The 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Italian) also Legione SS Italiana (german: 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (italienische Nr. 1)) was an SS formation of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was originally created in the puppet

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

in 1943 as the Italian Legion, later renamed to a brigade. The unit was upgraded to division status on 10 February 1945.

Background

The

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

on 8 September 1943 signed an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. In response, the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

and 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 ...

disarmed Italian troops unless they were fighting for the German cause. The new

was founded on 23 September 1943 under dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

. On 2 October 1943,

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

and

Gottlob Berger Gottlob Christian Berger (16 July 1896 – 5 January 1975) was a senior German Nazi official who held the rank of '' SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS'' (lieutenant general) and was the chief of the SS Main Office responsible ...

devised the ''Programm zur Aufstellung der italienischen Milizeinheiten durch die Waffen-SS'' ("Program for the deployment of Italian militia forces by the Waffen-SS") which was approved by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

and

Operational history

Pio Filippani Ronconi in Waffen-SS uniform

In October 1943, 15,000 volunteers started training at Truppenübungsplatz

Münsingen Münsingen (Highest Alemannic: ''Münsige'') is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipality of Trimstein merged into Münsingen, and on 1 January ...

, but 9,000 of them were unsuitable and released for training in police units, the

Black Brigades The ''Corpo Ausiliario delle Squadre d'azione di Camicie Nere'' (Italian: Auxiliary Corps of the Black Shirts' Action Squads), most widely known as the Black Brigades ( it, Brigate Nere), was one of the Fascist paramilitary groups, organized a ...

or for labor. On 23 November 1943, 13 Miliz-Battalions pledged their loyalty before being moved to ''SS-Ausbildungsstab Italien''. The unit was commanded by SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff and called ''Italienische SS-Freiwilligen-Legion'', but soon renamed ''1. Sturmbrigade Italienische Freiwilligen-Legion''. In April 1944, three

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

s fought against Allied bridgeheads of

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and '' comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Isl ...

and

Nettuno Nettuno is a town and '' comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, south of Rome. A resort city and agricultural center on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it has a population of approximately 50,000. Economy It ha ...

with good results, for which Heinrich Himmler on 3 May 1944 allowed them to wear SS-Runes on black rather than red and be fully integrated into the Waffen SS. Members of the "Vendetta" under former Blackshirt Lieutenant-Colonel Degli Oddi particularly distinguished themselves in defeating a determined effort by the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division to overrun their positions and capturing a number of prisoners. On 7 September 1944, it was renamed to ''Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS (italienische Nr. 1)'' under Generalkommando ''Lombardia'' of

Army Group C Army Group C (in German, ''Heeresgruppe C'' or ''HGr C'') was an army group of the German Wehrmacht, that was formed twice during the Second World War. History Army Group C was formed from Army Group 2 in Frankfurt on 26 August 1939. It init ...

. By December 1944, the unit comprised 15,000 men. In the spring of 1945, the division under the command of Ernst Tzschoppe as ''

Kampfgruppe In military history, the German term (pl. ; abbrev. KG, or KGr in usage during World War II, literally "fighting group" or "battle group") can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the of Nazi Germ ...

Binz'' fought against French units in Lombardy and the Partisans in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. On 30 April 1945, the division surrendered to US troops in

Gorgonzola Gorgonzola (; ) is a veined blue cheese, originally from Italy, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining. History Historically, gorgonzola has been produced for ...

Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...

Organization

Structure of the division: * Headquarters * 81st (1st Italian) SS Grenadier Regiment * 82nd (2nd Italian) SS Grenadier Regiment * 29th SS Fusiliers Battalion * 29th SS Engineer Company * 29th SS Artillery Regiment * 29th SS Tank Destroyer Battalion * 29th SS Signal Battalion * 29th SS Divisional Supply Group

Commanders

*March 1944 – September 1944: SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff *September 1944 – September 1944: SS-Brigadeführer Pietro Mannelli *September 1944 – October 1944: SS-Brigadeführer Peter Hansen *October 1944 – November 1944: SS-Brigadeführer

Gustav Lombard Gustav Lombard (10 April 1895 – 18 September 1992) was a high-ranking member in the SS during World War II. During the war, Lombard commanded 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer and the 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division. He was a recipient ...

*November 1944 – February 1945: SS-Standartenführer Constantin Heldmann *February 1945 – April 1945: SS-Oberführer Erwin TzschoppeOrder of battle from Mitcham (vol. 3), p. 78.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

*Stein, G (1966) ''The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War 1939-1945''. Cornel Uni. Press, London. *Guerra, N (2020) ''The Italian SS-fascist ideology. An ideological portrait of the Italian volunteers in the Waffen-SS. A summary essay.'' Settentrione, Turku

*Guerra, N (2012) ''I volontari italiani nelle Waffen-SS. Il pensiero politico, la formazione culturale e le motivazioni al volontariato. Una storia orale.'' Annales Universitatis Turkuensis, Turku

*Guerra, N (2014) ''I volontari italiani nelle Waffen-SS. Pensiero politico, formazione culturale e motivazioni al volontariato.'' Solfanelli Editore, Chieti

*Guerra, N (2013) "«La guerra è una brutta bestia e non andrebbe mai fatta, ci si trova sotto le bombe con la paura di morire e ci si trova in postazione per ammazzare». La guerra e la morte: il destino nell’esperienza dei volontari italiani nelle Waffen-SS",Chronica Mundi - Volume 6–8

* Samuel W. Mitcham, Mitcham, Samuel W. ''German Order of Battle'', volume 3: ''Panzer, Panzer Grenadier, and Waffen SS Divisions in World War II''. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2007. . {{DEFAULTSORT:29th Waffen Grenadier Division Of The Ss (1st Italian) Foreign volunteer units of the Waffen-SS Infantry divisions of the Waffen-SS Security units of Nazi Germany disestablished in 1945 Security units of Nazi Germany established in 1943 Collaboration with the Axis Powers