British officers with FreiKorps

Tom Houlihan · Post by **Tom Houlihan** » Sun Aug 24, 2003 12:37 pm

The Freikorps was a phenomenon that came about after WWI. While quite a few members of the SS had been in the Freikorps, there was no connection between the two organizations.

Kaiser · Post by **Kaiser** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 2:12 am

KampfgruppeMeyer wrote:I think Freikorps was SS. Am I wrong?

In this context Kamfpgruppe Mayer you are wrong, these Freikorps was not SS. In the troubled years after the end of the First World War, the demobilizing Imperial Army formed Freikorps units to battle Communists in Berlin and other German Cities, to protect the Eastern and Western Borders and for service in the Baltics.

But maybe you are thinking of the Britisches Freikorps which was a Waffen-SS unit formed by a few PoW during the Second World War.

/Kaiser

Arne · Post by **Arne** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 8:15 am

Freikorps as a designation for military units was taken over by the Freikorps of 1918/1919 from "Freikorps Lützow" (Google it) from the napoleonic war.

KampfgruppeMeyer · Post by **KampfgruppeMeyer** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 10:22 pm

I always thought there was an SS friekorps

Rohrbach · Post by **Rohrbach** » Mon Sep 15, 2003 11:06 am

Maybe you're thinking about http://www.wssob.com/000frkdan.html which as someone else pointed out isn't related to the Freikorps units that popped up after WW I.

Rohrbach

Edelweiss. · Post by **Edelweiss.** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 1:07 pm

Rohrbach is correct, but as well as the Freikorps Danmark, there was also a British Free Corps (Britisches Freikorps), which did contain approximately 30 British members at it's peak. Over 50 passed in and out of the BFC's colours, although only 7 ever saw any kind of action, and that was as transport drivers, military police and reservists. They withdrew from the River Oder before the Russian offensive began.

Those who did see service are listed below:

SS-Schuetze Frank Axon (England)
SS-Schuetze Harry Batchelor (England)
SS-Schuetze Kenneth Edward Berry (England)
SS-Schuetze Croft (England)
SS-Unterscharfuehrer Douglas Mardon (South African)
SS-Schuetze Ernest Nicholls (England)
SS-Schuetze Albert Stokes (Australian)

From WSSOB

Regards,
Edelweiss

greenhorn · Post by **greenhorn** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 2:17 pm

A good read with RN small boat action in the Baltic against the Russians is "Baltic Episode" by Captain Augustus Agar V.C.

He's the real deal.....
He led the Kronstadt Raid on 18/08/1919, sinking 2 battleships "Andrei Persovanni" & "Petropavlsk" and a destroyer, damaging a cruiser.... for the loss of 3 coastal motor boats.

Arne · Post by **Arne** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 2:00 am

Don't forget to mention the cruiser he finished a few days before this raid near the fortress of Krasnaya Gorka.

But what has that to do with the Freikorps thread of this posting?

I will answer it for our WW2 only readers

:

Angar with his MTB unit was attached to the RN Baltic Expedition Force under command of Admiral Sir Walter Cowan (see: Bennett, Geoffrey - Cowan's War).
The british where in the baltic to support the white russians and the baltic nationalists and also to hinder the German Freikorps to do the same (support the white russian and the baltic nationalists).
Whenever Freikorps units (no matter if white russian forces where with them) came near the baltic cost, the RN started shelling them.

BTW: Angar mentioned that the spy he shuttled to Petrograd had also written a book. Does anybody know what title it has?

Rohrbach · Post by **Rohrbach** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 10:54 am

Hi Arne!

Angar mentioned that the spy he shuttled to Petrograd had also written a book. Does anybody know what title it has?

I think the spy and the book you ask about it is Dukes, Paul [Sir]. The Story of "ST 25": Adventure and Romance in the Secret Intelligence Service in Red Russia. London: Cassell, 1938.

There is also this website about Sir Dukes

http://www.angelfire.com/dc/1spy/Dukes.html

btw, I think "Angar" is actually "Agar".

Rohrbach