25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian)

The 25th ''Waffen'' Grenadier Division of the SS "Hunyadi" (1st Hungarian) was a short-lived infantry division of the Waffen-SS, an armed branch of the German Nazi Party that served alongside but was never formally part of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Established in November 1944 following the German overthrow of the Hungarian regime of Miklós Horthy, it consisted mainly of troops drawn from the Royal Hungarian Army's 13th ''Honvéd'' Division. It was never properly formed, trained, or equipped, and after being evacuated from its training camp in the face of the advancing Soviet Red Army, it surrendered to the United States Army in Austria in May 1945.

History

The division was initially designated 25. SS-'' Freiwilligen'' Grenadier Division by the Germans, but was later redesignated 25. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS "Hunyadi" (ungarische Nr. 1). The title ''Hunyadi'' commemorated the 15th century Hungarian general John Hunyadi. Established in November 1944 following the German overthrow of the Hungarian regime of Miklós Horthy, it consisted of troops drawn from the Royal Hungarian Army's 13th ''Honvéd'' Division, as well as a ski battalion. By January 1945, the 20,000 troops available for the formation of the division were concentrated at the German training camp at Neuhammer, but there were few weapons and vehicles to equip the fledgling division, and supplies were also scarce. In February 1945, the Soviet Red Army was closing on the division's training area, so the troops were evacuated, reaching Austria in April. A ''kampfgruppe'' left behind as a rearguard at Neuhammer was destroyed. The remainder of the division was involved in its first significant combat on 3 May, fighting elements of the U.S. Third Army. It surrendered to the Americans near the Attersee over the following two days.

Commanders

The division was commanded by two officers:
*SS-''Oberführer'' Thomas Müller (November 1944)
*''Waffen-Gruppenführer'' József Grassy (November 1944 – May 1945)

Order of Battle (1944–1945)

The division consisted of the following principal units:
*61st ''Waffen-SS'' Infantry Regiment
**2 Battalions
*62nd ''Waffen-SS'' Infantry Regiment
**2 battalions
*63rd ''Waffen-SS'' Infantry Regiment
**2 battalions
*25th ''Waffen''-''SS'' Artillery Regiment
**4 battalions
*25th ''Waffen''-''SS'' Ski Battalion
*25th ''Waffen''-''SS'' Bicycle Battalion
*25th ''Waffen-SS'' Combat Engineer Battalion
*25th ''Waffen-SS'' Anti-Tank Battalion
*25th ''Waffen-SS'' Anti-Aircraft Battalion
*25th ''Waffen-SS'' Signal Battalion
*25th ''Waffen-SS'' Divisional Interpreter Company
*25th ''Waffen-SS'' Divisional Supply Regiment
*25th ''Waffen-SS'' Training and Replacement Regiment
*86th ''Hungarian'' Replacement and Training Regiment
**4 battalions

Insignia

A right hand collar patch bearing the capital letter "H" was manufactured and was worn by some members of the division, but it is likely that many of the troops wore blank collar patches or the standard sig runes. An armshield in the Hungarian national colours was planned, but it is unclear if any were made or worn.

See also

* List of Waffen-SS units
* Table of ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS
* Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

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{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017

#25
Military units and formations of Hungary in World War II
Foreign volunteer units of the Waffen-SS
Infantry divisions of the Waffen-SS
Military units and formations established in 1944
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
Collaboration with the Axis Powers
Germany–Hungary relations