Estonian Vikings:
Estnisches SS-Freiwilligen Bataillon Narwa and Subsequent Units, Eastern Front, 1943-1944
by Richard Landwehr
Armed Forces of the Third Reich Photographic History Series
Stahlhelm Series 350
The Estonian SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Bataillon Narwa was the first and best fighting unit fielded by this small Baltic nation as part of the German-led 'Crusade against Communism'. Fully motorized and equipped with heavy support weapons, it was able to take its place in the ranks of the multinational SS Wiking Division.
The Estonians had good reason to take up arms against Stalin—in the one year of Soviet occupation (1940 to 1941) some 60,000 of them were massacred or deported—some 5% of the population—and 90% of the Narwa volunteers had lost a relative in the Red Terror. The professional soldiers of its small but efficient Army were well represented in the ranks as were the intelligentsia, who had been singled out for particularly brutal treatment: 20% of the troops having a high school education or better.
On the first anniversary of the liberation of Tallinn, 28 August 1942, the formation of an Estonian Legion was announced. Bataillon Narwa was formed from the first 800 or so men of the Legion to have finished their training at Heidelager, being sent in April 1943 to join Wiking in Ukraine.
They replaced the Finnish Volunteer Battalion, recalled to their homeland for political reasons. The Estonians were to prove worthy successors to their close kin the Finns, showing themselves capable of the same tenacity and fortitude in face of the ancestral foe.
In their engagement at Andriivka (17-19 July 1943) two-thirds of the Battalion became casualties, yet they inflicted 7,000 casualties on the Red Army and destroyed nearly 100 tanks—nearly 40 Iron Crosses being awarded. Refitted with a fresh draft, the Battalion endured a fresh bloodletting at Khadnytsia between 12-19 August, the Germans supporting with armor. The Estonians certainly earned the 46 additional Iron Crosses awarded: only 157 men survived unwounded.
September brought no relief, with the battalion engaged in the defense of Mayeriyevka. By mid-month the battalion was at half-strength, a fresh draft of 150 suffering 26 casualties in its first day of action.
Between November and February 1944 the unit fought with 5 SS-Freiwilligen-Sturmbrigade Wallonien, as the European volunteers endured the siege and breakout of the Cherkassy Cauldron. The Estonians tenaciously defended the sugar factory at Vilshany in the south of the pocket from 28 January to 5 February, when they broke out to join the main body.
Withdrawn that March to Estonia, Bataillon Narwa arrived, appropriately enough, at the great battlefield of Narva in July, fighting at Auvere on the 24th, then at Sinimaed when the city was evacuated. Finally, Narwa formed the rear guard of the kampfgruppe of the Estonian 20th SS Division, covering the German evacuation of Estonia between 18 and 25 September.
Withdrawn to Germany, the remnants formed the core of SS-Füsilier Bataillon 20 which fought heroically in defense of Silesia, even when encircled, in 1945.
This book was published in 1998 by Shelf Books Ltd., Great Britain, and is now available in limited supply from the Merriam Press and Siegrunen. This title ships from Merriam Press, Bennington, Vermont.
Contents
- Song of the Estonian Legionnaires
- Foreword
- Background to the Estonian Legion
- Formation of Bataillon Narwa
- Deployment in the Wiking Division
- The Battle for Izium
- Third Day at Izium
- August Battles of 1943
- Other Battles of Bataillon Narwa
- Appendices
- An Account of the Narwa Battalion in Ukraine
- Waffen-SS Ranks
- Shelf Books General Translation Policy
- Estonian Pronunciation Guide
- Ukrainian Pronunciation Guide
- Glossary
- Acknowledgments
- Publisher's Acknowledgments
- Bibliography
- Index
Specifications
- First Edition (1998)
- 82 – 8.25 x 11.75 inch pages
- Paperback, perfect bound, full-color one-piece cover
- Cover painting by Simon McCouaig
- 112 B&W photos
- 3 illustrations