18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel

German armored division August 2018 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel 18th SS Division Logo.svg 100 25 January 1944 – 8 May 1945 Nazi Germany Schutzstaffel Waffen-SS Panzergrenadier Division de 18. SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Division "Horst Wessel" The 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division "Horst Wessel" (de 18. SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Division "Horst Wessel")Official designation in German language as to „Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv“ in Freiburg im Breisgau, stores of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS. was formed in 1944 around a cadre from the 1st SS Infantry Brigade. It was used for "rear-security" duties until it was sent to the Eastern front, with the exception of one regiment that fought the Slovak National Uprising in August 1944. During this period, the 1st Battalion of the Sturmbrigade Frankreich fought with the division as the 4th Battalion of SS Rgt. 40 commanded by Sturmbannführer Schaeffer in Galicia.'Les volontaires français dans l'armée allemande', Christophe Leguerandais The division later fought as a single unit in Hungary and in Czechoslovakia where it was destroyed. The Division was named after SA member Horst Wessel, known for being the author of the lyrics to the Nazi Party anthem, the Horst-Wessel-Lied, and glorified by the Nazi regime as a martyr of the party's early years. Commanders SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Trabandt (25 January 1944 – 3 January 1945) SS-Gruppenführer Josef Fitzthum (3 January 1945 – 10 January 1945) SS-Standartenführer Georg Bochmann (10 January 1945 – March 1945) SS-Standartenführer Heinrich Petersen (15 March 1945 – 8 May 1945) Battles Hungary (January 1944 – July 1944) Eastern front, central sector (July 1944 – October 1944) Poland & Czechoslovakia (October 1944 – May 1945) See also List of Waffen-SS units List of military units named after people References Notes Bibliography Tessin Georg Die Landstreitkräfte 15—30 Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939—1945 4 Frankfurt/Main E.S. Mittler 1970 108–109 de June 2017 Category:Horst Wessel Category:Panzergrenadier divisions of the Waffen-SS Category:Military units and formations established in 1944 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945