Waffen-SS Waffen-SS recruitment poster "Volunteer to the Waffen-SS" The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. Its roots lay with various German right-wing paramilitary organizations that formed the Freikorps and those of the Nazi party such as the SA and that were later absorbed into the SS-Verfügungstruppe and Hitler's personal guard, the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler (LAH), the direct predecessors of Waffen-SS. Its main task was to implement the political will of Hitler with force and to assist the regular German Army in offensive battles. The Waffen-SS Order of Battle eventually included numerous units ranging in size from small detachments to entire corps. In addition to the all-German units there were the SS Freiwilligenverbände (SS Volunteer Units) from countries and regions such as Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia, Britain and the Commonwealth (Britisches Freikorps), Bulgaria, Belorussia, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France (Charlemagne Division), Finland, Georgia, Hungary, India, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, North Caucasus, Norway, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sudetenland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tibet, Turkistan and Ukraine. Examples of SS units are the SS Division Nordland, formed from Norwegian, Danish and Baltic volunteers; an SS Hitlerjugend Division (enlisted ranks were volunteers from the Hitlerjugend); and an SS Totenkopf Division, formed from excess guard detachments who had almost all died out by 1942 in the Valdai Hills of Russia (these were replaced by volunteers not affiliated with the concentration camps). Waffen-SS Panzergrenadiers during the Battle of Kursk During the early stages of the War on the Eastern Front the Waffen-SS divisions proved themselves to a skeptical Heer as crack soldiers. In spite of heavy casualties and lower-quality replacements, most combat formations of the Waffen-SS remained as crack formations until the end of the War. They were characterized by extremely high unit morale and commitment to the German Reich, and were always treated as highest priority for new or replacement equipment, and got to cherry-pick the best soldiers, and got many good soldiers as volunteers, because it was considered prestigious. This practice continued through most of the war, but in the end, from 1944, facing manpower shortages, Waffen-SS units were receiving conscript replacements drawn from disbanded Luftwaffe or Navy units or labour battalions. While these were conscripts and often lacked any infantry training before being thrown into combat, some SS units exhibited very high morale and comradeship until the very end of the War. Germany also drafted conscripts from occupied territories in Eastern Europe, making the term Freiwilligenverbände a ridiculed misnomer among them. A large army of Waffen-SS soldiers fought in the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of the Bulge. Waffen-SS troops committed numerous war crimes, most notoriously at Oradour, Marzabotto and in the Malmedy massacre. References Williamson, Gordon (1995). Loyalty is my Honor.  Motorbooks International. 192 pp. ISBN 0760300127. Quarrie, Bruce (1983). Hitler's samurai: The Waffen-SS in action. Arco Pub. 161 pp. ISBN 0668058056. Munoz, Antonio J. (1991). Forgotten Legions: Obscure Combat Formations of the Waffen-SS. Axis Europa, Inc. ISBN 0739408178. External links Axis History Factbook; Waffen-SS part – By Marcus Wendel and contributors;  site also contains an apolitical forum about the Axis nations Feldgrau.com – By Jason Pipes, Stanford University/University of California at Berkeley; research on the German armed forces 1918–1945 Waffen-SS.com – By Thomas Wilhelm (webmaster) et.al.; a site exploring the combat role of the Waffen-SS in WWII; also includes forum Epic: The Story of the Waffen SS – Lecture by W-SS General Leon Degrelle (Institute of Historical Review's 1982 Revisionist Conference) Germanic Volunteers of the Waffen-SS – Book excerpt, translated from the German WWII-era original (Germanische Freiwillige im Osten) FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. Madison This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffen-SS