The 26th ''Waffen'' Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Hungarian) (german: 26. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (ungarische Nr.2), hu, 26. Waffen-SS Gránátos Hadosztály (2. magyar)), was a short-lived

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

, an armed branch of the German

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

that served alongside but was never formally part of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

during World War II. Established in November 1944 following the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

overthrow of the Hungarian regime of

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya ( hu, Vitéz nagybányai Horthy Miklós; ; English: Nicholas Horthy; german: Nikolaus Horthy Ritter von Nagybánya; 18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957), was a Hungarian admiral and dictator who served as the regent ...

, it was never properly formed, trained, or equipped, and after being evacuated from its training camp in the face of the advancing

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

, it surrendered to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in May 1945.

History

The division was authorised in November 1944, following the German overthrow of the Hungarian regime of

, and was designated the 26th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Hungarian) (26. ''Waffen'' Grenadier Division der SS (ungarische Nr.2.)) on 27 December 1944. By the time it was given this designation, it had reached a strength of 8,000, comprising 3,000 former

Royal Hungarian Army The Royal Hungarian Army ( hu, Magyar Királyi Honvédség, german: Königlich Ungarische Armee) was the name given to the land forces of the Kingdom of Hungary in the period from 1922 to 1945. Its name was inherited from the Royal Hungarian Hon ...

troops, along with 5,000 civilian conscripts. The division was sent to be trained and equipped at Schieratz in

Reichsgau Wartheland The ''Reichsgau Wartheland'' (initially ''Reichsgau Posen'', also: ''Warthegau'') was a Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Polish territory annexed in 1939 during World War II. It comprised the region of Greater Poland and adjacent ...

(

-annexed

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

). By this time, it had a "paper" strength of 13,000, of which 10,000 were civilian conscripts yet to be issued weapons or uniforms. In early January 1945, it was issued with some heavy weapons, but these were confiscated by elements of the German 9th Army to help them oppose the Soviet

's Vistula–Oder Offensive launched in mid-January. Around the same time, while scavenging for food, members of the division came under occasional attack by elements of the Polish

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) est ...

. According to some sources, the division was granted the title ''Hungaria'' on 29 January 1945. With the approach of the Soviet forces, the division retreated behind the Oder, suffering around 2,500 casualties. The unit then joined its sister division, the 25th ''Waffen'' Grenadier Division of the SS ''Hunyadi'' (1st Hungarian) at its training camp, Neuhammer. Further Soviet advances resulted in the division being evacuated, along with its sister division, to

. Elements of the division joined a '' kampfgruppe'' left behind as a rearguard at Neuhammer, which was destroyed. During 3–5 May 1945, the remaining elements of the division surrendered to the U.S. Third Army near the Attersee. No special insignia was manufactured for the division.

Commanders

The division was commanded by the following officers: *November 1944 – January 1945 **SS-'' Standartenführer''

Rolf Tiemann Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic name ''Hrolf'', itself a contraction of ''Hrodwulf'' ( Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words ''hrod'' ("renown") + ''wulf'' ("wolf"). The Old Norse cognate is ''Hrólfr''. ...

**''Waffen-

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically a NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographic ...

'' Zoltan Pisky **SS-''Oberführer''

László Deák László Deák (1 July 1891 – 5 November 1946) was a Hungarian army officer who served in World War I and World War II. He was accused and convicted of war crimes due to his involvement in the massacre of Serbian and Jewish civilians during ...

*January – March 1945 **SS-''

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...

'' Berthold Maack *March – May 1945 **''Waffen- Gruppenführer'' József Grassy

Order of battle

The division consisted of the following principal units:GORDON WILLIAMSON: “The SS Hitler´s Instrument of the power”; published by KAISER; appendix, page 244, “Schlachtordnung der Waffen-SS / Waffen-SS order of battle”; copyright 1994 by Brown Packaging Books Ltd., London. *64th ''Waffen''-Grenadier Regiment of the SS *65th ''Waffen''-Grenadier Regiment of the SS *66th ''Waffen''-Grenadier Regiment of the SS *26th ''Waffen''-Artillerie Regiment of the SS **26th ''Waffen'' Ski Battalion of the SS **26th SS-Panzer Battalion

References

Footnotes

Bibliography