Formation, training and first battles of the 13th SS Mountain Division "Khanjar"

44

Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammad Amin al-Husseini in front of the parade line of the 13th Khanjar Division. To the right of the mufti is the division commander, Brigadenführer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig.

Continuation of the essay on stories "Bosnian-Muslim" 13th SS Mountain Division "Khanjar". (First part: "13th SS Mountain Division" Khanjar ". The birth of an unusual military unit ").

Translation of an article published in the German military history magazine "DMZ-Zeitgeschichte" No. 46 July-August 2020.
By Dr. Walter Post
Translation: Slug_BDMP
Illustrations: magazine "DMZ-Zeitgeschichte"





Translator's note. 1. For those who are interested in the topic, I recommend an article that tells in more detail about the rebellion of the "Khanjar" soldiers in France: "On the uprising in the Khanjar division in 1943".
2. Designation of CC connections. In 1943, the following division into three categories was introduced:
- SS Division - compounds formed from ethnic Germans who meet the requirements of racial purity and are suitable in physical parameters. An example of designation - 2. SS-Panzerdivision "Das Reich";
- SS-Freiwilligen-Division (SS volunteer divisions) - were recruited by Volksdeutsche and volunteers from other "Germanic" peoples (example - 7. Freiwilligen-Geb. Div. "Prinz Eugen" - 7th SS volunteer mountain division);
- Waffendivision der SS - connections formed from representatives of "non-Nordic" peoples. They were designated as 13. Waffen-Gebirgsdivision der SS or 29. Waffen-Grenadierdivision der SS. Military ranks in them also differed - for example, not SS-Obersturmfuerer, but Waffen-Obersturmfuerer.



Campaign poster. Author - Professor Ottomar Anton
“Bosniaks! Join the ranks of the SS troops - defend your homeland, your wives and children! "

In June 1943, the division, which was in the stage of formation, was subordinated to the commander of the German forces in southern France and relocated to the Mende, Haute-Loire, Aveyron, Lozerne area. On August 9, 1943, the division was led by Colonel of the Wehrmacht Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig. When moving to the SS, he received the title of Oberführer. Sauberzweig took part in the First World War, at the age of 18 he was already a company commander, was awarded military awards. In 1941, as a regiment commander, he took part in a campaign against the USSR. Although he did not speak Serbo-Croatian, he quickly earned the respect of his subordinates.

***
While the units of the division were in the town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, on the night of September 16-17, a group of soldiers of the sapper battalion, led by several non-commissioned officers of Muslims and Catholics, mutinied.


Soldiers of the "Khanjar" division in characteristic gray-green uniforms

Unterscharfuehrer Ferid Janich, Haupsharfuehrer Nikola Vukelich, Haupsharfuehrer Eduard Matutinovich, Oberscharfuehrer Lutfia Dizdarevich and Bozho Jelenek captured most of the German personnel and killed five German officers. Among those killed was the battalion commander Obersturmbannführer Oskar Kirchbaum, who had previously served in the Austro-Hungarian and then in the royal Yugoslav armies.

The motives of the leaders of the rebellion are still unclear.

Perhaps they hoped that most of the personnel would join them, and they would be able to defect to the Western allies. But, apparently, they had no contacts either with the French Resistance or with British agents. Thanks to the division's imam Halim Malcoch and the battalion doctor Wilfried Schweiger, the riot was quickly pacified. Malcoch brought the soldiers of the 1st company into obedience, freed the captured Germans and gathered personnel to capture the instigators. Schweiger managed to do the same in the 2nd company.

Later, Himmler awarded Malcoch and Schweiger the 2nd Class Iron Crosses. Moreover, Himmler said that,

despite the incident, he has no doubts about the reliability of the Bosnians. Even in the First World War, they faithfully served their emperor, why should not they continue to do this.

The leaders of the rebels Dizdarevich and Dzhanich were killed in a shootout, while Matutinovich and Yelenek managed to escape. According to some reports, Matutinovich, who became a fighter of the NOAJ, drowned in the Danube in May 1945. Yelenek managed to join the French "poppies". And he died in Zagreb in 1987.

The death toll in the mutiny varies according to various sources. German reports say 14 were executed.

In the town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, they still commemorate every September 17

"Martyrs who fell in the fight against Nazism."

In the "anti-fascist" French and Yugoslav literature, it is said about 150 dead rebels, about their

"Heroic resistance"

about hours of street fighting, about local residents who joined the rebels and about

"The first French city liberated from the Nazis."

There is no documentary evidence of this.

The place where 14 rebels were shot is named

"Field of the Yugoslav Martyrs".

And in 1950, a memorial stone was erected there by the authorities of the SFRY. In 2006, it was replaced by a monument by the Croatian sculptor Vani Radaus. The Field of the Yugoslav Martyrs was renamed into the Croatian Memorial Park.

After the mutiny, all members of the division were checked. 825 Bosniaks and Croats were declared “unfit for service” and “unreliable”, transferred to the “Todt Organization” and sent to work in Germany. 265 of them refused to work in OT and were sent to the Neungamme concentration camp.

***
To complete the training, the division was transferred to the Neuhammer training ground in Silesia. After the introduction of a new numbering of SS formations in October 1943, the division was named the 13th Volunteer Bosnian-Herzegovinian Mountain Division (Croatian).

The organizational and staff structure of the division was as follows:

- 1st Croatian SS volunteer mining regiment;
- 2st Croatian SS volunteer mining regiment;
- Croatian SS Cavalry Battalion;
- Croatian SS reconnaissance battalion;
- Croatian SS volunteer mountain artillery regiment;
- Croatian SS anti-tank battalion;
- Croatian SS anti-aircraft battalion;
- Croatian SS sapper battalion;
- Croatian SS communications battalion;
- support units.

By December 31, the number of personnel of the division was 21065 people, which is 2000 more than the regular one. Nevertheless, there was an extremely shortage of officers and non-commissioned officers.

***
On February 15, 1944, the preparation was completed. And the division was transferred by rail to Croatia.

According to the combat log of the High Command of the Wehrmacht, its tasks were as follows:

“... The transfer in mid-February of the 13th Bosnian division from the Neuhammer training ground to Slavonski Brod significantly strengthened the troops of the South-East Command ...

It should be recalled that in order for the division to fulfill its assigned tasks, it is necessary to take into account the cultural and ethnic characteristics of the Bosnian Muslims. The German soldiers of the division must respect them.

The important role of the mufti must also be taken into account.

The return of the division to Croatia is the fulfillment of the Reich's commitment to return its sons to their homeland. This should strengthen mutual trust between the German command and the local population.

The division must be stationed in Sirmium.

Its first task is to pacify the area between the Drina and Bosna rivers ”.

(KTB OKW Bd. VI / I. S623)


Area of ​​responsibility of the 13th SS Division (highlighted in yellow)

Maintaining order in the 6000 sq. M. Area was of paramount importance. km in the northeast of Bosnia, the so-called "peace zone".

This zone was bounded by the rivers Sava, Bosna, Drina and Specha and included the regions of Posavina, Semberia and Maevitsa. On the opposite side, the 3rd NOAU Partisan Corps operated in it.

The baptism of fire of the 13th Division took place on March 9-12, 1944, during Operation Wegweiser, the purpose of which was to protect the Zagreb-Belgrade railway from partisans operating from forests in the Bosut river basin and from villages along the Sava.

After the approach of the 13th division, the partisans, avoiding major battles, retreated to the southeast. As a result of the operation, division commander Sauberzweig reported on 573 killed and 82 captured partisans. The forests in the Bosut basin were cleared of guerrillas, and this was an undoubted success, but they could return at any time.

On March 15, 1944, a new operation "Sava" began, the task of which was to cleanse the Semberia region from partisans.

At dawn, the 1st mountaineger regiment crossed the Sava near its confluence with the Drina at Bossan Rachi. The main forces of the division were ferried with powerful artillery support at Brcko. The partisans quickly retreated into the woods.

The 1st mountaineger regiment at a fast pace advanced through Velino Selo to Bielin and, almost without encountering resistance, occupied it in the afternoon of March 16, after which it went on the defensive there.

The 2nd mountaineger regiment and the reconnaissance battalion carried out the main task in the meantime, advancing through Pukis, Chelich and Koray to the foot of the Maevitsa mountain range. The second battalion of the 2nd mountaineger regiment (II./2), led by its commander, Sturmbannführer Hans Hanke, attacked the positions of the partisans near Chelich, who, as a result of heavy losses and the use of ammunition, were forced to retreat. After clearing the area, the battalion proceeded to equip positions along the Chelic-Lopare road.

At the same time, reinforced (up to a company) patrols were sent for reconnaissance.

On the night of March 17-18, units of the 16th and 36th Voevodino divisions of the NOAJ attacked the positions of the 2nd regiment, but, having lost about 200 people, retreated. The reconnaissance battalion fought heavy battles with units of the 3rd Voevodinsky brigade and the 36th Voevodinsky divisions, as a result of which 124 partisans were destroyed and 14 were taken prisoner.

In early April, about 200 partisans of the 16th Muslim Brigade surrendered. Almost all of them were previously members of various Muslim self-defense groups.

Operation Osterei (Easter Egg) began on April 12, 1944.

Its goal was to clean up the area of ​​the Maevitsa ridge, controlled by units of the 3rd NOAJ corps under the command of General Costa Nada.

The 1st Mining Regiment occupied the village of Yanya and continued the offensive through Donja Trnovac to Uglevik in order to take control of the coal mines located there, which are of great importance for the German military industry. According to the results of the fighting, which lasted until the evening of April 13, the 1st regiment reported on 106 killed, 45 captured partisans and two defectors. In addition, a large number of weapons, ammunition and medicines.

At this time, the first battalion of the 2nd regiment (I./2) suffered heavy losses, fighting farther south, in the area of ​​the village of Priboy. The command of the 3rd partisan corps withdrew parts of the 16th and 36th Voevodino divisions to the south, across the Tuzla-Zvornik road.

The reconnaissance battalion broke through to the western part of Mayevitsa and occupied Srebrenik and Gradacats.

For the Germans, Operation Easter Egg was a significant success. All goals were achieved with insignificant losses of their own.

Even during the final phase of the operation, battalion I./2 was withdrawn from the battle and sent to Pristina, in Kosovo, to become the nucleus for the formation of the 21st Albanian division "Skanderbek" (1st Albanian SS division).

***
One of the largest operations against partisans during World War II was the Trinity Birch (Maibaum).

Its goal was to destroy the 3rd partisan corps.

It was attended by units of the 7th SS Mountain Division "Prince Eugen" and the 13th SS Mountain Division V. SS Mountain Corps Arthur Pleps, several army divisions and the formation of the NGH. The command of Army Group F ordered V. SS Mountain Corps to block the guerrillas from a possible retreat into eastern Serbia across the Drina River.

The 13th SS Mountain Division was tasked with occupying Tuzla and Zvornik, and then advancing along the Drina to the south, to join the main forces of the corps. The Srebrenitsa direction was supposed to be covered by her reconnaissance battalion. On April 23, the 2nd Mountaineger Regiment began to advance along the mountain roads to Tuzla and by the next day reached Stupari. On April 25, the 1st Gornoyegersky began moving south, towards Zvornik.

At the same time, the 2nd regiment sent battalion I./2 to the east, towards Vlasenitsa, and II./2, to the south, to Kladani, which it occupied on April 27. Due to the Drinichi spill in the Kladani area, the battalion was unable to cross it. And instead of further advancing south, to Vlasianitsa, he continued to advance to the southeast, to the city of Khan-Pesak, where he united with the units of "Prince Eugen".

Battalion I./2 occupied Vlasianitsa on April 28, after which it was attacked by two partisan divisions from the south.

Another partisan division surrounded the headquarters of the 2nd mountaineger regiment near Sekovichi, 30 kilometers from Vlasyanitsa.

The 2nd and reconnaissance battalions made a quick march to Vlasianitsa to help the 1st battalion, after which they jointly liberated their headquarters from the encirclement and, in turn, surrounded Sekovichi. As a result of 48 hours of heavy fighting, the city was occupied.

During the fighting for Sekovichi, the 1st Regiment extended its defensive lines further south along the Drina. He managed to lure one of the partisan columns into an ambush. And by April 30 to reach New Kasada. After the situation with Sekovichi was resolved by May 1, the 1st regiment was able to start fulfilling its main task - protecting the Tuzla-Zvornik road.

On May 2, the 5nd regiment moved to the Simin Khan-Lopare area, and units of the 7th mountain division pursued the partisans retreating to the south. As a result of Operation Maibaum, the 3rd Partisan Corps suffered heavy losses and was unable to cross the Drina into Serbia.

On May 6, the command of the V. Mountain Corps returned the 13th SS Division to its place of permanent deployment in the "peace zone".

***
On May 15, 1944, the division was renamed the 13th SS Mountain Division "Khanjar" or the 1st Croatian Division (13. Waffen-Gebirgsdivision der SS "Handschar" (kroatische Nr. 1).

In modern German, Khanjar is called crooked daggers from Oman, but in
In Serbo-Croatian, this word means any edged weapon with a curved blade, be it a Turkish scimitar or a kilich, or an Arab saif.

***
On May 17-18, 1944, the "Khanjar" division carried out, together with the formation of the Chetniks of Radivoi Kerovich, the "Lily of the Valley" ("Maigloeckchen") operation. Its goal was to destroy the partisans in the Maevitsa-Tuzla area.

The partisans fortified themselves on the heights of the Capital, where they were surrounded. The attempt of the 1st Voevodino division to break through to the encircled was repulsed by the forces of the reconnaissance battalion and units of the 2nd mountaineger regiment "Khandzhara".

Only on the night of May 18, under cover of darkness, under heavy artillery fire, the partisans managed to escape in a southerly direction. They suffered significant losses in the process. For example, the 17th Mayevitsky brigade lost 16 killed and 60 wounded. At the end of Operation Lily of the Valley, the 1st regiment remained in the Zvornik area, and the 2nd went over to Srebrenik. The division's tasks were limited mainly to the protection of the "peace zone".


Chetniks in 1943-1944 often took part in the operations of the Germans against the partisans. In the photo they are armed with MG-34 machine guns.


Khanjar signalmen. These divisions consisted mainly of Volksdeutsche.

In June 1944, the 13th SS Division was reorganized. And its composition was as follows:

• 27th SS Volunteer Mining Regiment (Waffen-Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment der SS 27) - former 1st
• 28th SS Volunteer Mining Regiment (Waffen-Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment der SS 28) - former 2st
• 13th SS Volunteer Artillery Regiment (SS-Waffen-Artillerie-Regiment 13)
• Croatian tank SS battalion (Kroatische SS-Panzer-Abteilung)
• anti-tank battalion (SS-Gebirgs-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 13)
• cavalry battalion (Kroatische SS-Kavallerie-Abteilung)
• anti-aircraft battalion (SS-Flak-Abteilung 13)
• communications battalion (SS-Gebirgs-Nachrichten-Abteilung 13)
• reconnaissance battalion (SS-Gebirgs-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 13)
• motorized reconnaissance platoon (SS-Panzer-Aufklärungszug)
• bicycle battalion (Kroatisches SS-Radfahr-Bataillon)
• engineer battalion (SS-Gebirgs-Pionier-Bataillon 13)
• motorcycle battalion (Kroatisches SS-Kradschützen-Bataillon)
• SS supply squad (SS-Divisions-Nachschubtruppen)
• 13th sanitary battalion (SS-Sanitätsabteilung 13)
• 13th Mountain Veterinary Company (SS-Gebirgs-Veterinär-Kompanie 13)

During the division's stay in the "peace zone" it was supported by local armed formations - about 13000 Chetniks, "green cadres" (Muslim detachments under the command of Neshad Topcic) and Croatian households.

But their reliability and fighting qualities were highly questionable.

***
An important event in the anti-guerrilla war in Yugoslavia was Operation Knight's Ride.

The command of the 2nd Panzer Army of General Lothar Rendulich planned to capture the partisan commander Tito and thus weaken the leadership of the NOAJ.

To solve this problem, the 500th SS paratrooper battalion suddenly landed for the partisans in Bosnian Drvar, where Tito's main headquarters, as well as Soviet, British and American military missions were located.

At the same time, other German and Croatian troops, which included parts of the XV. The Mountain Corps, the 373rd Croatian Division, the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division "Prince Eugen", attacked Drvar from different directions and captured it by 26 May.

The leading structures of the partisan army were largely destroyed, but Tito himself managed to escape. Subsequently, he was taken on an English destroyer to the island of Vis, where he organized his new headquarters. There she planned a counterattack, including against the Bosnian SS men.

The 3rd partisan corps in three columns launched an offensive on the area of ​​the Maevitsa ridge in order to regain control over the Posavina-Maevitsa region. These columns had the following composition:

- Western grouping - 16th Voevodino division;
- the central grouping - the 38th East Bosnian Division;
- Eastern grouping - 36th Voevodino division.

Sauberzweig already on June 6 was warned by counterintelligence about this maneuver.

He planned his own operation "Vollmond" ("Full moon"), in which it was supposed to gather his own forces into a fist and push the partisans to the Drina. But Sauberzweig underestimated the forces of the "western" group of partisans and left as a cover against them only one battalion (I./28), entrenched in the heights.

There were many inexperienced recruits in this battalion. He was also supposed to cover two batteries of the 13th artillery regiment, one of which (7th) was located in Lopar. In the afternoon of June 7, the partisans managed to defeat the 1st Battalion (I./28), despite the fact that the 2nd Battalion from Srebrenik hurried to help it. The 16th Voevodinskaya attacked the positions of the 7th battery (7./Ar13).

This battery consisted of 80 people, armed with four 150-mm howitzers and one machine gun. After a four-hour battle, after the gunners ran out of ammunition, they were forced to leave their positions along with the guns.

Counterattacks II./28 on June 9 and 10 threw back the partisans of the "western" and "central" groupings with heavy losses in a southerly direction. The partisans were unable to take the captured heavy weapons and tractors with them and therefore destroyed them. The losses of the 7th battery were 38 killed and 8 missing.

The "Eastern" grouping of partisans was attacked by the 27th regiment and by June 12 threw them back across the Sprecha River.

Operation Full Moon cost the division 205 killed, 528 wounded and 89 missing. According to German data, the losses of the partisans amounted to more than 1500 people, in addition, large trophies were captured. According to Yugoslavian reports, the losses of the 3rd partisan corps were:

- Western grouping - 58 killed, 198 wounded, 29 missing;
- central grouping - 12 killed, 19 wounded, 17 missing;
- eastern grouping - 72 killed, 142 wounded, 9 missing.

These numbers are very different from the German ones.

***

Fighters "Khanjar" in the classroom for mountain training

At the end of Operation Full Moon on June 19, the commander of the 27th Regiment, Standartenführer Desiderius Hampel, was appointed division commander. As regiment commander, he was replaced by Sturmbannführer Sepp Sire.

The commander of the 28th regiment also changed. It was Sturmbannführer Hans Hanke. Sauberzweig was entrusted with the formation of a new IX. Mountain Corps SS (Croatian).

Former commander of the 28th Regiment Helmut Raitel took up the formation of the new 23rd SS Mountain Division "Kama" (2nd Croatian). Three non-commissioned officers from each Khanjar company were dispatched to the newly formed units. The headquarters of the formed corps and divisions were located in southern Hungary.

Soon after Hampel took command of the regiment, he learned that the Chetniks were collecting weapons belonging to the 13th division on the battlefield and taking them over. Hampel had to enter into negotiations with the leader of the Chetniks, Radivo Kerovich. And after long bargaining to agree on the exchange of weapons for ammunition for small arms and hand grenades.


Soldiers of the personal security brigade of the "head" Antje Pavelic

The ending should ...
Our news channels

Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest news and the most important events of the day.

44 comments
Information
Dear reader, to leave comments on the publication, you must sign in.
  1. +5
    12 March 2021 05: 28
    I look forward to continuing the dear Dr. Walter Post ... the history of the SS troops is very interesting ... it clearly shows how the shock war machine of the Third Reich was formed.
    1. +4
      12 March 2021 05: 36
      Quote: Lech from Android.
      the history of the SS troops is very interesting

      It is more interesting to know how these creatures were smeared, but this is not particularly so.

      According to German data, the losses of the partisans were more than 1500 people, moreover, were captured large trophies. According to Yugoslavian reports, the losses of the 3rd partisan corps were:
      - western grouping - 58 killed, 198 wounded, 29 missing;
      - central grouping - 12 killed, 19 wounded, 17 missing;
      - eastern grouping - 72 killed, 142 injured, 9 missing.
      These numbers are very different from the German ones.

      How! Doubt the German truthfulness and accuracy !? They wrote 1500 so it is, the Germans never lie! (Sarcasm if that).
      1. +4
        12 March 2021 07: 56
        It is more interesting to know how these creatures were smeared, but this is not particularly so.

        Demyansky cauldron ... there a significant part of the selected SS men thinned out ... it's a pity not to the end.
        It was the most motivated part of Germany's war machine and it is very interesting to know its entire path from rebirth to the grave. hi
        1. 0
          12 March 2021 10: 02
          Quote: Lech from Android.
          and it is very interesting to know her entire path from rebirth to the grave.

          Well, what's stopping you? Study.
          1. +4
            12 March 2021 11: 18
            I'm studying ... smile But sometimes you come across documents and facts that are poorly covered in the general press. Documents from declassified archives are very interesting.
      2. +9
        12 March 2021 10: 19
        For the sake of justice, it should be noted that all parties were "merciless towards the bastards."
        Andrey Ulanov wrote about this very well:
        https://fitzroymag.com/mir/oruzhie/zachem-zhalet-basurman/
  2. +10
    12 March 2021 06: 32
    Thanks to the author for the detailed and interesting material, I look forward to continuing!
  3. +7
    12 March 2021 08: 11
    I always had a strange feeling when I read about the partisans of Yugoslavia, as if they had it there. Korea had a Civil War with a limited foreign contingent than an occupation - on both sides whole divisions with heavy weapons and equipment ...
    1. +8
      12 March 2021 08: 57
      I read that they killed each other more than the Germans
  4. +9
    12 March 2021 09: 08
    The motives of the leaders of the rebellion are still unclear.

    Why not? It is not difficult to guess about them from the surviving documents.
    The German officers who trained the legionnaires of the 13th Mountain Rifle SS Division "Khanjar" in September of the 43rd reported to their superiors:
    Muslims of Slavic origin constantly leave training to pray, and this is five times a day! Bosnians with wild suspicion try the stew at lunch and dinner, and if at least someone suddenly thinks that there is pork there, a scandal begins. We have to carry other canned food from afar, it takes a lot of time, and the soldiers are idle and smoke a hookah. They refuse to put on soldier's boots and belts, which, in their opinion, are made of pigskin - the bosses, screaming, took off their shoes, unbelted, and threw everything into the toilet. I had to urgently order from the headquarters of the SS quality-certified shoes and belts made of cow skins. In order to somehow smooth out the heating situation, it was decided to reduce the training of personnel to 8 hours a day with prayer breaks and create a garrison brothel for them.

    Obviously, this situation could not last forever. On September 17, 1943, the soldiers of the SS "Khanjar" division near the French city of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, promoted by only one (!) Communist, revolted. Their performance is considered the only riot in the SS and the Wehrmacht troops for
    1. +9
      12 March 2021 09: 15
      Ferid Janic was a cadet of the Yugoslav army, then partisan in the forests. He was taken prisoner, and in order to save his life, he joined the Khanjar division. There he created a communist cell of four people - in addition to him, the cell included soldiers Bozho Jelenek, Lutfia Dizdarevich and Nikola Vukelich. By that time, the Bosnians were fighting daily with the Germans. Rumors spread that everyone would be sent to the Eastern Front. Dzhanich constantly added fuel to the fire in the team, whispering: these German dogs do not consider us human, just in the teeth, we are for them, for them, ordinary "cannon fodder". German officers, however, irritated Muslims thoroughly with their behavior: they stood during prayers, settled in a separate hotel, had orderlies who washed their linen and clothes, and brazenly swallowed godless pork from iron cans in front of the Muslim legionnaires forced ordinary Muslims to build a "house for bodily rest, where the prepaid French houris were openly taken. This is what the SS "Khanjar" could not bear. Hundreds of soldiers agreed to the uprising.
      On September 17, 1943, five senior SS officers, including Obersturmbannführer Oskar Kirshbaum, were killed: they were simply torn to pieces, cut with knives, beaten with sticks and stones - only a bloody mess remained of the Nazis. Janic and his associates began to persuade the Bosniaks to leave for the forests to join the French partisans, but ... his proposal did not meet with enthusiasm. Although the SS soldiers sewed themselves red ribbons in support of communist ideas, in fact, none of them knew what to do next. Go to fight on foreign territory with foreigners? But it’s not known where, and there are no connections with the French. The legionnaires had enough determination to rebel against the Germans and kill the hated instructors, but they had no idea how to proceed further. But the Germans just did not waste time in vain - the head of the local SS infirmary, Dr. Wilfried Schweiger, rushed to the battalion imam Halim Malkoch with a request to “persuade the rioters”. Malkoch began to explain to the rebels that they are going against Islam, while the Bolsheviks are actually even worse and the worst enemies of Muslims. He won a couple of hours - the rebels were surrounded by Albanian SS soldiers, and the battle began. In a skirmish with the SS men loyal to Hitler, the leader of the uprising Ferid Janich was killed, the rest of the legionnaires laid down their arms. The Nazis promised complete forgiveness to those who surrendered, but, of course, they threw everyone safely away.
      15 Bosnian SS men were executed for participating in the uprising, 265 were sent to the concentration camps of Neuegamme and Dachau, 560 were exiled to Germany for hard work in the Todt Organization. The uprising failed, although we can say that the communist Dzhanich achieved his goal - he single-handedly disabled almost a thousand future front-line soldiers. After that, the German command did not dare to send "Khanjar" to the Eastern Front, setting up the Bosnian SS against the partisans in Yugoslavia itself.
      1. +3
        12 March 2021 11: 21
        You surprise me with such details ... good
        1. +9
          12 March 2021 11: 26
          Well, the link to the article in Fitzroy magazine is in the heading of the article.
          Translator's note. 1. For those who are interested in the topic, I recommend an article that tells in more detail about the rebellion of the Khanjar soldiers in France: "On the uprising in the Khanjar division in 1943".

          :-)
        2. +5
          12 March 2021 11: 28
          Hello Alex hi
          The internet is full of details about this uprising.
          I was personally very surprised by something else - the measures taken by the Nazis to prevent it - prayers and ... a brothel
          1. +5
            12 March 2021 13: 05
            Quote: Richard
            Hello Alex hi
            The internet is full of details about this uprising.
            I was personally very surprised by something else - the measures taken by the Nazis to prevent it - prayers and ... a brothel

            The brothel was not done right. Bypassing Sharia law, you can take a girl as a wife for a day for a fee (kalym), then divorce. The girl could have formally converted to Islam before that.
    2. +3
      12 March 2021 12: 09
      After 1914, only 25 years have passed, they were then allies of the Germans, and did not cause problems. And then all of a sudden they all became orthodox. Turkey at that time, Kemal generally separated Islam from the state. Well, okay, we got less. I wonder if you need to interrupt for prayer when you are with Mamzeli? The Germans probably haven't encountered Ramadan yet. When for a month you need to pray during the day and eat and drink at night. laughing
    3. +8
      12 March 2021 13: 01
      A typical mess in the head of the Bosniaks - a pigskin belt is not haramen, unlike a brothel, we pray 5 times a day, but we rise to a riot after an atheist communist laughing
    4. +4
      12 March 2021 15: 59
      Quote: Richard
      pray, and that's five times a day!

      it is, however, Osttürkischer Wafen Ferband SS with his commander Wilhelm Harun al-Rashid Hintersatz, who converted to Islam during WWI in Turkey.
      But I think the picture is universal for Muslim connections.

  5. +11
    12 March 2021 09: 30
    Hairy guys. They had no problems with lice, I wonder?
    1. +6
      12 March 2021 10: 19
      there were no problems with lice
      There were, but by 45 almost everyone was exhausted, rare ones ran for some time, not for long.
      1. +3
        12 March 2021 11: 15
        Quote: Trapp1st
        There were, but by 45 almost everyone was exhausted, rare ones ran for some time, not for long.

        Here's how. Have you professionally studied the problem of pediculosis in Chetniks?
        1. +5
          12 March 2021 11: 35
          Have you professionally studied the problem of pediculosis in Chetniks?
          Well, if you look at this situation from the point of view of the problem of pediculosis, then its cause in the form of chetniks was effectively stopped by the Red Army.
          1. +2
            12 March 2021 13: 28
            Quote: Trapp1st
            then its cause in the form of chetniks was effectively stopped by the Red Army.

            The 3rd Ukrainian had no more things to do, how to chase the Chetniks, yeah. The Chetniks of the Yuga were "effectively stopped" as early as 1946, when Drazha Mikhailovich was finally finished off. And in 1944, most of the Chetniks simply shuffled off to Slovenia.
            And, by the way, weren't Serbian Chetniks drawn in Donbas at one time?
    2. +5
      12 March 2021 11: 28
      So their lice were ideologically well-grounded, what kind of problems were there, allies. laughing
  6. +9
    12 March 2021 11: 27
    Khanjar signalmen. These divisions consisted mainly of Volksdeutsche.


    Volksdeutsche ... Well, this is just understandable, because there you don't just need to cut your heads and cut open your bellies, but you must have at least some education and be technically competent specialists.

    1. +6
      12 March 2021 11: 37
      Perhaps the main requirement was knowledge of the German language.
      1. +6
        12 March 2021 12: 06
        And the ability to handle the equipment a second time? Why the hell does he need to know the language, if he ate neither ear nor snout in the technique?
        Most likely it's fifty-fifty, you can't put a dense client on the walkie-talkie, you need education.
        1. +5
          12 March 2021 12: 19
          Thank you, Slug_BDMP, the article is read in one breath
          1. +4
            12 March 2021 12: 26
            Hello Dima! hi
            You wrote to me thanks to the author.
            And where are your comments?
            1. +5
              12 March 2021 13: 32
              I take an example from VikNika. I do not touch the author's text, comments at a minimum
              You wrote to me thanks to the author.

              Another arrow site problem. I'll try to fix it.
              Thanks to the Author for the interesting article, and to the Sea Cat for no less interesting comments!

        2. +7
          12 March 2021 12: 59
          Most likely it's fifty-fifty,

          Most likely so. But who are the Transylvanian, Balkan, Hungarian Volksdeutsche? The same peasants, most likely illiterate.
          1. +5
            12 March 2021 13: 17
            Well, they probably selected those who at least knew how to read and write in German. Whatever information you have, it is very difficult to imagine "live" that melting pot, which the Balkans represented. And even now it is not much better.
          2. +1
            12 March 2021 16: 11
            Quote: Slug_BDMP
            But who are the Transylvanian, Balkan, Hungarian Volksdeutsche? The same peasants, most likely illiterate.

            Literate enough to hold officer posts from non-commissioned officers to senior officers. Mentioned in comment Richard Colonel Klaus Kirshbaum, for example, was just from the FD.
  7. +4
    12 March 2021 13: 14
    Part of the SS-tse Hajar after the war in Palestine, shredded. Some settled in Caesarea with their families (today an elite village is more expensive than Borvikha, but apart from expensive houses with practically no glamor), in 48 the Jews asked for them from there, unknowingly they did not cut them out. Their current descendants were Arabized, living mainly in the vicinity of Ramallah (the capital of the Palestinian Authority). Many of them are fair-haired with blue eyes. I would have known in an emergency, I would have played role-playing games - we are Tito's fighters, and they are the "ancestors of the SS-tsy" laughing
    1. +6
      12 March 2021 13: 28
      Hi Albert. hi
      All over the world spread like cockroaches, interestingly, up to Lat. Did any of them get to America?
      Imagine the picture: volunteers of the "Khanjar" division knock the spirit out of the British in the Falklands! Here's to you, you bastards, for the forty-fifth year! laughing
      1. +7
        12 March 2021 13: 57
        Greetings, Constantine! hi
        I think we got there, but in the land battles of the 82nd they would have piled shaves with gurkas once again on streams of shortages, like other Argentines laughing
        I remember being with a girl in Switzerland at the beginning of the XNUMXs at some youth get-together, EMNIP, in Lausanne. A lake, a fire, a large motley and diverse company. We began to get acquainted - some from Italy, some from Germany, from France, locals, some Croats, by the way, and an Indian with an English hippie style.
        The turn came to us - everyone thought they were Russians, and we thought they were Albert and Victoria, Israel.
        There is silence, then:
        What are you doing to the Palestinians (then, covered by CNN and others, there was another Arab revolution), give them Jerusalem, why are you killing people ??
        Before I had time to open my very black Jewish mouth, an Englishwoman, who had been quietly smoking a joint, jumped up and screamed:
        This is with what they should give to those sheetheads (so, in my opinion, said) the Holy City? If we find out that the Argentines have landed on our Falklands, tomorrow not only me, but also my 90-year-old grandmother will take up guns and go to drown these bastards.
        And the Hindu, her boyfriend (born in London) nods his head gloomily - that's how they are, the people laughing
        1. +5
          12 March 2021 14: 31
          ... in our Falklands,


          Well, yes, there is only left of the empire - the Falklands, and Gibraltar, there is nothing to say, truly English territories. laughing
          In general, I absolutely don't give a fuck about whose flag will fly there and who will sit in the trenches. request

          1. +3
            12 March 2021 14: 50
            For the people of the Falklands, it is better that the British laughing
            Tango can be learned, but living at the British level is unlikely ..))
        2. +3
          12 March 2021 21: 40
          Quote: Krasnodar
          If we find out that the Argentines have landed on our Falklands, tomorrow not only me, but also my 90-year-old grandmother will take up guns and go to drown these bastards.

          what a charm ... She meant grandmother Lisa?
          1. 0
            13 March 2021 09: 39
            It seemed to me that the Indian was not her extended page laughing
  8. +2
    12 March 2021 15: 51
    Thank you very much for the continuation !!!
  9. +2
    12 March 2021 17: 14
    How many machine guns did they have in the platoon and company? It would be interesting to know
  10. -7
    12 March 2021 17: 46
    and then they ask. Where in the Russian Federation do "Koli s Urengoy" come from. Such "scientific works" insult the memory of Soviet soldiers who died in the Second World War.
    1. +5
      12 March 2021 17: 55
      Quote: Seeker
      and then they ask. Where in the Russian Federation do "Koli s Urengoy" come from. Such "scientific works" insult the memory of Soviet soldiers who died in the Second World War.

      And, for example, I am not at all interested in where you come from.

"Right Sector" (banned in Russia), "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" (UPA) (banned in Russia), ISIS (banned in Russia), "Jabhat Fatah al-Sham" formerly "Jabhat al-Nusra" (banned in Russia) , Taliban (banned in Russia), Al-Qaeda (banned in Russia), Anti-Corruption Foundation (banned in Russia), Navalny Headquarters (banned in Russia), Facebook (banned in Russia), Instagram (banned in Russia), Meta (banned in Russia), Misanthropic Division (banned in Russia), Azov (banned in Russia), Muslim Brotherhood (banned in Russia), Aum Shinrikyo (banned in Russia), AUE (banned in Russia), UNA-UNSO (banned in Russia), Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (banned in Russia), Legion “Freedom of Russia” (armed formation, recognized as terrorist in the Russian Federation and banned)

“Non-profit organizations, unregistered public associations or individuals performing the functions of a foreign agent,” as well as media outlets performing the functions of a foreign agent: “Medusa”; "Voice of America"; "Realities"; "Present time"; "Radio Freedom"; Ponomarev; Savitskaya; Markelov; Kamalyagin; Apakhonchich; Makarevich; Dud; Gordon; Zhdanov; Medvedev; Fedorov; "Owl"; "Alliance of Doctors"; "RKK" "Levada Center"; "Memorial"; "Voice"; "Person and law"; "Rain"; "Mediazone"; "Deutsche Welle"; QMS "Caucasian Knot"; "Insider"; "New Newspaper"