The Himmler's SS (55 page)

Photographs confirm these types time and time again as period, rather than manufacturers', variations. The squareheaded ‘Type 1' eagle can regularly be seen in prewar shots and pictures taken during the western and Balkan Blitzkriegs of 1940–1, while the round-headed insignia never features in these photographs. Conversely, the round-headed ‘Type 3' eagle is consistently seen on camouflage drill tunics during the Normandy and Ardennes battles, with the ‘Type 1' badge being conspicuous by its absence at that stage of the war.

In 1939, a BEVO machine-woven version of the 1938-pattern SS sleeve eagle began to appear, in flat grey cotton or silken thread for other ranks and fine silver wire for officers. It was widely worn on all types of Waffen-SS uniform throughout the war, and was even used as a cap badge by female SS auxiliaries. The BEVO eagle was also produced in tan-brown from 1943, for the tropical uniform. Officers frequently had their arm eagles hand-embroidered in silver bullion, and ‘Sepp' Dietrich again highlighted his unique status by having his insignia executed in gold wire.

The BEVO machine-woven version of the SS arm eagle for other ranks.

An Obersturmführer of the SS-TV Medical Battalion temporarily seconded to the army for training purposes in 1939. In addition to the standard SS sleeve eagle, he wears the army eagle above his right breast pocket. This is one of only three known photographs showing both of these insignia being worn simultaneously.

A selection of foreign volunteer shields, many of which were Wehrmacht issue and continued to be worn when the units concerned were absorbed by the Waffen-SS during the last year of the war. Those shown identified: (a) – Ukrainians; (b) – Armenians; (c) – Terek Cossacks; (d) – Flemings; (e) – Russians; (f) – Croats; (g) – Don Cossacks.

In addition to the various regulation types of the 1938-pattern SS Hoheitsabzeichen, other eagles were sometimes worn on the left arm of the Waffen-SS tunic. A number of exarmy officers who transferred to the Waffen-SS, and foreigners who had previously served in Wehrmacht legions, wore the army breast eagle on the sleeve, either to emphasise their origins or simply because the army eagle was more readily available to them. The use of army eagles was particularly common during the rapid expansion of the Waffen-SS in 1939–40, when SS eagles were in short supply and army-style Waffenfarbe piping and matching collar patches were the order of the day. A few SS-VT and SS-TV men on secondment to army units even wore the army eagle on the right breast while still sporting the SS eagle on the left arm! The Italian SS had their own version of the sleeve eagle, which was right-facing and clutched a
fasces
instead of a swastika, and between August 1942 and October 1944 the German police eagle in orange thread was worn by members of the SS-Feldgendarmerie.

In addition to the foregoing insignia, which were common to most Waffen-SS personnel, a number of related badges existed which merit only brief coverage. A range of arm shields was created for foreign volunteers in the Waffen-SS, and generally took the form of machine-embroidered national flags on a black cloth ground measuring around 60 mm × 50 mm. These were standardised in 1943, and most were produced by the Berlin firm of Tröltsch & Hanselmann. The shields were at first worn above the cuff title, and later beneath the arm eagle, and gradually replaced the army versions hitherto worn by many foreigners. The flags of Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Great Britain, Holland, Latvia and Norway featured on these shields, while the badges for Albanian, Croatian, Finnish, Flemish and Ukrainian volunteers bore suitable heraldic motifs.

A series of trade badges to identify skills and specialities was designed in the shape of black cloth diamonds for wear on the lower left sleeve. Each badge was awarded after the successful completion of the relevant SS training course, and those who graduated from army schools were obliged to wear the army trade badge in lieu of the SS one. From October 1943, mountain troops sported a machine-embroidered edelweiss on the left side of the Bergmütze and on the right tunic sleeve, above the Honour Chevron of the Old Guard if the latter was also worn. Uniformed female SS auxiliaries had a unique badge consisting of a black oval containing silver SS runes, which was sewn to the left breast pocket. Other civilian employees were given embroidered, woven or printed armbands bearing the wording ‘Waffen-SS' or ‘Im Dienste der Waffen-SS' when on duty, and brassards featuring national colours were worn by the young SS flak helpers from the east.

During the Second World War, Waffen-SS soldiers were eligible for the whole range of Nazi military decorations, including the Iron Cross, the German Cross, the War Merit Cross, and so on. Participation in the Crimea, Demjansk and Kurland battles earned the appropriate campaign distinctions for men of the Leibstandarte, SS-Totenkopf-Division and 6th Waffen-Armeekorps der SS, while troops of all units wore Infantry Assault Badges, General Assault Badges, Flak and Panzer Battle Badges, Wound Badges, Tank Destruction Awards and the Close Combat Clasp. Among the plethora of Third Reich combat decorations, however, only the Guerrilla Warfare Badge was singled out as being of specific relevance to the activities of the Waffen-SS, and for that reason it deserves some detailed coverage.

Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 soon resulted in the Wehrmacht facing an entirely new type of enemy, professionally organised partisans who attacked in large groups capable of taking on and defeating German units of battalion or even regimental strength. The partisan movement stemmed from the presence in German-occupied territory of whole Red Army units which had been cut off by the rapidity of the German advance. As early as July 1941 the Central Committee of the Communist Party called upon Soviet citizens to join these units and take up arms, and the following year the Soviet High Command took steps to co-ordinate guerrilla activity by establishing the Central Staff of the Partisan Movement. Liaison officers, wireless equipment, weapons and supplies were provided in ever-increasing numbers and partisan operations were fully integrated into Red Army strategy. In addition to widespread attacks on German communications, partisans made specific efforts in support of Soviet offensives, notably at Kursk, and were able to ease the progress of conventional forces by securing bridges and key installations in the path of their advance. The vastness of the area behind the German lines and the terrain of forests, mountains and marshes lent themselves to guerrilla attacks and the partisans went from strength to strength. They eventually numbered around 400,000 in Warsaw, 390,000 in Yugoslavia, 230,000 in the Baltic states, 150,000 in Byelorussia, 50,000 in northern Italy, 40,000 in the Ukraine, 40,000 in Greece and 35,000 in Albania. The largest German anti-partisan sweep of the war, ‘Operation Cottbus', which took place in Byelorussia in June 1943, involved nearly 17,000 German troops and was conducted so brutally and ruthlessly that nothing, human or animal, was left alive in the zone of operations. Nevertheless, as was typical in this sort of warfare, ‘Cottbus' failed to trap its quarry and was a major setback for the Germans. The struggle between the Nazis and the partisans was always one where no quarter was asked or given. Atrocities committed against captured German soldiers were met with a policy of extermination on the part of the occupying forces. On entering Taganrog, for example, the Leibstandarte found the mutilated remains of six of its men who had been killed and thrown down a well. During the next three days, Dietrich's troops shot some 4,000 Russian prisoners as a reprisal. Antipartisan duties increasingly tied down large numbers of German soldiers from all the fighting services, and vast tracts of German-occupied territory soon became virtual no-go areas, allowing even better co-ordination of partisan activity.

SS trade badges. These were worn on the left sleeve, above the cuff title, and denoted the following specialist appointments or qualifications: A – Farrier; B – Technical Officer; C – Signaller; D – Transport NCO; E – Veterinarian; F – Medical Officer; G – Medical orderly; H – Musician; I – Legal Officer; J – Administrative officer; K – Armourer NCO; L – Coxswain.

The campaign against this ‘invisible enemy' took a significant turn when Himmler was made responsible for all anti-partisan operations in October 1942. In a speech given shortly afterwards, he stated that the new enemy did not deserve the title ‘partisans', which had patriotic connotations, as they were simply members of what he called outlaw gangs, or ‘Banden'. He ordered that in every case these gangster guerrillas were now to be rooted out and executed without trial. Himmler appointed SS-Obergruppenführer Erich von dem Bach as his counter-guerrilla chief, a man who was such a pathological Slav-hater that he had dropped ‘Zelewski' from the end of his name in November 1940 because he felt it sounded ‘too Polish'. Himmler and von dem Bach arranged for the formation of large numbers of SS-Police regiments, police rifle regiments and Schuma battalions to combat the partisans, thus releasing the army for front-line service. In August 1944, the partisan ‘Polish Home Army' rose up in Warsaw, in anticipation of approaching Red Army assistance which never materialised. The rebels initially gained control of two-thirds of the city, but the ferocity of the SS and police response, which levelled Poland's capital, forced the guerrillas underground, into the sewers, where they were gradually reduced and defeated by forces equipped with armour and flamethrowers, supported by Luftwaffe Stuka squadrons. Among the SS troops most active in Warsaw were the Kaminski and Dirlewanger Brigades, terror units composed of convicted criminals specially selected for their brutality and expendability. The crushing of the Warsaw uprising was the most notable anti-partisan victory achieved by the Germans during the war. Von dem Bach, who personally commanded a battle group in the action, received the Knight's Cross after the successful conclusion of the fighting.