|
The 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking" was a German Waffen SS division recruited from foreign volunteers. During the course of World War II, the division progressed from a motorised infantry, Regiment formation to a full-fledged Panzer division. It saw action on the Eastern Front during the war. After the success of the Waffen SS during the early war campaigns in Poland and the West, it was decided to expand the number of Waffen SS divisions. Due to the influx of foreign volunteers, particularly from Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway, a decision was made to form a volunteer division. This unit, originally organized as the Nordische Division (Nr.5), was to be made up of Nordic volunteers mixed with ethnic German Waffen-SS veterans. To this end, the ''Germania'' motorised infantry regiment from the SS-Division ''Verfügungstruppe'' was removed from the division in late 1940. In December, ''Germania'' was dissolved and the troops were used as a basis for the formation of a new SS motorised formation, now to be designated SS-Division (mot.) ''Germania''. During its formative period, the division's name was changed again, to SS-Division (mot.) ''Wiking''. in January 1941. The division was formed around three motorised infantry regiments: ''Germania'', formed mostly from ethnic Germans; ''Westland'', consisting mainly of Dutch and Flemish volunteers; and ''Nordland'', composed mostly of Danes, Swedes and Norwegians. Command of the newly formed division was given to SS-Brigadeführer Felix Steiner, the former commander of the ''Verfügungstruppe'' ''Deutschland'' Regiment.〔Encyclopædia Britannica〕 The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573'' 〔@ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 1573; 1 September 1939 )〕 of September 1, 1939 instituted the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. As the war progressed some of the recipients distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849'' 〔@ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 849; 3 June 1940 )〕 of June 3, 1940. In 1941 two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613'' 〔@ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 613; 28 September 1941 )〕 of September 28, 1941 introduced the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. At the end of 1944 the last and final grade, the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, based on the enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11'' 〔@ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11; 29 December 1944 )〕 of December 29, 1944 concluded the variants of the Knight's Cross. ==Prerequisites== To qualify for the Knight's Cross, a soldier had to already hold the 1939 Iron Cross First Class, though the Iron Cross I Class was awarded concurrently with the Knight's Cross in rare cases. Unit commanders could also be awarded the medal for exemplary conduct by the unit as a whole. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「List of Knight's Cross recipients 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|