22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Maria Theresia
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The divisional symbol, depicting the cornflower, Kaiserin Maria Theresa's favourite. |
The
22.SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division Maria Theresia was a
German Waffen SS cavalry division which saw action on the
Eastern Front during the
Second World War. The
Maria Theresa was composed, primarily, of
Hungarian Volksdeutsche.
Formation and Training
In December 1943,
SS-Kavallerie Regiment 17 from the
8.SS-Kavallerie-Division Florian Geyer was ordered to become the cadre for a new SS cavalry division. On
29 April 1944, the
SS FHA authorised the division to be raised, and
SS-Kavallerie Regiment 17 was pulled out of the line and sent to
Kisber in
Hungary to rest, refit and to begin forming the new division.
While the
Florian Geyer veterans formed the nucleus of the division, the bulk of the soldiers were Hungarian
volksdeutsche. These men had originally conscripted by the
Magyar Honvédség, but were transferred to the Waffen-SS following an agreement between Germany and Hungary. The formation of the division was done in absolute secrecy. This prompted many of the new recruits to incorrectly assume that they were part of
Adolf Hitler's much vaunted
Wunderwaffe program.
The division was designate
22.SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division Maria Theresia. The honour title,
Maria Theresa, referred to the only ruling Queen of the house of
Hapsburg and therefore ruler of
Austria,
Hungary,
Bohemia and the Empress of the
Holy Roman Empire. Maria Theresa was also the major opponent of
Prussian King
Frederick the Great. The symbol of the division, a
cornflower, is emblazoned on the divisional shield. It was adopted as it was the favourite flower of Empress Maria Theresa.
Over the next few months, the division continued it's formation and training around Kisber,
Gyor and
Budapest. The division was equipped with mostly Hungarian weapons, vehicles and equipment. By June 1944, the divisional strength had reached at 4,900. On 22 of that month, the Soviets launched
Operation Bagration. In early August
OKH ordered all divisions forming up in Hungary to send
kampfgruppen to the combat zone.
SS-Freiwilligen-Kavellerie-Regiment 52, along with elements of the divisional artillery, were ordered to entrain for the front in
Romania.
SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Regiment 17 remained in Hungary to continue training the rest of the division.
Romania
SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Regiment 52 was reformed as
Kampfgruppe Wiedemann. The regiment's fighting strength was augmented by artillery,
FlaK and
reconnaissance elements. The Kampfgruppe was transported from
Gyula-
Szolonta, Hungary to
Arad in Romania, where it was attached to
General der Panzertruppen Hermann Breith's
III.Panzer-Korps, stationed in the area around
Debrecen.
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SS-Hauptsturmführer 'Toni' Ameiser |
The Kampfgruppe went into the line on 30 September, forming a defensive ring around the city of
Arad along with the
9.Honvéd-Infantry Division. On the same day,
SS-Hauptsturmführer Wiedemann, the kampfgruppe commander, was killed in action.
SS-Hauptsturmführer Anton 'Toni' Ameiser took command, and the kampfgruppe was redesignated
Kampfgruppe Ameiser.
On 2 October, the Soviet spearheads of Marshall
R.Y. Malinovsky's 2nd Ukrainian Front began probing towards Arad. KG Ameiser held it's ground, rebuffing several Soviet attacks. On 6 October, Malinovsky launched a major offensive, thus beginning the
Battle of Debrecen. Hugely outnumbered, KG Ameiser was outflanked, and soon Soviet forces had completely encircled it. Secondary Soviet forces began attempts to destroy the encircled kampfgruppe. On 8 October, an assault by a large Soviet armoured force managed to split the pocket in two. Ameiser was in command of one pocket, and
SS-Hauptsturmführer Anton Vandieken in command of the other. Vandieken's ad-hoc kampfgruppe took this opportunity to launch a major attack towards friendly lines. By 9 October, the exhausted group had fought their way to the
Harmas river and swam across the river, joining German forces on the other side.
Ameiser's group found it impossible to break out to friendly lines. Ameiser ordered his men to leave behind their heavy equipment and to attempt to break out. Over the next three weeks, Ameiser led his men on 200 mile trek behind enemy lines. On 30 October the 48 survivors, including Ameiser himself, linked up with German forces at the town of
Dunafoldvar, south of
Budapest. For his actions, Ameiser was awarded the
Knight's Cross on 1 November 1944.
Operation Panzerfaust - Budapest
In mid-October 1944, all available elements of the
Maria Theresia were commandeered by
SS-Obersturmbannfüher der Reserve Otto Skorzeny to take part in
Operation Panzerfaust. Pro-German Honvédsag officers had revealed Hungarian Leader Admiral
Miklós Horthy's secret negotiations to surrender to the Soviets. Hitler had ordered Skorzeny to deal with the problem. Operation Panzerfaust began at 0600 on 15 October, the operation began. In a little over a half hour a German column led by two
Panther tanks, and including a number of
Maria Theresia men, stormed Buda Castle and forced Horthy to abdicate. Simultaneously,
Operation Mickey Mouse resulted in the forced detainment of Horthy's youngest son, the pro-peace
Nicholas Horthy. Pro-German
Arrow Cross leader
Ferenc Szálasi replaced Horthy, negotiations were broken off and crisis was averted.
The battle ready units of the division, which had been completing their final training near Kisber, were assigned to the
IX.Waffen-Gebirgs-Korps der SS, which was deployed in the defense of the Hungarian capital, Budapest. The division arrived in early November 1944 and took up defensive positions. There it was encircled along with the rest of the Axis troops in the Hungarian capital and was destroyed, only some 170 men making it out of the encirclement.
The survivors, along with those who had not been sent into Budapest were used to form
37.SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division Lützow, with the remnants of the Flak units being transferred to
32.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division 30 Januar.
* SS-Brigadeführer
August Zehender (21 Apr 1944 - 11 Feb 1945)
* SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 52
* SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 53
* SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 54
* SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 17
* SS-Artillerie-Regiment 22
* SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 22
* SS-Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 22
* SS-Pionier-Bataillon 22
* SS-Nachrichten-Abteilung 22
* SS-Division-Nachschubtruppen 22
* SS-Verwaltungstruppen-Abteilung 22
* SS-Sanitätsabteilung 22
Steadfast Hussars: The Last Cavalry Divisions of the Waffen-SS by
Richard LandwehrThe Florian Geyer Division by
Charles Trang*
22.SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division "Maria Theresia" at Feldgrau.com.
*
22. SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division Maria Theresa at Axis History Factbook.
