Soldbuch Waffen SS Landstorm Nederland EK 1 1944

Soldbuch first issue with papers to SS Oberscharfuhrer Willi Zanker.

The Soldbuch opens at 18 November 1939 with Polizei Division, Sanitatskompanie.

The division was formed in October 1939, when thousands of members of the Ordungspolizie (Orpo) were drafted to fill the ranks of the new SS division. These men were not enrolled in the SS and remained policemen, retaining their Orpo rank structure and insignia.

The first commander was Generalleutnant der Polizei (Major-General) Karl Pfeffer Wildenbruch a career police commander who had been a general staff officer during World War I; simultaneous with his appointment he was also commissioned as an SS Gruppefuhrer.

The division was equipped largely with captured Czech materiel and underwent military training in the Black Forrest ombined with periods on internal security duties in Poland.

France 1940

The division, at this time an infantry formation with horse-drawn transport, was held in reserve with Army Group C on the Rhineland during the Battle of France until 9 June when it first saw combat during the crossing of the Aisne river and the Ardennes Canal.

The division was engaged in heavy fighting and after securing its objectives, moved to the Argonne Forrest , where it came into contact with the French and fought a number of actions with their rear guard.

In late June 1940, the division was pulled out of combat and transferred to the reserve of Army Group North in East Prussia.

In January 1941, administrative responsibility for the division passed from the police to the SS Fuhrungshauptamt (SS operations office), the materiel and training headquarters for the Waffen-SS; its personnel however, remained policemen, not members of the SS.

Eastern Front

During the invasion of the Sovjet Union named Operation Barbarossa the Division was initially part of the reserve within Army Group North. In August 1941, the division saw action near Luga.

During heavy fighting for the Luga bridgehead the division lost over 2,000 soldiers including the commander, Arthur Muhlverstadt. After a series of failed attacks in swampy and wooded terrain, the division, along with army formations, fought its way into the northern part of Luga, encircling and destroying the Soviet defenders.

In January 1942, the division was moved to the Wolchow sector, and on 24 February it was transferred to the Waffen SS its personnel changing their police insignia to that of the SS.

The formation was involved in heavy fighting between January and March which resulted in the destruction of the Soviet 2nd Shock Army during the Battle of Lauban. The remainder of the year was spent on the Leningrad front.

During these 1,5 year on the Eastfront he was awarded;

• Winterschlacht im Osten, 6-8-1942
• KvK 2 with Swords, 1-9-1942
• ??? II stufe, 28-9-1942
• EK 2, 9-11-1942

In late 1942 or early 1943 he was send to the Netherlands and became part of SS Panzergrenadier ersatz Battalion Germania based in Arnhem.

In 1944 he became part of the 34. SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Landstorm Nederland. (At that time Regiment)

Belgium 1944

After the Allies broke out from Normandy, the front quickly closed. On September 3, 1944, the Allied vanguard reached Brussels and a day later the British 11th Armored Division liberated Antwerp. Field Marshal Model tried to fill the gap in the front line with a collection of units. Although the SS Grenadier regiment Landstorm Nederland was still in training, two of the three battalions were thrown into battle.

The 1st battalion SS-Grenadier-Regiment Landstorm Nederland took up defensive positions north of Hasselt behind the Albert Canal and the 2nd battalion was sent to Antwerp. During the fighting around Hasselt, the lightly armed and poorly trained Dutch SS men proved to be no match for the British Guards division. After a few days they had to withdraw to the north. The survivors ended up on the Veluwe via Limburg and the Peel. The IInd battalion performed better. Together with the German soldiers of the 719th Division, they managed to slow down the British advance and on September 13, the Dutch SS succeeded in destroying the Allied bridgehead at Wijnegem over the Albert Canal. However, they were driven back by Allied superiority. On October 3, there was a fierce skirmish with the 1st Polish armored division in the region of Baarle Nassau and Chaam, during which they temporarily managed to halt the Allied vanguard. They were withdrawn to the Veluwe in mid-October.

Market Garden

On September 17, 1944, the Allies launched a surprise attack with airborne troops to capture a bridge over the Rhine (operation 'Market Garden'). The IIIrd battalion, consisting of 600 men, was sent to the battle scene near Arnhem. The troops did not arrive by bicycle until September 21. They were assigned to the 9. SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen as part of Kampfgruppe Spindler. Spindler kept the poorly trained and lightly armed battalion in reserve. On September 23 it was deployed against the Polish para brigade near Elst. Their attack was effortlessly repelled. During and after the battle, many Landstormers deserted. After the battle at Elst, the battalion was withdrawn from the front line and sent to the Betuwe to be rebuilt.

On November 1, 1944, the three battalions were supplemented with the Wachbataillon 'Nordwest' unit and new recruits, including a large number of NSB members. The former SS-Grenadier-Regiment 'Landstorm Nederland' was renamed into SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Brigade 'Landstorm Nederland'. The new brigade was given the relatively quiet front sector between Waal and Lower Rhine.

On 11 or 18 November 1944 he was awarded the EK 1 for bravery shown on the battlefield during the battles in Belgium and/or the Netherlands!

This same year he was also awarded the KvK 1 with Swords.

Februari 1945: Betuwe-front

On February 10, 1945, the brigade was transformed into the 34th SS Freiwilligen Grenadier Division Landstorm Nederland. Its status as a division was purely theoretical, as it hardly had the strength of a brigade. The division replaced the 7th Fallschirmjäger Regiment at the front. The 83rd regiment took up positions on the Betuwe behind the Maas and Waal and the 84th regiment was stationed south of the Veluwe.

Opposite them was the 49th British Infantry Division and the Princess Irene Brigade. This led to the unique situation on the western front where compatriots fought each other.

On February 24, the 34th SS Freiwilligen Grenadier Division Landstorm Nederland carried out a successful attack near Zetten against a British position of the 49th Division. This action was even mentioned in German radio news.

As the war situation deteriorated, the SS showed their bad side. Mainly the members of the Wach battalion and the Ukrainians of the SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment 84 were engaged in looting the empty houses. Several incidents also took place in which Dutch civilians were shot. Countless soldiers deserted. Discipline deteriorated to an all-time low. On March 9, a mutiny was discovered by Lippert. He had the four guilty parties executed.

May 1945

Unlike other Waffen-SS divisions, Landstorm's capitulation did not go smoothly. The Dutch SS tried to keep their weapons as long as possible, because they had fought on their own soil and in some cases even against their own countrymen. The rumors of the impending hatchet day only increased their determination. They only wanted to surrender to the Allied forces and not to the Dutch resistance.

The thoughtless actions of the resistance fighters led to escalations in some cases. On May 5, a firefight broke out between SS members and resistance members in Leersum, in which one SS member and three resistance members were killed. In reprisal, four resistance members were also shot. In Veenendaal, a Wageningen group of the Domestic Armed Forces tried to disarm the SS. A skirmish ensued and three resistance fighters were killed. Only after the British 49th Infantry Division guaranteed their safety did 'Landstorm Nederland' lay down its arms on May 10, 1945.

He was taken POW and spent some time in the infamous Harskamp POW camp wich is written on page 8: Lager Harskamp.

Pictures inside the Harskamp POW camp.

These pictures are taken from the web and do not come with the item.

The Soldbuch comes with a promotion documents signed by:

Der Befehlhaber der Waffen SS in den Niederlande SS Obergruppenfuhrer und General Demelhuber.

The Soldbuch is heavy used, denaz. but complete with all pages.

Very rare and hard to find documents to the Waffen SS Landstorm Division!

code: B23257