6th SS Mountain Division Nord at War, 1941–1945

Ian Baxter

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781526721389
• eBook ISBN: 9781526721396
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Drawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord 1941 - 1945 is the 6th book in the Waffen-SS Images of War Series compiled by Ian Baxter. The book tells the story of the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord, which was formed in February 1941 as SS Kampfgruppe Nord (SS Battle Group North). The Division was the only Waffen-SS unit to fight in the Arctic Circle when it was stationed in Finland and northern Russia between June and November 1941. It fought in Karelia until the Moscow Armistice in September 1944, at which point it left Finland. It suffered heavy losses in the Operation Nordwind in January 1945 and in early April 1945, the division was destroyed by the US forces near Budingen, Germany.

Chapter One

The Eastern Front 1941

During the early part of the war the SS-Verfügungstruppe had proved themselves beyond all expectations. They had fought with distinction not only in attack, but also with fanatical determination and gallantry even when greatly outnumbered and when other units had withdrawn. As a result of its reputation and success on the battlefield, it had expanded from one Waffen-SS division to five in less than a year. However, as the war against Russia loomed, further large-scale recruitment continued. This included yet another new SS-Kampfgruppe being formed and added to the already growing list of SS units.

For this new Kampfgruppe the men were initially drafted from ranks of the concentration camp guards, or SS-Totenkopfverbände, and formed into what was known as SS-Kampfgruppe Nord. Later this new SS unit began recruiting more men, mainly volunteers from Hungary, Romania and a few Norwegians, all built around a German cadre.

The SS-Kampfgruppe Nord’s first duties were to guard the border with Russia in February 1941 following the German occupation of Norway in 1940. Two months later, in the spring of 1941, the Kampfgruppe, now with two new Standarten (regiments) comprising of mainly the 6th and 7th, was moved into positions at Salla in northern Finland under the command of General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst. Falkenhorst had been ground commander for the invasion of Norway and knew the territory well. SS-Kampfgruppe Nord consisted of a number of Totenkopfstandarten, containing military-age members of Allgemeine-SS which were transferred to Norway for garrison duties.

Many of the soldiers in Nord were untried in battle and their background as former concentration camp guards did little to induce confidence in the Wehrmacht. Even Falkenhorst himself did not trust their fighting ability. They were poorly equipped and not very well trained.

When the invasion of Russia finally came on 22 June 1941, Nord, which was part of Army Group North, was given the objective of striking through Finland into Russia to take the port of Murmansk in support of German Wehrmacht units. During its advance the SS-Kampfgruppe was thrown in the battle at Markajarvi-Salla in Operation Arctic Fox. The objective of Arctic Fox was to capture the town of Salla and then to advance in the direction of Kandalaksha with the intention of blocking the railway route to Murmansk. The operation was a joint attack by German and Finnish troops, combining experienced Finnish arctic troops and relatively unsuitable German forces from Norway including the Nord Kampfgruppe which was attached to the Norwegian Army with a unit strength of 9,505 men.

When the Fox operation was finally unleashed across much of the front Nord was confronted by a wall of flame and smoke. Soviet guns and mortars poured fire and destruction onto the SS regiments as they pushed forward. Shell after shell thundered into the German strongpoints. In the fields and forests surrounding Salla, Nord appeared to hold better than in the approaches towards the town. Here in the fields Red Army defences were destroyed, but still at a heavy cost in men.

In front of Nord, Russian artillery devoted most of its time to supporting the reconnaissance attacks and pulverising the German positions. During the assault on Salla, the men of SS-Nord, fearing complete annihilation, panicked, abandoned their weapons, and ran from the battlefield. In two days of fighting around Salla the Nord regiments had suffered huge losses. Falkenhorst was disappointed and angry that his men had abandoned their positions, and to him and his fellow German officers this was evidence that for racial and ideological reasons foreign soldiers did not make good troops.

In spite of the losses, German and Finnish units managed to capture the town of Salla. But German forces were unable to overcome the old pre-war Soviet border fortifications further east. The Finnish units on the other hand were able to make better progress, and came to within nineteen miles of the Murmansk railway. Yet again, strong Russian reinforcements prevented any further advance. The German front stagnated, and because of the situation further south in Central Russia, German commanders were unwilling to assign more men and equipment to the northern theatre, and called an end to their offensive.

Further south in Army Group North, German forces were making better ground. While the Luftwaffe dived and bombed, on the ground German artillery pounded the Soviet trench lines, to a depth of more than three miles in some places. Heavy artillery preparation lasted one to two hours on average, in some areas longer. As for the attacking German infantry, they were supported by a rolling barrage which continued unabated until the troops had succeeded in capturing the Russian defences.

Over the next days and weeks while Nord licked its wounds, infantry and Panzers of Army Group North attacked and bulldozed their way across northern Russia. Their strategic goal was Leningrad, with operational objectives being the territories of the Baltic States and securing the northern flank of Army Group Centre in northern Russia between the western Dvina River and the Daugavpils–Kholm line.

But Army Group North was losing momentum. Their supply lines being over-stretched and enemy resistance began to stiffen on the road to Leningrad. In front of the imperial city German troops became entangled in hundreds of miles of earth walls, anti-tank ditches, wire barricades, thousands of defensive pill-boxes, and the harrying activities of Russian tanks.

Further north, a replenished Kampfgruppe Nord, which had received some 700 Waffen-SS troop replacements, had been attached to the Finnish III Corps operating in the Kiestinki area. Fighting in the region had been moderate and losses to the SS regiments minimal.

In September 1941 the Kampfgruppe was redesignated as a division and subsequently renamed as the SS Gebirgs Division Nord (SS Mountain Division North). The order had come directly from Hitler: ‘As for the SS-units, there is to be formed a new SS-Gebirgsbrigade formed by volunteering Norwegians and Finns. An Austrian SS-Regiment is to be attached, and the remaining units are to be deployed from Kampfgruppe Nord.’ The division was now officially designated SS Division Nord and was handed over to the well-respected Finnish commander General Hjalmar Siilasvuo.

In November, SS Division Nord together with Wehrmacht and Finnish troops participated in a final drive towards the Murmansk railway in the last phase of Operation Arctic Fox. The troops again met with strong Russian resistance. General Siilasvuo soon realised that neither the Finnis...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• About the Author
• Introduction
• Chapter One: The Eastern Front, 1941
• Chapter Two: The Kestenga Front, 1942–43
• Chapter Three: Withdrawal from Finland
• Chapter Four: Last Months
• Appendix One: Division-Nord Winter Uniforms
• Appendix Two: Order of Battle, 1941–42
• Appendix Three: Nordwind Order of Battle, 1945
• Appendix Four: Nord Titles & Commanders
• Appendix Five: Rank Equivalents