The SS Mountain Police Regiment 18 () was initially named Mountain Police Regiment (''Polizei-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment'') when it was formed in 1942 from existing
Order Police
The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (''Orpo'', , meaning "Order Police") were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly of power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favour of t ...
(''Ordnungspolizei'') units in order to secure the railwayline in the northern Caucasus (oil transports from Baku) - the withdrawal from this area made these plans obsolete.
When all police battalions were merged into regiments in July 1942 the Mountain Police Regiment received Nr. 18 out of a total of 28 regiments. It remained the only mountain police regiment of the Ordnungspolizei.
Formation and organization
The regiment was ordered formed in June 1942 in
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...
, Germany.
Police Battalion 302 (''Polizei-Batallion 302''),
Police Battalion 312 and
Police Battalion 325 were redesignated as the regiment's first through third
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...
s, respectively. Colonel of the police
Hermann Franz became regimental commander and remained in command until August 1943 when he was relieved by
Lieutenant Colonel (''Oberstleutenant der Polizei'') Hösl. The regiment was transferred to
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
shortly after formation (August/September 1942) and then had to complete further training sessions in the Alps and in Dannzig before it was sent to Finland in January 1943.
All of the police regiments were officially redesignated as SS police units on 12. March 1943, but this was only a nominal (honorary) renaming, all regiments remained part of the Order Police, they did not become part of the Waffen-SS or SS-administration.
From 1943 - 1945 the Polizei-Gebirgsjäger Regiment 18 was subordinated to the Wehrmacht, first in
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, in summer 1943 it was moved to
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, in September 1944 it retreated north through the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
. While it was stationed in Greece, an artillery battalion was assigned to the regiment.
[Tessin & Kannapin, pp. 557, 570, 623]
Notes
References
* Arico, Massimo. ''Ordnungspolizei: Encyclopedia of the German Police Battalions'', Stockholm: Leandoer and Ekholm (2010).
*Muñoz, Antonio J. ''Hitler's Green Army: The German Order Police and Their European Auxiliaries, 1933–1945'', Volume 2: Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Bayside, New York: Europa Books (2006)
*Tessin, Georg & Kannapin, Norbert. ''Waffen-SS und Ordnungspolizei im Kriegseinsatz 1939–1945: Ein Überlick anhand der Feldpostübersicht'', Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag (2000).
*
Yerger, Mark C. ''Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units and Leaders of the General SS'', Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing (1997)
{{SS Police Regts
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German occupation of Greece during World War II
Military units and formations of Germany in Yugoslavia in World War II