18th Nazi SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel.

18th Nazi SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Horst Wessel
Active	1944-1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Allegiance	Adolf Hitler
Branch	Waffen-SS
Type	Panzergrenadier
Size	Division

The 18th Nazi SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Horst Wessel was formed in 1944 around a cadre from the 1 Nazi SS Infantry Brigade and included mainly Hungarian ethnic Germans or Volksdeutsche (Volksdeutsche is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to apply to Germans living outside of the German Empire). It was used for anti-partisan duties until it was sent to the Eastern front, with the exception of one regiment that fought the Slovak National Uprising in August 1944. It later fought as a single unit in Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia where it was destroyed.

The Division was named after the SA or (Sturmabteilung) hero Horst Wessel, a German Nazi known for being the author of lyrics to the song "Die Fahne hoch" (Horst Wessel Lied) and for being glorified by the Nazi regime as a martyr of the early years of the Nazi party.

Commanders

• Brigadeführer Wilhelm Trabandt (25 January 1944 - 3 January 1945)
• Gruppenführer Josef Fitzthum (3 January 1945 - 10 January 1945)
• Standartenführer Georg Bochmann (10 January 1945 - March 1945)
• Standartenführer Heinrich Petersen (March 1945 - 8 May 1945)

Knight's Cross recipients

Knight's Cross with Swords

• Georg Bochmann

SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 40

• Julius Riepe

SS Flak Battalion 18

• Hans Lipinski

Battles

• Hungary (January 1944 - July 1944)
• Eastern front, central sector (July 1944 - October 1944)
• Poland & Czechoslovakia (October 1944 - May 1945)

Order of battle

• 39th Nazi SS-Panzer Grenadier Regiment
• 40th Nazi SS-Panzer Grenadier Regiment
• 18th Nazi SS-Artillery Regiment
• 18th Nazi SS-Panzerjäger Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Panzer Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Sturmgeschütz Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Panzerjäger Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Flak Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Signals Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Pionier Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Administration Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Wirtschafts Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Supplies Troop
• 18th Nazi SS-Instandsetzungs Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Feldgendarmerie Battalion
• 18th Nazi SS-Reserve BattallIon
• 18th Nazi SS-Sanitäts Battalion