Anyone have an OB for these units? Also any operational history of the Regiments1-6.
Thanks,
AHK
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiments
Hi AHK,
I’ve been asking myself the same question but never found a book about these regiments or a good website. Usually their existence is mentioned and that’s it.
Looking for more information I came upon your question and I’ll answer it as far as I can but please bear in mind that it is made up of little snippets of information from the well-known WW II websites and some modern-day fire brigade websites that have a small section on their history and then collated into a semblance of order. It’s far from complete, many facts can’t be cross-checked and there are some contradictions here and there but it’s better than nothing I guess.
With the new law regarding fire-control of 24 October 1939 the Feuerschutz Polizei was founded and responsibility and command of the fire brigades was changed from the city, county and Länder governments to the central Reich government. The cost of men, material, barracks however still had to be brought up by the local governments. Men from the professional fire brigades got to wear the green Polizei uniforms while the volunteer forces remained in blue uniforms until early 1940 when they changed to green too. All vehicles were also painted in the same colour green as the Polizei vehicles. All firemen got Polizei ranks with the addition “der Feuerschutz Polizei”.
After the bombing of Warsaw a team from the FeuerschutzPolizei (FschP) was sent there to find out how the Poles had fought the ensuing fires hoping to learn from them in case the Reich ever got bombarded. After this meeting it was decided to form special motorised FschP regiments to fight fires resulting from combat and protect vital installations. Apparently the regiments were based on French practice.
Since I haven’t found any OoB or KstN for the FschP regiments I tried to find something on the organisation of those French regiments but sadly my French is not quite up to par for that task.
Reading through the sites that I did find I think that every regiment should have had two Abteilungen consisting of three Kompanien each and that 600 men would be the full complement for an Abteilung. Exceptions were FschPRgt 1 ‘Sachsen’ which had 4 Abteilungen and FschP 6 ‘Niederlände’ that had only one Abteilung.
Starting with the FschPRgt 1 a total of six regiments were raised until they were all disbanded in June 1943 after which the separate Abteilungen became independent units. Some regimental structures were kept in place though and even as late as 1945 the FschPRgt Breslau was formed.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 1 ‘Sachsen’.
This regiment was formed in November 1939 and consisted of four Abteilungen of three companies, all personnel was taken from the professional fire fighters. The regiment came under command of Generalmajor der Polizei Hans Rumpf.
Abt I was stationed in Leipzig-Wiederitsch, Abt II in Heyrothsberge (near Magdeburg), Abt III in Beeskow. The garrison town for Abt IV is unknown.
The regiment’s first foreign action was in Holland after the invasion of May 10 1940. While some sites say they followed right behind the frontline troops, most sites give June 6 1940 as the date the regiment arrived in Holland. They moved straight to Amsterdam where the commander paid a courtesy visit to the local Dutch fire brigade after which the regiment moved on to Rotterdam and then to France. Abteilung III (under command of Major Hans Dabbert) stayed behind in Rotterdam to protect the port.
The Abteilungen that went to France were distributed mostly along the coast facing England and fought fires in oil-depots in Brest, Lorient, St Nazaire and Le Havre.
The Lageberichten of the Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich to the Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres of 1941 give some clues as to where they were. In April/May the RgtStab and one Abt were moved away from France (no mention of where they went but other sources say that in 1941 Romania became one of the primary locations for the regiment). In June/July the Abtstab I was stationed at Le Havre and 6 Kp both in Le Havre and Cherbourg. In August/September the 4 Kp based at Le Mans was exchanged for the 8 Kp that had remained in Holland, in October the ‘Gruppe West’ (no info on which Abt and/or Kp made up this Gruppe) of the regiment was replaced by III/FschPRgt 2.
Another site says that in September 1941 ‘Gruppe Ost’ (under Major Haasse) was sent to Russia for firefighting duties in Kiev
After October 1941 no further mention of any unit of FschPRgt 1 in France can be found.
In 1942 about half of the regiment was sent back to Germany and some companies went to Romania to guard the oilfields at Ploesti. Those parts of the regiment that stayed behind in Russia guarded the oilfields at Baku for a while (one shady site talks of involvement in Stalingrad).
By 1943 there had been some more shifts and roughly 2/3 of the regiment were in Romania. Since the FschP Rgt 2 filled the gaps created by Rgt 1’s departure from Germany I assume that the entire regiment was stationed in Romania from January 1943 with the exception of an Abt that was still in Russia.
As happened to all regiments it was disbanded in June 1943 into its separate Abteilungen that were independent units from then on.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 2 ‘Hannover’.
The regiment was raised on 29 November 1940 in the Hannover area under command of Oberstleutnant der Polizei Hans Schmidt. Personnel were also taken from the professional fire fighters but already there were not enough of these men so the shortage had to be up made by non-professionals.
The regiment was deployed in the north and centre of Germany and the Ruhr area to guard against Allied air attacks. The companies were dispersed all over this region and stayed in there garrisons until the regiment was sent to eastern Germany to fill the gaps made by the deployment of Rgt 1 in Romania in January 1943. Since Rgt 3 was sent to the Ruhr-area to take the place of Rgt 2 units it is possible that parts of Rgt 2 stayed in their original garrisons in the north of Germany.
The only foreign trip of this regiment seems to be that of Abt III that was sent to France to replace Rgt. 1 there. The Abt arrived in France in September 1941, Abtstab was stationed in Paris, 7 Kp in Le Mans as a mobile reserve (later in Rouen), 8 Kp in Vlissingen and Rotterdam (later also in France) and 9 Kp in Le Havre and Cherbourg. During January and February 1942 they fought 15 large fires. By the end of May 1942 Abt III was sent back to Germany because of the intensifying Allied bombings.
Disbanded in June 1943.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 3 'Ostpreussen'.
The regiment was formed in 1941. Some sources say during the summer while others say in December and one mentions May 20 1941. That last date is the most credible I think. The commanding officer was Oberstleutnant de Polizei Curt Bolz. This regiment was the first that did not take its personnel from the professional fire fighters but from the voluntary men and had to make do with 700 in stead of the required 1200 men. The forming of Rgt 3 and 4 is said to have been accomplished by the endeavours of one man (a provincial fireman) who motivated the voluntary fire fighters to enter the regiments and facilitated the resources and logistics but nowhere can I find who that man may have been. At first both these regiments were called Feuerwehr Regiment to distinguish them from the professionals in the first two regiments but that was soon changed to Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment.
The regiment was raised in east Prussia with it’s major garrisons in Königsberg and Zinten but was moved to Warsaw in October to help fighting fires on the East Front but soon went on to southern Germany because of the Allied bombings and the cities of high cultural (and Nazi-) value. They were complete in southern Germany by May 26 1942.
The companies were distributed all over Bavaria and Württemberg. The RgtStab was stationed in Zirndorf near Nuremberg. The staff of Abt I went to Trier along with the 3 Kp, 1 Kp was stationed in Stapelburg and 2 Kp in Weimar. Abt II was sent to Ebermannstadt (Stab and 5 Kp), Leutershausen (4Kp) and Weissenburg (5Kp).
As the Allied air attacks at the time concentrated on the Ruhr area and other regiments were deployed elsewhere the whole regiment (except the units in Ebermannstadt) was moved to the Ruhr area to fill the gaps left by Rgt 2 in January 1943.
The regiment was disbanded in June 1943.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 4 ‘Ukraine’.
Very little can be found on this regiment. It was raised in November 1941 in Rovno in Russia and came under command of Oberst der Polizei Fiedler. The regiment was deployed in the Ukraine and is said to have done a lot more than firefighting. The exact activities can’t be found.
This regiment is the only one to be disbanded before June 1943. Probably by the end of 1942.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 5 ‘Böhmen-Mären’.
Formed in July 1942 in Prague and under command of Major der Polizei Möbius. The regiment was not a part of the regular Ordnungspolizei command chain but resided under the supervision of the Protectorate. During the year it existed the companies of the regiment were scattered al over Czechoslovakia. The regiment was also disbanded in June 1943.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 6 ‘Niederlände’.
This regiment was formed in August 1942 in The Hague in Holland and was commanded by Hans Schmidt. Since the Abt of Rgt 1 that stayed behind in Holland in 1940 doesn’t appear anywhere else it may be that this regiment (the only one to have only one Abt) is that very same Abt of Rgt 1. On the other hand there is also some information saying that the regiment fell under responsibility of the Dutch state which may imply that they were an entirely new formation that may have consisted (partly) of Dutchmen. The companies were deployed in The Hague, Hilversum and Rotterdam until the regiment was disbanded in June 1943.
After the reorganisation the regiments were done away with and the separate Abteilungen became independent units. The number of companies was raised from 3 to 4.
Rgt 1 – Abt 1 ‚Sachsen’ and two others.
Rgt 2 – Abt 2 ‚Hannover’ and one other.
Rgt 3 – Abt 6 and Abt 7.
Rgt 4 – Dissolved.
Rgt 5 – Abt ‚Böhmen’and Abt ‚Mähren’.
Rgt 6 – Abt ‚Niederlände’.
The elements of Rgt 1 that were deployed in Romania are the only ones to still have a regimental structure. In order to keep their independence in the multitude of units protecting the Ploiesti oilfields this was deemed necessary and a Rgt zur besondere Verwendung was set in place. Abt I and one other Abt formed this regiment.
Abt 2 was stationed in Hannover, Abt 3 in Vienna, Abt 4 and 5 unknown (one of these two must have been part of the regiment in Romania). Abt 6 in Neumünster, Abt 7 in Berlin- Köpenick, Abt ‘Böhmen’ in Bohemia, Abt ‚Mähren’ in Moravia and Abt ‚Niederlände’in Holland.
The Abteilungen remained in service until the end of war and were used quite often to fill the ranks of infantry protecting the German cities they were garrisoned in. Abt 7 is reported to have been sent to Warsaw during the uprising in the summer of 1944.
There is a little more information on these units out there but most of what I haven’t mentioned here is contradicted by more than one site and doesn’t seem to fit in the general picture. For what it’s worth I hope it helps you along a bit.
Regards,
Paul
I’ve been asking myself the same question but never found a book about these regiments or a good website. Usually their existence is mentioned and that’s it.
Looking for more information I came upon your question and I’ll answer it as far as I can but please bear in mind that it is made up of little snippets of information from the well-known WW II websites and some modern-day fire brigade websites that have a small section on their history and then collated into a semblance of order. It’s far from complete, many facts can’t be cross-checked and there are some contradictions here and there but it’s better than nothing I guess.
With the new law regarding fire-control of 24 October 1939 the Feuerschutz Polizei was founded and responsibility and command of the fire brigades was changed from the city, county and Länder governments to the central Reich government. The cost of men, material, barracks however still had to be brought up by the local governments. Men from the professional fire brigades got to wear the green Polizei uniforms while the volunteer forces remained in blue uniforms until early 1940 when they changed to green too. All vehicles were also painted in the same colour green as the Polizei vehicles. All firemen got Polizei ranks with the addition “der Feuerschutz Polizei”.
After the bombing of Warsaw a team from the FeuerschutzPolizei (FschP) was sent there to find out how the Poles had fought the ensuing fires hoping to learn from them in case the Reich ever got bombarded. After this meeting it was decided to form special motorised FschP regiments to fight fires resulting from combat and protect vital installations. Apparently the regiments were based on French practice.
Since I haven’t found any OoB or KstN for the FschP regiments I tried to find something on the organisation of those French regiments but sadly my French is not quite up to par for that task.
Reading through the sites that I did find I think that every regiment should have had two Abteilungen consisting of three Kompanien each and that 600 men would be the full complement for an Abteilung. Exceptions were FschPRgt 1 ‘Sachsen’ which had 4 Abteilungen and FschP 6 ‘Niederlände’ that had only one Abteilung.
Starting with the FschPRgt 1 a total of six regiments were raised until they were all disbanded in June 1943 after which the separate Abteilungen became independent units. Some regimental structures were kept in place though and even as late as 1945 the FschPRgt Breslau was formed.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 1 ‘Sachsen’.
This regiment was formed in November 1939 and consisted of four Abteilungen of three companies, all personnel was taken from the professional fire fighters. The regiment came under command of Generalmajor der Polizei Hans Rumpf.
Abt I was stationed in Leipzig-Wiederitsch, Abt II in Heyrothsberge (near Magdeburg), Abt III in Beeskow. The garrison town for Abt IV is unknown.
The regiment’s first foreign action was in Holland after the invasion of May 10 1940. While some sites say they followed right behind the frontline troops, most sites give June 6 1940 as the date the regiment arrived in Holland. They moved straight to Amsterdam where the commander paid a courtesy visit to the local Dutch fire brigade after which the regiment moved on to Rotterdam and then to France. Abteilung III (under command of Major Hans Dabbert) stayed behind in Rotterdam to protect the port.
The Abteilungen that went to France were distributed mostly along the coast facing England and fought fires in oil-depots in Brest, Lorient, St Nazaire and Le Havre.
The Lageberichten of the Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich to the Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres of 1941 give some clues as to where they were. In April/May the RgtStab and one Abt were moved away from France (no mention of where they went but other sources say that in 1941 Romania became one of the primary locations for the regiment). In June/July the Abtstab I was stationed at Le Havre and 6 Kp both in Le Havre and Cherbourg. In August/September the 4 Kp based at Le Mans was exchanged for the 8 Kp that had remained in Holland, in October the ‘Gruppe West’ (no info on which Abt and/or Kp made up this Gruppe) of the regiment was replaced by III/FschPRgt 2.
Another site says that in September 1941 ‘Gruppe Ost’ (under Major Haasse) was sent to Russia for firefighting duties in Kiev
After October 1941 no further mention of any unit of FschPRgt 1 in France can be found.
In 1942 about half of the regiment was sent back to Germany and some companies went to Romania to guard the oilfields at Ploesti. Those parts of the regiment that stayed behind in Russia guarded the oilfields at Baku for a while (one shady site talks of involvement in Stalingrad).
By 1943 there had been some more shifts and roughly 2/3 of the regiment were in Romania. Since the FschP Rgt 2 filled the gaps created by Rgt 1’s departure from Germany I assume that the entire regiment was stationed in Romania from January 1943 with the exception of an Abt that was still in Russia.
As happened to all regiments it was disbanded in June 1943 into its separate Abteilungen that were independent units from then on.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 2 ‘Hannover’.
The regiment was raised on 29 November 1940 in the Hannover area under command of Oberstleutnant der Polizei Hans Schmidt. Personnel were also taken from the professional fire fighters but already there were not enough of these men so the shortage had to be up made by non-professionals.
The regiment was deployed in the north and centre of Germany and the Ruhr area to guard against Allied air attacks. The companies were dispersed all over this region and stayed in there garrisons until the regiment was sent to eastern Germany to fill the gaps made by the deployment of Rgt 1 in Romania in January 1943. Since Rgt 3 was sent to the Ruhr-area to take the place of Rgt 2 units it is possible that parts of Rgt 2 stayed in their original garrisons in the north of Germany.
The only foreign trip of this regiment seems to be that of Abt III that was sent to France to replace Rgt. 1 there. The Abt arrived in France in September 1941, Abtstab was stationed in Paris, 7 Kp in Le Mans as a mobile reserve (later in Rouen), 8 Kp in Vlissingen and Rotterdam (later also in France) and 9 Kp in Le Havre and Cherbourg. During January and February 1942 they fought 15 large fires. By the end of May 1942 Abt III was sent back to Germany because of the intensifying Allied bombings.
Disbanded in June 1943.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 3 'Ostpreussen'.
The regiment was formed in 1941. Some sources say during the summer while others say in December and one mentions May 20 1941. That last date is the most credible I think. The commanding officer was Oberstleutnant de Polizei Curt Bolz. This regiment was the first that did not take its personnel from the professional fire fighters but from the voluntary men and had to make do with 700 in stead of the required 1200 men. The forming of Rgt 3 and 4 is said to have been accomplished by the endeavours of one man (a provincial fireman) who motivated the voluntary fire fighters to enter the regiments and facilitated the resources and logistics but nowhere can I find who that man may have been. At first both these regiments were called Feuerwehr Regiment to distinguish them from the professionals in the first two regiments but that was soon changed to Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment.
The regiment was raised in east Prussia with it’s major garrisons in Königsberg and Zinten but was moved to Warsaw in October to help fighting fires on the East Front but soon went on to southern Germany because of the Allied bombings and the cities of high cultural (and Nazi-) value. They were complete in southern Germany by May 26 1942.
The companies were distributed all over Bavaria and Württemberg. The RgtStab was stationed in Zirndorf near Nuremberg. The staff of Abt I went to Trier along with the 3 Kp, 1 Kp was stationed in Stapelburg and 2 Kp in Weimar. Abt II was sent to Ebermannstadt (Stab and 5 Kp), Leutershausen (4Kp) and Weissenburg (5Kp).
As the Allied air attacks at the time concentrated on the Ruhr area and other regiments were deployed elsewhere the whole regiment (except the units in Ebermannstadt) was moved to the Ruhr area to fill the gaps left by Rgt 2 in January 1943.
The regiment was disbanded in June 1943.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 4 ‘Ukraine’.
Very little can be found on this regiment. It was raised in November 1941 in Rovno in Russia and came under command of Oberst der Polizei Fiedler. The regiment was deployed in the Ukraine and is said to have done a lot more than firefighting. The exact activities can’t be found.
This regiment is the only one to be disbanded before June 1943. Probably by the end of 1942.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 5 ‘Böhmen-Mären’.
Formed in July 1942 in Prague and under command of Major der Polizei Möbius. The regiment was not a part of the regular Ordnungspolizei command chain but resided under the supervision of the Protectorate. During the year it existed the companies of the regiment were scattered al over Czechoslovakia. The regiment was also disbanded in June 1943.
Feuerschutzpolizei Regiment 6 ‘Niederlände’.
This regiment was formed in August 1942 in The Hague in Holland and was commanded by Hans Schmidt. Since the Abt of Rgt 1 that stayed behind in Holland in 1940 doesn’t appear anywhere else it may be that this regiment (the only one to have only one Abt) is that very same Abt of Rgt 1. On the other hand there is also some information saying that the regiment fell under responsibility of the Dutch state which may imply that they were an entirely new formation that may have consisted (partly) of Dutchmen. The companies were deployed in The Hague, Hilversum and Rotterdam until the regiment was disbanded in June 1943.
After the reorganisation the regiments were done away with and the separate Abteilungen became independent units. The number of companies was raised from 3 to 4.
Rgt 1 – Abt 1 ‚Sachsen’ and two others.
Rgt 2 – Abt 2 ‚Hannover’ and one other.
Rgt 3 – Abt 6 and Abt 7.
Rgt 4 – Dissolved.
Rgt 5 – Abt ‚Böhmen’and Abt ‚Mähren’.
Rgt 6 – Abt ‚Niederlände’.
The elements of Rgt 1 that were deployed in Romania are the only ones to still have a regimental structure. In order to keep their independence in the multitude of units protecting the Ploiesti oilfields this was deemed necessary and a Rgt zur besondere Verwendung was set in place. Abt I and one other Abt formed this regiment.
Abt 2 was stationed in Hannover, Abt 3 in Vienna, Abt 4 and 5 unknown (one of these two must have been part of the regiment in Romania). Abt 6 in Neumünster, Abt 7 in Berlin- Köpenick, Abt ‘Böhmen’ in Bohemia, Abt ‚Mähren’ in Moravia and Abt ‚Niederlände’in Holland.
The Abteilungen remained in service until the end of war and were used quite often to fill the ranks of infantry protecting the German cities they were garrisoned in. Abt 7 is reported to have been sent to Warsaw during the uprising in the summer of 1944.
There is a little more information on these units out there but most of what I haven’t mentioned here is contradicted by more than one site and doesn’t seem to fit in the general picture. For what it’s worth I hope it helps you along a bit.
Regards,
Paul
FS-Police Regiments
Thanks for excellent post!
AHK
AHK