The 3rd Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade (german: 3. Estnische SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade) was a formation of the German

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 ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was formed in May 1943, when the Estonian SS Legion (''Estnische SS-Legion'') was upgraded. The first name chosen for the brigade was the Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade, until October 1943, when all SS brigades were numbered so it finally became the 3rd Estonian Volunteer Brigade. The brigade was expanded to a division and renamed on January 23, 1944.

Service history

The Estonian SS Legion had by April 1943, increased its numbers enough to form a brigade-sized formation and was even able to dispatch a battalion, the

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 54 ...

Battalion, to the

SS Division Wiking The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking (german: 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking) or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. It was recruited from foreign volunteers ...

to replace the departing Finnish Battalion whose members had come to the end of their contracts. The new 3rd Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade had by November 1943, 5,099 men and was ready for active service. In October the brigade was first allocated anti- partisan duties in northern

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. At the end of October, the

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 ...

broke through the German lines after intense fighting in the nearby Nevel section of the front. Since the German command had no reserves in the area, the Estonian Brigade was transferred to the front line where it pushed the Soviet forces back 5-15 kilometers by 13 November.Jüri Remmelgas (1955) (in Estonian). ''Kolm kuuske (The Three Spruces)''. Stockholm: Kirjastus EMP. pp. 153-172. The Brigade was put under command of the

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Ar ...

Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...

. The brigade suffered severe losses fighting against numerous Red Army assaults and was eventually forced back to

Opochka Opochka (russian: Опо́чка) is a town and the administrative center of Opochetsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Velikaya River, south of Pskov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: ; 9,902 (2019 estimat ...

and transferred to the I Army Corps. It was then decided to create an Estonian Division and use the Brigade to form the cadre of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division der SS (Estonian Number 1). The brigade was expanded to a division and renamed the 20th Estonian SS Volunteer Division on January 23, 1944. It was returned to Estonia after the general conscription call where it was reformed into the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) established on May 26, 1944, when it absorbed all the other Estonian formations in the German military and some Estonian police units. The

Finnish Infantry Regiment 200 Infantry Regiment 200 ( fi, Jalkaväkirykmentti 200, JR 200, et, Jalaväerügement 200, JR 200) or soomepoisid (''Finnish Boys'') was a unit in the Finnish army during World War II made up mostly of Estonian volunteers, who preferred to fight aga ...

was also assimilated.

Commander

*Obersturmbannführer Franz Augsberger (22 October 1943 – 21 January 1944)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:3rd Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade Security units of Nazi Germany established in 1943 0*03 Military history of Estonia during World War II Foreign conscript units of the Waffen-SS Generalbezirk Estland Security units of Nazi Germany disestablished in 1944