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The Kalmykian Cavalry Corps (german: Kalmücken-Kavallerie-Korps; also known as: german: Kalmücken Verband Dr. Doll, xal, Доктор Доллин Хальмг мөртә церг, translit=Doktor Dollin Xalmg mörtä tserg, , Dr. Doll Kalmyk Formation (Dr. Doll was an alias of )) was a unit of about 5,000 ethnic Kalmyk volunteers who chose to join the German Army in 1942 rather than remain in Kalmykia as German forces retreated before the
The Kalmykian Cavalry Corps (german: Kalmücken-Kavallerie-Korps; also known as: german: Kalmücken Verband Dr. Doll, xal, Доктор Доллин Хальмг мөртә церг, translit=Doktor Dollin Xalmg mörtä tserg, , Dr. Doll Kalmyk Formation (Dr. Doll was an alias of )) was a unit of about 5,000 ethnic Kalmyk volunteers who chose to join the German Army in 1942 rather than remain in Kalmykia as German forces retreated before the Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
. Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
subsequently declared the Kalmyk population as a whole to be German collaborators in 1943 and ordered mass deportations to Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
suffering great loss of life.
Origins
WhenErich von Manstein
Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein (born Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Lewinski; 24 November 1887 – 9 June 1973) was a German Field Marshal of the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes and ...
led the 16th Motorized Infantry Division into Kalmykia in early 1942 he already had some Kalmyk advisors from a committee drawn together by Goebbels for propaganda purposes. These were supplemented by other Kalmyks who had settled in Belgrade following their flight with White Russian emigres after the Russian October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...
.
Organization
The KKK acted within the GermanWehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
as an independent allied force with all leadership positions taken by Kalmyks. Most of the officers were Kalmyks themselves with previous Soviet military experience. A few Germans that were present within the corps performed only auxiliary and administrative functions.
Military actions
The Kalmykian Cavalry Corps fought with the Wehrmacht behind the lines, especially around the Azov Sea. At the end of 1944, the surviving Kalmyk cavalry troops, together with their families, retreated with the German army. About 2,000 went toSilesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
, Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and 1,500 to Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
, Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, where they were reorganized to fight against the partisans.
End of the war
After the war, nearly all of the surviving Kalmyk soldiers along with the Kalmyk families that accompanied them were forcibly repatriated to the Soviet Union. Despite the fact that 23,750 Kalmyks served in the Red Army during World War II, the Kalmykian people were internally deported for 13 years ascollective punishment
Collective punishment is a punishment or sanction imposed on a group for acts allegedly perpetrated by a member of that group, which could be an ethnic or political group, or just the family, friends and neighbors of the perpetrator. Because ind ...
for the actions of the Kalmykian Cavalry Corps.
See also
* Tiger Legion *Turkic, Caucasian, Cossack, and Crimean collaborationism with the Axis powers
Among the approximately one million foreign volunteers and conscripts who served in the Wehrmacht during World War II were ethnic Belgians, Czechs, Dutch, Finns, Danes, French, Hungarians, Norwegians, Poles, Portuguese, Swedes, along with people ...
References
{{Reflist Cavalry corps of Germany Foreign volunteer units of the Wehrmacht History of Kalmykia Kalmyk people 1942 establishments in Europe Collaboration with the Axis Powers Military units and formations established in 1942