The 5. SS-Panzer-Division „Wiking“ was formed in late 1940 on the orders of Heinrich Himmler as a motorised infantry division intended to incorporate Germanic volunteers from the Netherlands, Flanders, Denmark and Norway alongside German cadres, initially designated SS-Division „Germania“ before being renamed SS-Division „Wiking“ by Führerbefehl of 21 December 1940. Its core consisted of the experienced SS-Regiment „Germania“ drawn from the SS-Verfügungs-Division, together with the newly raised SS-Regiment „Nordland“ and SS-Regiment „Westland“, plus supporting artillery, reconnaissance, pioneer and anti-tank units; command was given to SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner, former commander of the SS-Standarte „Deutschland“. Although propaganda emphasised the foreign contingent, German personnel always formed the large majority of its strength. After training at Truppenübungsplatz Heuberg the division entered combat in June 1941 with Heeresgruppe Süd during Operation Barbarossa, advancing through Galicia and taking part in the encirclements at Uman and Kiev before fighting for the Dnepropetrovsk bridgehead and Rostov, then holding the Mius line through the winter of 1941–42. In summer 1942 it received its first Panzer-Abteilung and participated in Fall Blau, capturing Rostov and advancing into the Caucasus foothills as far as the Terek and Malgobek before the Stalingrad disaster forced a fighting withdrawal covering the retreat of the 1. Panzerarmee. Redesignated SS-Panzergrenadier-Division „Wiking“ on 9 November 1942 and later 5. SS-Panzer-Division „Wiking“ on 22 October 1943, it fought in the Third Battle of Kharkov, served as reserve during Operation Citadel, and suffered catastrophic losses in the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket of early 1944, from which only remnants escaped. After reconstitution it defended at Kovel and Maciejow, where its Panzer-Regiment destroyed hundreds of Soviet tanks, then fought near Warsaw and in the relief attempts of Budapest during Operations Konrad before taking part in Operation Frühlingserwachen in Hungary. Successive commanders after Steiner included SS-Obergruppenführer Herbert Gille, SS-Oberführer Eduard Deisenhofer, SS-Standartenführer Johannes Mühlenkamp and finally SS-Oberführer Karl Ullrich. The division ended the war in Austria, where the bulk of its remaining personnel surrendered to American forces near Radstadt in May 1945.
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BRILLANTENTRÄGER
SS-Obergruppenführer Herbert Otto Gille (1897-1966) was born on 8 March 1897 in Gandersheim as the fourth son of manufacturer Hermann Gille and received military education in the Kadettenkorps before entering the 2. Badisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 30 as Fähnrich in 1914; during the First World War he served with Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 55, rising to Leutnant and later Batterieführer, earning the Eisernes Kreuz Second and First Class for frontline service before demobilization as Oberleutnant in 1919. After civilian years as an estate administrator and salesman he joined the NSDAP and SS in 1931, entered the SS-Verfügungstruppe in 1934, commanded a battalion in the Polish and Western campaigns, and in 1940 took charge of SS-Artillerie-Regiment 5 within the SS-Division Wiking under Felix Steiner. As SS-Oberführer he led a Vorausabteilung after the Don crossing in summer 1942, smashing enemy columns near Seljonaja Roschtscha, capturing key villages including Metschetinskaja and Jegorlikskaja, taking over 8200 prisoners and enabling the swift reach and crossing of the Kuban, for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 October 1942. Promoted SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS he assumed command of the 5. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division “Wiking” in May 1943; his confident energetic leadership, personal example in the foremost line and ability to hold a 25 km sector on the Dnieper amid continuous heavy fighting earned him the Eichenlaub on 1 November 1943. As SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS he directed the division as spearhead during the breakout of Gruppe Stemmermann from the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket in February 1944, enabling the escape of tens of thousands, and was awarded the Schwerter on 20 February 1944. In mid-March 1944 he flew into the completely encircled Festung Kowel to assume personal command of its weeks-long heroic defense against a far superior enemy under extreme supply difficulties and heavy losses until relief arrived, receiving the Brillanten on 19 April 1944 as the twelfth recipient and most highly decorated member of the Waffen-SS. Later commanding the IV. SS-Panzer-Korps he fought at Warsaw, in the failed Budapest relief and the Lake Balaton offensive before surrendering to U.S. forces in Austria in May 1945; released in 1948 he ran a bookshop, founded the periodical Wiking-Ruf and was active in HIAG until his death from a heart attack on 26 December 1966 in Stemmen.
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SCHWERTERTRÄGER
SS-Standartenführer August Dieckmann (1912-1943) was born on 29 May 1912 in Cadenberge and joined the SS on 4 November 1933 with membership number 183.917. After attending the SS-Junkerschule in Braunschweig he was promoted to SS-Untersturmführer in 1936 and served in the SS-Standarte 1 „Deutschland“. As SS-Hauptsturmführer he commanded the II. Bataillon of the SS-Regiment „Deutschland“ during the Polish campaign of 1939, receiving the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 28 September, and again in the Western campaign of 1940, earning the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 3 June. Following a period as tactics instructor he was transferred in early 1941 to the SS-Division „Wiking“ and given command of the I. Bataillon of the SS-Regiment „Germania“. Promoted to SS-Sturmbannführer on 26 December 1941 he later became Kommandeur of the regiment. For his decisive personal intervention during the defence of the village of Otscheretino in February 1942, where he directed a gun crew that destroyed four enemy tanks and then led a successful counter-attack that cleared the settlement of superior Soviet forces, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 23 April 1942. Further outstanding leadership of Kampfgruppen during the capture of Rostov in July 1942, the establishment of bridgeheads across the Kuban, and subsequent fighting in the Caucasus, combined with later defensive successes, resulted in the award of the Eichenlaub on 16 April 1943 while he still commanded the I. Bataillon of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment „Germania“. On the same day he assumed leadership of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment „Westland“ within the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division „Wiking“ and was confirmed as its Kommandeur four days later; he was promoted to SS-Obersturmbannführer on 21 June 1943. From July 1943 onward the regiment under his command fought continuous defensive battles on the southern sector of the Eastern Front, particularly west of Kharkov, where it repelled more than one hundred enemy attacks, many by far stronger forces. Dieckmann repeatedly placed himself in the foremost line, conducted personal reconnaissance under fire and restored critical situations by immediate counter-action. On 10 October 1943, while leading an attack to seize the "Fuchsschwanzinsel" (Fox's Tail Island) in the middle Dnepr during heavy bridgehead fighting, he was killed in action. That same day he was posthumously awarded the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz as the 39th recipient; he was later promoted posthumously to SS-Standartenführer.
SS-Obersturmbannführer Hans Dorr (1912-1945) was born on 7 April 1912 in Sontheim and entered the SS-Verfügungstruppe in 1934, receiving promotion to SS-Untersturmführer in 1938. He served throughout the war with the SS-Regiment “Germania”, later redesignated SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 “Germania” of the 5. SS-Panzer-Division “Wiking”. As SS-Hauptsturmführer and Chef of the 4./SS-Infanterie-Regiment “Germania” he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 27 September 1942 for the outstanding performance of his unit during the hard fighting in the Ukraine, along the Don and in the Caucasus. Promoted to command of the I. Bataillon, he received the 327th Eichenlaub on 13 November 1943 as SS-Hauptsturmführer for the successful recapture of a key locality in the Sselischtsche–Kaniw sector and the relief of encircled elements of his own battalion, as well as for continued distinguished leadership in the battles around Kiev and Kharkov. On 17 May 1944 he assumed command of the entire SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 “Germania”. The 77th Schwerter followed on 9 July 1944 as SS-Sturmbannführer for a series of decisive actions between late January and mid-February 1944: the fighting at Orlowez from 31 January to 5 February, at Arbusino from 9 to 11 February, at Schanderowka from 12 to 14 February, at Nowa Buda on 15 February, the successful breakout from the Cherkassy pocket on 17 February, and the subsequent attacks toward Kowel and Height 189.5. He was promoted to SS-Obersturmbannführer on 18 August 1944. Wounded sixteen times in total, Dorr suffered his final severe injuries during the fighting around Budapest in early 1945 and died of his wounds on 17 April 1945 in a field hospital near Judenburg. His other decorations included the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse (1939), Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse (1940), Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (December 1941) and the Nahkampfspange in Bronze and Silver.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner (1896-1966) was born on 23 May 1896 in Stallupönen, East Prussia, and entered the Preußische Armee in March 1914 as Fahnenjunker in the Infanterie-Regiment „von Boyen“ (5. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 41 at Tilsit, serving through the First World War where he was severely wounded, rose to Oberleutnant, and received the Eisernes Kreuz first and second class together with the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz. After the war he joined an East Prussian Freikorps, was absorbed into the Reichswehr, and left active service in 1933 as Major before entering the NSDAP and SA and transferring in 1935 to the SS as Obersturmbannführer, soon commanding the newly formed SS-Standarte „Deutschland“ of the SS-Verfügungstruppe. As SS-Oberführer he led this Standarte through the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the Polish campaign and the Westfeldzug of 1940; for his decisive leadership in the three-day advance that captured the island group of Zeeland from French forces, the rapid thrust to Vlissingen, the storming of strong positions at the Beveland Canal and the causeway to Walcheren Island, and subsequent fighting in northern France, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 August 1940, becoming the first member of the Waffen-SS to receive the decoration. Promoted SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS, he formed and commanded the SS-Division „Wiking“ from December 1940, leading it with marked success yet also harsh methods during the invasion of the Soviet Union; for outstanding performance on the Eastern Front, particularly the fighting along the Terek river, the relief of the 13. Panzer-Division near Gisel and the destruction of a Soviet Guards division that threatened the sole supply road near Tschikola, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 while holding the rank of SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS. In 1943 he assumed command of the newly created III. (germanisches) SS-Panzerkorps, organising the Division „Nordland“ and the Brigade „Nederland“ under its banner, conducting successful defensive operations against breakout attempts from the Oranienbaum pocket, and preserving the integrity of his forces during the withdrawal from Leningrad and their redeployment on the Narva front, achievements for which he was awarded the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz on 10 August 1944 as SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS. After illness, brief command of the 11. SS-Panzerarmee and the theoretical Armeegruppe Steiner in the final defence of Berlin—orders he declined to execute—he surrendered to American forces in May 1945, was released in 1948, later helped found HIAG and published apologetic works on the Waffen-SS, dying in Munich on 12 May 1966.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_SS_Panzer_Division_Wiking
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