cheers,Estonian Volunteers in the German Wehrmacht. by Kevin Chan
Introduction:
The story of the Estonian volunteers in the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS began with the Ribbentrop - Molotov non aggression pact of 1939, dividing Europe between German and Soviet spheres of intrest. Estonia was in the Soviet sphere, so thus, in June 1940, Estonia was annexed into the USSR through force. When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 22 June 1941 and occupied Estonia, they were greeted as liberators by most Estonians, as during the Soviet period there was harsh repression, and 60000 Estonians, around 5 per cent of the population, were massacred. After 22 June, the Soviet mobilized 50000 Estonians for their war effort, and many Estonians went into the Red Army 8th Army Corps, many deserting from there to the Germans.
Estonian Home Guard:
At the beginning, the first auxiliary units were a German self styled Selbschutz home guard, named the Omakaitse, commanded by Estonian Colonel A. Sinka. This guard was made from mostly former "forest brothers", Estonian partisans against the Soviets and was confirmed as a permanent organization on 2 August 1941. In July 1941 this guard was divided into 13 districts, each one with around 4 battalions. The total strength of this guard was 32000 in July 1943. In February 1944 they were reorganized into combat units, and mostly destroyed in combat with Soviet forces in September 1944.
Police/security units:
In August 1941, General Von Kuchler, commander of the 18. Armee, was so impressed by the Estonians that he started to form 26 Estonian security detachments. These units were transferred to front line service with the 18. Armee and achieved a good combat reputation. In 1943 they fought at the Leningrad and Volkhov front, and on Febuary 23, 1944, the commander of these units, Major Alfons Rebane, was awarded the Knight's Cross. In July 1943 these units were transferred to the Waffen SS.
From August 1941, many Defense detachments were organized by the Germans to combat the threat of Soviet partisans. In October, 1942, there were 5400 Estonians in 14 battalions, and there was a steady increase throughout 1943. From spring 1943, there were defense battalions used to form larger units and many personnel left to volunteer for the Estonian Legion. In 9 December 1943 18 units were designated as Estonian Police Battalions. 11 of these units served outside Estonia. When the Soviets arrived at the Estonian frontier in February 1944, all Estonian units were sent to the front, where most were destroyed in combat with irreplaceable losses, and the survivors joined the 20. Waffen Grenadier Division der SS.
Frontier Guard Regiments;
With the Soviet nearing Estonia, on 30 January 1944 the Estonian civil administration called up general mobilization, an appeal which provided many recruits. 6 Estonian Guard Regiments were formed, along with a depot regiment. These men were poorly trained and armed, many with foreign weapons. In May 1944 they were redesignated as SS Frontier Guard Regiments. Estonians who could not be included in these units were made into 5 German Army Construction battalions in April 1944. The Regiments were then immediately sent into combat at the frontier, serving with the 207. Infantarie Division and the 277. Infantarie Division. These units suffered heavy casualties, and were wiped out virtually by September, and the survivors stayed behind and became "forest brothers" partisans.
Estonian SS Legion and 20.Waffen Grenadier Division der SS:
On 2 August 1942, the Germans announced the formation of an Estonian SS Legion, under the command of SS Obersturmbannfuehrer Franz Augsberger. Enough men volunteered for it to be formally established on 2 October 1942. Initially the Legion compromised a Regiment, but in April 1943, it's 1st Battalion was detached to the 5.SS Panzer Division 'Wiking' of Northern European volunteers as the 'Narwa' battalion, to replace the Finnish SS Battalion which was returning to Finland, and fought well until detached in 1944. Faced with this, the Germans increased the Legion to brigade strngth, mostly through the use of conscription. In October 1943 it was redisgnated the 3rd Estonian SS Volunteer brigade, once again under Augsberger, and in December the brigade had 5099 men. Most of the NCOs, officers, etc were Estonian. In November 1943 the Brigade was sent to the German 16.Armee at the Staraya Rusa front, and then in January it was sent back to Estonia to defend the Narva sector against Soviet attack. At that time the brigade was expanded into the 20. Waffen Grenadier Division der SS, and formally designated as such in May 1944, under the command of SS Oberfuehrer Augsberger, who was promoted to Brigadefuehrer on June 21. On Feburay 8th, 1944, The Division was attached to the III. Germanic SS Panzer Korps under SS Gruppenfuehrer Feix Steiner, and upon arrival on 20. Febuary, it was thrown straight into combat, and pushed out the Siivertsi Soviet bridgehead. It remained in that sector, until May, when it was pulled back, and the Narwa Battalion returned from Wiking as the recconasince abteilung. At that time, the Division consisted of around 15000 men. When Steiner retreated to the Tannenbergstellung on 25. July, the Division was sent to the Kinderheim and Grenadier-höhe defensive position, engaged in heavy defensive battles. In mid-August, the 45th Estland and 46th regiments of the division were formed into Kampfgruppe Vent and were sent south to defend the Emajogi river line, seeing heavy fighting. When the Wehrmacht withdrew from Estonia in September, the Estonians who chose to remain and defend their homes as Forest brothers could do so, but thus weaking the Division. However, around at that period, when Finland made peace with the Soviet Union, the 3rd Estonian Battalion of the 47th Infantry regiment of the Finnish army was disbanded, and 1800 men from that unit were sent to Estonia, and they arrived on August 19th, and were absorbed into the Division. The Division was then sent to Neuhammer to be refitted, eventually numbering 11000 Estonians and 2500 Germans. It was sent to the line in late February, during the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive. This offensive forced the German forces back behind the Oder and Neissse rivers. The division was pushed back to the Neisse, suffering heavy casualties. The division was then trapped in the Falkenberg - Friedberg area. On 17 March, the division launched a major breakthrough attempt, but despite making headway, the attack failed. On 19 March, the division tried again, this time succeeding in breaking through, but at the cost of abandoning heavy weapons and equipment in the pocket. In April 1945, the remnants of the Division were sent to the Goldberg area, but after the final Soviet offensive, the Division tried to break through to the West to surrender to the Western Allies. After marching over the Reichenberg and Annaberg mountains, the division was surrounded by the Soviets and surrendered on May 8. The soldiers who escaped to the Western Allies were handed back to the Soviets.
The order of battle of the 20. Waffen Grenadier Division der SS
* Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS 45 Estland
* Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS 46
* Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS 47
* Waffen-Artillerie Regiment der SS 20
* SS-Waffen Füsilier Batallion 20
* SS-Waffen Pionere Batallion 20
* SS-Feldersatz Batallion 20
* SS-Waffen Nachrichten Abteilung 20
* SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment 20
Other Services:
Before the war the Abwehr and a good relation with the Estonian military, thus allowing them to form an intelligence unit, the "Reinhard unit", with 120 Estonians, which monitored Soviet radio traffic until May 1945.
The Kriegsmarine recruited 200 Estonian volunteers during the war, but on 22 August 1944 they were transferred to the 20. Waffen Grenadier Division der SS.
The Luftwaffe had an Estonian unit, the 127th Reconnaissance Wing, formed in April 1943. The Estonians had a good reputation, and a fighter squadron was authorized and 10 Estonian pilots began training. However, on 22 September 1944, 7 Estonian pilots deserted and flew to Sweden in their aircraft, causing the Luftwaffe to disband all Latvian and Estonian air units. However, the 10 pilots were transferred to other squadrons, and lost 4 dead. Other pilots and ground personnel were mostly transferred to the 20. Waffen Grenadier Division der SS. From an agreement on 31 March 1944, the Germans began recruiting boys under 16 as Flak helpers. Numbers of these boys were around 3000.
Knight's Cross winners:
During the war 4 Estonians won the Knight's Cross, Standatenfuehrer Rebane, with OakLeaves, Obersturmbannfuhrer Harald Riipalu, Hauptsturmfuehrer Paul Maitla and Unterscharfuehrer Harald Nugiseks. Of these, Harald Nugiseks is still alive today.
Overall:
Overall, Estonia was a country who certainly contributed well to the German war effort, considering it's small population of just 1131000 (1938 statistic), contributing 70000 men to the German forces, 6.1 per cent of the population.
the statistics of services are around
20. Waffen Grenadier Division der SS :20000
Fronteir Guard Regiments: 20000
Defence and Police units :9000
Army Construction units: 5000
Home Guard: 5000
Other serivces auxilaries: 10000
After the war, Estonian partisan resistance from the Forest Brothers continued for many years. Nevertheless, the around decade long war against Soviet occupation probably makes it fair to say that most Estonians had fought in the forces of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS not as Nazi mercenaries, but as patriots resisting Soviet aggression, and fought in the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS out of political circumstances, in the middle of 2 giant powers in a ruthless war.
Sources:
Germany's Eastern Front Allies 2: The Baltic Nations
Estonian Vikings
The Internet
(a few other ones I don't really remember
Kevin