Friendly Fire: The Ukranian Mutiny
During WWII, it was standard German procedure to use Eastern Europeans in second line units. Particularly anti-Partisan units. Outfitted in SS black, these units preserved German men for front line combat duty. In one case, however, it backfired terribly.
In August of 1944, the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) were in full on mayhem mode. The Americans and Free French of Operation Anvil were now making their way north and British Special Operations were providing the weapons to allow FFI to make things miserable for the retreating Germans.
Enter the 30th SS Waffen Grenadier Division, a group made up almost entirely of Ukrainians under German leadership. The grenadiers were taken by train from Poland to Camp du Valdahon in the Jura Mountains of Southern France (this is about 20 miles from where I live, as the crow flies, but to be honest, French crows fly in crazy patterns that take twice as long to get anyplace.)
Arriving in Franche Comte, the Ukrainians discovered an opportunity.
Historically, Ukrainians do not like the CPSU, not without some justification. So fighting for the Germans probably seemed better than starving or being gassed in a German POW camp. By 1944, however, the arc of history was beginning to sort itself out and anyone could see that a resume with "Waffen SS" on it was not going to get you a barista position anywhere in Europe. And so, on August 27th, 1944, a battalion of the Ukrainians did what so many who have gone before them did and, led by Major (Also listed as Captain) Lev Hloba, shot their German commanders and went over to the partisans. Two days later, two more regiments deserted and crossed the Swiss frontier about 30 miles away.
It must have been an interesting meeting when Hloba showed up at the Maquis with a white flag and offered to come over bringing 1200 to 1600 men, a dozen heavy machine guns, mortars and a handful of 45mm anti-tank guns.
The two battalions were incorporated into the FFI, later to become part of the 13th Demi-Brigade of the French Foreign Legion--one of the most storied units in one of the most colorful services in history. A few days later, they were back in action, facing their old comrades of the 30th SS--a Cossack cavalry unit--in Melin, taking no prisoners.
Needless to say, the 30th SS's stock with the Germans fell considerably. Their complete collapse created a crisis as the 19th Army attempted to withdraw through the Belfort gap and back into German (at least temporarily) Alsace. In fact, partisan activity was making the terrain, already quite troublesome for movement, impossible.
(Feel free to explore:)
https://www.google.fr/maps/@47.2105128,7.1364391,10.08z/data=!5m1!1e4
On their way out, however, the remainder of the 30th, by this time mostly ethnic Russians and Belorussians, managed to commit the atrocity of killing 40 villagers and condemning 30 more to imprisonment and later execution in the town of Etobon.
As for the deserters, they fought their way into Alsace and spent a cold and gloomy winter facing German counterattacks as part of the overall 13th Demi-Brigade. Generally held out by other units as unruly and undisciplined, the 13th completed its ignominious tour in the Juras, rather than driving triumphantly into Germany. The 13th took huge casualties during the winter of 1944, but like so many before them, the Ukrainian defectors faded into anonymity of the Legion by war's end.
Major Hloba was awarded the Croix de Guerre and died in 2012 in Canada. Ironically, these die-hard anti-communists joined with the largely communist LFT in the Jura Mountains. Ukrainians to become French by their blood in service to the Legion.
In August of 1944, the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) were in full on mayhem mode. The Americans and Free French of Operation Anvil were now making their way north and British Special Operations were providing the weapons to allow FFI to make things miserable for the retreating Germans.
Enter the 30th SS Waffen Grenadier Division, a group made up almost entirely of Ukrainians under German leadership. The grenadiers were taken by train from Poland to Camp du Valdahon in the Jura Mountains of Southern France (this is about 20 miles from where I live, as the crow flies, but to be honest, French crows fly in crazy patterns that take twice as long to get anyplace.)
Arriving in Franche Comte, the Ukrainians discovered an opportunity.
Historically, Ukrainians do not like the CPSU, not without some justification. So fighting for the Germans probably seemed better than starving or being gassed in a German POW camp. By 1944, however, the arc of history was beginning to sort itself out and anyone could see that a resume with "Waffen SS" on it was not going to get you a barista position anywhere in Europe. And so, on August 27th, 1944, a battalion of the Ukrainians did what so many who have gone before them did and, led by Major (Also listed as Captain) Lev Hloba, shot their German commanders and went over to the partisans. Two days later, two more regiments deserted and crossed the Swiss frontier about 30 miles away.
Mjr. Lev Hloba, CDG
It must have been an interesting meeting when Hloba showed up at the Maquis with a white flag and offered to come over bringing 1200 to 1600 men, a dozen heavy machine guns, mortars and a handful of 45mm anti-tank guns.
The two battalions were incorporated into the FFI, later to become part of the 13th Demi-Brigade of the French Foreign Legion--one of the most storied units in one of the most colorful services in history. A few days later, they were back in action, facing their old comrades of the 30th SS--a Cossack cavalry unit--in Melin, taking no prisoners.
Needless to say, the 30th SS's stock with the Germans fell considerably. Their complete collapse created a crisis as the 19th Army attempted to withdraw through the Belfort gap and back into German (at least temporarily) Alsace. In fact, partisan activity was making the terrain, already quite troublesome for movement, impossible.
(Feel free to explore:)
https://www.google.fr/maps/@47.2105128,7.1364391,10.08z/data=!5m1!1e4
On their way out, however, the remainder of the 30th, by this time mostly ethnic Russians and Belorussians, managed to commit the atrocity of killing 40 villagers and condemning 30 more to imprisonment and later execution in the town of Etobon.
Massacre site in Etobon
As for the deserters, they fought their way into Alsace and spent a cold and gloomy winter facing German counterattacks as part of the overall 13th Demi-Brigade. Generally held out by other units as unruly and undisciplined, the 13th completed its ignominious tour in the Juras, rather than driving triumphantly into Germany. The 13th took huge casualties during the winter of 1944, but like so many before them, the Ukrainian defectors faded into anonymity of the Legion by war's end.
Major Hloba was awarded the Croix de Guerre and died in 2012 in Canada. Ironically, these die-hard anti-communists joined with the largely communist LFT in the Jura Mountains. Ukrainians to become French by their blood in service to the Legion.
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