Camels In Russia?

[BayernTx]

While reading Panzer Aces by Franz Kurowski, something caught my attention. Among the war booty taken during the failed attempt to rescue the 6th Army at Stalingrad were "800 horses and camels". Keep in mind this was in December, 1942. Was the use of camels common in Russia? Very odd...[/u]

[joscha]

The book, "Mit Tanne und Eichenlaub", the combat history of the 100th LID/100thJD, by Hanns Neidhardt, depicts camels in the Russian steppe. The caption mentions that "two worlds" looked at each other - the camel driver looking at a Kuebelwagen, and officers and men of that division looking at the camel.

So, yes, there were camels; they probably came from areas of Western SIberia. Joscha

[charlie don't surf]

And from kaukasus...

regards

[Michi]

Camels in the Wehrmacht weren't very common, as there were no learned camel riders.
The only units which used camels were of the SdKdo F.
With the SdKdo F were SdVbd 287 and SdVbd 288, later on the GrenRgt 92 (mot) --> GrenBrig 92 (mot) --> PzGrenBrig 92 which surrendered in Austria, still with some camels in their supply companies.

MfG Michi

[sid guttridge]

There also exist photos of Romanian and Slovak troops with Bactrian camels in the Cucasus in 1942, but these were probably for propaganda purposes. I have seen no evidence of their adoption by either army.

[Jason Pipes]

I have photos in my collection of Gebirgstruppen from the 1.Gebirgs-Division riding camels in southern Russia. I can post a scan if you all would find it useful or interesting.

[Pat Holscher]

I've seen photos of German troops using camels in draft on the Russian Front. Odd looking arrangement, but it shows how hard up for draft animals the Germans were. The Germans used sizable numbers of Russian horses, so the use of camels in the same manner isn't that surprising.

[Wee.G]

Anthony Beevor's book 'Berlin the Downfall 1945' makes numerous references to Russian camels in the streets of Berlin at the end of the war.

The Russians certainly used camels, and with the chronic supply problems of the Wehrmacht by 44-45 I guess they would use camels too if they came across them. I have a number of photos of German troops in Russia using yaks to pull supplies and equipment.

Graeme

[Jason Pipes]

One other unit has come to my mind that used camels other than those listed here. This most exotic unit was the Kalmuck Kavallerie Korps, a unit of Tibetian speaking Buddhist volunteers from the Caucasus region between Astrakhan and Elista near the Caspian Sea in the former Soviet Union. The unit was formed initally by the 16.mot.Inf.Div (the unit with the claim to fame of having reached the point farthest east in the Soviet Union) and later grew to between 3,000 and 5,000 men in size. The nomadic tribesman of this little known unit extensively used camels.

[101stDoc]

Was the use of camels common in Russia? Very odd...[/u]

Can't speak as to Russia, but there's tons of photos around of camels in North Africa heh heh.

Apparently camel meat became popular at times.

Doc

[Paul_9686]

I would guess that Soviet units from Central Asia would bring along the sort of draft animals they'd be most familiar with, so bringing along Bactrian camels wouldn't be all that strange (except to Western eyes).

I believe I've read somewhere that the Soviets didn't completely motorize their army until about 1960, so they may well have used camels for a long time after the war.

Yours,
Paul

[Dackelstaffel]

Can't speak as to Russia, but there's tons of photos around of camels in North Africa heh heh.

I guess in North Africa, it's more probably dromedaries. The camel has two humps stinks and it is bad-tempered. The dromedary has only one hump and the soldier on its back stinks and he is bad-tempered.

[LukeMiguez]

Remember that the Russians and British Occupied countries in the Middle east (Iraq,Iran) I've seen photos of Poles in the russian army posing in Tehran.

[estonian]

I have also photo with camel on the Stalingrad front autumn 1942. Photo is photograph by one of my great-uncle being there as soldier of Estn. Schutzmannschafts-Front-Bataillon 36 "Arensburg" http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8040

[Tommydog]

My uncel has spoken about eating camels in russia in winter \spring 44.