Since the attack on the USSR German troops, especially infantry units, began to suffer heavy losses, while the process of recruiting them with German personnel also did not always meet the requirements and specifics of combat operations. At the same time, German commanders had a large number of Soviet prisoners of war and defectors at their disposal. Not all prisoners were sent to the rear by unit commanders. Those who wished received economic “positions,” thereby freeing up the German personnel, who were immediately sent to the front line. Defectors and prisoners went to serve in the German army as grooms and drivers, shell carriers and orderlies, sappers and military builders. Such helpers became known as “Hilfswillige” (volunteer helpers) or “Hiwi” for short. Some of them went through the entire combat path of their military units until the end of the war.
A considerable number of former Red Army soldiers joined the combat units of the Wehrmacht, diluting the German composition and receiving the status of Freiwillie volunteers. According to reports from the front line, they fought bravely, and their presence contributed greatly to the influx of defectors.
Thus, the 11th Army of Field Marshal Manstein in the summer of 1942 had 47 thousand “voluntary assistants”. As part of Paulus's 6th Army in the winter of 1941-1943. there were 51 thousand 780 Russian support personnel and an anti-aircraft artillery division staffed by Ukrainians.
By the end of 1942, each infantry regiment had 1 sapper company composed of prisoners of war, which included 10 German instructors. The infantry division staff established on October 2, 1943 provided for the presence of 2,005 volunteers for 10,708 German personnel, which amounted to about 15% of the total strength of the division.
As an identification mark, the “Khiwi” wore a white bandage on the left sleeve with an inscription in three lines on German“In the service of the German army” (“Im dienst der Deutsches Wehrmacht”). An armband with the inscription “In the service of the SS troops” was issued to WaffenSS volunteer employees. Female military auxiliaries wore a yellow armband on their left sleeve with the words "German Army" ("Deutsche Wehrmacht") embroidered on it. In a number of cases, an armband was used with the image of the tactical sign of a particular division and/or an imprint of its seal.
All “Hiwis” took an oath, the text of which was drawn up by Colonel Freitag von Loringhofen. The volunteers swore allegiance to A. Hitler as commander-in-chief, but nowhere was there a word about what they were fighting for. After taking the oath, all volunteers were considered equal to to a German soldier. Freitag is the author of the so-called “Charter-5000” for the daily activities of Hiwi units.
According to statistical data from the Office of Eastern Troops on February 2, 1943 total number former Soviet citizens, consisting of German military service, amounted to 750 thousand, of which “Hiwi” was from 400 to 600 thousand, excluding the SS, Luftwaffe and fleet. As of February 1945, the number of Hiwis was 600 thousand people in the Wehrmacht, up to 60 thousand in the Luftwaffe and 15 thousand in the navy.
An excerpt from the “Main Directions for the Training of Volunteer Assistants”, developed by the headquarters of the 6th Army in 1943, gives an idea of the Hiwi service:
“The purpose of training and education is to prepare voluntary assistants as reliable comrades in the fight against Bolshevism.
To carry out such training and education, volunteer assistants should be purposefully selected from the camps and brought together, providing appropriate supervision personnel and teachers (including interpreters). Further in the camp the following division of companies of Hiwi reservists is maintained: in each division there is one or more companies.
The provision of personnel for training is carried out by the relevant division. Training personnel train volunteers for their own division and participate in the distribution of volunteer assistants within the division.
Training guidelines are of fundamental importance for learning. A bilingual training manual is already being prepared and will be distributed among the relevant services. Details are contained in the curriculum, which must be drawn up and approved in accordance with the main areas at least 4 weeks in advance. When compiling curricula both for a week and for individual days, you need to systematically organize your studies and make full use of the allotted time. Differences in composition and equipment, the number of training personnel, the position of the enemy, the need for volunteer assistants with the troops and the time of year can also affect the content of the programs.”
In the rear areas, the formation of Russian units was carried out by all German army, police, reconnaissance units, headquarters of divisions, regiments and corps, as well as the military construction organization TODT and the administrative bodies of the occupiers. Even such non-military “offices” as the scrap metal collection department had them, and the Ministry of Propaganda had teams to protect printing houses.
An idea of the typology of collaborationist units and units is given by special registers, the compilation and maintenance of which were carried out by the Reich military department and the headquarters of the commander of all eastern troops. Thus, the register dated November 22, 1943 mentions the following types of eastern (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and mixed) units and units: eastern companies (eastern companies); eastern watch companies and platoons; eastern companies and supply columns (heavy and light); companies and battalions of convalescent volunteers; construction and engineering companies, platoons; sapper, pontoon, bridge-building companies and platoons; anti-partisan companies, platoons, yagd teams, including huntsmen; security platoons and companies; infantry (rifle) units; tank platoons and companies; platoons and signal companies; horse and cavalry squadrons and units; eastern propaganda companies and platoons (motorized and infantry); Eastern Special Purpose Regimental Headquarters of the Central Bank of Fleet; eastern divisions and headquarters of translators;. armored trains, ambulance and repair trains; schools (companies and battalions) for training non-commissioned officers; eastern reserve, training companies and battalions; tank and other equipment repair units; reconnaissance platoons, companies, squadrons.
Recruitment for these and other units was made from among volunteer prisoners of war, the local population, and partisan defectors. “Eastern” companies were involved in protecting communications routes, performing garrison service in villages and cities, and in combat operations against partisans and Soviet landing groups.
Abwehr groups and 1C (intelligence) departments had their own units, formed from collaborators. German units and connections. Thus, by October 1941, the 1C department of the 18th Army headquarters had a Russian volunteer detachment under the command of the former senior lieutenant, holder of the Order of the Red Banner Poletaev and the hero of the Finnish campaign, Lieutenant Sushko. By Christmas 1941, the detachment was enlarged to a company of 200 people. In the winter of 1942, this company took part in the defense of the city of Tikhvin.
The company's location was the village of Lampovo. Subsequently, this unit was used as a personnel unit for the training and deployment of similar units.
A Russian security unit made up of former prisoners of war under the command of former Red Army lieutenant A. Schmeling (Tulinov) was located near the mountains. Lyuban and, according to the information of the emigrant publicist B. Nikolaevsky, it was this that captured the commander of the 2nd Shock Army, General Vlasov. The commander of this group was also a resident of the counterintelligence Abwehrgruppe312, and subsequently served in the ROA.
In the summer of 1943, service platoons, better known as “Russian propaganda platoons,” were organized under the departments of the 1C divisions on the Eastern Front. Their main task was to indoctrinate defectors.
The units conducted propaganda among Russian volunteers and at the forefront of the location Soviet troops through special radio installations. The personnel of these platoons consisted of military personnel of the Russian Liberation Army. As a rule, such a platoon consisted of 18.25 people: a commander, 2.3 propagandists, 3 non-commissioned officers and privates.
IN Vitebsk region there were units from former citizens USSR: at the headquarters of the commander of the rear (“Koryuk”) there are 3.4 yagd teams (or “hunter teams”) of 80-100 people each.
Such teams were recruited from experienced fighters and armed with automatic weapons to “hunt” partisan detachments; "Order Police" or "Ordnungsdienst" units. They were located in every village. Total for Vitebsk region. they numbered up to 8 thousand people;. commandant companies at army commandant's offices from 100 to 200 people each (the cities of Surazh, Liozno, Senno); railway and highway security detachments subordinate to the departments of these highways; ost-battalions at army headquarters, from 500 to 1 thousand people each;. divisions have detachments of up to 4 thousand people to guard transport and convoys.
Similar formations were created not only in the Vitebsk region, but throughout the occupied territories of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Often, the German command itself did not have accurate information about such units, since local commanders tried to hide their presence from their superiors.
Persons who received large property from the German command were also interested in the formation of security units. For example, in the Leningrad region, Baron von Rosen formed a security detachment of former prisoners of war to protect his estate.
One of the similar detachments was commanded by Prince Meshchersky (later killed by his own soldiers from the underground group). This unit was formed from volunteer prisoners of war in the Sychevsky camp. The White emigrants were led by Captain Zaustinsky, a former colonel tsarist army, translator at the headquarters of the 9th Corps G.P. Sakirich, Lieutenant Gaidul (grandson of Countess M.N. Tolstoy). In the prisoner of war camps of Rzhev, Molodechno and Toropets, a Cossack cavalry hundred (57 people), the 3rd guard company, and a platoon of the 705th watch battalion (13 people) were formed. In the Rzhev Dulag, the formation was led by the White emigrant Podramentsev. A native of St. Petersburg, former captain Imperial Army, he graduated from Kazan cadet school, in years Civil War fought against Makhno.
The detachment, numbering 60 people, was formed from among prisoners of war and camp police. The first batch of 30 people was then replenished with additional recruitment.
The detachment was blessed for feats of arms by priest Fr. Paul.
The scout of the detachment was fourteen-year-old Nikolai Ivanovich Vinogradov from the Pustoshkinsky district of the Pskov region. The detachment's guides and assistants in anti-partisan actions were residents of local villages.
The detachment's armament, in addition to rifles, consisted of 2 Maxim machine guns and 9 light machine guns. The uniform was standard German uniform with red shoulder straps, headdress. Kubanka with a three-color Russian cockade.
Operationally, the detachment was subordinate to the chief of staff of the 23rd Army Corps, Major Bayer, and operated in the Rzhevsky, Oleninsky and Belsky districts of the Kalinin region.
At the end of July 1942, a group of Cossack officers and White emigrants arrived at the Sychevsky prisoner of war camp and, announcing the formation of a Russian volunteer legion, invited those wishing to enroll in it. There were 250 people willing, of whom a detachment was subsequently organized under the command of Chief Lieutenant Georg Tietjen, from which three eastern battalions were later created. 628th, 629th, 630th, united under common name"Eingreifgruppe Tietjen".
Some of the similar formations, organized internally by underground cells, went over to the side of the advancing Red Army in the winter of 1942. As the situation at the front worsened, discipline weakened in volunteer units. Thus, the chief of field police at Army Group South reports on September 10, 1943, at the authority level, about the behavior of local formations and “hiwis”:
“...3) The behavior of employees in the eastern connections and. Khiwi... Complaints are almost universally received from all subordinate field police groups about the behavior of Khiwi and eastern troops. Unbridled behavior and protests against the population are the order of the day. Thus, these cases have an impact on the position of the police and the Abwehr, and the population's attitude towards German troops is increasingly negative.
It is indicated that at least some of these protests occurred due to insufficient control. Cases of desertion, mutiny and hostile actions against the Germans in the formations of the eastern troops are increasing."
This can be confirmed by the following document:
“Order for the 13th battalion. People's Guard. March 16, 1943 Pochep... § 2 There are cases when soldiers and battalion commanders interfere in the affairs of civil organizations and the police.
For example: platoon commander Grigory Avtushenko intervened on January 10, 1943 in the work of the forest guard, who detained forest robbers, as a result of which the robbers left unpunished.
The platoon commander Shchegolyaev started a fight with the burgomaster of the volost, arrested him and the chief of the volost police.
Platoon commander Khomyakov and soldiers Lisenko and Kazachenko also started a fight with the burgomaster.
In view of the above, I order:
Soldiers and officers of the battalion should under no circumstances interfere with the work of civil organizations and the police; those responsible will be severely punished.
The battalion commander is Captain Saulit." On March 6, the commander of the 3rd company, Chechenok G., was shot in the battalion for organizing the disintegration of the company and inducing its personnel to join the partisans. Three more junior officers were sent to a concentration camp.
Eastern battalions, squadrons, batteries, squadrons Eastern battalions (Eastern battalions) were mostly formed as part of each German division on the basis of eastern companies for various purposes. Subsequently, they received the numbering of their divisions. Since the spring of 1943, all anti-partisan companies were consolidated into eastern battalions.
As a rule, German officers were appointed as commanders, although there were exceptions. By July 1943, there were 78 eastern battalions.
The battalions available on the Eastern Front can be divided into:
1. Army eastern battalions: 510, 516, 517, 561, 581, 582.
2. Corps: 308, 406, 412, 427, 432, 439, 441, 446.448, 456 3. Divisional: 207, 229, 263, 268, 281, 285 4. Independent: 601.621, 626.630, 632.650 , 653, 654.
Many units in parallel bore the names of their commanders: “Bishler’s Jagd-team of Eastern hunters”, “Friesner’s team”, “Hansen’s Ost-battalion”, etc. This was done in order to disguise them from the attention of particularly zealous military officials, who saw a direct violation in the existence of the eastern units the Fuhrer's order on the inadmissibility of arming “Slavic subhumans.”
Cooperation with the enemy was carried out not only on the ground, but also in the air. The 1st East Squadron of the Luftwaffe was created on the initiative of Luftwaffe Lieutenant Colonel Holters in December 1943 in Moritzfeld (East Prussia). For preliminary training, a special camp was created in Suwalki, where former prisoners of war from among the pilots, navigators, and radio operators were tested for suitability. After the inspection was completed, they were restored to their previous ranks, the oath was taken, and the people were included in the squadron.
Russian pilots flew PO-2 and outdated German aircraft. The squadron took part in battles in the Baltic states as part of the Ostland night bomber group.
This group also included 3 Estonian and 2 Latvian squadrons. Subsequently, on the basis of the Russian Holters squadron, Air Force CONR.
A number of Soviet aircraft with crews were in service with Abwehr front-line commands and were used for special operations.
In addition, since the spring of 1944, Hiwi units have been created for the Luftwaffe, called “Luftwaffe assistants” - “Luvtwaffenhilfers”. In addition, several batteries of 88-mm FLAC anti-aircraft guns were placed to guard the Atlantic Wall. Their combat personnel consisted partly of young Russian volunteers "flakhilfers" and former soldiers of von Renteln's Cossack units.
By the end of the war, the German Air Force included 120 thousand former prisoners of war and 22.5 thousand volunteers.
The eastern formations were also entrusted with conducting propaganda against enemy troops. Thus, a year before the end of the war, the Russian-German military propaganda unit “Volga” was formed under the SS regiment “Kurt Eggers”.
The SS regiment itself, led by SS Standartenführer Günter Alken, was a regiment of war correspondents.
The Volga detachment was staffed by ROA ranks, the technical personnel were Germans. The detachment, perfectly equipped with the latest propaganda technology of the time, operated on the front in the area of the river. Oder. Its goal was to exert psychological and ideological influence on the enemy. It was armed with rocket launchers for launching missiles with leaflets, a field printing press, and powerful armored loudspeakers. The detachment also dropped a “Trench Leaflet”, published directly on the spot, at the location of the Soviet units. Subsequently, the detachment retreated to the Salzburg area and was captured by the Americans.
Under the various German tank, motorized and infantry units there were also many "native" formations called "cavalry" or "horse".
Russian 567th reconnaissance squadron of the 56th German tank division acted in the North of Russia. It was formed by G.N. Chavchavadze, a graduate of a German military school, who subsequently received a position in the 1C department of the division and corps headquarters. The Russian reconnaissance squadron began in a battle in August 1941 with Soviet units near Lake Ilmen, when the headquarters of the 56th Tank Corps was surrounded.
Due to insufficient manpower, Chief of Staff von Ebersfeld suggested that Chavchavadze arm the 200 Russian prisoners of war captured the day before. After the battle, these people served as the basis for the formation of the squadron.
Subsequently, the squadron was replenished with prisoners and local youth, attracted by the call to join the “Army of the Russian United Volunteer Force”. That's what the squadrons called themselves. In addition to replenishment, the squadron organized local self-defense units from peasants in villages that were often robbed by partisans. The squadron was a reconnaissance unit, although it took part in heavy battles on the front line near Rzhev, Volokolamsk, and Klin.
Later, the squadron joined the 1st Division of the KONR Armed Forces, and then its remnants, together with the commander, waged partisan warfare in Slovakia and Galicia.
After the end of the war, Chavchavadze settled his people in the French occupation sector, and he himself began to cooperate with the NTS and the French military intelligence, finding application for his rich front-line experience.
Ost battalions united to carry out large anti-partisan actions, taking on the size of regiments, and were split into companies and smaller units for security service. German officers were appointed battalion commanders and their deputies. White emigrant officers or former Soviet officers.
Each such combat unit included 3.4 infantry companies of 100,200 people each, as well as a headquarters company, which included control, mortar, anti-tank and artillery platoons. The personnel could be armed with captured weapons of Soviet, Czech, Italian or Hungarian production, and occasionally the weapons were German. Usually there were up to 4 76.2 mm guns, up to 4 45 mm anti-tank guns, mortars and machine guns.
Subsequently, the German command became concerned with the creation special schools for training command staff of Russian volunteer units. In Mariampol (Lithuania) there was the 1st ROA Officer School for the training of officers and non-commissioned officers and translators under the leadership of former Red Army Colonel V.G. Assberg.
In addition, similar courses operated in Bobruisk, Vitebsk, Pskov, Soltsy, Pozharevitsy. For the same purposes, there were reserve eastern battalions and companies. Training was conducted according to German regulations and in the German command language.
Many ost battalions had a mixed national composition. For example, the 674th battalion, operating on the territory of the Leningrad region, was formed in July 1942 in Volosovo from among former prisoners of war from the camps of Gatchina, Chudov, Rozhdestven, Volosov, etc. The first company of the battalion was Russian, the 2nd. Ukrainian, 3rd and 4th from the peoples of Transcaucasia and Central Asia, Tatars. This battalion was part of the 1605th Wehrmacht Infantry Regiment. After formation personnel passed an internship, took the oath, received uniforms and weapons. The battalion patrolled the area, guarding the Gatchina railway line. Kingisepp. Narva and carried out anti-partisan actions in the Volosovsky district. The companies of the battalion were located in a row settlements district. They went to neighboring areas for punitive actions. By December 1943, the battalion already consisted of 12 companies. At the same time he was redeployed to France. to guard the Atlantic Wall, where he was captured by British troops. The 665th East Battalion was formed in June 1942 on the basis of the 31.34th Russian volunteer companies operating in the zone of Army Group North under the command of the 18th German army. Initially, the unit received the name Russian security unit 188. In October, it was reorganized into the 665th East Battalion. In October 1943, the battalion was transferred to France and assigned to the 338th Infantry Division of the 19th Army. At the end of October it was stationed in the Einmark area, in April 1944 it became the 3rd battalion of the 757th Grenadier Regiment of the garrison service of the 338th Infantry Division. In October 1944, it was transferred to the 19th Army as a separate combat unit, and in November it was transferred to Munsingen to form KONR Armed Forces divisions. The 663rd East Battalion was formed on October 23, 1942 from 9.12 Russian companies of the 186th Estonian security battalion.
The unit was stationed in the area of activity of the 18th Army of Army Group North. At the end of 1943 he was transferred to the south of France as part of the 19th Army. Since December 5, 1943, subordinate to the 338th Infantry Division of the 19th Army, assigned to coast guard units. On April 19, 1944, it joined the 759th Grenadier Regiment, 338th Infantry Division as the 1st Battalion. After the defeat of the 759th regiment near Ronetal (France), the battalion again gained independence and became the 663rd eastern battalion. At the end of 1944, the personnel who survived the fighting were transferred to Munsingen. The 553rd Ost-Volk Battalion or “Russia Convalescent Battalion” began its existence on January 18, 1943 and was formed from prisoners of war on the territory of the General Government (Poland). In April 1943, it was reorganized into the 1st East Convalescent Battalion and disbanded on February 5, 1944. Then in February, the 553rd Ost-Volk battalion was formed from his personnel. Initially, the national composition of the battalion was represented by Ukrainians, but since June 1944 it was completely staffed by Russians. The battalion was later renamed Russian security unit 553. In December 1944, the battalion was transferred to Munsingen, where it joined the KONR Armed Forces.
This fate was typical for almost all eastern battalions. Having become hostages of the Fuhrer's hysterical mistrust, they were transferred to Europe in 1943 after the battle of Kursk. Initially, it was planned to disarm them and send them to work in the mines, but such a radical decision was put on hold, because disarming 80 thousand soldiers was very difficult. The army command reported to Headquarters that the unreliable units (6 thousand people) were disarmed and sent to the mines. Some units were indeed reorganized into military construction teams or dispersed as “hivi” among the advanced units. However, many companies and battalions, despite shouts from above, were retained, because it was no longer so easy to part with them.
Some German military leaders tried to create tolerable living conditions for Russian volunteers. Thus, by order of the command of the 3rd Tank Army dated May 30, 1943, the brochure “Political tasks of the German soldier in Russia in the light of total war” was distributed, the ideological content of which was revolutionary in nature and ran counter to the postulates of the German “Ost-politik”:
“It is necessary first to achieve voluntary cooperation between the Russians and Germany, because people can be suppressed by force, but they cannot be attracted ideologically. Great value It also means that the Germans awaken in the hearts of Russians feelings that have been suppressed by Bolshevism until now. Russians can judge the German people and their worldview only by the German soldier. The latter faces a responsible political task. consciously and systematically seek an alliance with the Russian people in the fight against the Bolshevik-plutocratic danger and then use Russians as labor in the occupied areas and the German rear or to fight with weapons in their hands.
To pacify the country, the help of the population in the fight against partisans, saboteurs, and spies is very valuable. The active participation of Russians in the fight against Bolshevism is expressed in the creation of the Russian People's Army and units of the Russian police...
1. The Russian People's Army was created from Russian volunteers fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Germans against the Red Army and partisans. Using Russian People's Army subject to systematic recruitment, it can also have military significance...
2. The Russian police are units consisting of volunteers and aimed at protecting villages and fighting gangs...
3. In addition, in units and units of the German army, volunteers from among the population and prisoners of war are used for service, which makes it possible to use a large number of German soldiers on the front line.
All this clearly shows the need to gain trust and alliance with the Russian population in an all-out war. The German soldier must solve this problem. He must attract ever wider masses of the population to the active struggle against Bolshevism. His behavior must be determined by the awareness that he is fighting Bolshevism, and not the Russian people and Russian culture.”
Further, the brochure introduced German soldiers to Russian history, drawing attention to positive examples of cooperation between the Russian people and Europe. Rurik and Peter I were assessed as great Russian sovereigns with a focus on Germany, years Tatar-Mongol yoke and Bolshevism. as “Asianness” and the decline of national culture and spirit.
After the transfer from the Eastern Front, Army Group B (commanded by Field Marshal E. Rommel) included: 649 Ost battalions, 281 and 285 cavalry divisions, 621, 752 artillery divisions and three battalions of the Eastern Reserve Regiment. The 1st Army of Army Group G on the Bay of Biscay coast included the 608th Battalion and the 750th Special Purpose Regiment on the Mediterranean coast. 601, 661, 665, 666, 681 eastern battalions.
The personnel eastern reserve regiments, as well as the 406th and 654th battalions, were stationed in France and Belgium.
In France, a headquarters for the commander of volunteer units was also created, directly subordinate to the commander-in-chief of German troops in the West. This headquarters was engaged in advising German commanders on the use of eastern units. Shortly before the allied landing, it was headed by a specialist in “ the eastern question", former German attaché in Moscow, career intelligence officer, Major General Oskar von Niedermayer.
Scattered among German units, poorly armed (with the same Mosin rifles), they took on the first Allied attack on June 6, 1944. Some fought bravely to the last bullet and retreated, others in full force surrendered to the allies. The last combat-ready eastern battalions were destroyed during the Battle of the Bulge.
In addition to poor weapons, the soldiers of the Russian units were cut off from their homeland and the war far from home, for someone unclear whose interests, did not make sense for them. Almost the entire personnel already considered themselves an integral part of the ROA, which had been drummed into them for almost two years. Vlasov himself spoke out categorically against the transfer of battalions to Europe and refused to sign the “Open Letter to Volunteers” calling on them to continue the fight in Europe. However, this appeal, without taking into account Vlasov’s edits and with his fictitious signature, was distributed among the troops.
This is how he describes the meeting with Russian “defenders”
France combatant:
“...The jeep was surrounded by armed people. Having disarmed the officer and his driver, they took them to their positions. As it turned out, these were not Germans, but a mixture of Poles, Serbs, Russians, their officers and sergeants had escaped and now the soldiers were mainly concerned with how to surrender safely. They were terribly afraid of falling into the hands of nearby Germans, who would immediately shoot them if they knew about their intentions. After lengthy negotiations with the captured Americans on the morning of June 10, they moved in formation, fully armed, down the road towards Macy until they met the surprised American driver of the half-track. Delkazel ran forward, shouting: Don't shoot! Don't shoot! They surrender!.. 75 people came forward and laid down their weapons on the ground. A squadron of impeccably dressed Belarusian cavalrymen in astrakhan caps, which surrendered a few days later, first sent a deputation to the American reconnaissance platoon to verify its strength. The cavalrymen reported that they were ready to surrender, but could only do so if they had an impressive force in front of them. The Americans convinced them of the presence of such quite impressive forces that would make surrender honorable..."
Some eastern units distinguished themselves in bloody battles. Thus, the 621st Eastern Artillery Division covered the crossing of the river during the retreat. Scheldt, ensuring the evacuation of the rest of the German corps.
As of September 29, 1944, Russian units lost 8.4 thousand people in battles with the allies, of which 7.9 thousand were missing.
Not all eastern battalions and regiments were transferred to the West, because on the Eastern Front they could no longer do without them.
Subsequently, some battalions (308, 601, 605, 618, 621, 628, 630, 654, 663, 666, 675 and 682, as well as the 582 and 752nd artillery divisions) became part of the 600th Infantry Division (1st Division VS KONR).
The 2nd Division of the Armed Forces of the KONR (650th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht) included 5 eastern battalions. 600, 427, 642, 667, 851 and 621 artillery divisions, which previously fought in Western Front and a battalion from the reserve. The further fate of these battalions is known. As part of the 1st Division, they took part in the battles at the Erlenhof bridgehead on the Oder, in the Prague operation. The 619th Eastern Battalion was formed in the western regions Oryol region. The unit was created at the commandant's office in the village. Odrino Karachevsky district of the Oryol (now Bryansk) region in December 1942 to fight the partisans. The formed unit included local residents and prisoners. By the beginning of March 1943, the battalion's strength was 140 Russian and 11 German soldiers. The battalion was armed with rifles, 4 heavy and 6 light machine guns.
At the beginning of March 1943, in a battle with partisans, the 1st and 2nd companies of the battalion (100 people) under the command of Commandant W. von Schröder were destroyed, while the commandant and some of the volunteers were captured. The remaining two companies were transferred to the city of Karachev, where the formation of the battalion continued. Soon the battalion consisted of three rifle companies, one heavy weapons company, and a headquarters.
The bulk of the rank and file was represented by young people born in 1921-1923. Former officers The Red Army occupied a secondary position in the battalion in the positions of deputy platoon commanders, etc. The command posts of the battalion were occupied by German personnel.
In June 1943, the 619th East Battalion was transformed into a personnel strain battalion, which served to replenish the eastern units of the 2nd Tank Army, which did not prevent its personnel from taking part in anti-partisan operations.
In November 1943, the battalion was disbanded. The 406th East Battalion was formed in January 1943 on the basis of an anti-partisan company at the headquarters of the 6th Army Corps and two worker battalions. The battalion acted against the partisans of the Akatovsky forests of the Smolensk region.
Mikhailik Vasily Petrovich, born in 1921, served in the company, and then in the battalion, who was captured as a lieutenant, platoon commander of the 269th Infantry Regiment of the 134th Infantry Division. In March 1943, Mikhailik, transferred from a labor battalion to a security unit, received the rank of corporal. While guarding the highway and railway between the city of Demidovo and the village of Akatovo, he detained two German military saboteurs for contacts with partisans. In June 1943, with the rank of non-commissioned officer, Mikhailik was transferred to the 3rd company of the battalion as a squad commander. After an unsuccessful battle, the company was defeated and scattered. The battalion was sent to Vitebsk, and then transferred to France, where it arrived on September 25, 1943 in Beziers, near Marseille, where Mikhailik received the rank of sergeant major. In July 1944, Mikhailik was already a lieutenant and platoon commander. In Italy, his company was disbanded into other units, and our hero was appointed as an orderly officer at battalion headquarters. In May 1944 he was awarded the Medal of Merit. After the surrender of Germany, Mikhailik was captured by the Americans. After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, he was sent by plane to Moscow, where he was tried for treason.
In October 1974, his wife, Muscovite Mikhailik Maria Andreevna, filed a statement with the KGB, in which she claimed that her husband was a Soviet intelligence officer under the pseudonym Willie Clarring No. 17919 and was wrongly convicted. This data was not confirmed; moreover, it turned out that No. 17919 belonged to the field mail of the 406th East Battalion.
Mikhailik Vasily’s brother was the writer Yuri Petrovich Dold-Mikhailik, author of the adventure novel “And One Warrior in the Field.” The article “Pages of Courage”, published in “Literary Ukraine” in March 1973, stated that the portrait of the main character of the above-mentioned book was copied from the author’s brother. Thus, Dold-Mikhailik’s work “And One Warrior in the Field” actually talks about the 406th Eastern Battalion.
I was forced to post this article in connection with the discussion of the person of the former Soviet general, and subsequently the head of the ROA A. Vlasov, on the pages of Hydepark: http://gidepark.ru/user/3613970432/poll/48088#, because Mr. Evgeny Kuleshov, considered my criticism inconvenient for him and limited my ability to discuss this article, this is his right and I consider it incorrect to challenge this.
During the discussion, a number of “our” and “neighboring” fellow citizens raised the question that, like, it’s not the case to condemn Vlasov alone, if you look at how many Russians served the Germans faithfully. I know it worked, I know quite a few, and I know the reasons were different. To educate our Hyde Park residents, this is not simple question Who they served there, and what the Germans could trust them with, I propose an article by an amateur historian, design engineer A. Kuznetsov.
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"Hiwi" or general workers from the eastern construction division pose in front of a German photographer
Who are the “Khiwis” and why were there so many of them? Who are "HIVI" and why were there so many of them?
Big losses Heavy Wehrmacht losses
The battles on the Kursk Bulge cost the Germans suffered large losses that needed to be replenished. A document from the organizational department of the General Staff in the second half of 1943 provided for measures to release soldiers for the army in the east. The cleaning of the rear and the recruitment of “subhumans” to serve on their side began again. Actually, the Slavic peoples were no longer considered “inferior”, especially by front-line soldiers.
According to the plan, cuts in supply units and administrative services amounted to 120 thousand soldiers, replacement of a number of positions by women - only 20 thousand soldiers, purge of units in search of slackers - 20 thousand soldiers, and, finally, the introduction of "hivi" - 260 thousand. soldier. It must be said that the project was not fully implemented.
On October 2, 1943, new levels of units on the eastern front in the active army were approved. There were now 2,005 Hiwis in an infantry division of 10,708 men, which was about 15% of the total. There were 970 and 776 Hiwis in the tank and motorized divisions, respectively, which was equal to 15% of the total strength. In 1944, the staff of the infantry division changed, now there were 1,466 people (1,164 in the forward units and 302 in the rear). The share of "hiwis" in the SS volunteer infantry division in the forward and rear units was 1125 and 414 people, respectively, despite the fact that there were more soldiers in the SS division.
In addition to increasing the number of “reluctant helpers,” a decision was made to improve their existence so that they would not desert. From a purely temporary phenomenon, the “hiwis” arose on a legal basis. Back on April 29, 1943, the Hiwis were officially allowed to wear German uniforms, but without German emblems, buttonholes and shoulder straps.
In 1943, a charter and instructions on rights, responsibilities, pay, uniforms, service, etc. were issued for the Khiwi.
"Hiwi" or general workers from the eastern construction division - diggers make a dugout
Hi all.
With pride and joy I would like to present to your attention a new product for the Russian car audio market, the HiVi Research brand. It is new, however, only for us, since this brand has long been and deservedly known abroad as a manufacturer of high-quality and high-tech dynamic heads, unique isodynamic radiators, which have no analogues in the world of coaxial radiating systems.
At different times, such honored grandees and developers as Frank Hale, Joe D'Appolito, and Vance Dickason worked on the development of hi-tech HiVi speakers.Based on the excellent dynamic drivers, HIVi Research began producing kits for installation in cars. IN present moment car audio direction is represented by several lines, from the budget T line (midbass with diffusers based on polypropylene with ceramic coating) and to the D line (midbass with a reverse magnetic system, high-precision casting of the basket, diffusers made of paper reinforced with Kevlar threads)
There are models with both silk tweeters and isodynamic HF emitters, which have actually become business card companies.
Whichever model you take, it’s obviously tall technological level performance at a completely reasonable cost.
For advanced car audio professionals, individual components will be of interest: subwoofers, midbass heads of all sizes, wideband drivers, diffuser and dome midrange drivers, silk and isodynamic high-frequency drivers, uniquely designed 2- and 3-way coaxial drivers...Series T is the youngest and most numerous. Midbass diffusers based on polypropylene with ceramic coating and high-quality compact silk tweeters - this is the recipe for success! Despite the frankly low price, the speaker systems in this series have an exceptionally balanced sound, which sets them apart from their budget classmates.
Price analogue - Hertz DSK165, high-quality analogue - Morel Tempo.HiVi T1500 (13cm 2-component T series) – 3200 rubles
2-component speaker system 5", midbass on a stamped frame with a ceramic-coated polypropylene diffuser, silk tweeter
· component speaker
· rated power 40 W
sensitivity 88 dB
impedance 4 ohms
· external crossoverHiVi T1600 (16cm 2-component T series) – 3500 rubles
2-component speaker system 6.5", midbass on a stamped frame with a ceramic-coated polypropylene diffuser, silk tweeter
· component speaker
· rated power 50 W
sensitivity 90 dB
impedance 4 ohms
Frequency range 50 - 23000 Hz
· external crossoverHiVi TC150 (13cm 2-way coaxial T series) – 2400 rubles
2-way coaxial speaker system 5", midbass on a stamped frame with a ceramic-coated polypropylene diffuser, 20mm silk tweeter
· standard size: 13 cm (5 in.)
· rated power 40 W
· sensitivity 88 dB (2.83 V/m)
impedance 4 ohms
Frequency range 60 - 23000 HzHiVi TC160 (16cm 2-way coaxial T series) – 2700 rubles
2-way coaxial speaker system 6.5", midbass on a stamped frame with a ceramic-coated polypropylene diffuser, 20mm silk tweeter
· two-way coaxial speaker
· standard size: 16 cm (6 in.)
· rated power 50 W
· maximum power 150 W
sensitivity 90 dB (W/m)
impedance 4 ohms
Frequency range 45 - 23000 HzHiVi TC169 (6*9" 3-way coaxial T series) – 4080 rubles
2-way coaxial speaker system 6*9", midbass on a stamped frame with a ceramic-coated polypropylene diffuser, 20mm silk tweeter
Series M designed for more advanced users. Mid-bass speakers have cast diffuser baskets. A one-piece aluminum alloy diffuser provides exceptionally detailed sound at mid frequencies, and ventilated voice coils wound on an aluminum frame will not leave indifferent lovers of real disco dynamics in their cars.
Price analogue Hertz Energy/Morel MAximo 6, high-quality analogue DLS R6
HiVi M1500 (13cm 2-component M series) – 5000 rubles
2-component speaker system 5", midbass on a cast frame with an aluminum-magnesium alloy cone, silk tweeter
· component speaker
· standard size: 13 cm (5 in.)
· rated power 40 W
impedance 4 ohms
Frequency range 50 - 25000 HzHiVi M1600 (16cm 2-component M series) – 5500 rubles
2-component speaker system 6.5", midbass on a cast frame with an aluminum-magnesium alloy cone, silk tweeter
· component speaker
· standard size: 16 cm (6 in.)
· rated power 50 W
sensitivity 85 dB (W/m)
impedance 4 ohmsHiVi F1600 (16cm 2-component F series) – 6000 rubles
2-component speaker system 6.5", midbass on a cast frame with diffuser
· component speaker
· standard size: 16 cm (6 in.)
· rated power 50 W
· maximum power 100 W
sensitivity 88 dB
impedance 4 ohms
Frequency range 45 - 25000 HzA couple of 2-component models of the series stand out for some FR. This is, let's say, the “audiophile” version of the speaker systems of the series F, equipped with an exceptionally rare isodynamic tweeter for the car audio region. This tweeter provides exceptionally gentle and realistic reproduction of overtones. The resulting detail and lightness of sound will surprise anyone who has not previously encountered the capabilities of isodynamic drivers.
Price level DLS R6, there is no high-quality analogue.HiVi FR500 (13.8cm 2-component F series) – 6500 rubles
2-component speaker system 5", midbass on a cast frame with a paper-Kevlar composite cone, isodynamic tweeter
· component speaker
· standard size: 13 cm (5 in.)
· rated power 40 W
· maximum power 90 W
sensitivity 86 dB
impedance 4 ohms
Frequency range 50 - 40000 HzHiVi FR600 (16cm 2-component F series) – 7000 rubles
2-component speaker system 6.5", midbass on a cast frame with a paper-Kevlar composite cone, isodynamic tweeter
· component speaker
· standard size: 16 cm (6 in.)
· rated power 50 W
· maximum power 100 W
sensitivity 88 dB
impedance 4 ohms
frequency range 45 - 40000 HzThe company's lineup is completed by the flagship series D. There are only 2 models in this line, but what ones! The midbass of 2 and 3 component speakers is a design with a reversed magnetic system, familiar to many from the top models MOREL And DYNAUDIO. Huge 75mm coils wound on an aluminum frame provide effective heat dissipation, which means high operating power. The tweeters are a large silk dome, with a load chamber in the style of famous “home” models. The 3X component system is equipped with a silk dome midrange driver. Let's add crossovers with high-quality components, with advanced customization capabilities and the ability to operate in multi-amping mode, and we will get real high-tech at a more than humane price.
Price level DLS R6LE, high-quality analogue DLS UR6, Morel Dotech/HibridHiVi D620 (16cm 2-component D series) – 9000 rubles
2-component 6.5" midbass system with neodymium-based reverse magnetic system, cast basket, paper-Kevlar composite cone, silk tweeter, high-quality crossover
· component speaker
· standard size: 16 cm (6 in.)
· rated power 60 W
sensitivity 86 dB
impedance 4 ohms
Frequency range 58 - 20000 Hz
· external crossoverHiVi D630 (16cm 3-component D series) – 11,500 rubles
3-component 6.5" midbass system with neodymium-based reverse magnetic system, cast basket, paper-Kevlar composite cone, silk tweeter, high-quality crossoverthree-way component speaker
· standard size: 16 cm (6 in.)
· rated power 60 W
sensitivity 87 dB (W/m)
impedance 4 ohms
Frequency range 60 - 20000 Hz
· external crossoverI will be glad to answer your questions.
In the photo: Caucasian auxiliary troops. September 1942
About a million USSR citizens – the so-called “hiwis” (from Hilfswillige – voluntary assistants) served in the German army in auxiliary positions. But this figure does not, of course, include those who helped the Germans in the rear. Later, many of these people paid for their activities with their lives or freedom...
Since the attack on the USSR, German troops, especially infantry units, began to suffer heavy losses, while the process of recruiting them with German personnel also did not always meet the requirements and specifics of combat operations. At the same time, German commanders had a large number of Soviet prisoners of war and defectors at their disposal. Not all prisoners were sent to the rear by unit commanders. Those who wished received economic “positions,” thereby freeing up the German personnel, who were immediately sent to the front line. Defectors and prisoners went to serve in the German army as grooms and drivers, shell carriers and orderlies, sappers and military builders. Such helpers became known as “Hilfswillige” (volunteer helpers) or “Hiwi” for short. Some of them went through the entire combat path of their military units until the end of the war.
In the photo: “Hivi” with a cartA considerable number of former Red Army soldiers joined the combat units of the Wehrmacht, diluting the German composition and receiving the status of Freiwillie volunteers. According to reports from the front line, they fought bravely, and their presence contributed greatly to the influx of defectors.
In the photo: Crimean Tatars in auxiliary units of the Wehrmacht. February 1942Thus, the 11th Army of Field Marshal Manstein in the summer of 1942 had 47 thousand “voluntary assistants”. As part of Paulus's 6th Army in the winter of 1941-1943. there were 51 thousand 780 Russian support personnel and an anti-aircraft artillery division staffed by Ukrainians.
By the end of 1942, each infantry regiment had 1 sapper company composed of prisoners of war, which included 10 German instructors. The infantry division staff established on October 2, 1943 provided for the presence of 2,005 volunteers for 10,708 German personnel, which amounted to about 15% of the total strength of the division.
As an identification mark, the “Hiwis” wore a white bandage on the left sleeve with an inscription in three lines in German “In the service of the German Army” (“Im dienst der Deutsches Wehrmacht”). An armband with the inscription “In the service of the SS troops” was issued to WaffenSS volunteer employees. Female military auxiliary personnel wore a yellow armband with the embroidered inscription "German Army" ("Deutsche Wehrmacht") on their left sleeve. In a number of cases, an armband was used with the image of the tactical sign of a particular division and/or an imprint of its seal.
All “Hiwis” took an oath, the text of which was drawn up by Colonel Freitag von Loringhofen. The volunteers swore allegiance to A. Hitler as commander-in-chief, but nowhere was there a word about what they were fighting for. After taking the oath, all volunteers were considered equal to a German soldier. Freitag is the author of the so-called “Charter-5000” for the daily activities of Hiwi units.According to statistics from the Office of the Eastern Forces, as of February 2, 1943, the total number of former Soviet citizens in German military service was 750 thousand, of which the Hiwi ranged from 400 to 600 thousand, excluding the SS, Luftwaffe and Navy. As of February 1945, the number of Hiwis was 600 thousand people in the Wehrmacht, up to 60 thousand in the Luftwaffe and 15 thousand in the navy.
An excerpt from the “Main Directions for the Training of Volunteer Assistants”, developed by the headquarters of the 6th Army in 1943, gives an idea of the Hiwi service:
“The purpose of training and education is to prepare voluntary assistants as reliable comrades in the fight against Bolshevism.
In the photo: “Khivi” of captured Red Army soldiers prepare their lunchTo carry out such training and education, volunteer assistants should be purposefully selected from the camps and brought together, providing appropriate supervision personnel and teachers (including interpreters). Further in the camp the following division of companies of Hiwi reservists is maintained: in each division there is one or more companies.
An idea of the typology of collaborationist units and units is given by special registers, the compilation and maintenance of which were carried out by the Reich military department and the headquarters of the commander of all eastern troops. Thus, the register dated November 22, 1943 mentions the following types of eastern (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and mixed) units and units: eastern companies (eastern companies); eastern watch companies and platoons; eastern companies and supply columns (heavy and light); companies and battalions of convalescent volunteers; construction and engineering companies, platoons; sapper, pontoon, bridge-building companies and platoons; anti-partisan companies, platoons, yagd teams, including huntsmen; security platoons and companies; infantry (rifle) units; tank platoons and companies; platoons and signal companies; horse and cavalry squadrons and units; eastern propaganda companies and platoons (motorized and infantry); Eastern Special Purpose Regimental Headquarters of the Central Bank of Fleet; eastern divisions and headquarters of translators;. armored trains, ambulance and repair trains; schools (companies and battalions) for training non-commissioned officers; eastern reserve, training companies and battalions; tank and other equipment repair units; reconnaissance platoons, companies, squadrons.
Recruitment for these and other units was made from among volunteer prisoners of war, the local population, and partisan defectors. “Eastern” companies were involved in protecting communications routes, performing garrison service in villages and cities, and in combat operations against partisans and Soviet landing groups.
In the Vitebsk region there were units of former citizens of the USSR: at the headquarters of the commander of the rear (“Koryuk”) there were 3.4 yagd teams (or “hunter teams”) of 80-100 people each.
Such teams were recruited from experienced fighters and armed with automatic weapons to “hunt” partisan detachments; "Order Police" or "Ordnungsdienst" units. They were located in every village. Total for Vitebsk region. they numbered up to 8 thousand people;. commandant companies at army commandant's offices from 100 to 200 people each (the cities of Surazh, Liozno, Senno); railway and highway security detachments subordinate to the departments of these highways; ost-battalions at army headquarters, from 500 to 1 thousand people each;. divisions have detachments of up to 4 thousand people to guard transport and convoys.
Similar formations were created not only in the Vitebsk region, but throughout the occupied territories of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Often, the German command itself did not have accurate information about such units, since local commanders tried to hide their presence from their superiors.
Eastern battalions, squadrons, batteries, squadrons Eastern battalions (Eastern battalions) were mostly formed as part of each German division on the basis of eastern companies for various purposes. Subsequently, they received numbering for their divisions. Since the spring of 1943, all anti-partisan companies were consolidated into eastern battalions.As a rule, German officers were appointed as commanders, although there were exceptions. By July 1943, there were 78 eastern battalions.
The battalions available on the Eastern Front can be divided into:
1. Army eastern battalions: 510, 516, 517, 561, 581, 582.
2. Corps: 308, 406, 412, 427, 432, 439, 441, 446.448, 456 3. Divisional: 207, 229, 263, 268, 281, 285 4. Independent: 601.621, 626.630, 632.650 , 653, 654.Many units in parallel bore the names of their commanders: “Bishler’s Jagd-team of Eastern hunters”, “Friesner’s team”, “Hansen’s Ost-battalion”, etc. This was done in order to disguise them from the attention of particularly zealous military officials, who saw a direct violation in the existence of the eastern units the Fuhrer's order on the inadmissibility of arming “Slavic subhumans.”
Cooperation with the enemy was carried out not only on the ground, but also in the air. The 1st East Squadron of the Luftwaffe was created on the initiative of Luftwaffe Lieutenant Colonel Holters in December 1943 in Moritzfeld (East Prussia). For preliminary training, a special camp was created in Suwalki, where former prisoners of war from among the pilots, navigators, and radio operators were tested for suitability. After the inspection was completed, they were restored to their previous ranks, the oath was taken, and the people were included in the squadron.
Russian pilots flew PO-2 and outdated German aircraft. The squadron took part in battles in the Baltic states as part of the Ostland night bomber group.
This group also included 3 Estonian and 2 Latvian squadrons. Subsequently, the KONR Air Force was created on the basis of the Russian Holters squadron.
In the photo: A column of Jewish women is escorted by the “Lithuanian” self-defense. 1941A number of Soviet aircraft with crews were in service with Abwehr front-line commands and were used for special operations.
In addition, since the spring of 1944, Hiwi units have been created for the Luftwaffe, called “Luftwaffe assistants” - “Luvtwaffenhilfers”. In addition, several batteries of 88-mm FLAC anti-aircraft guns were placed to guard the Atlantic Wall. Their combat personnel consisted partly of young Russian volunteers "flakhilfers" and former soldiers of von Renteln's Cossack units.
By the end of the war, the German Air Force included 120 thousand former prisoners of war and 22.5 thousand volunteers.
1st Cossack Cavalry Division
XV Cossack Cavalry Corps Positive experience in the combat use of Cossacks volunteer units on the Eastern Front forced the German command to begin the formation of large Cossack formations. The final decision to create a Cossack division was made in early November 1942.Colonel Helmuth von Pannwitz was to create the unit and command it.
Pannwitz was born in 1898 in Silesia into the family of a cavalry officer. As a 16-year-old cadet, he participated in the 1st World War and earned the Iron Cross of the 1st and 2nd degrees. At the beginning of the war with the USSR, he headed the reconnaissance unit of the 45th Infantry Division. In November 1942, Field Marshal von Kleist instructed him to form Cossack units from prisoners of war and local residents in the south of Russia. While engaged in the formation of Cossack units, Pannwitz himself, to some extent, “found himself”, mastered the Russian language well and no longer separated himself, a Wehrmacht officer, from the violent Cossack freemen.
In the photo: Cossack volunteers of the Wehrmacht. January 1943
In the photo: Helmut von PannwitzPlans to form a division in Ukraine were thwarted by the Soviet offensive at Stalingrad. The formation of the division began only in the spring of 1943. after the withdrawal of the German army and the relative stabilization of the front. All Cossack units that retreated along with the Wehrmacht from the Don and the North Caucasus were concentrated in the Kherson region and replenished with Cossack refugees. At the first stage, 4 Cossack regiments were formed from them: 1st Don, 2nd Tersky, 3rd Combined Cossack and 4th Kuban with a total number of up to 6 thousand people. On April 21, 1943, an order was issued to organize the 1st Cossack Cavalry Division. The four above-mentioned regiments were transferred to Polish territory to the training ground in Mlau (Mlawa), where equipment warehouses were located Polish cavalry. Soon other Cossack military formations arrived at the training ground. Kononov's 600th division, Platov and von Jungschultz regiments, von Wolf's 1st Ataman regiment. All previous combat units were disbanded, and their personnel were consolidated into new units based on belonging to Cossack troops. Only Kononov defended his division, and he joined the division as the 5th Don Regiment.
The creation of the division was completed by July 1, 1943, Colonel Pannwitz received another title and was appointed its commander.
As of November 1943, the division consisted of the following units and subunits:Division headquarters with a hundred escort and a brass band; 1st (Don) Brigade under the command of the Baltic German, Colonel G. von Wolf (from January 1944, Colonel Bosse); The 1st (Don) Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Burgrave zu Don consisted of 2 cavalry divisions, each of which had 3 cavalry and 1 cavalry machine-gun squadron, a squadron of heavy weapons (2 platoons of 50-mm PAK guns and 2 platoons of 81- mm mortars; the 2nd Siberian Regiment, under the command of the Baltic German Colonel von Nolken, had a similar composition; the 4th Kuban Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel von Wolf (composition similar to the 1st Don Regiment, Colonel von Bosse (from January 1944); . Lieutenant Colonel von Schultz); 3rd Consolidated Cossack Regiment of Colonel von Jungschultz (until the spring of 1944); 5th Don Regiment (Colonel I.N. Kononov); 6th Terek Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel von Kalben); Don cavalry artillery division: 3 batteries of 75-mm mountain guns; 2nd Kuban cavalry artillery division; Motorized reconnaissance squadron; 3 sapper squadrons; sapper construction squadron; light engineer park; Communications battalion. 2 squadrons of telephone operators, radio communications squadron; Logistics and service units, including the field gendarmerie group; Training - reserve regiment with a non-commissioned officer school and a school for young Cossacks under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Stabenau.
To replenish the division's units, the 5th Cossack training and reserve regiment was stationed in France.
The total strength of the division, excluding the reserve regiment, was 18,555 people, of which: 3,827 German lower ranks, 222 German officers, 14,315 Cossacks and 191 Cossack officers. The reserve Cossack regiment sometimes reached a strength of 15 thousand people.
In mid-September 1943, replenished with vehicles, horses and weapons, the division was sent to the front of the fight against partisans in Yugoslavia. In the city of Pancevo, the Cossacks came under the command of the commander of the 2nd German Tank Army, Colonel General L. von Rendulic.Mobile and well-armed Cossack units became the main opponent of Tito's partisans, and, according to the Germans, they turned out to be more effective in the anti-partisan war than motorized army and police units. Soon the Cossacks completely replaced the German infantry in the fight against the rebels.
Using their existing experience in fighting partisans, the Cossack units did not spare the enemy and the local population.
Partisan villages were burned down after horses and harnesses were looted and requisitioned. Feed for the horses was also obtained from local residents. The Cossacks suppressed interethnic conflicts between the Muslim, Catholic and Orthodox populations with whips and massacres.
Soviet propaganda aimed at the Cossacks was not successful, and during their entire stay in Yugoslavia, only a small group was able to defect to the partisans, forming 2 partisan detachments.
In mid-October 1943, units of the division operated in the Vukovar area. Vinkovitsy. Vrpolye, where communications were guarded. Within a month, calm reigned in this region, which the Croatian security units had been trying to achieve for a long time and unsuccessfully.At the end of November, von Nolcken's 2nd Siberian Regiment, subordinate to the 11th SS Division Nordland, burned out the villages in which the partisans were hiding, terrorizing the Gora road.
Clay. The pacified areas were transferred to Ustasha control, and the division was transferred to the Zagreb area, where it also guarded roads and fought local partisans. On March 23, 1944, the 2nd Siberian Regiment completely defeated a partisan brigade near Dubravchak. 200 partisans were killed, 200 captured. The Cossacks had 31 people killed.
In the spring of 1944, the 1st Cossack Brigade was located along the right bank of the river. Sava. During the anti-partisan Operation Shah, the brigade countered the troops of the headquarters of the partisan formations in Western Bosnia.
Maneuvering on their own, the partisans avoided the battle, and the Cossack regiments turned back. During the retreat, the 2nd Siberian Regiment was surrounded by superior enemy forces and, after a fierce battle and support from the German-Croatian battalion, broke through the encirclement.
In the spring of 1945, the Cossacks took part in the last offensive operation German army on the southern flank of the Balaton ledge. Here the 4th Kuban Regiment, attached to the 11th Air Field Division, attacked the positions of the Bulgarian artillery battery. As a result of a night attack, the Cossacks captured the battery and captured 450 Bulgarian soldiers, suffering only minor losses themselves.The 1st Division covered the withdrawal of German units from Croatia; it was replaced by units of the 2nd Division and held the front until May 6. Like the refugees of the Cossack Stan, the Cossacks of Pannwitz had to fight in difficult times. weather conditions make our way through the mountains to Austria. The 6th Terek Regiment was surrounded by Bulgarian units and was forced to surrender to English prisoners of war from a nearby camp. The bulk of the Cossacks laid down their arms before the British on May 11–12.
An excerpt from a circular letter from the commander of Ground Army B dated October 3, 1942 about “local auxiliary armed forces”:Secret!
Com. dry Arm. B Headquarters 3.10.42
No. 9900 x/42 g
Rel.: local auxiliary forces.1. In the area where Ground Army B is located, there are the following types of local auxiliary forces:
1) volunteer helpers (hivi)
2) order service (odi)
3) schutzmannschaft (noise)
4) police and defense teams of community assistants (gema)3. Purpose and tasks
1.) Hiwi
a) For the troops - for all official tasks performed by the troops. They accompany regular troops.
c) At commandant’s offices - for protection and security railways, bridges and other important military installations. The commandant's offices tactically transfer them to the disposal of military units and use them to ensure the safety of these units. They stay put.2.) Odie. For the safety of the local population and the implementation of security tasks
3.) Shuma (divided into battalions and individual service).
4.) Police officers in communities to assist burgomasters and district chiefs in purely communal tasks. Defense teams of assistants (gema) are generally used only in the event of gangs appearing for local defense or to fight gangs in their area, and usually must be occupied with their economic activities.Young ambitious company Hi-Vi Research In just a few years, it managed to make a lot of noise in the rather conservative audio world. Having powerful production capabilities, they themselves carry out the development and production of almost all components - from dynamic heads to crossover elements and housings.
The prefix SE (Special Edition, or special version) was added for a reason. Possessing a more than solid model range, the designers clearly hint at a special place reserved for Diva 2.1SE in the company catalog as an embodiment of the company’s technical potential. The system is two-way, bass reflex, with a rear port location. Agree, this is a fairly typical solution for our time. The drivers used here are proprietary and manufactured. It features a 28mm soft dome tweeter and a 6" mineralized polypropylene midbass driver. Moreover, special holes are made in this membrane to better remove heat from the voice coil and reduce distortion. The cabinets are made from thick MDF boards, additionally reinforced with internal bracing and finished to the highest standard. The mass of each column is 11 kilograms, of course, indicating the care and thoughtfulness of the design as a whole.There is only one pair of terminals for connecting the cable, but they are very high quality and along with traditional “banana” connectors or bare wires, massive “spade blades” can be pressed without problems.
Your high status monitors Diva 2.1SE definitively confirmed by excellent sound quality. It's rare to hear such sound in this price segment. Their main trump card is the incredible plasticity and liveliness of the middle, which literally radiates energy and can become a serious bid for victory in the test. What is especially important is that the systems show no signs of distortion even at high levels volume, demonstrating the same stable and lively nature of playback. Microdynamic performance is very good, especially in the upper range. Discants are transmitted clearly, with clearly distinguishable after-sounds and the proper amount of “air”.
There are no particular problems with the tonal balance, which in most cases is close to ideal, but still sometimes shifts slightly to the dark side. This feeling may arise due to adult lighting of low frequencies, the depth and quality of which sometimes does not fit with the dimensions of the speakers. A small minus, hinting at the need for careful positioning 2.1SE relative to the listener, there is a slight loss of clarity at the junction of subranges, which appears from time to time when playing male vocals.
There were almost no complaints regarding the formation of the sound picture by the systems. The representation of sources in space is highly accurate (though their scale is slightly reduced), and the sound stage itself has several distinct plans in depth, which can be considered a very decent indicator in its price category.
PLEASED:
Linear playback over a wide frequency band.
DISAPPOINTED:
Slight loss of playback clarity at crossover point
