Which WSS Division do you rank the best

[Mark C Yerger]

Great thread Gents . Be careful of the 3rd SS division "Totenkopf" dont let it tip too far into "detail " atrocities committed. Einsatzgruppen photos etc...or ( any other SS div ) that had participated in support. Some of these Divisions were quite treacherous..and would rather leave anything horrible out of this thread....which then the content would become opposite of the thread title. Other than that...my interest was in the 16th SS Div Reichsfuhrer SS..in Italy battling the Allied forces there. Regards Larry

Of course, besides the fact more Army units and higher commanders supported the Einsatzgruppen than the Waffen-SS. Fact and fiction abound o the WSS, hopefully people possess above television or Wikapedia knowledge levels.

[Feuerbach]

8 SS-Kavallerie-Division Florian Geyer and the SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Landstorm Nederland.

[Frundsberg]

Well, seems we are talking about the SS divisions we just like the most due to different reasons and not about the divisions what were the best in combat situation.

It is hard to say what division was "the best" but I belive divisions Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, Das Reich, Totenkopf and Wiking were among the strongest. Hitler Jugend was also good in Normandy but mostly because it consisted of fanatical young brainwashed nazis. Fanatics fight allways better because they have something to die for. Also LAH, Das Reich, Totenkopf and Wiking were so good in combat because there were many nazi-fanatics in these divisions.

It is not right to compare for example Latvian or Estonian W-SS divisions with LAH or Totenkopf. In Latvian and Estonian divisions most soldiers and officers just fought for their own homeland and not for some nazi ideas or Hitler.

[Woolgar]

Dean please dont get this thread nuked ! We should be discussing the fighting ability and tactics of these units

Nick

[DougB]

Prinz Eugen simply because a good friend of mine (Fred Umbrich) is a highly decorated soldier of that division.

Totenkopf for their fighting spirit and they didn't take shit from nobody.

Das Reich for their fighting prowess.

Wiking for their legendary breakout from Cherkassy.

LAH because they had the best early black helmets.

[Larry C]

Don't let the thread start leaning now

[CampX]

Sorry Nick, I did not want to hijack the thread. Just a sore spot with me as I have been to a couple of the places where they did their deeds. And to be honest, once word got out to the Canadians, they didn't take too many of the 12th as POW.

A Friends Father VS Radley-Walters was a tank Commander in Normandy, he became the most Decorated Canadian Tank Man of WW2, knocked out 18 or 19 German Tanks. You see him on many of the Shows about Normandy, He said he Respected the 1st and the 12th as they were both very good and hard fighters, however he hated the 12th
In the photos below you can see the small Park named after him in Normandy, all the German Tanks he knocked out were 1st or 12 SS

I have always wondered about the 13th from the East, I find that to be an interesting Unit, however I know little about their fighting abilities.

Dean O

[DougB]

Sorry Nick, I did not want to hijack the thread. Just a sore spot with me as I have been to a couple of the places where they did their deeds. And to honest, once word got out to the Canadians, they didn't take too many of the 12th as POW.
Dean O

I have been to the Ardennes Abbey and Chateau d’Audrie as well as the road near Authie and Buron, where the North Novies were gunned down as well as Le Mesnil-Patty, all sites where the 12th SS committed unarmed massacres of Canadian prisoners. As Dean said, the Canadians responded in kind.

The mindset I believe was ported over from the 1st LSSAH officer cadre of the 12th SS and their experiences on the Russian Front where prisoner execution was the norm combined with the fanaticism of the young men of the 12th.

Larry with respect, I do not think the thread is going off kilter with vein of discussion of the 12th SS. I have read now countless times in the thread about the fanaticism of the 12th SS, but these deeds are a part of that very fanaticism and are part of their history.

My favourite division is the Totenkopf. When I say they didn't take shit from anyone, that includes multiple atrocities. I don't hide or cleans the history of these units but accept them as facts without admiration.

[Larry C]

No problem here Doug just a friendly heads up ... If it does go in the wrong direction. I remember a thread called game face which started off great
and eventually went sour with irrelevent execution photos posted.
I agree that some of these division s were well disciplined and battle hardened. No doubt the TTK div.. Was just that. Regards Larry

[CampX]

Thank you, again, I kinda went off on my own direction, I want to Thank those that put me back on track, as I said, I did not mean to hijack this thread...just that 12th SS thing, Kinda bothers me, but I have researched them, and I understand why they were they way they were.
Not all their fault.
I remember being at a Military show here in Ontario, some guy that was near 300 pounds was pretending he was 12...Grenades sticking out of everywhere..never serves a day in the Militia or Army..telling those that know no better, what it was like, turned my tummy!!!


Again sorry for becoming politicl..guess in some way, we are no better than them.

Just My Thoughts

Dean O