The 5th SS Police Regiment (german: SS-Polizei-Regiment 5) was initially named the 5th Police Regiment (''Polizei-Regiment 5'') when it was formed in 1942 from existing

Order Police The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (), abbreviated ''Orpo'', meaning "Order Police", were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo organisation was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly on power after regional police jurisdiction w ...

(''Ordnungspolizei'') units for security duties in Occupied Serbia. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early 1943. The regiment was disbanded at the end of 1944.

Formation and organization

The regiment was ordered formed in July 1942 in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, but the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

al headquarters was not formed until 29 November.Tessin & Kanapin, p. 617 Police Battalion 64 (''Polizei-Batallion 64'') in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, Serbia, and

Police Battalion 322 The Police Battalion 322 (''Polizeibattalion 322'') was a formation of the German Order Police (uniformed police) during the Nazi era. During Operation Barbarossa, it was subordinated to the SS and deployed in German-occupied areas, specifical ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

were redesignated as the regiment's first and second

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s, respectively, and the third battalion was raised in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. This battalion was disbanded before it ever left Berlin and it was replaced by the redesignation of the First Battalion of the 3rd Police Regiment (''I./Polizei-Regiment 3'') in January 1943.Arico, pp. 197–98, 484; Tessin & Kanapin, p. 617

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

(''Generalmajor der Schutzpolizei'') Andreas May was the first regimental commander and remained in command until his death in June 1944.

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

(''Oberstleutenant der Schutzpolizei'') Franz Lechthaler assumed command on 15 July and retained until sometime in late 1944. All of the police regiments were redesignated as SS police units on 24 February 1943. The regiment was disbanded at the end of 1944 during the German withdrawal from Serbia.Tessin & Kannapin, pp. 557, 617

Notes

References

* Arico, Massimo. ''Ordnungspolizei: Encyclopedia of the German Police Battalions'', Stockholm: Leandoer and Ekholm (2010). *Muñoz, Antonio J. ''Hitler's Green Army: The German Order Police and Their European Auxiliaries, 1933–1945'', Volume 2: Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Bayside, New York: Europa Books, 2006 *Tessin, Georg & Kannapin, Norbert. ''Waffen-SS under Ordnungspolizei im Kriegseinsatz 1939–1945: Ein Überlick anhand der Feldpostübersicht'', Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag (2000). {{SS Police Regts # Military units and formations of Germany in Yugoslavia in World War II