"Brandenburg": Elite Special Forces of the Third Reich. Russian Ending

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"Brandenburg": Elite Special Forces of the Third Reich. Russian Ending


Start: "Brandenburg Division" - the Wunderwaffe of the Evil Genius of the Third Reich



It is clear that Brandenburg's operations somewhere in Europe or Africa arouse a certain interest, but what really touches me personally is their actions on the territory of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War.

Operation/plan "Barbarossa" (1941)


It all started with the Barbarossa plan, which received this name in memory of Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossa (1120 – 1190).

German sources write that in June-July 1941, at the beginning of Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, the Brandenburgers were used to capture bridges, railways and key logistics hubs on the roads, as well as to disrupt communication lines, playing one of the key roles in the Barbarossa plan, which contributed to the rapid advance of the main motorized units of the Wehrmacht without losing the planned tempo of the blitzkrieg associated with overcoming rivers and other natural obstacles.

Their tasks also included the targeted liquidation of commanders, political workers of the Red Army and party leaders of cities and regions, as well as preventing the removal to the rear or destruction of secret documentation of Soviet military and civilian institutions.


German soldiers armed with Soviet weapons. The one on the far left has a DP-27 machine gun, the one on the far right has a PPSh submachine gun. The middle one has a German 98k carbine, and a Degtyar disk in his hand, apparently working as a second number with the machine gunner.

And once again it is emphasized that they operated in small, highly specialized groups in the rear of the Red Army, often dressed in the uniforms of Soviet soldiers or ordinary civilian clothes.

The Brandenburg units were among the first German units to begin military operations on the territory of the USSR, and they acted extremely harshly and swiftly.

In the first days of Operation Barbarossa, the Brandenburgers operated in the border regions between the German Reich and the Soviet Union, for example, capturing and preventing the explosion of bridges across the Neman River in Lithuania and the Bug River in Poland, and ensuring the safe and rapid advance of Wehrmacht units across them.

Below are some other examples of successful Brandenburg operations:

On June 22, 1941, in the area of ​​the 123rd Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht, a group of disguised saboteurs shot at a Soviet border patrol and attempted to break through the state border of the USSR.

On the same day, a group of Brandenburgers, reinforced by a company of the Nachtigall battalion, captured the city of Przemysl, crossed the San River and took a bridgehead at Walawa.

On the night of June 24, the landing force in the area of ​​the settlements of Lida and Pervomaysky captured and held them for two days until the arrival of the Germans. tanks, railway bridge on the Lida-Molodechno highway.

On June 25, 35 special forces soldiers, dressed in Red Army uniforms, landed near the Bogdanovo station, captured and held for XNUMX hours, until the German troops arrived, two bridges on the Berezina River on the same Lida-Molodechno highway.


The group of "comrades" in Soviet gymnasterkas looks very convincing

On June 26, dressed in Red Army uniforms, a group of 50 people who spoke Russian, riding in Soviet trucks, captured a highway bridge over the Western Dvina River near the city of Daugavpils, preventing it from being blown up. Soviet border guards calmly let a truck with wounded "Red Army soldiers" pass, not suspecting that they were "Brandenburg" saboteurs.

After a few minutes of short fighting, the bridge was under German control...


"Brandenburg" saboteurs in Red Army greatcoats. Judging by their appearance, they don't feel very comfortable yet. Estonia, 1941.

On the night of June 29-30, as I wrote above, the 1st battalion of the Brandenburg regiment, with the support of the Ukrainian nationalist battalion Nachtigall, entered Lviv, taking control of key objects and transport hubs of the city.

A little more about the Nachtigall battalion


The official date of the battalion's creation was the winter of 1940/41, and it ceased to exist on January 8, 1943. As the Germans write, they received their unusual name Nachtigall ("Nightingale") because the boys really loved to sing Ukrainian songs.

The battalion was formed in close contact between Stepan Bandera, the leader of the OUN, and the Abwehr leadership. Both sides wanted to use each other, but without mutual trust. Bandera hoped that the Germans would help create an independent Ukrainian state, while the Germans needed this gang of outlaws to achieve their goals, and they were not going to create any Ukrainian state.

The battalion consisted of three companies, which included 300 Ukrainians and 100 Germans. The Ukrainians wore Wehrmacht uniforms with a distinctive blue-and-yellow insignia. They were also its nationalist core, fiercely hating the "Jewish Bolsheviks" and all other nationalities to boot. And the OUN members had conflicts with their German, as they say now, "partners" from time to time, the thugs were just too arrogant.



Ukrainian nationalists of the Nachtigall battalion. Photo from 1941

In short, they were a group of hardened thugs who carried out the massacre of Jews in Lvov and later raged in Belarus, where even the Germans estimated that Nachtigall killed up to 2000 civilians and partisans. One of these "freedom fighters" was the now widely known Roman Shukhevych, who started out, as they say, as a "unit commander" of a battalion and later rose to deputy battalion commander.

Then, in the summer of 1941, during Operation Xenophon, a platoon of Brandenburgers attacked a Soviet anti-aircraft searchlight stronghold at Cape Pekly on the Taman Peninsula and destroyed it.

In 1942, the Brandenburgers also recorded several successful operations, such as capturing a bridge near Pyatigorsk and holding it until German tanks arrived.

A landing party of 200 saboteurs, landed in the area of ​​the Bologoye transport hub, blew up the railway tracks on the Bologoye-Toropets and Bologoye-Staraya Russa routes.


Brandenburg special forces in camouflage (Splintertarn) overalls

The Germans also considered the counter-partisan operation in the area of ​​Dorogobuzh and Smolensk, where the Brandenburg was also involved, to be a success.

In August, the Brandenburg sabotage group, consisting of 45 fighters, blew up the railway tracks of the strategically important Leningrad-Murmansk line in 14 places. The group returned without losses.

Attention, 300 km behind the front line!


Sabotage on telephone and telegraph lines led to the loss of communications and, as a result, confusion, the inability of the Red Army command to realistically assess the situation, the loss of the ability to control troops and panic in some parts of the Red Army.

Since many of the saboteurs spoke Russian and other Eastern European languages, they could easily disguise themselves as Red Army soldiers, police officers, NKVD officers, or partisans, and thus penetrate deep into Soviet territory, obtaining important information about the movement of Red Army troops, and also exposed weak spots in the enemy's defenses.

The success of the Brandenburgers during Operation Barbarossa was decisive for the rapid German advance in the first months of the war. Their actions made it difficult for the Red Army to defend itself and sometimes contributed to the destruction of entire Soviet units. For example, during the operations to capture Kyiv, Brandenburg saboteurs took part in the destruction of bridges across the Dnieper and other rivers, which made it impossible for Red Army units to retreat and made it easier for German troops to encircle them.

As a result, almost 700 Soviet soldiers were taken prisoner.

Later, as the Wehrmacht advanced south towards the Caucasus, Brandenburg units were deployed to conduct sabotage operations in the eastern mountainous regions and to support the Wehrmacht's advance by penetrating deep into Soviet territory.

Operation Shamil, a Wehrmacht military operation in which Brandenburg saboteurs played a key role, took place in the Caucasus in 1942. It was part of the German offensive (Operation Edelweiss) in an attempt to capture strategically important oil-rich areas that were vital to the Wehrmacht.


The goal of Operation Shamil was to assist the advancing German units in capturing the oil refining areas of Grozny by establishing control over transport and communication routes, as well as capturing oil production facilities in order to prevent their explosions during the retreat of the Red Army.

The Germans even named the operation itself after a man who fought against the Russian Empire in the 19th century. historical personality and leader of the Caucasian peoples. The choice of this name was probably a symbolic allusion to the resistance in the Caucasus and may have been intended to attract or influence the local population to the German side.

That is, using the discontent of local residents with the policies of the Soviet government, to raise them to an armed uprising and, with their help, to ensure the capture and preservation of the oil fields of Grozny.


German propaganda poster

In particular, in the area around Grozny and in Dagestan, the Brandenburgers were to disrupt communications routes, destroy lines of communication, disrupt the supply of troops and suppress the local partisan movement. But several months before the start of Operation Shamil, the Brandenburgers' clear success was considered to be their actions in capturing the city of Maykop. During the operation, using transport and uniforms of Red Army soldiers, they managed to penetrate the city on August 2, 1942, destroy the city's communications lines, the defense headquarters' communications center itself, seize the telegraph and, through further sabotage, initiate panic, confusion and chaos in the Red Army units defending the city, as well as among the civilian population. As a result, the city, which was prepared for a long defense, was taken within a week.

And all this was done by a group of 62 Russian-speaking saboteurs under the command of Lieutenant Adrian von Fölkersam (Adrian Freiherr von Fölkersam), who was dressed in the uniform of an NKVD officer and spoke Russian fluently. As for the Russian language, everything is simple. The guy was born in 1914 to a German family in the capital of the Russian Empire, in St. Petersburg, and graduated from high school in Riga.


Lieutenant Adrian von Fölkersam (20.12.1914-21.01.1945)

But the operation in Maikop was the last clear success of Brandenburg in the south.

The Germans failed to take Stalingrad and force the Volga, and they got stuck there. Resistance from the Red Army and partisans in the Caucasus in difficult mountain conditions and with very long logistical hauls for supplying everything the Germans needed led to the fact that in the winter of 1942-1943, German troops were forced to finally leave the Caucasus.

But everything was clearly and strategically planned out, including Operation Shamil...

It seemed that everything had been planned down to the last detail. Preparations began back in October 1941, the initiator of the operation was an Abwehr employee, Lieutenant Erhard Lange, who later commanded a group of saboteurs.


Erhard Lange (31.07.1913/29.09.1972/XNUMX – XNUMX/XNUMX/XNUMX)

Three to eight days before the main forces' advance, the Brandenburg group, consisting of 11 special forces, experienced mountaineers, natives of Tyrol, Russian-speaking Baltics and 19 Chechens, Ingush and other representatives of Caucasian nationalities, was to land in the western region of Checheno-Ingushetia to carry out the assigned tasks.


Caucasian saboteurs of the Brandenburg regiment

But from the very first minutes everything went wrong.

On the night of August 25-26, the group parachuted from an altitude of over 2000 meters thirty kilometers south of Grozny. The group members and containers with the necessary equipment landed at a very large distance from each other. It took several days to assemble the team, despite the help of local residents. As a result, almost 85% of all cargo, including power supplies for the radio station, were lost.

In all likelihood, the landing party was discovered in the air, and the NKVD troops carefully combed the area. Relying on the support of certain groups of local residents, clan authorities and resistance groups, the saboteurs managed to evade pursuit for some time. However, the Brandenburgers were no longer able to complete the mission. In addition, the radio station batteries were depleted very quickly, and communication with the center was lost.

The main German offensive on Grozny ended in failure, and further action by the group, exhausted by clashes with Soviet patrols, was deemed inexpedient. Lange decided to break through to his own people through the front line with the rest of the group. Having covered about 550 km, they reached the location of the 10th German infantry division on December 50 near the village of Verkhniy Kurp.

This diagram, drawn up after the completion of the operation, shows the entire “inglorious combat path” of Lieutenant Lange’s group.


Despite the fact that the goal of the operation was not achieved and was limited to collecting intelligence on the presence and movement of Red Army troops, the geography and operation of key civilian facilities, the action itself was considered successful, and Lange was awarded the Knight's Cross.

Of course, the number of Brandenburg operations on the territory of the USSR was not limited to those I wrote about above, and not all of them were successful for the Brandenburgers. Thank God, the NKVD wolfhounds and Soviet counterintelligence were also not fools, so month after month and year after year, Brandenburg's successes in the eastern theater of military operations became less and less.

But Hitler's Germany was aiming for world domination, "über alles", you understand...

For the purpose of this very “über alles”, “Brandenburg” was involved in the following operations:

Operation Mercury (Crete, 1941)

The Brandenburgers played a major role in the invasion of Crete, infiltrating Allied positions before the German airborne assault began.

Balkan Campaign

In the Balkans they fought against both regular troops and partisan units. Their rather effective operations significantly hampered the actions of the resistance forces.


Soldiers of the 1941nd Battalion of the Brandenburg Regiment raise the swastika banner. Acropolis, May XNUMX. And here they were the first.


Africa and Middle East

Units of the Brandenburg occasionally operated in North Africa in support of the Afrika Korps under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Their tasks included, as before, sabotage operations, as well as ensuring the security of the corps' supply routes.


The Brandenburgers are somewhere where it's hot.

Operations were mainly concentrated in regions such as Libya and Egypt, where logistical problems and the relatively small number of special forces meant that their operations in Africa were smaller in scale than in regions of Europe or the Middle East, particularly those of strategic importance to Germany's war aims.


Brandenburgers in North Africa

Brandenburg's deployments took place in the context of German efforts to undermine British influence in the region, secure oil resources, and win allies among local populations or governments.

The main countries where the Brandenburg division in the Middle East operated were:

Iraq

In 1941, Germany supported the Iraqi uprising led by Iraqi Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, who was then the leader of the anti-British opposition oriented towards cooperation with Germany and Italy.

The uprising was an attempt by Iraq's nationalist elite to break free from British influence and establish closer ties with the Axis powers (Germany and Italy).

It is known that the fighters of the Brandenburg Division were engaged in reconnaissance and training of anti-British forces.

As a result, the uprising failed, as the British, using forces from Palestine and India, defeated the Iraqi forces and occupied Baghdad in May 1941.

Rashid Ali and his supporters fled the country, and Rashid Ali himself found refuge in Iran and then in Germany.

Syria and Lebanon

Both countries, once territories of the Ottoman Empire, were under the mandate and control of the French government (the Vichy regime), which was neutral or pro-German. The Germans considered using the region as a base for operations against British positions in Palestine and Egypt.

The Brandenburgers took part in sabotage operations against British supply lines and in covert missions in support of anti-British forces.

Iran

Iran was of great interest to Germany due to its strategic location and oil resources.

In August 1941, Britain and the USSR carried out a joint Operation Accord, occupying Iran. This was done to prevent Iran from possibly going over to the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) and to ensure control over important transport infrastructure.

Iran became a strategic rear route linking the Indian Ocean and the Soviet Union. Through the Persian Corridor, within the framework of Lend-Lease, weapons, equipment, food and other strategic materials were supplied to the USSR.

Having penetrated Iran and established contacts with local tribes to support anti-Soviet and anti-British resistance movements, the Brandenburg saboteurs attempted to disrupt Allied supply lines through acts of sabotage and to weaken British and Soviet influence in the country.

Palestine

Palestine was under a British mandate, and Germany tried to mobilize anti-British movements by working with part of the Arab population.

The Brandenburgers worked covertly to support the anti-British forces, partly through propaganda and partly as military training instructors.

Turkey

Although Türkiye remained neutral, it was of great strategic interest to Germany. The Brandenburgers conducted operations near the Turkish border to gather information and study the potential of the Turks.

In Africa, after the defeat of Rommel's Afrika Korps in 1943, the Brandenburg Division's operations in the region ended and the remaining units were transferred to other combat areas.

Restructuring and liquidation


As the war progressed and the nature of the fighting changed, or more simply, the catastrophic situation on the Eastern Front, so did the demands on the Brandenburgers. In 1943, the unit was transformed into a regular infantry division and transferred to the Eastern Front as the Brandenburg Division. As a result, it lost its special status as an elite unit, sharpened for conducting secret special operations.

To sum it up, the German Zeiss microscope was used to hammer nails...

In the first years of the war, during the invasion of Poland, the Western campaigns (France, Belgium, the Netherlands) and the Balkan operation (1941), the Brandenburgers acted exclusively as a special and sabotage unit, their losses were relatively small and, as the Germans wrote, "controlled". And this was determined by their high training and the very nature of the missions, in which they usually acted in small, well-trained and camouflaged groups and avoided direct combat with the enemy.

But then, after Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union, the situation for the Brandenburgers, despite their initial successes in sabotage and infiltration missions, began to change, clearly not for the better.

With each month of the war they suffered greater and greater losses, and in 1944, after catastrophic losses on the Eastern Front, the "Brandenburg Division" was disbanded. The remaining soldiers were either integrated into other units of the Wehrmacht or continued to serve in the unit First Panzer Division "Hermann Göring" (Fallschirmjäger-Panzer-Division 1 Hermann Göring).

The total losses of the Brandenburgers in World War II are difficult to quantify, as the unit was reorganized and disbanded several times, and their many missions were highly classified. However, German sources estimate that of the 30 Brandenburgers who served during the war, a significant number were killed or wounded in combat on the Eastern Front.

After being transformed into a regular infantry division, they lost up to 50-70% of their original numbers, which led to their disbandment.


The Brandenburg Division was one of the most famous and at the same time most secret elite units of the Second World War.

The Brandenburg fighters were known for their ability to operate in the most extreme conditions, and their covert operations were often decisive for the subsequent success of the Wehrmacht units. Despite their short history, the Brandenburg's reputation as fearless and highly specialized fighters who pushed the boundaries of traditional warfare remains to this day.

After the end of World War II, since the Brandenburgers were a special unit that fought in covert and often unconventional warfare, many of the former special forces faced, to put it mildly, great problems.

Although the Brandenburgers were officially part of the Wehrmacht and were not an overtly ideological entity like the SS, the unit was part of the "German war machine" that was thoroughly imbued with Nazi ideology. The "Brandenburg Division" was therefore part of a military strategy based on the conquest of living space in the East, the destruction of Bolshevism, and the expansion of the German Empire.

Therefore, the Brandenburgers also fell under the denazification process that took place in Germany, although they were classified among its lower categories.

As a result, many of them received real prison sentences, although they were released relatively early, since the courts generally did not find evidence that the special forces had committed war crimes.

But those who were captured on the territory of the Soviet Union, especially those who took part in operations in the Soviet rear or on the territory of countries where the Red Army was located, were subjected to a truly fair and strict investigation and received completely different sentences and conditions of detention than their “colleagues” in Germany.

The Germans write that in the USSR, Brandenburgers immediately received a "quarter," 25 years of imprisonment. The overwhelming majority never returned from there.

And it was precisely these “colleagues” who found their place in the newly formed military or intelligence structures of the Bundeswehr and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) of the FRG.

Thanks to their unique expertise and training in the field of covert operations, sabotage and infiltration into the sovereign territory of another state, many former Brandenburg special forces worked closely with the secret services of not only the FRG, but also other Western powers, especially the USA and Great Britain, operating against the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc countries.

In the case of the Bundeswehr, which was founded in 1955, some former Brandenburgers simply re-entered military service, where they were happy to pass on their experience in the training and development of the first special units of paratroopers-commandos (KLK) and later of the special forces of the Special Forces Command (KSK).

For example, the former battalion commander of the second Jaeger Regiment "Brandenburg", holder of the Iron Knight's Cross, Hauptmann Erhard Afheld quietly served in the ranks of the Bundeswehr to the rank of brigadier general and an honorary pension.


Brigadier General of the Bundeswehr Erhard Afheld (15.08.1921-03.12.1999)

Interestingly, former Brandenburgers also found their place in the GDR security forces. Those who had no opportunity to return to the military or intelligence sector after the war rushed into a kind of private business.

In particular, skills in the fields of explosives technology, penetration and protection methods have led some former Brandenburgers into the security-related industries and the security services sector, as owners or consultants of security companies, especially in areas such as personal protection or corporate security.

Others sought their way into the construction business, especially in occupations involving explosives or the construction of infrastructure they had once seized or destroyed. Again, bridges, roads and railways, but in a different context…

Some former members of the Brandenburg Division, especially those who had been heavily influenced by National Socialism, maintained contacts with right-wing extremist networks after the war, especially in the early post-war years when these networks were dominated by former Wehrmacht and SS members.

Well, others, those who were up to their ears in the blood of the war crimes they had committed and understood that even in post-war Germany they would not escape harsh punishment, rushed to Asian countries and South America, especially to Argentina and Chile. There they found work "in their specialty", both in the military and intelligence sectors.

That, perhaps, is the whole story of the elite unit "Brandenburg Division", created and nurtured by the "geniuses" of the Third Reich to achieve one goal, which is known to everyone today: "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, über alles in der Welt" (Germany, Germany above all, above all in the world), and this goal was to be achieved, including with the help of an exclusive living weapon, the Brandenburg special forces.

It didn't work out and I hope it never works out again.


A deep bow and gratitude for this to the legendary Red Army, the Soviet people and that Great country that no longer exists, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics!


Sources:
Federal Archives
House of History GmbH
Imago/United Archives international
www.balsy.de
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  1. +7
    23 December 2024 08: 29
    Of course, in the confusion, contradictory information, lack of communication and simple laxity of the first months of 41, there were successes of this unit. But, not always and everywhere. Even during the capture of bridges over the Neman, not everything went smoothly. The car, which the Soviet BT drove through. On the wing you can see the designation, by which the car can be attributed to "Brandenburg". An interesting case is described by Konstantin Simonov, during a meeting with the commander of the 388th regiment Semyon Fedorovich Kutepov on July 13, 1941.
    "A very tall man rose from the trench and asked who we were. We said that we were correspondents. It was so dark that it was impossible to make out our faces. 1

    "What correspondents?" he shouted. "What correspondents can be here at two o'clock in the morning? Who comes to me at two o'clock in the morning? Who sent you? I'll put you on the ground now, and you'll lie there until dawn. I don't know your identities." Simonov said that the deputy division commander had sent them here.

    “But I’ll make you lie on the ground until tomorrow,” the man who was talking to them stubbornly repeated, “and in the morning I’ll report to him that I ask you not to send people unknown to me to the location of my regiment at night.”

    The political officer, who had not expected such a turn of events and was initially timid, finally spoke up:

    - Comrade Colonel, it's me, Mironov, from the division's political department. You know me...

    “Yes, I know you,” said the colonel. “That’s the only reason I won’t lay them all on the ground before morning! Well, judge for yourselves, comrade correspondents,” he continued in a completely different voice, behind which one could sense a smile invisible in the darkness, “you know what the situation is, you have to be strict. Everyone around keeps saying, ‘Saboteurs, saboteurs!’ But I don’t want there to be even a rumor about saboteurs in my regiment’s location. I don’t recognize them. If the guard is being carried out properly, there can’t be any saboteurs. Go into the dugout, they’ll check your documents there in the light, and I’m at your service. And you, Mironov, stay here.”
    This is how you have to serve, this is how a commander should be, so that in those difficult years, and one can say even now, then the problem with all sorts of sabotage and reconnaissance groups will be solved.
    1. +8
      23 December 2024 10: 06
      An interesting incident is described by Konstantin Simonov during a meeting with the commander of the 388th regiment, Semyon Fedorovich Kutepov, on July 13, 1941.

      Only this is not from K. Simonov's notes, but an excerpt from the novel "The Living and the Dead", describing how Sintsov and Mishka, a correspondent for Izvestia, arrived at Serpilin's regiment.
      1. +6
        23 December 2024 10: 12
        Quote: The Truth
        Only this is not from K. Simonov's notes, but an excerpt from the novel "The Living and the Dead", describing how Sintsov and Mishka, a correspondent for Izvestia, arrived at Serpilin's regiment.

        I recommend reading "Different Days of War". Readers of the famous novel "The Living and the Dead" will, of course, remember the image of the stern warrior Colonel Serpilin, whom the hero of the novel, war correspondent Sintsov, met at the front line. This image is not fictitious. On July 13, 1941, when correspondent Simonov and photojournalist Troshkin arrived late in the evening, almost at night, to the 388th regiment, they were met by a man who immediately struck Simonov to the depths of his soul. It was the regiment commander Semyon Fyodorovich Kutepov. This is how Simonov describes this meeting on the pages of his diary "Different Days of War"......There is an episode there that I have cited.
        1. +5
          23 December 2024 10: 21
          Readers of the famous novel "The Living and the Dead" will, of course, remember the image of the stern warrior Colonel Serpilin, whom the novel's hero, military correspondent Sintsov, met at the front line.

          1. The question here is not about the image of Serpilin, but about where the passage you cited came from.
          2. I haven't read Simonov's "Different Days of War", but I have read the novel "The Living and the Dead" and remember its content well. And there is definitely such an excerpt there. Moreover, if you rewatch the film based on the novel "The Living and the Dead", where Serpilin is played by the great Russian actor Anatoly Papanov, then this excerpt from the novel is completely repeated there, word for word.
          1. +3
            23 December 2024 11: 44
            Quote: The Truth
            1. The question here is not about the image of Serpilin, but about where the passage you cited came from.

            The given excerpt is taken from here. Chapter five: "Different days of the war" Konstantin Simonov.
            1. +3
              23 December 2024 12: 27
              The excerpt given is taken from here. Chapter Five: "Different Days of the War" by Konstantin Simonov

              It’s okay, repetitions are found not only in K. Simonov, but also in other writers.
    2. 0
      24 December 2024 00: 43
      Dear "Unknown"!
      Thanks for the creative addition good
      Unfortunately, the editors did not provide information that this article is a continuation of the material published a week ago.
      "Division Brandenburg" - wunderwaffe
      the evil genius of the Third Reich
      If you have time and desire, read the first part.
      Best regards hi
    3. +1
      3 January 2025 09: 32
      Quote: Unknown

      - Cool photo of the defeated Brandenburg transport good
      Photo:
      "Brandenburg saboteurs in Red Army greatcoats. Judging by their appearance, they don't feel very comfortable yet. Estonia, 1941."
      . Is it possible to feel comfortable with the "Gott Mit Uns" waist belts before "dropping"? belay Until the first patrol, which will discover the discrepancy in the form, and will demand proof (place, time) of successful trophying of goodies laughing
      It's unlikely that they'll send you out of line with such a stupid "joke", most likely it's a try-on of what's available to get into character.
  2. +6
    23 December 2024 08: 49
    -Everyone around keeps saying: "Saboteurs, saboteurs!" But I don't want there to be even a rumor about saboteurs in my regiment's location. I don't recognize them. If security is carried out properly, there can be no saboteurs.
    Serpilin


    The Germans had high hopes for English-speaking saboteurs in the Ardennes in December 1944.
    But, practically nothing came of it - they were quickly identified and, ultimately, destroyed.
  3. +5
    23 December 2024 08: 53
    Further, summer 1941 years During Operation Xenophon, a platoon of Brandenburgers attacked a Soviet anti-aircraft searchlight stronghold on Cape Pekly on the Taman Peninsula
    Maybe in 1942, and not in 1941?
    1. +1
      23 December 2024 23: 54
      Sergey, welcome!
      I specifically dug into the sources and discovered that the topic of the year (1941 or 1942) was discussed repeatedly.
      The Germans wrote that it was 1941.
      hi
      1. +1
        24 December 2024 08: 37
        The Germans wrote that it was 1941.
        What was the point of doing this in 1941, in the summer? And was there such a possibility? They made a mistake, there can be mistakes there too, and random ones at that. You shouldn't treat the enemy's texts as holy writ. There is one scribbling author here who has the argument: "and that's what it says there." But he can, because of his education. You need to logically link the events - the location of the troops, the possibilities, the necessity.
        1. +1
          3 January 2025 09: 45
          Quote: Aviator_
          What's the point of doing this in 1941, in the summer?

          By the end of August 1941, the German 11th Army had reached the lower reaches of the Dnieper. Further plans included an offensive in Northern Tavria and an invasion of Crimea.
          Searchlights prevented the Luftwaffe from carrying out night raids on rear communications, in particular on the ports of Taman and Kerch - as one version suggests.
  4. +4
    23 December 2024 09: 59
    "Branders" are considered almost a super special forces of the Germans in the Great Patriotic War. In fact, the main feature of this unit is SELECTION by LANGUAGE and CULTURE.
    Selection among BILINGUAL Germans living in the territories of the countries where they were supposed to work. Shooting, blowing up, communications, hand-to-hand combat, etc. - is prepared in six months from any healthy, physically developed person.
    But the ACCENT of speech... You have to have it from birth.
    The Americans have taken a lot from the Germans in this sense, they have no problems with immigrants, any country in any quantity....
    1. +1
      24 December 2024 00: 35
      Dear Arzt!
      Thanks for the comment.
      If you have time, look at the first part of the article.
      Unfortunately, the editors did not provide information that there is a first part...
      Best regards hi
  5. 0
    23 December 2024 10: 02
    Author!
    What bridges in Kyiv and 600 thousand prisoners thanks to Brandenburg. Brandenburg did not capture any bridges in Kyiv. There were bridges in Rostov-on-Don. Read who and for what of the 18 Brandenburg servicemen received the Knight's Cross. 600 thousand prisoners, this is some kind of libel, not a historical article.
    1. +3
      24 December 2024 00: 26
      Dear Sergey!
      Thank you for your attention to my work.
      I would like to note that I did not write about bridges in Kyiv specifically.
      Quote: "During the operations to capture Kyiv, Brandenburg saboteurs took part in the destruction of bridges across the Dnieper and other rivers, which made it impossible for the Red Army units to retreat and facilitated their encirclement by German troops."
      I prepared the basis of the material for the article, which consists of two parts, based on German sources.
      The figure of 700000 prisoners was given by the Germans (Did you write 600000?).
      According to German data, as of December 1, 1941, between 3,35 and 3,8 million Soviet soldiers and officers were taken prisoner.
      Considering that I did not conduct a deep historical study of the first months of the Great Patriotic War, but wrote an article about "Brandenburg", I think that the above figures may, unfortunately, be quite reliable.
      Next, I know about those awarded the Iron Crosses, of course. I think there were 19 of them. I'll look tomorrow, it's too late today.
      And regarding the "libel", you got carried away.
      If you wish, read the first part. I would like to hear your opinion.
      Best regards
      Author, Eugen Renk hi
      1. -1
        24 December 2024 16: 14
        Eugene!
        My uncle started the war in Slutsk, then he was sent to Kyiv as part of an operational group, and then the trail goes cold.
        I agree about the prisoners, I wrote 600, you have 700 thousand, I have seen different data, of course it is impossible to know for sure. Why did I write "Pasquil"? Well, 1000 saboteurs cannot take 700 thousand Red Army soldiers prisoner, and there were hardly even 1000 of them at the front, and they cannot influence the general situation at the front. Lange's mission was also recognized as a failure, he was unable to organize the struggle of the highlanders against the Soviet power. In my opinion, it should be noted that Lange's group was selected from the Muslim battalion "Bergmann", there were 5 Chechens there, they knew the language, traditions, but they quickly left the group. You wrote for Russia, and therefore could have omitted the African passions, the weapons are written well, in detail, it would be informative to also note that the militants (Israilov), if I remember the name correctly, regularly came for weapons and food, and then disappeared, they did not want to fight for either Stalin or Hitler. But you are the author, so it is up to you to decide, and I am a bit in the know, so I have formed my own opinion. I read in memoirs that the most effective saboteur was not Skorzeny, but Baron Von Felksamer.
        1. +2
          24 December 2024 16: 40
          Sergey, hello again!
          We have an interesting exchange of opinions. drinks
          You are a little inattentive.
          I don’t have a word about the fact that, as you write: “well, 1000 saboteurs can’t take 700 thousand Red Army soldiers prisoner.”
          I have written that the actions of "Brandenburg" made it impossible for the Red Army units to retreat and made it easier for them to be surrounded by GERMAN TROOPS.
          Not saboteurs, but troops.
          As a result, almost 700 Soviet soldiers were taken prisoner.
          Only this!
          Lange and the composition of his group, the results of their actions, are also described in detail, even with a photograph.
          Regarding the actions of "Brandenburg" in other countries and on other continents, I wrote precisely because I wanted the Russian reader, especially the post-Soviet generation, to know where the special forces' activities extended, in addition to the war with the USSR.
          I didn't mention Otto Skorzeny and his "work" on purpose, and the volume turned out to be very large.
          "It is impossible to embrace the immensity"...
          1. 0
            25 December 2024 18: 50
            Evgeniy, good evening!
            I'll try to go into more detail, Kyiv operation, Beginning of the tragedy
            On August 23, 1941, the capture of the bridgehead in Okuninovo, the 110th Rifle Regiment, 11th Tank Division, Colonel Helwig Lutz, attempted to take the bridge across the Dnieper and the bridge across the Desna; they retreated, the 111th Motorized Rifle Regiment arrived to help, but the Russians destroyed the bridge. Later, Russian aviation, 2 two, IL-2, partially bombed the Pechkinsky Bridge across the Dnieper in the Okuninovo area. There is nothing about B. Then Kiev on September 19, 1941, a total of 6 bridges, on September 19.09, the last commandant of Kyiv in 1941, Colonel FM Mazhirin, gave the order to blow up the bridges at 11 o'clock in the morning, they blew up the railway bridge named after Petrovskogo, simultaneously they blew up the Southern Darnitsky Bridge, the Rusanovsky Bridge and the E Bosh Bridge, the pontoon bridge, 2 German soldiers tried to prevent the explosion on the Navodnitsky Bridge, but they couldn't, both wounded were taken to hospital, one later died from his wounds. Some researchers believe that the explosion of the bridges was premature, because of this, not all units of the Red Army were able to cross in time. So Brandenburg has nothing to do with it. There was poor interaction, and sloppiness, where would we be without it. About Lange, I meant that there were three groups, one led by a German died, in the third the commander was politically motivated, I think an Ossetian, he went out and wrote a book, I think, after the war, of course.
            1. +1
              25 December 2024 19: 00
              good Thank you for your active support and informal, knowledgeable commentary. drinks
    2. +2
      28 December 2024 18: 54
      Sergey, hello!
      As promised, I checked how many Brandenburgers were awarded the Knight's Cross.
      A total of 19 people, over five years.
      All the best and Happy New Year! drinks
      1. +1
        28 December 2024 19: 21
        Evgeniy, good evening!
        Thank you for your congratulations, and I congratulate you on Christmas and the coming New Year. Health and success to you and your family.
        I found information about Brandenburg during the battles for Sevastopol and during the Yevpatoria landing. I think they participated in many other battles, including for Kyiv, but I have not come across any documented data.
        1. +1
          28 December 2024 23: 34
          Hello again!
          I also came across information about the participation of "Brandenburg" in connection with Sevastopol. I'll look for it in a few days, maybe I'll find something interesting.
          Shake your hand
  6. +5
    23 December 2024 11: 11
    attempted to break through the state border of the USSR.

    On the same day, a group of Brandenburgers, reinforced by a company of the Nachtigall battalion, captured the city of Przemysl, crossed the San River and took a bridgehead at Walawa.

    “The words of my grandfather’s brother, who served in the 92nd border regiment of the NKVD, which guarded the state border on a section of 215 km along the San River in the city of Przemysl, became clear.
    Vasily was a machine gunner, in his second year of service.
    In a letter from his brother, which arrived a week before the war began, there were words that were incomprehensible until June 22: “Soon ‘V’.” He died in a prisoner of war camp in the fall of 1941 near Rivne.
  7. The comment was deleted.
  8. +2
    23 December 2024 13: 53
    Very good, very interesting and I hope instructive story in light of current events in the country. And who said that crowds of migrants will not start acting in exactly the same way on the territory of Russia? I have no doubt about it, especially since there are confirmed facts of similar actions in Syria, where Russian-speaking boors from Central Asian countries seized power. We nurtured them, unfortunately, moreover, financing of these structures comes from Russia, at the expense of migrants working for us. The world is being pushed to create an Islamic caliphate and the same "YUBER alles" in their performance. Kadyrov started talking about the oppression of "brothers in faith", Dagestan periodically flashes in the news feeds in connection with these activities. This is no longer alarming, something must be done about it. As soon as the secular state weakens, representatives of aggressive confessions "start to muddy the waters".
  9. +2
    23 December 2024 14: 18
    In continuation of the topic, it would be a good idea for the author to highlight the activities of the "NACHTIGAL" unit. There is an opinion that "Bradenburg" and "Nachtigal" are chicks of the same nest. And for my part, I believe that these articles are a direct reference to the migrant issue.
    1. +1
      23 December 2024 17: 27
      Nachtigall and another Ukrainian battalion Roland entered Brandenburg, captured Lviv, "distinguished themselves" in Lviv by shooting Jews and Poles. In 2014, in Simferopol, I asked a Polish journalist about those events, and about the Volyn massacre, he answered that it was a long time ago, and we had already forgotten about those events. I found the articles about Brandenburg published earlier in 2011-2016 more informative. However, you can search for a lot of material yourself.
      1. +2
        24 December 2024 01: 32
        Sergey, as I wrote above, this is the second part of ONE article. I think that overall, there is even too much "information". I had to limit myself.
        1. 0
          24 December 2024 13: 58
          I have never read anywhere about Brandenburg's role in capturing the Kyiv bridges, and how thanks to them 600 thousand Red Army soldiers were captured. I would be grateful if you could provide a source. There is information about the Rostov bridges, but I can't find anything about the Kyiv bridges. The topic is personal, my uncle went missing near Kiev in 1941.
          1. 0
            24 December 2024 14: 18
            Sergey, good afternoon!
            I wrote not about the "Kyiv bridges", but about the Kyiv operation, during which Brandenburg saboteurs took part in the destruction of bridges across the Dnieper and other rivers.
            As I already wrote, the material is mainly from German sources.
            Best regards
            Eugene
            1. 0
              24 December 2024 15: 40
              Evgeniy, good afternoon to you too!
              In my opinion, all serious sources have long been translated, about the unknown ones, one can say in Stalin's words, "they lie like eyewitnesses." "Brandenburg" was not given the task of destroying bridges, they had to capture bridges intact. However, such tasks were set for all units, and Brandenburg went ahead with the rest, but if the capture of bridges in Rostov-on-Don is described in detail, then there is nothing about Kyiv. Now I will sit down to your other article, and give an answer. With respect.
              1. +2
                24 December 2024 15: 49
                Sergey, “to take part” in the destruction of something, and “to destroy” something, are not quite the same thing.
                I translated from German precisely "to take part".
                This can be understood as diverting attention from the object, removing security, interrupting communications, preventing the enemy from carrying out any activities, etc.
                But I didn’t want to delve into the details and “drown” in their volume.
                And there were a lot of details, just on the territory of the USSR, where the Brandenburgers operated!
  10. +1
    23 December 2024 20: 02
    Almost nothing about the special training itself, everything is hidden behind the repetition of the word "special forces".
    Was there even such a name in those years, M4AK Spetsnaz?
    Who trained the unit's fighters? Did the teachers have experience? What skills were taught and trained, how long did the training last? Apart from knowledge of the language, so little is said about other skills, practically nothing.
    Is there any information about physical training?
    Now, they say, special forces, we assume with a certain degree of probability the range of skills and abilities of fighters, but what was it like at that time?
    1. +2
      23 December 2024 20: 53
      Dear VicVic!
      Unfortunately, I don't know your name.
      Please note that this is a CONTINUATION of the article, with the beginning published a week ago.
      I think you will find answers to your questions in the first part.
      Best regards hi
      1. +1
        23 December 2024 21: 36
        Thank you for your reply, I will definitely take a look
  11. +1
    23 December 2024 22: 11
    Thanks for the interesting story!

    Personal opinion...
    The first part is written by a person who studies history. Without emotions.
    The second part was written either under time pressure or emotionally. As if different authors wrote the two parts.
    And the first part is remembered better than the second. But, I repeat, this is my perception.
    Thank you!
    1. +1
      23 December 2024 23: 33
      Dear Roman!
      Awesomely subtle observation. The thing is that the material that became the second part was prepared earlier than the material of the first part. At first, I wanted to finish the article before my vacation, but I realized that I wouldn't have time. So a certain "emotional time crunch" resulted.
      Having returned from vacation, I calmly finished the article, as if “backwards”. hi
  12. +1
    24 December 2024 22: 46
    It's been a while since I read on one of the specialized sites an automatic translation from some foreign source, either a retelling or the actual recollections of a participant in a raid by a detachment from the 15th "Brandenburg" company in August 42 to a section of the Murmansk railway in the south of the Murmansk region, somewhere on the Knyazhaya-Zhemchuzhnaya stretch. They came to our rear along a water lake-river chain in boats with an exit to Lake Kovdozero and a base on one of the islands. Finnish "long-range patrols" covered the flanks. It is written that along the way they also captured a "tongue" from those who had escaped and some khanurik who was hiding from mobilization work in the forest, but who turned out to be a valuable informant on the area. They were divided into three groups, with each group having a bridge to reach. By the way, yes, the groups included fighters who spoke Russian. They left for the target at the same time. Two groups worked "to the fullest" - they blew up two bridges, something went wrong with the third group, and the guards of the railway and bridge fought back. They left in an organized manner, even dragged a "tongue" with them. Neither aviation, nor pursuit on their heels gave the desired result - almost all of the saboteurs went to their side, there were (I don't remember exactly) one or two killed and several wounded already on the last section before the front line. Boris Vasiliev recalled that he read in the newspaper how "the award has found its hero", when a combat award was finally presented to the sergeant major who did not allow the saboteurs to blow up the bridge, fighting back almost alone, and it happened somewhere in Karelia. So it turns out that Sergeant Major Vaskov from "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" had a real prototype, the sergeant major who did not allow the third group of "Brandenburgers" to complete their mission.
    1. +1
      25 December 2024 00: 08
      Dear Sergey!
      Thanks for the addition.
      I was tempted to describe in more detail the action of "Brandenburg" in the North. There was a lot of material, but I did not go into details, the article turned out to be too long...
      Best regards hi
  13. 0
    14 January 2025 10: 39
    It is strange that the operation in the Ardennes and the hunt for Tito are not specifically mentioned; together with Maikop, these are the most famous.