The 6th SS Mountain Division "Nord" (german: 6. SS-Gebirgs-Division "Nord") was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

unit of the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, formed in February 1941 as ''SS Kampfgruppe Nord'' (SS Battle Group North). The division was the only Waffen-SS unit to fight in the Arctic Circle when it was stationed in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and northern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

between June and November 1941. It fought in Karelia until the

Moscow Armistice The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of mo ...

in September 1944, at which point it left Finland. It fought in the

Operation Nordwind Operation Northwind (german: Unternehmen Nordwind) was the last major Nazi Germany, German offensive of World War II on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front. Northwind was launched to support the German Ardennes offensive campaign in ...

in January 1945, where it suffered heavy losses. In early April 1945, the division was destroyed by

U.S. forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

near

Büdingen Büdingen is a town in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is mainly known for its well-preserved, heavily fortified medieval town wall and half-timbered houses. Geography Location Büdingen is in the south of the Wetterau below the Vogels ...

, Germany.

Operation Barbarossa

The division was formed from the units of the '' SS-Totenkopfverbände'' (

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

guards) to guard the border with the Soviet Union following the 1940

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

. In the spring of 1941, the newly formed division was moved into positions at

Salla Salla (''Kuolajärvi'' until 1936) ( smn, Kyelijävri) is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The nearby settlement of ...

in northern Finland with General

Nikolaus von Falkenhorst Paul Nikolaus von Falkenhorst (17 January 1885 – 18 June 1968) was a German general and a war criminal during World War II. He planned and commanded the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in 1940, and was commander of German troops during ...

in command. The 6th SS Nord Division was made up mostly of volunteers from Hungary, Romania, and a few Norwegians. In time the division formed a SS-Gebirgsbrigade formed by volunteering Norwegians and Finns. An Austrian Regiment was also attached. A number of Swiss volunteers served in the division. Prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union,

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, a new unit was attached, SS ''

Gebirgsjäger ''Gebirgsjäger'' () are the light infantry part of the alpine or mountain troops (''Gebirgstruppe'') of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The word '' Jäger'' (meaning "hunter" or "huntsman") is a characteristic term used for light infantry in ...

'' (Mountain) Artillery Regiment 6, and the brigade was redesignated a division, 6th SS Division ''Nord''. The new division, partly as a result of inadequate training and poor leadership, soon became notorious for twice breaking in the face of enemy forces. When it took part in

Operation Arctic Fox Operation Arctic Fox (German: ''Unternehmen Polarfuchs''; fi, operaatio Napakettu; Russian: ''Кандалакшская операция'') was the codename given to a World War II campaign by German and Finnish forces against Soviet Northern ...

, more than half of its infantry units broke and retreated in disarray. In September 1941 the division was attached to the Finnish III Corps under General

Hjalmar Siilasvuo Hjalmar Fridolf Siilasvuo (born Hjalmar Fridolf Strömberg, 18 March 1892 – 11 January 1947) was a Finnish lieutenant general ( fi, kenraaliluutnantti, link=no), a knight of the Mannerheim Cross and a member of the Jäger Movement. He particip ...

, and took up defensive positions at Kiestinki (Kestenga) in the

Loukhsky District Loukhsky District (russian: Ло́ухский райо́н; krl, Louhen piiri) is an administrative district (raion), one of the fifteen in the Republic of Karelia, Russia.Constitution of the Republic of Karelia It is located in the north of th ...

. The division broke for a second time, after a panic took hold among personnel, who came to believe that they were facing a major attack by Soviet armored forces. By the end of 1941, it had lost a significant proportion of its fighting personnel, from both combat and non-combat related causes. Over the winter of 1941–42 it received replacements from the general pool of Waffen-SS recruits.

1942–1945

Throughout the rest of 1942 and through 1943 it remained on the Kestenga front, which was quiet compared to other areas of the Eastern Front. In September 1942, the unit was renamed as the SS Mountain Division Nord. In September 1944 it was ordered to withdraw from Finland, upon the conclusion of a separate armistice between Finland and the Soviet Union. The division then formed the rear guard for the three German corps withdrawing from Finland in Operation Birch and from September to November 1944 marched 1,600 kilometers to

Mo i Rana Mo i Rana () is a city, and the administrative centre of the municipality of Rana, in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just south of the Arctic Circle. Some of the city's suburbs include Båsmoen and Yt ...

, Norway, where it entrained for the southern end of the country. The Norwegian Ski-Battalion unit was then left behind, in accordance with their contracts. They were merged into "SS-und-Schi-Jäger-Polizei-Battalion 506 (mot.) with app. 50% men from different German Police units in South Norway. The rest of the division was transferred to Germany. The division briefly refitted in Denmark where its losses were replaced by young ''

Volksdeutsche In Nazi German terminology, ''Volksdeutsche'' () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship". The term is the nominalised plural of '' volksdeutsch'', with ''Volksdeutsche'' denoting a sin ...

'' (ethnic Germans) who had been conscripted into the Waffen-SS and received only a brief training. The division took part in

in the Low

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

mountains of northeastern France. By 2 January, part of the division (SS Gebirgs Regiment 12 and 506th Battalion) went into action against the U.S. 45th Infantry Division, attached to 361st

Volksgrenadier ''Volksgrenadier'' was the name given to a type of German Army division formed in the Autumn of 1944 after the double loss of Army Group Center to the Soviets in Operation Bagration and the Fifth Panzer Army to the Allies in Normandy. The na ...

Division. For six days the SS men fought in and around the town of Wingen, finally being pushed back by the U.S. forces with most of the battle group killed or captured. On 16 January, the SS Regiment 11 surrounded six companies of the American 157th Infantry Regiment. The American troops were forced to surrender three days later, losing 482 men. Nord advanced for six more days before being stopped by American counterattacks. German attempts at a breakthrough were halted altogether by 30 January. The division remained on the western front after the Nordwind offensive, fighting American forces around

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

and Koblenz on the

Moselle River The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblen ...

in March. By Easter 1945 it numbered about 2,000 soldiers, including stragglers from other units. It still had six howitzers and an assault gun. The division refused to give up, and moved east to re-establish contact with other German units. However, as it moved, it drew the attention of the US Army by cutting American lines of communication. In early April 1945 over the course of several days the U.S. 71st Division fought a series of meeting engagements with the 6th SS Division Nord. As a result, the division was destroyed; its personnel scattered or captured.

Commanders

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...

Karl Herrmann Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

, (28 February 1941 – 15 May 1941) *

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...

Karl-Maria Demelhuber, (15 May 1941 – 1 April 1942) *

Matthias Kleinheisterkamp Matthias Kleinheisterkamp (22 June 1893 – 29 April 1945) was an SS-''Obergruppenführer'' during World War II. He commanded the SS Division Totenkopf, SS Division Nord, SS Division Das Reich, III SS Panzer Corps, VII SS Panzer Corps, IV SS P ...

, (1 April 1942 – 20 April 1942) *

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically a NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographic ...

Hans Scheider, (20 April 1942 – 14 June 1942) *

(14 June 1942 – 15 January 1944) * Gruppenführer

Lothar Debes Lothar Debes (21 June 1890 – 14 July 1960) was a German SS leader during the Nazi era. He commanded the SS Division Nord and the SS Division Frundsberg The 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg" (german: 10. SS-Panzerdivision "Frundsberg" ...

, (15 January 1944 – 14 June 1944) *

Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger (8 May 1894 – 10 May 1945) was a German war criminal and paramilitary commander acting as a high-ranking member of the SA and the SS. Between 1939 and 1943 he was the Higher SS and Police Leader in the General Govern ...

, (14 June 1944 – 23 August 1944) *

Gustav Lombard Gustav Lombard (10 April 1895 – 18 September 1992) was a high-ranking member in the SS during World War II. During the war, Lombard commanded 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer and the 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division. He was a recipient ...

,(23 August 1944 – 1 September 1944) * Gruppenführer Karl Brenner, (1 September 1944 – 3 April 1945) * Standartenführer Franz Schreiber, (3 April 1945 – 8 May 1945)

Area of operations

*Finland & northern Russia (June 1941 – November 1944) *Norway & Denmark (November 1944 – January 1945) *Western Germany (January 1945 – April 1945) *Austria (April 1945 – May 1945)

Manpower strength

*June 1941: 10,373 *December 1942: 21,247 *December 1943: 20,129 *June 1944: 19,355 *December 1944: 15,000

Order of battle

;Order of battle 22 April 1941 (as Kampfgruppe Nord) Prior to divisional status, the unit was known as KG Nord. It was formed on 28 Feb 1941, and a flak battalion was added on 21 Apr 1941. * 6th SS-Infantry Regiment (3 Battalions & 13, 14th companies) * 7th SS-Infantry Regiment (3 Battalions & 13, 14th companies) * Reconnaissance Battalion * Artillery Regiment (3 Light Battalions) * Pioneer Companies (2 of) * Signals Battalion * Supply Troop * Divisional Administration * Medical Service * Military Police Detachment * Field Post Office ;Order of battle September 1941 At its inception in September 1941 the division was made up of the following units: * Division Staff * SS-Infantry Regiment 6 * SS-Infantry Regiment 7 * SS-Infantry Regiment 9 (left the division in December 1941) * SS-Gebirgs Artillery Regiment "Nord" * SS-

Panzerjäger ''Panzerjäger'' ( German "armour-hunters" or "tank-hunters", abbreviated to ''Pz.Jg.'' in German) was a branch of service of the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War. It was an anti-tank arm-of-service that operated self-propelled ...

(Tank Hunter) Battalion "Nord" * SS-Reconnaissance Battalion "Nord" * SS-

Flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

Battalion "Nord" * SS-Gebirgs Engineer Battalion "Nord" * SS-Gebirgs Signal Battalion "Nord" * SS-Division Supply Commander "Nord" ;Order of battle 1942 After being designated SS-Gebirgs-Division „Nord“ on 15 January 1942 the division's units were all renamed as Gebirgs (Mountain) units and the infantry regiments renamed and renumbered. The division was given the number 6 on 22 October 1943. The new structure was as follows: * Division Staff * SS-

Regiment 11 "

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...

" with three battalions * SS-Gebirgsjäger Regiment 12 ″ Michael Gaißmair″ with three battalions * SS-Infantry Regiment (motorized) 5 (added in 1944) * SS-Skijäger Battalion "Norge" (a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

volunteer unit) * SS-Gebirgs Artillery Regiment 6 with three artillery groups * SS- Werfer Battalion 6 (Rocket artillery) * SS-Gebirgs Panzerjäger Battalion 6 (Anti-tank cannons) * SS-Gebirgs Reconnaissance Battalion (motorized) 6 * SS-

Battalion 6 (Anti-aircraft artillery) * SS-Gebirgs Engineer Battalion 6 * SS-Gebirgs Signal Battalion 6 * SS-Division Supply Commander 6 * SS-Feldersatz Battalion 6 (Reserve and training battalion used to prepare new arrivals to fill up depleted units) * SS- Sturmgeschütz Battery 6 (Assault Guns) * SS-Gebirgs-Kriegsberichter Platoon 6 (Propaganda Platoon) * SS- Feldgendarmerie Platoon 6 (Military Police)

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

*Ian Baxter - ''6th SS Mountain Division Nord at War 1941-1945'' *George F. Nafziger - ''The German Order of Battle: Waffen SS and Other Units in World War II''