goes, "Evil begets evil." Since then, this evil army has finally disappeared.
Text/Gawazi
Reference: "The Nazi unit that resisted to the end - the 11th Panzergrenadier Division of the SS "Nordland"", Li Hao
