CASS SERIES ON POLITICS AND MILITARY AFFAIRS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY Series Editor MICHAEL I. HANDEL US. Naval War College, Newport, RI 1. Leon Trotsky and the Art of Insurrection 1905-1917 H.W. Nelson 2. The Nazi Party in Dissolution: Hitler and the Verbotzeii 1923-1925 David Jablonsky 3. War, Strategy and Intelligence Michael I. Handel 4. Cossacks in the German Army 1941-1945 Samuel J. Newland 5. Churchill, The Great Game and Total War David Jablonsky COSSACKS IN THE GERMAN ARMY 1941-1945 SAMUEL J. NEWLAND U.S. Army War College FRANK CASS First published 1991 in Great Britain by FRANK CASS AND COMPANY LIMITED Gainsborough House, 11 Gainsborough Road, London E ll IRS, England and in the United States of America by FRANK CASS c/o International Specialized Book Services, Inc. 5602 N £. Hassalo Street, Portland, Oregon 97213 Copyright О 1991 Samuel J. Newland British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Newland, Samuel J. Cossacks in the German army 1941-1945. 1. Germany. WchrmachL Foreign volunteers, 1939-1945 I. Title 940.54'0943 ISBN 0-7146-3351-8 Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Newland, Samuel J. Cossacks in the German army, 1941-1945 / Samuel J. Newland. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-7146-3351-8 1. Germany, Hccr—History—World War, 1939-1945. 2. Cossacks. 3. Military service. Voluntary—Germany. I. Title. D757.N484 1991 940.54*1343—dc20 89-25229 CIP All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Frank Cass and Company Limited. » / Printed and bound in Great Britain by BPCC Wheatons Ltd, Exeter To my father, Harry E. Newland, who initiated my love for History, to my mother, Margaret R. Newland, who encouraged it, and to my wife, Rhonda, who serves as both my most valued critic and primary inspiration. I owe the three of you more than words can tell. CONTENTS List of Illustrations ix List of Maps xi Acknowledgements xii Introduction 1 1. Barbarossa: its Origins and Successes 9 2. Exceptions to the Rule 23 3. Who Can Wear the Field Grey? 44 4. The Cossacks: the Tsar’s Praetorian Force 64 5. The De-Slavization of the Cossacks 86 6. Mielau: Organization and Training 110 7. Self-Government for Soviet Nationalities - a Wehrmacht initiative 127 8. Who Leads the Cossacks? Who Champions their Cause? 138 9. The Cossack Division in Combat 150 10. Requiem for the Cossack Corps 170 Notes 178 Appendices 197 A. German-U.S. Army Rank Equivalencies B. Authorized Strength of German Military Organizations C. Organization of the Cossack Cavalry Corps D. Corps Staff Structure, Cossack Cavalry Corps E. Organization of a Horse Cavalry Regiment Bibliography 203 Index 210 1. A small village in Galicia erects an arch to greet German troops. 26 2. Zakopane, Galicia welcomes the German “liberators”. 27 3. The populace of Reval, Estonia, greets the German soldiers, 1941. 27 4. Eastern volunteers receive a blessing on entering German service, 1943. 31 5-7. National Socialist propaganda showing the backward nature of the Soviet * Union. 36-7 8-11. Soviet prisoners at Senne-Krakenhof camp, 1941-42. 40-2 12. Kuban Cossack refugee choir in Parma, Italy, in 1928. 85 13. A column of Cossack soldiers wearing German insignia, Germany, 1943. 88 14. Lt.-Col. Nicholas Nazarenko, Don Cossack, and Col. Michael Zaretsky, Kuban Cossack, Belgrade, 1944. 91 15. Col. Ivan Kononov, 1943. 95 16. Authorized Insignia for Cossack Volunteers. 100 17. Col. Helmuth von Pannwitz. 105 18. Cossack volunteers in action in 1943. 107 19. A traditional Cossack dance at the front in 1943. 108 20. Cossack soldiers in 1943. 112 21. German troops withdrawing from the Caucasus, 1943. 113 22. A skilled Cossack horseman. 119 23. Col. Constantine Wagner, 1945. 148 24. A Cossack unit in France, 1944. 157 25. A Cossack relaxing with Wehrmacht and S.S. soldiers, 1944. 159 26. A military funeral in Sisack, Croatia, 1944. 161 27. German officers o f the Cossack Division, Sisack, Croatia, 1944. " 162 28. Von Pannwitz, von Schultz and the Cossacks in Croatia, 1944. 163 29. Gen. von Pannwitz giving a funeral address in 1944, Sisack, Croatia. 163 Cossack Hosts in Europe and Asia, 1914 68 The Cossack Hosts in Europe, 1914 69 The Caucasus under German administration 130 Migration of anti-Soviet Cossacks, 1942—45 136 Operation Schach, anti-partisan sweep of the 1st Cossack Brigade, 1944 160 Major engagements of the 1st Cossack Cavalry Division and the XV Cossack Cavalry Corps, Yugoslavia 1943—45 165 Photographs 1 and 2, from Deutsches Vorfeld im Osten, General Gouveme- ment, Buchverlag Ost, Krakau, 1941; 3 ,4 ,7 ,1 2 ,1 3 ,1 4 ,1 7 , Г8,1 9 ,2 0 ,2 1 ,2 2 ,2 3 and 24, from the author’s collection; 5 and 6, adapted from the party publica­ tion NS Frauen-Warte, die einzige Parieiamtliche Frauenzeitschrift, Vol. X, January 11,1943; 8 ,9 , 10 and 11, by courtesy of Norris V. Rohner, 15, from the wartime publication Die Wehrmacht; 16, adapted from the original German documents authorized by OKH, ABT, П, 15 November 1942; 26, 27, 28 and 29, by courtesy of U.S. National Archives. Maps on pp. 68, 69, 130, 136, 165, by Jim Kistler, map on p. 160, from Eric Kern, Pannwitz und Seine Kosaken, Neckargemiind: Kurt Von Winckel Verlag, 1963. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without the assistance and encouragement of a number of people this book could not have been completed. I would like to acknow­ ledge the assistance of Mr George Wagner and Mr Tim Mulligan of the U.S. National Archives for the many hours spent giving advice on the archival holdings, and their willingness to assist me in the research. With a thorough grasp of the archival holdings within their specialty area, modem military history, their assistance has been invaluable. A special debt of gratitude goes to Lieutenant-Colonel Nicholas Nazarenko, who willingly gave a great amount of his time to explain his involvement in the Cossack Volunteer Legions, for the enthusiasm which he transmitted to me concerning the traditions of the Cossacks. Nazarenko himself is a living history of some of the more tragic periods of Cossack history. His assistance has been of immeasurable value, particularly for the 1941-43 period. I am very grateful to my conscience and editor, Dr Ann Harrison, who has been willing to read drafts, correct my grammar and assist in the search for a multitude of obscure books, not normally held in most library collections. Special thanks as well go to Bertha Hackett for typing the draft and correcting a multitude of errors, always exhibiting an inordinate amount of patience. The charts and maps have been most excellently drawn by Mr Jim Kistler. A number of people from the faculty of the University of Kansas have helped me with this book, originally my dissertation. Dr Heinrich Stammler, a participant in many of the events described in this book, consistently directed me to new books published on the topic. Dr Stammler served not only as a scholarly resource but as a primary resource, due to his wartime experience at the Dabendorf propaganda centre in Berlin. At the beginning of the research, valuable insights into German policy were gained by interviews with Dr Tamerlan Salaty, a resident of the Caucasus when the German army arrived in 1942. Dr William Fletcher helped to clarify my perspective on the Soviet Union. A special word of thanks must be given to Dr Norman Saul whose constant encouragement and gentle prodding brought the book to its final conclusion. Two former German officers were of great assistance since the inception of the research. General Heinz Herre, a.D., and Colonel Constantine Wagner, a.D., were extremely helpful in answering a multitude of questions regarding the Osttruppen and, in Colonel Wagner’s case, the Cossack Division and its personnel. In addition, both Nicholas Mikulski, Dr Ulrich Kober, and Erwin Krause of the XV. Kosaken Korps Kameradschaft have been extremely helpful by providing a wealth of information and photographs. I also owe a special debt of gratitude to two good friends, Norris Rohrer and George Petersen, who for somfe eight years have unselfishly used their contacts all over the U.S. and Europe to find research materials and photos for the book. Finally, I must acknowledge the assistance provided by Dr Bruce Menning, University of Miami (Ohio), who is the acknowledged expert on the Cossacks in the Western world. Professor Menning’s assistance on Cossack history was invaluable. Last, but not least, a word of thanks to Dr Dennis Showalter of Colorado College who reviewed the original manuscript and encouraged me to pursue publication. His assistance and comments were, and are, greatly appreciated. INTRODUCTION Since the mid-1960s, newspaper and magazine articles throughout the Western world have given attention to a fascinating movement within the Soviet Union, entitled Samizdat. This short and com­ paratively simple Russian word describes a complex literary protest movement within the Soviet Union which has plagued the Soviet leadership since the late 1950s. Russian writers such as Yuli Daniel, Andrei Siniavskdi, Andrei Amalrik, and, of course, Alexander Solzhenitzyn, have openly criticized Soviet society and the Soviet leadership, giving the Western world an insight into the workings of the dissidents within the Russian intellectual community. Given the interest within the Western world for this protest movement, it is surprising that a number of well-read educated people have no knowledge at all of another time in the twentieth century when thousands of Soviet citizens protested against the hated Stalinist system.