The 454th Security Division (''454. Sicherungs-Division'') was a rear-security division in the

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

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. The unit was deployed in German-occupied areas of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, in the Army Group South Rear Area.

Operational history

The division was formed in 1941, prior the German invasion of the Soviet Union,

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

. It operated in the occupied Ukraine and Southern Russia regions behind

Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...

's front lines. Its duties included security of communications and supply lines, economic exploitation and combatting irregular fighters (partisans) in Wehrmacht's rear areas. Along with other security and police forces in the occupied territories, the division participated in

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

against prisoners of war and civilian population. The division was subordinated to

Karl von Roques Karl von Roques (7 May 1880 – 24 December 1949) was a German general and war criminal during the Second World War, who commanded the Army Group Rear Area behind Army Group South. Following the war, Roques was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment ...

, commander of Army Group South Rear Area. In early September 1941, he issued instructions to the division to coordinate its activities in "cleansing" operations with the forces under the command of

Friedrich Jeckeln Friedrich August Jeckeln (2 February 1895 – 3 February 1946) was a German Nazi Party member, police official and SS-'' Obergruppenführer'' during the Nazi era. He served as a Higher SS and Police Leader in Germany and in the occupied Sov ...

, the

Higher SS and Police Leader The title of SS and Police Leader (') designated a senior Nazi Party official who commanded various components of the SS and the German uniformed police ('' Ordnungspolizei''), before and during World War II in the German Reich proper and in the ...

for the region. Between 29 July and 16 September 1941, the division reported capturing just under 1,500 civilians and Red Army soldiers. Of these, 78 were Jews who were killed. The division was also involved in the persecution and killing of partisans in Ukraine and surrounding areas from 1941 to the end of 1943. For this purpose, they were placed under the command of

from July to September 1941. The unit was largely destroyed in the

Brody Pocket The Lvov–Sandomierz offensive or Lvov–Sandomierz strategic offensive operation () was a major Red Army operation to force the German troops from Ukraine and Eastern Poland. Launched in mid-July 1944, the operation was successfully completed ...

in July 1944, and many of the division's soldiers, including the wounded commander Johannes Nedtwig, being taken into Soviet captivity. On August 5, 1944, the division was dissolved.

Organization

* 57th Security Regiment (''Sicherungs-Regiment 57)'' (until August 1942 known as ''Landesschützen-Regiment 57'', at the time in ''

Heeresgruppe B Army Group B () was the name of four distinct German army group commands that saw action during World War II. The first Army Group B was created on 12 October 1939 (from the former Army Group North) and fought in the Battle of France on the nor ...

'') * 375th Security Regiment ''(Sicherungs-Regiment 375)'' (formerly ''Infanterie-Regiment 375'' of the 221st Infantry Division), renamed in October 1942 to 375th Grenadier Regiment (''Grenadier-Regiment 375'') (disbanded in March 1943, with the remaining elements going to the 111th and 304th Infantry Divisions) * 602nd Security Regiment (''Sicherungs-Regiment 602)'' (from August 1942, previously part of the 213th Security Division) * 3rd Battalion of the 221st Artillery Regiment (''III./Artillerie-Regiment 221'') (later renamed to ''Artillerie-Bataillon 454'') * 454th Eastern Cavalry Battalion (''Ostreiter-Bataillon 454'') (formerly ''Reiter-Abteilung 454'', later ''Ostreiter-Regiment 454'') * 454th Eastern Pioneer Battalion ''(Ost-Pionier-Bataillon 454)'' * 829th Signals Battalion (''Nachrichten-Abteilung 829)'' * 454th Divisional Services (''Divisions-Einheiten 454)''

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

Operational history

Organization

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading