As the German forces advanced into Russia in 1941-42, the groups who had felt oppressed by the Soviet government during t 1920s and '30s often welcomed the invading forces as liberators. Among these were the Cossacks, who had lost their post of privilege under the old Czarist government, and who, by their actions in I Russian Civil War, were often viewed with distrust by the government in Moscow. In some cases, units of the Red Army openly defected to the German ranks under arms, while at other times prisoners requested that they be allowed to remain at the front a serve alongside their German captors. The German policy on this issue created some interesting problems and solutions. Officially by Nazi Party doctrine, Russian Slavs were to be classed as subhuman for which no place was to ex within the party scheme of things, and yet many of the German Army officers saw little or no reason to throw away the aid offered by the groups. In the end, some were accepted as being "German," some were rejected, and in the case of the famed Cossacks, a special research report was issued by the SS Wansee Institute that disccvered that the Cossacks were "an ancient and independent people who were not Slavic, and so did not fall under the ban against their use. Based on this fact, permission was granted for the 1st Cossask Cavalry Division to be organized. Colonel Helmuth van Pannwitz, a highly decorated cavalry officer who had worked with some of the Cossack units which had gone over to the German side, and promoted to Major General and assigned to command of the unit. In mid-summer 1943, some 15,000 Cossacks, most of whom had already been serving alongside the German Army, were gathered at Mielau in Poland. By September 1943, the organization given below notes that existed Units marked with a G were mainly German personnel, other units were made up of Cossack personnel. There are some differences in this organization, and the cavalry organiztion used by the German Army in 1944-45. 1st COSSACK CAVALRY DIVISION 1943-1944 Experienced; Morale: 8 (Recon: 9) Divisional Troops Divisional Headquarters (G) Headquarters Company, with: (G) 1 command stand 1 kubelwagen 1 infantry stand 1 light truck 1 staff radio truck Military Police Detachment, with: (G) 1 recon MP stand 1 light truck Admin Company, with: (G) 1 mounted command stand 2 baggage wagons 2 support stands Supply Detachment, with: Headquarters Company, with: (G) 1 command stand 1 kubelwagen Workshop Company, with: (G) 1 command stand 1 kubelwagen 2 workshop vans 1 medium baggage truck 1 medium truck 2 support stands 2 Light Truck Columns, each with: (G) 2 medium supply trucks with trailers 4 Light Wagon Columns, each with 3 supply wagons Light Fuel Truck Column, with: (G) 2 medium fuel trucks with trailers Supply Dump Company, with: 1 command stand 4 support stands 55th Signal Battalion, with: (G) Battalion Headquarters, with 1 command stand and 1 car Radio Company, with 1 medium staff radio truck (also provides staffs for regiments) Telephone Company, with: 1 command stand 1 car 1 medium telephone truck with trailer 1 medium repair truck with trailer 1 support stand 55th Divisional Reconnaissance Battalion, with: (G) Headquarters Company, with: 1 command stand 1 kubelwagen 1 staff radio light truck 1 SdKfz 234/4 2 gun crew stands 2 20L113 AA guns 2 light trucks 1 light baggage truck with field kitchen 1 light supply truck with trailer 1 support stand Motorized Company, with: 1 command weapons stand 3 recon infantry stands 1 75LI2 infantry gun (battalion) 1 gun crew stand 3 medium trucks Armored Company, with: 1 command weapons stand 3 recon infantry stand 4 SdKfz 250/1 1 SdKfz 250/6 55th (1st Cossack) Engineer Battalion, with: Battalion Headquarters, with: (G) 1 command stand 1 car 1 medium baggage truck with field kitchen 1 support stand Transport Column, with: 1 medium supply truck with trailer 1 medium general supply truck 3 Engineer Companies, each with: 1 mounted command engineer stand 2 mounted engineer stands Bridging Column, with: (G) 2 engineer stands 2 medium trucks with pontoon trailers (1 class IV bridge) 1 medium truck with assault boat trailer 1st Cossack Cavalry Brigade, with Brigade Headquarters, with (G) 1 command stand 1 car 1 staff radio truck 1 recon SdKfz 221 1st Don Cossack Regiment, with Regimental Troops Headquarters Squadron, with: 1 command stand 1 kubelwagen 1 staff radio wagon 1 baggage wagon 1 field kitchen wagon Antitank Squadron, with: 1 mounted command stand 2 gun crews 2 limbers 2 37L45 AT guns Supply Column, with: 1 light ammo truck with trailer 1 light general supply truck with trailer 1 support stand 2 Battalions, each with: Battalion Headquarters, with: 1 mounted command stand 1 baggage wagon 1 field kitchen wagon 1 general supply wagon 1 support stand 3 Cavalry Squadrons, each with: 1 command cavalry stand 2 cavalry stand 1 Machinegun Squadron, with: 1 command stand 2 MMG stands 2 MG carts 1 8cm mortar stand (ds) 1 wagon 2nd Siberian Cossack Regiment: as above 4th Kuban Cossack Regiment: as above 1st Battalion, 55th (1st Cossack) Artillery Regiment, with: Battalion Headquarters, with: 1 mounted command stand 1 mounted spotter stand Headquarters Battery, with: 1 staff telephone wagon 1 baggage wagon 1 field kitchen wagon 1 general supply wagon 1 support stand 3 Firing Batteries, each with: 1 mounted command stand 1 gun crew (ds) 1 limber 1 supply wagon 1 support stand 1 75L19 2nd Cossack Cavalry Brigade: organized as the 1st Brigade, with the following units. 3rd Kuban Cossack Regiment 5th Don Cossack Regiment 6th Terrek Cossack Regiment 2nd Battalion, 55th (1st Cossack) Artillery Regiment Notes 1. The Cavalry Squadrons were numbered 1 to 4 in the 1st battalion and 5 to 8 in the 2nd Battalion. The Regimental AT Squadron was numbered as the 9th Squadron. The 1st Cossack Cavalry Division was sent to Yugoslavia late 1943 to fight the partisans there, which caused some complications. The Cossacks, who were Orthodox in faith, found themselves fighting on the side of the pro-German Catholic Croats against the Orthodox Serbs. The Cossacks were willing to fight against Tito red partisans, but against the Royalist Serbs under General Michailovic, an unofficial truce existed at times. The use of the 1st Cossack Cavalry Division there also illustrates the problem that the German Army had with these units in eastern volunteers. While they wanted the Cossacks to fight on the side, they did not trust them quite enough to use them on the Eastern Front. Therefore, a number of units found themselves being transferred to Italy and France. For those Cossacks who had joined, fight against their oppressors in Russia and who hoped to liberate their homelands, this was not the fight they wanted. Those units which fought in the West tended to be have very poor morale, and were unwilling to fight. The 1st Cossack Division remained in Yugoslavia through 1944-45, fighting against the Soviet Army as it entered that country. On Christmas Day, 1944, it engaged and destroyed the Soviet 133rd Infantry Division as that unit attempted to cross the River Drava. Early in 1945, the Germans recalled the remaining Cossack units from the Western Front. These units were to return and be used to help form the 15th Cossack Cavalry Corps. The 1st Cossack Cavalry Division's existing two brigades were to serve as the basis for the new 1st and 2nd Cossack Divisions of these Corps, while a "Plastun" or dismounted division was to formed as well. By the end of the war, some 30,000 Cossacks served in the 15 Cossack Corps, but it was a case of too little, too late. In an attempt to avoid falling into Soviet hands, the 15th Cossack Corps marched westward into Italy in order to surrender to the British 8th Army in May of 45, but the personnel were turned back over to the Soviets later that summer. Bibliography Cossacks in the German Army, 1941-1945, Samuel Newland, Frank Cass, London, 1991. Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Quarterly #2 To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com