The 26th SS Police Regiment () was initially named Police Regiment North Norway () when it was formed in early 1941 after the German
invasion of Norway in 1940 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 ...
() units for security duties there. It was redesignated as the 26th Police Regiment in mid-1942 before it received the
SS title in early 1943.
Formation and organization
Police Regiment North Norway was formed on 16 February 1941 with Police Battalions (''Polizei-Batallion'')
256
Year 256 ( CCLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Claudius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, year 1009 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 256 for this y ...
,
302 and
312
__NOTOC__
Year 312 (Roman numerals, CCCXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinianus (or, less frequently, year 1065 ''Ab urbe co ...
under its control. The regiment maintained a strength of three battalions through July 1942, although the individual battalions were frequently rotated in and out. The regiment was renamed the 26th Police Regiment in July 1942 and Police Battalions
251
__NOTOC__
Year 251 (Roman numerals, CCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, in the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Etruscus (or, less frequently, year 1004 ''A ...
,
255
__NOTOC__
Year 255 ( CCLV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Valerianus and Gallienus (or, less frequently, year 1008 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomi ...
, and 256 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. All of the police regiments were redesignated as SS police units on 24 February 1943. The regiment was transferred to German in May and arrived in
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
the following month. It was destroyed in July 1944 and formally disbanded in November.
[Tessin & Kannapin, pp. 557, 626]
Notes
References
* Arico, Massimo. ''Ordnungspolizei: Encyclopedia of the German Police Battalions'', Stockholm: Leandoer and Ekholm (2010).
*Tessin, Georg & Kannapin, Norbert. ''Waffen-SS under Ordnungspolizei im Kriegseinsatz 1939–1945: Ein Überlick anhand der Feldpostübersicht'', Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag (2000).
{{SS Police Regts
#