Cherkassy Pocket - The Final Figures

Published in „Siegrunen“ Magazine - Vol. XIII, No. 6,

Whole Number 80, Summer 2008

(32^nd Year of Publication)

 

A Walloon Waffen-SS volunteer wearing the officially authorized “Burgundy Cross” collar patch for the 5.SS-Sturmbrigade “Wallonie”/28.SS-Pz.Gr.Div. “Wallonien”. This insignia was apparently issued and appeared on famous publicity/insignia maps that were prepared at the time. However it was also quickly withdrawn from circulation possibly due to the fact that it resembled the crossed rifles and grenade collar patch issued to SS penal troops and the “Dirlewanger” Brigade, although no official reasons were ever forthcoming. The SS runic collar patch remained in use by the Walloons.

 

The strength and casualty figures for the soldiers trapped in the Cherkassy Pocket in Ukraine in January/February 1944 have often been exaggerated, most notably by the Soviets.

 

Somewhat before the breakout effort began on 17 February 1944, there were 49,000 entrapped German/European troops in 11 different formations belonging to 2 Army Corps. Roughly one-third of the personnel were members of the Waffen-SS serving with the 5.SS-Panzer Division “Wiking” and the 5.SS-Sturmbrigade “Wallonie”. In addition there were some Waffen-SS support troops, drivers and others who were assigned to the Corps’ staff contingents.

 

Just prior to the breakout from the encirclement, some 4,161 wounded soldiers were evacuated by air leaving the actual number of troops to make the effort at around 45,000. After the strenuous but successful breakout was concluded an official report was issued on 29 February 1944, stating that 27,703 soldiers along with 7,496 wounded men had made it safely to the German lines. Of the wounded, about half were in the “light” category, either frostbit or sick, with over a third listed as moderately wounded and the rest listed as severely wounded.

 

Therefore about 10,000 soldiers were actually lost in the breakout effort (a far cry from the tens of thousands that appeared in communist and Allied propaganda about the event!), and many of these had already been badly wounded. A lot of them had to be evacuated by pony sled which were no match for Soviet tanks, which crushed entire columns of them. The wounded soldiers who had to be left behind were victims of some of the most gruesome atrocities imaginable. But those are stories that don’t make the “historical” documentary films and television shows!

 

The final accounting also show that 7,600 soldiers of the “Wiking” Division came through to safety along with 653 Walloon volunteers. About 4,000 wounded from those two contingents had earlier been evacuated by air out of a total of 11,657 wounded from all units that had been taken out prior to the breakout. The “Wiking” Division had about 12,000 men in the pocket to begin with, not including 1,720 men of SS Panzer Regiment 5 who were still in formation at Wildflecken (HQ Staff and II. Battalion + others). Also not involved in this action was III./SS-Pz.Gr.Rgt.9 “Germania”, a total of several hundred men at least.

 

The command Volkswagen (!) for the unidentified SS-Brigadeführer in the center. Possibly in Hungary, late in the war. The soldier on the left is certainly not German and wears a kepi not unlike that of the Hungarian gendarmerie of the era. (Courtesy Erik Rundkvist)

 

5.SS-Sturmbrigade “Wallonie” had arrived at the front in November 1943 with about 2,000 troops and after steady battlefield attrition was down to 1,260 when the Cherkassy breakout began on 17 February. Of that total 48% (607) were actually lost in the effort to get through the lines. Most, if not all could be counted as probably killed by the Reds, either in action or in captivity. It should be noted that the Walloons were also part of the rearguard forces staving off advancing Soviet troops and many were cutoff in that capacity before they could get through to safety.

 

In terms of vehicles, heavy weapons and equipment, the losses were 100%; and those were not easy make up! The human casualties were of course tragic, but except for the “Wallonie” Brigade, not on an overwhelming scale as has been reported for years elsewhere. It proved possible to immediately reassemble the “Wiking” Division and it was soon in action liberating the encirclement at Kowell; although it then had its full Panzer Regiment on hand. It took many months to get the “Wallonie” Brigade back up to some semblance of strength and its next deployment would be in Estonia in August 1944 with a battalion-sized battle-group personally led by the charismatic Leon Degrelle.