Ritterkreuzträger of 19. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (lettische Nr. 2)

The 19. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (lettische Nr. 2) originated from Latvian police and volunteer battalions that had been attached to the 2. SS-Infanterie-Brigade on the northern sector of the Eastern Front and was formally established in January 1944 by expanding the 2. Lettische SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade into a full division of the Waffen-SS. Its first commander was SS-Oberführer Hinrich Schuldt, who had previously led the brigade and rapidly organised the largely Latvian personnel into a combat-capable formation under the difficult conditions of the Wolchow bridgehead. The division comprised three infantry regiments—Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment der SS 42 “Voldemars Veiss”, Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment der SS 43 “Hinrich Schuldt” and Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment der SS 44—supported by Waffen-Artillerie-Regiment der SS 19 and the usual divisional units including a Füsilier-Bataillon, Panzerjäger-Abteilung and Pionier-Bataillon. After Schuldt was killed in action near Petschane on 15 March 1944, temporary command passed to SS-Standartenführer Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock before SS-Gruppenführer Bruno Streckenbach assumed permanent leadership in April 1944 and retained it until the end of the war. From March to July 1944 the division conducted costly defensive battles south of Pleskau, fighting alongside its sister formation the 15. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (lettische Nr. 1) until the remnants of the latter were absorbed after its near-destruction during the Soviet summer offensive. Continuing withdrawal actions through eastern Latvia followed, and by October 1944 the division was trapped with Heeresgruppe Nord inside the Kurland-Kessel. There it participated in all five major Courland battles under VI. SS-Armeekorps, repeatedly repelling Soviet attempts to liquidate the pocket while suffering heavy casualties yet maintaining cohesion. Strength fluctuated between roughly 8 000 and 10 500 men, with the majority of officers and other ranks being Latvian volunteers or conscripts. The division remained in the Courland Pocket until the final German capitulation, surrendering to the Red Army on 8 May 1945.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


SS-Brigadeführer Hinrich Schuldt (1901-1944) was born on 14 January 1901 in Blankenese near Hamburg as the son of a HAPAG captain and later shipowner, and he entered the Reichsmarine in 1922 as an Offiziersanwärter, rising to Leutnant zur See in 1926 while serving aboard the battleship SMS Elsass before leaving the navy in the early 1930s. In 1933 he transferred to the newly formed SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, taking command of its 3. Kompanie, and later held posts in the SS-Standarte Deutschland and the 4. SS-Totenkopfstandarte Ostmark. By the start of the Second World War he commanded a regiment of the SS-Totenkopf-Division, and as SS-Obersturmbannführer and Kommandeur of SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 4 he led successful defensive and offensive actions with Heeresgruppe Mitte near Juchnow, the middle Ugra and Kolodosi during the winter of 1941–42, for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 5 April 1942; his regiment was subsequently honoured with the additional designation Langemarck. Promoted to SS-Standartenführer, he formed and commanded the improvised SS-Brigade Schuldt (also known as Kampfgruppe Schuldt) from December 1942 to March 1943, assembling units drawn from the Leibstandarte, Das Reich, Polizei-Division and Luftwaffe elements and directing them in the fiercest fighting on the Don front and around the Stalingrad sector under the 6. Panzer-Division, earning the Eichenlaub on 2 April 1943 as the 220th recipient for outstanding leadership under extreme conditions. After recovery from wounds he took command of the 2. Lettische SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade (later redesignated 19. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS) in late 1943, rapidly transforming largely untrained Latvian volunteers into a combat-effective formation capable of mobile operations in the difficult swampy terrain of the Wolchow bridgehead and subsequent defensive battles. On 15 March 1944, while leading his grenadiers near the village of Petschane north of Newel, he was killed by a direct hit from an anti-tank gun; the following day he was posthumously promoted to SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS, and on 25 March 1944 he was awarded the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub as the 56th recipient for his exceptional organisational skill, personal bravery and energetic command that had turned the Latvian brigade into a highly capable fighting force.

Source :
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/19._Waffen-Grenadier-Division_der_SS_(lettische_Nr._2)