Posted on 01/06/2017 11:39:59 AM PST by C19fan
Spend enough time on military history forums or keep up with battlefield reenactors, and you will surely notice a lingering fascination with the Waffen S.S. This, suffice to say, is a controversial issue in these communities. There’s a reoccurring complaint — history buffs want to get involved in World War II reenactments, but can’t find a group interested in roleplaying anything other than the Waffen S.S.
(Excerpt) Read more at warisboring.com ...
One interesting thing about the Waffen SS is one does not really hear about any effective commanders. One famous SS commander one was Paul Hausser who was more a motivator and knew nothing about effective generalship.
I remember reading that Hitler became angry with Himmler because he rejected so many men who were capable of fighting because they didn’t fit the blonde hair, blue eyed 6 foot 2 inches cookie cutter profile that the Waffen SS maintained.
Kind of a hoot, since Waffen SS prisoners didn't fare too well under either the Western Allies, or the Soviets.
They mostly didn't get the luxury of prisonerhood.
SS units pre war and in the early stages on WWII were a joke and were looked down by the professional German Army.
The SS got better and stronger.
There was a documentary recently about the methedrine pills that all Nazi soldiers were issued - the whole army was tweaking - worked well at first but pretty soon they were burning out badly.
I remember reading about when the first Waffen SS units went into Poland. They only thing they achieved were high casualty rates.
Yes, what a shame... /s
I would like to play the role of Obergruppenfuhrer Smith.
Too much information in this article.
They were political fanatics. Their success were largely built on the fact that they were ruthless and were willing to take heavy casualties, because of that fanaticism. This is also what lead to the allies despising them.
Hmm, sounds kind of familiar in a contemporary sort of way, doesn’t it?
depends on your definition of effective.
The Waffen SS strike me as sort of like the US Marines in WWII, tough, effective, will not give up but take large casualties. My conclusion after reading the accounts that were used to make the series pacific was every Marine division committed to fight was pretty much destroyed after Guadalcanal, Peilu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa and had to be rebuilt after each battle.
I think all western sides had the kind of dual elite/regular service, the Russians had their guard divisions and NKVD units, the UK had their commando/airborne units and US the Marines/Army
The Waffen SS were hard-core true believers, but were not by any stretch of the imagination exceptional fighting troops. They were more akin to executioners than warriors.
The very same Obergruppenfuhrer Smith, who fought for the US in the Solomon Islands?
Check out this soldier’s first hand account of volunteering for the Waffen SS:
Short version is he was a German speaking French citizen from the borderlands. Got drafted into regular army because he was German speaking and then teased for his accent. He volunteered for the Waffen SS only so he could get a longer leave to go home to see his family.
There were 36 SS divisions by the end of the war. Many of them were Freiwilligen - volunteers - from occupied countries.
They weren’t all Blond Ubermen.
There was a Muslim division, Handschar, composed primarily of Albanian, Croatian, and Serb muzzies.
There were Belgian, Dutch, Hunagrian, and French SS divisions as well.
Take a look here, when you get a chance:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Waffen-SS_divisions
I have known some vets who considered genuine Fallschirmjaegers to have been as good or better than Waffen SS troops.
When as manpower losses started to get too high for Himmler, he let Nordic qualifications slacken and started recruiting from the occupied countries, including Muslim Albania and Yugoslavia.
It was my understanding this group was ruthless regarding prisoners. They were political fanatics and racists. Not considered professional military but because of their culture were feared and deserved no quarter in return.
It says in my contract I have the right to die for my country! It’s great to be willing to charge up the hill and all, but we’d still like to save a few of you for another day, so how’s about using the artillery we’re giving you, m’kay?!?
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