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| Volunteer Legion Netherlands | |
|---|---|
 Emblem with "arrow-tipped"Odal SS-rune | |
| Active | 1941–1945 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch |  Waffen-SS |
| Type | Panzergrenadier |
| Size | 40,000 |
| Motto | Conqueror the Dutch |
| Colors | Orange, red, Blue |
| Engagements | |
TheVolunteer Legion Netherlands (Dutch:Vrijwilligerslegioen Nederland) was acollaborationist military formation recruited in theGerman-occupied Netherlands duringWorld War II. It was formed in the aftermath of theGerman invasion of the Soviet Union and fought on theEastern Front in theWaffen SS alongside similar formations from other parts ofGerman-occupied Western Europe. It was the largest Dutch SS unit.
The Volunteer Legion was renamed the4th SS Panzer Grenadier Brigade Netherlands in October 1943. It was officially re-designated as adivision in February 1945 but never grew to larger than a brigade.
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When theGermans invaded in May 1940, several political parties in theNetherlands sympathized with theauthoritarian andanti-democratic ideals ofNazi Germany. The most important was theNational Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland, NSB), led byAnton Mussert, founded in 1931 on the example of theNazi Party in Germany. It initially gained limited interest from the Dutch lower-middle class but never gained widespread support. It polled only three percent in 1939.
After theinvasion of Poland in 1939,Heinrich Himmler, head of theSS, sought to expand theWaffen-SS with "Germanic" volunteers from other countries. The enrollment began in April 1940 with the creation of two regiments: the Waffen-SS Regiment Nordland (for Danish, Norwegian and Swedish volunteers), and the Waffen-SS Regiment Westland (for Dutch and Flemish volunteers).
Recruitment in the Netherlands was given an air of respectability by the support of Dutch General Staff officer Lieutenant-GeneralHendrik Seyffardt. By April 1941, volunteers began arriving inHamburg. By July 1941, the Dutch were organized into SS Volunteer Unit Niederlande. The formation was the size of a reinforced infantry battalion, with five motorized companies. The unit was again redesignated, this time as SS Volunteer Legion Niederlande under General Seyffardt. In November 1941, the legion was ordered to the front near Leningrad, under the overall command ofArmy Group North Rear Area.
The Legion arrived at theVolkhov River in mid-January 1942 and was engaged inrear-security activities. In late June, it was transferred north in support of units at theSiege of Leningrad. The unit was then to take part in an offensiveOperation Nordlicht, which was ultimately called off to deal with the SovietSinyavino Offensive. The Legion was then moved south nearLake Ladoga. At the end of 1942, it was merged with the2nd SS Infantry Brigade.
In January 1943, Dutch troops were heavily involved in defending against Soviet attempts to lift the siege at Leningrad. One 19-year old Dutch gun crew leader, Gerardus Mooyman, destroyed 23 Russian tanks with hisPak 40 in about a month of fighting. He became the first foreigner to be awardedKnight’s Cross.[1] On 6 February, General Seyffardt, while campaigning for new recruits in Amsterdam, was assassinated by theDutch resistance.
In April 1943, the unit was sent to Germany to be reformed as the SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland. The brigade was to consist of twoPanzergrenadier regiments under the command of SS-OberführerJürgen Wagner. In September 1943, the Brigade was sent to theIndependent State of Croatia (Yugoslavia) to join SS-ObergruppenführerFelix Steiner'sIII SS Panzer Corps currently forming in the area. Upon its arrival, the Brigade received 1,500 Dutch recruits, drawn from theSS Division Wiking. During its time there, elements of the brigade were engaged in rear-security operations. During this period, the brigade was redesignated 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland. At this time, its strength stood at 9,342 men.[citation needed]
On 25 December 1943, the brigade was transferred, along with Steiner's SS Corps, toOranienbaum, Russia inArmy Group North's sector. The corps was deployed to the area near Oranienbaum as part of the18th Army. The SovietKrasnoye Selo–Ropsha Offensive cut through the weak infantry units formed out of the9th and10th Luftwaffe Field Divisions. The unit, alongside theSS Division Nordland, soon retreated to avoid encirclement by GeneralLeonid A. Govorov'sLeningrad Front. In the face of the SovietKingisepp–Gdov Offensive, the unit retreated to theNarva River inEstonia, where it took part in theBattle of Narva deployed on theIvangorod bridgehead.
The launch ofOperation Bagration on 22 June threatened the German positions. On 23 July, Steiner ordered a withdrawal to theTannenberg Line. The unit was destroyed from the air on 24 July, with only a few personnel reaching the Tannenberg Line a week later. The regiment was ordered to be reformed atSchlochau. In September,Leon Degrelle's battle group fromSS Brigade Wallonien was placed under the command of Nederland.
The unit arrived in the area near Gumi-Wolmar in mid-October. The Soviet forces cut off Army Group North in the Courland area, creating theCourland Pocket. During the unit's presence in Courland, Wagner ordered the reprisal executions of an unknown number of civilians. On 26 January 1945, the brigade received orders to evacuate the pocket by sea and report to theSwinemünde-Stettin area to participate in the defence of theOder line. The brigade arrived in German territory on 4 February.
On 10 February, the brigade was redesignated 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nederland, with a strength of 1,000 men. The new division was attached to Steiner'sEleventh SS Panzer Army, defending the Northern Oder region. The Nederland took part in the abortiveOperation Sonnenwende, and the battles nearAltdamm in February 1945.
In April 1945, the division was split into two battle groups. The Soviet offensive of 16 April had broken the German lines by 25 April, cutting the lines of communication between the two units. One of the battle groups broke out to the west, surrendering to theUS Army. The other battle group was pushed south by the Soviet offensive, into the area aroundHalbe. The remnants of the unit were absorbed intoKampfgruppe Vieweger of the15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian). The unit was destroyed in theHalbe pocket.
After the war, the unit personnel were tried in the Netherlands, with several death sentences handed down. Wagner was extradited to Yugoslavia in 1947 to stand trial forwar crimes. Found guilty before the Yugoslav military tribunal, he was sentenced to death and executed on 27 June 1947.
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| Deception "Panzer" | |||
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Units marked inbold were officially named "volunteer".See also:SS heavy Panzer battalions | |||
