After a short period of basic training in Hamburg the Flemings were shipped to Poland where they first stopped at Radom for a few weeks before moving on to the newly constructed Heidelager training camp near Debica. There it reorganized into the standard structure for an infantry battalion, namely three infantry companies and a machine-gun company.
Meanwhile, back in Belgium, negotiations were underway between the main Belgian fascist party and the SS to form a Flemish legion for service on the Eastern Front. These were successfully concluded in early August as the SS wanted access to the additional manpower and the SS-Legion Flandern was officially announced on 6 August although the SS Main Office waited until 24 September to bestow the title on the battalion. Some 1200 member of the VNV volunteered, but only 405 were accepted and were shipped off to Heidelager to join their countrymen where they fleshed out the existing companies. Flandern was transferred to the Arys training area in East Prussia on 3 September where it was to be motorized. There it received 150 men from 13. and 14. companies of Nordwest which formed a fifth heavy weapons company. It consisted of two anti-tank platoons and a medium mortar platoon. Curiously, its machine-gun company wasn't broken up and distributed amongst the infantry companies as was done with most of the other volunteer units.
By this time Nordwest was reduced to a staff supervising the training of its former subordinates Flandern and Niederlande. Its commander reported it fully combat ready in October, but reports of persistant discrimination against the Flemings forced Himmler to investigate the situation. Their complaints were found valid and Himmler ordered the Germans assigned to Flandern to attend what can only be described as sensitivity classes to orient them to Flemish culture. Similiar problems were found in most of the other non-German SS units.
Finally, Flandern was ordered to the Eastern Front and left Arys on November 10th. Its first assignment was anti-partisan operations under 2. SS-Motorized Brigade. It rotated a company to the front-lines, but saw little action. 2. SS-Brigade was withdrawn to Latvia in mid-December and Flandern went with it. This didn't last long as the German defenses were crumbling in the face of the Soviet counter-offensive.
Flandern was ordered to prepare a task force of a rifle company and a heavy company for imminent deployment to the front on 3 January. It didn't depart until 9 January, but didn't reach the front until the 17th next to the sector held by the Spanish Blue Division. The rest of the unit arrived on 30 January. Their arrival was greatly appreciated as the Soviets were making multiple attacks to try and relieve Leningrad. Defeating these cost the Legion heavily as can be seen by the strength figures for February below. As if that wasn't enough it successfully counter-attacked in early March, but this reduced it to less than a third of its previously low strength. In partial recognition it was relieved on 8 March, but this didn't last long as it was placed back in the front lines on 17 March after some of its wounded had recovered. It would spend most of the next several months in the swamps near the Volkhov River with only short intervals off the lines. It participated in the efforts to crush the remants of the Soviet 59th Army which were pocketed on the German side of the Volkhov in mid-to-late June, as usual suffered heavily in the process.
It was relieved after the conclusion of that operation for several weeks before returning to the front, however this time it was part of the forces encircling Leningrad and was only some 10 km (6 miles) from the city limits. Generally this sector was much quieter and Flandern used the opportunity to rebuild. In early '43 one anti-tank platoon in 5. company exchanged its guns for 75mm light infantry guns. About this same time thje company was attached to the 4. SS-Polizei Division and later to a Latvian battalion; it would not served again with the Legion in Russia. On 21 March 43 Flandern was deployed to Krasnyi Bor to restore the positions lost by the Spanish Blue Division. This it did fairly handily, but the Soviet response tested the Legion to the limit. It repulsed the Soviet counter-counterattack by the skin of its teeth, but the cost was extremely high. 3. company had entered the battle with a strength of 125 soldiers and was reduced to 9! Needless to say it was quickly put into reserve. It was sent to Poland in early May to serve as the cadre for 6. SS-Sturmbrigade Langemarck. It was renamed in honor of its performance at Krasnyi Bor and acquired the title from the disbanding Schnell-Regiment of the Das Reich Division.
The Sturmbrigade was formally established on 31 May at the Heidelager training camp, but the influx of Flemings from the Wiking and Das Reich Divisions, in addition to new volunteers, soon crowded facilities assigned to it and it was transferred to the prewar Czech armored training facility at Milovice near Prague. In structure it was really just an extremely reinforced motorized infantry battalion as it had only 3 companies of infantry and companies of heavy weapons (the old 4. company, infantry guns (the old 5. company), anti-tank guns, light and heavy flak and a Sturmgeschütz battery of 11 vehicles. Integrating these new units took some time and it was not until 6 December that it was declared combat-ready. However it was not until the day after Christmas that it was shipped out for the Eastern Front.
It began arriving on 31 December east of Berdichev where the Soviets had blown through the German defenses, but lacked the supplies and fresh troops to exploit the holes they had created. It was immediately thrown into the fray where the combat was of such intensity that the infantry companies were reduced to slightly over 50 men apiece despite having absorbed the remnants of the SS-Ersatz-Btl. Ost as replacements. Fortunately the support companies were in far better shape and this allowed Langemarck to conduct a fighting retreat southwestward. During most of this period it fought in conjunction with elements of the Liebstandarte and Das Reich SS-Panzer Divisions. Things quieted down for most of February while the Soviets massed for further attacks, but things got ugly in a hurry when it was cut-off in early March. Only about 400 men managed to escape from the small pocket. It clearly wasn't worth much in its current state and was ordered to return to Poland for recuperation. It remained there for a couple of weeks, but was then ordered to Bohemia for reconsitution by early May.
It was to be reorganized with two infantry battalions in addition to companies of infantry guns, light and heavy flak and the customary Sturmgeschütz battery. In mid-July it was ordered to form a battalion from its combat-worthy elements for emergency service on the Eastern Front. It departed on 19 July for the Narva sector in Estonia where it was to see heavy combat. Only 130 survived to depart Tallinn harbor a day before the port fell to the Soviets on 21 September.
About that same time Himmler decided to expand Langemarck into a full-fledged panzergrenadier division using the large numbers of refugees that had fled Allied-occupied Belgium. A month or so later Langemarck was transferred to the training camp at Scheeßel, north of Hannover, where it met up with the survivors of the Narva battles.
Unfortunately the shortages of the necessary equipment make Langemarck a panzergrenadier division on paper only as its new organization showed. It was to have three regiments of infantry, each with two battalions, an artillery regiment of four battalions, one of which was equipped with 75mm anti-tank guns, and the usual support battalions of flak, engineers and signal troops. The only fully motorized unit in the entire division was the reconnaissance company. Some thought was given to expanding it as a panzergrenadier division, but the shortage of armored vehicles and trucks vitiated against that.
The "division" was ordered to form a combat-ready force for propaganda purposes on 24 December to exploit the German successes in the Ardennes. This consisted of one battalion from the 66. and 67. Regiments and the anti-tank battalion and totalled some 2000 men. However the successful combats in the Battle of the Bulge were quickly nullified by a stubborn American defense and the kampfgruppen was recalled and ordered to prepare for service on the Eastern Front.
It left at the end of January for the area south of Stargard where it participated in one of the last German counterattacks mounted north of the Danube. This was only temporarily successful, but it did give the Soviets reason to consider their flanks. Nonetheless they drove the Germans, and Langemarck, west through Stettin though they did manage to hold most of west bank of the Oder River Delta by mid-March. In this fighting the Langemarck kampfgruppe was reduced to a strength of ony 400 men. The rest of the combat-ready elements of the division began arriving in late March, but were used to replace the losses in the kampfgruppe. The rest of the division began arriving, but remained in the rear. There are some references to Sturmgeschützen of the anti-tank battalion, but I'm not sure if it was reequipped with them after losing most of its anti-tank guns. The division was forced back by the Soviet general offensive in mid-April. It surrendered at Wismar on the Elbe to the Soviets in early May.
Commanders:
Stubaf. Michael Lippert (July 41-2 April 42)
Ostubaf. Josef Vitzhum (4 April-26 June 42)
Ostubaf. Conrad Schellong (14 July 42-Sep 44)
Oberf. Thomas Müller (Sep 44-6 May 45)
Strength:
| 24/9/41 | 25/78/1009 |
| 28/11/41 | 25/79/1010 |
| 26/2/42 | 12/41/335 |
| 9/3/42 | 108 |
| 20/6/42 | 13/26/258 |
| 25/6/42 | 11/21/220 |
| 31/12/42 | 21/664 |
| 30/3/43 | approx. 50 |
| Summer 43 | 29/176/1265 |
| Fall 43 | 40/203/1779 |
| 26/12/43 | 42/162/1864 and 137 Russian auxiliaries |
| 30/6/44 | 47/262/1422 |
| 1/4/45 | 167/408/3537 |
SF: Jul I 43, Arrive: 1x 3-10* mot Inf X Flndrn (SS)
Convert to General Government, Forming: 1x 5-10* PzG X 6 LM (SS)
Jan I 44, Full: 1x 5-10* PzG X 6 LM (SS)
Jan II 44, Withdraw to East
Oct II 44: WK XI, Forming: 1x 5-7-6 Inf XX 27 LM (SS)
Feb I 45, Full, Withdraw to East
Optional upgrade, anytime prior to Oct II 44:
Convert: 1x 3-4-10 PzG X 6 Lm (SS) and 1 arm RP to Forming: 1x 5-8* PzG Cdr (11-10) 27 Lm (SS)
12 Turns after Formation Began:
Full: 1x 5-8* PzG Cdr (11-10) 27 Lm (SS)
[If you want it you've gotta pay for it!]
Return to Obscure Combat Formations of the SS.
Return to Panzerkeil.