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Norwegian Legion (Norwegian: Norske Legion, German: Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen) was a Norwegian collaborationist formation of the Waffen-SS during World War II. It was formed in German-occupied Norway on 29 June 1941, in support of the war aims of Nazi Germany. The unit was disbanded in 1943.
| Norwegian Legion | |
|---|---|
 Standard of the Norske Legion | |
| Active | 29 June 1941 – March 1943 |
| Disbanded | March 1943 |
| Country |  Norway |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Waffen-SS |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Rear security |
| Size | Approximately 1,900 men |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Finn Kjelstrup Arthur Qvist |
History
editThe unit was formed from volunteers who were assured that it would be a Norwegian unit with Norwegian officers, uniforms and language and that its area of operations would be Finland. Instead, the unit was deployed to Northern Russia in the occupied Soviet Union, in the Army Group North Rear Area. This was done by the Germans to avoid reinforcing any Norwegian territorial claims to the Kola peninsula and the Finnish Petsamo region, which were desired by the Quisling regime.[1] Initially, Quisling hoped to deploy over 30,000 Norwegian legionaries to Finnish Lapland, but this was rejected by both the Germans and the Finns.[2]
Coming under the control of the 2 SS Infantry Brigade, the Legion was stationed at Krasnoye Selo near Leningrad in February 1942. In May 1942, the unit was withdrawn, returning in June 1942. The Legion left the occupied Soviet Union in 1943, having suffered over 180 casualties in a year. During that period, it had been reinforced by the 1 SS and Police Company under the command of the head of the paramilitary Norges SS, Jonas Lie. The Legion was disbanded in March 1943. The personnel who wanted to continue the SS service were transferred to the SS Division Nordland.
Commanders
edit- Legion-Sturmbannfuhrer Finn Kjelstrup (June – 1 December 1941)
- Legion-Sturmbannfuhrer Jørgen Bakke (?–15 December 1941)
- SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Arthur Qvist (December 1941 – March 1943)
See also
edit- Battle of Kaprolat, greatest loss of life of Norwegian SS fighters.
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Ueberschär 1998, pp. 1018–1019.
- ^ Hitlerin Saksa ja sen vapaaehtoisliikkeet, p. 121, Mauno Jokipii, 2002, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura ISBN 951-746-335-9 [1] (in Finnish)
Bibliography
edit- Ueberschär, Gerd R. (1998). "Strategy and Policy in Northern Europe". In Boog, Horst; Förster, Jürgen; Hoffmann, Joachim; Klink, Ernst; Müller, Rolf-Dieter; Ueberschär, Gerd R. (eds.). The Attack on the Soviet Union. Germany and the Second World War. Vol. IV. Translated by McMurry, Dean S.; Osers, Ewald; Willmot, Louise. Military History Research Office (Germany). Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 941–1020. ISBN 0-19-822886-4.
Further reading
edit- Sørlie, Sigurd (2018). "Norway". In Stahel, David (ed.). Joining Hitler's Crusade: European Nations and the Invasion of the Soviet Union, 1941. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 317–39. ISBN 9781316510346.
- Christensen, Claus Bundgård; Poulsen, Niels Bo; Scharff Smith, Peter (2017). "Germanic Volunteers from Northern Europe". In Böhler, Jochen; Gerwarth, Robert (eds.). The Waffen-SS: A European History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198790556.
- Christensen, Claus Bundgård; Poulsen, Niels Bo; Scharff Smith, Peter (2000). "Legion Norge. Forskelle og ligheder med de øvrige »germanske« legioner i Waffen SS". Historisk Tidsskrift (in Danish). 100 (2): 419–48. ISSN 2597-0666.