UNDER FIRE, SS-UNTERSCHARFÜHRER, 5.SS-PZ.DIV. WIKING, POLAND 1944

Panzer Division (initially Motorized) SS Wiking (Ger. 5. SS-Panzerdivision "Wiking" ) is the name of a German tactical association that was part of the Waffen SS from the Second World War. The unit was formed in mid 1940 on the basis of the SS-Standarte Germania regiment. Its first commander was Feliks Steiner. The division was formed not only of Germans, but also volunteers from countries such as Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Norway. The origin of its soldiers, mainly from northern Europe, could also explain its name. The division began its combat route by taking part in Operation Barbarossa of 1941, when it fought in the Army Group South in Ukraine, where it reaches the Don and Mius rivers. In 1942, the division continued to fight in the south of the USSR, carrying out the so-called Fall Blau. At the end of this year, the unit took part in an operation aimed at capturing Grozny in Chechnya, but was completely defeated. At the end of 1942, the Viking SS Division managed to withdraw from the Caucasus. In 1943, he successfully fought at Kharkiv and participated in the Battle of Kursk, and later in repelling the Soviet counter-offensive. In 1944, she took part in anti-partisan activities in Poland and fought with the Red Army in the Warsaw region. At the beginning of 1945, the division fought in Hungary and ended its combat route in Austria by surrendering to the Allied forces. The soldiers of the division during the fighting on the Eastern Front committed numerous war crimes and participated in the crime of genocide committed against the Jewish population.The first paramilitary unit to have the abbreviation SS (German: Schutz Staffel) in its name was the personal protection of the dictator of the Third Reich called Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, which was officially formed in 1933. From 1934, the SS was an independent formation headed by Heinrich Himmler. With time, further SS units were formed, including the SS-Totenkopfverbände and the SS-Verfügungstruppe. It is worth adding that the latter was trained similarly to regular Wehrmacht infantry units. On a relatively small scale, SS units were used in combat during the fighting in Poland in 1939 and in the French campaign in 1940. The first units intended from the beginning to fight at the front were created in mid-1940, giving them the name of the Waffen SS. Initially, they were recruited on a voluntary basis, also among non-German people, but over time, compulsory recruitment began to apply. Within the Waffen-SS, many divisions of different combat value were formed. Nevertheless, a few of them (e.g. the 1st SS LAH Panzer Division, the 2nd SS Das Reich Panzer Division or the 12th SS Hitlerjugend Panzer Division) can be considered elite units, with very high combat value and often equipped with the best available equipment. They demonstrated their considerable advantages not only on the Eastern Front (1941-1945), especially during the battles near Kharkiv in 1943, but also during the battles in France in 1944. Another thing is that the quality of the commanding staff of these units was in many cases debatable, and many Waffen-SS soldiers committed war crimes during World War II.