The 34th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division "Landstorm Nederland" () was a World War II

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

division in the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

, the combat wing of the German

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. It was formed by converting the SS Volunteer Brigade Landstorm Nederland into a division. It was composed of volunteers of

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

background under the command of German officers; its strength never reached more than that of a brigade.

Operational history

Upon the Operation Market Garden landings in September 1944, the unit came under the command of Hans Rauter in the newly formed Kampfgruppen Rauter along with the '' Wachbataillon Nordwest'' and a regiment of the

Ordnungspolizei 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 ...

. Rauter was said to be proud of his Dutch 'Germanic SS'. The unit fought various actions on the Eastern and Western fronts. It took part in fighting in the Netherlands, then Pomerania, and then in the

Battle of the Seelow Heights The Battle of the Seelow Heights () was part of the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation (16 April – 2 May 1945). A pitched battle, it was one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions of the Second World War. It was fough ...

where it was destroyed.

Organization

The division consisted of the following. * Division HQ *SS-Feldersatz-Battalion 60 *Grenadier-Regiment 1 *SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment 83 (3rd Dutch) *SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment 84 (4th Dutch) *SS Artillery Regiment 60 *SS

Panzerjäger ''Panzerjäger'' (German: literally "armor hunter", more broadly "anti-tank") is a term used for an anti-tank vehicle (self-propelled anti-tank gun), as well as anti-tank units. The term was first used in the Wehrmacht (German armed forces, 19 ...

Battalion 60 *SS Pionier Company 60 *SS Signals Company 60 *SS Veterinary Company 60 *SS Field post Department 60 *SS Medical Company 60

List of commanders

The following were the commanding officers of the division. *''SS-Oberführer'' Viktor Knapp (11 May 1943 – 1 April 1944) *''SS-Obersturmbannführer'' Deurheit (1 April – 5 November 1944) *''SS-Standartenführer''

Martin Kohlroser Martin Kohlroser (8 January 1905 – 14 November 1967) was a SS-Oberführer (Senior Colonel) in the Waffen SS during World War II who was awarded the German Cross in Gold. Life Kohlroser joined the SA in 1923 and participated in the Munich Put ...

(5 November 1944 – 8 May 1945)

References

Footnotes

Bibliography