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Since the early months of the German- Russian war , many German units using Russian prisoners as auxiliaries to the ranks of their supplies , then , various battalions consisting of citizens of the Soviet Union was formed and deployed to help Germany as a saboteur , spy , and fight the guerrillas and the Soviet Red Army .
Like various other German military department , Abwehr intelligence service headed by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris think that German human resource weakness when faced with a giant source of the USSR possessed can be offset through support groups of local residents against Germany if they , rather than oppressive , arming and lead these people .
One of the foremost proponents of this policy is Dr Hauptmann . Theodor Oberlander , a former economics professor from the University of Königsberg in East Prussia . Seama first few months of the German - Russian war , he acted as a political adviser to the battalion ' Nachtigall ' , a Ukrainian volunteer formations that are placed under the command of the 1st Battalion Regiment Brandenburg .
Feeling disgusted with the cruelty of the German occupation government against the Ukrainian nationalists after a campaign in Galicia , he was one of the Abwehr officers urged to seek allies among the Caucasus : Georgia , Armenia , Azerbaijan , Ossetia , Chechen , Abkhaz , and various other small groups in the region . Some of their newly acquired Russia less than a century earlier and saw the Germans as liberators .
Oberlander ideas that later materialized in the form of a formation known as the Caucasus volunteers Sonderverband Bergmann , where he later became its first commander . The unit was listed in the guise of an Abwehr formation because Hitler did not at first believe in the use of the citizens of the Soviet Union in a combat role . Formed in Neuhammer by OKW / AMT Ausland Abwehr II , this unit consists of the prisoners of war and deserters Red Army made up of the people of Georgia , Armenia , the North Caucasus , and Azerbaijan . Abwehr II itself is a section of the German military intelligence service responsible for problems penyabotan and fomenting rebellion among the natives .
Sonderverband Bergmann battalion was formed as a strength of about 1,200 people , made up of 300 Germans and 900 Caucasians . The unit itself is divided into five companies : companies to - 1 and 4 consist of the Georgians and Armenians ; 2nd company composed of people of Dagestan ; 3rd company consists of Azerbaijanis ; and companies of the 5th , the company staff officer , charged by the Georgian emigrants .
The unit trained at the training camp in Neuhammer . After that , the volunteers sent to Mittenwald to be trained as an infantry soldier mountain . They were armed with rifles , light machine guns , mortars and anti - tank cannon . According to the German plan , the unit will be used for staged diversion and sabotage . 130 Georgia volunteers among those selected to be trained specifically . They are combined into a single unit called " Tamara " . The duty is fomenting rebellion in Georgia .
In June 1942 , Bergmann Sonderverband placed under the command of 1st Panzer units were ordered to spearhead the German attack in the Caucasus . The unit itself Caucasus volunteers arrived at the battlefield in August and deployed company - his company among the German units and Romania . They are mainly used for " psychological warfare " , where the companies Sonderverband it attracted many residents of the Caucasus to favor Germany . One group even managed to attract 300 deserters from the Red Army , which later merged with the Sonderverband ! So much for the successful campaign of " psychological warfare " made the unit so that between September and November 1942 Sonderverband Bergmann managed to establish four additional companies ( Georgia , North Caucasus , Azerbaijan , and mixtures ) as well as many squadrons of cavalry ( made up of the people of Georgia , Kabardino , Balkar , and so on ) of the Red Army deserters and prisoners as well as local volunteers . Therefore , towards the end of 1942 , the strength of the unit increased to 2,690 people , including 240 of their cadres Germany .
In September 1942 , a number of members Sonderverband Bergmann parachuted into line behind the Soviet Union with the mission of gathering intelligence and sabotage . One of the 25 -strong group of Germans and Chechens led by Hauptmann Lange parachuted into the area of Grozny . In a mission codenamed " Unternehmen Shamil " , they were instructed to stir rebellion among the Chechens and seize and maintain the refineries in Grozny until the arrival of the 1st Panzer unit . However, an attempt to break through the German troops to Grozny between 25 to 27 September 1942 have failed . The mission was canceled and the remnants of a group of special forces who had landed in oilfield Chechen capital was forced to return to base .
Meanwhile , the main group of Sonderverband Bergmann engaged in combat with the Soviet guerrillas in line behind Germany , especially in the Mozdok - Kalchik . They then engage in battle on the front lines against the Red Army . On October 29 , the company to - 1 and 4 is sent to the front Nalchiks company while the 2nd and 3rd sent to Ishcherskoye . Even with persistent fighting , because it does not have heavy weapons and outnumbered compared to the opposing forces , Sonderverband Bergmann suffered heavy casualties .
At the end of December , 1st Panzer units were forced to retreat to the north to avoid cut off from other German forces in southern Russia after the Red Army launched a counterattack at Stalingrad . During the German withdrawal from the Caucasus , Sonderverband Bergmann acted as a guard back row , where they protect the German withdrawal to the peninsula park and destroying various objects industries . They themselves had escaped from the Caucasus through the Kerch Strait and arrived in the Crimea at the end of February 1943 .
In the summer of 1943 , Bergmann Sonderverband upgraded to a regiment consisting of three battalions : 1st Battalion ( Georgia ) , 2nd Battalion ( Azerbaijan ) , and 3rd Battalion ( North Caucasus ) . The unit is then amplified by 270 people from the North Caucasus I.Kaukasiche Luftwaffe Feld - Bataillon .
The defeat suffered by the Germans at Stalingrad cause problems in the body Sonderverband Bergmann . Many of its members demoralized thus easy prey for the Soviet agent who infiltrated into the formation . Some of the major elements of the regiment even almost defected to the Red Army ! But the conspirators , which consists of three officers , three cadet officers , two noncommissioned officers and four soldiers , can be captured by the German Military Police . They were later tried and sentenced to death .
Another problem arises when Oberlander handing out political leaflets calling for a volunteer recruitment East ( Russia ) into the German Army on a large scale . There is also the rationale commander Sonderverband Bergmann 's because he has seen the great potential of the use of Soviet citizens to help defeat the Communist regime when their aspirations are accommodated by the Germans . But thought it was opposed by Nazi officials as too risky . As a result , Hitler then ordered the dismissal of Oberlander .
Between June 1943 until February 1944 , Sonderverband Bergmann was in the Crimea under Commander Army Group A / Crimea . After that , the regiment was divided for the first time when the 2nd Battalion , which had fought briefly under Luftwaffe Field Division of the 5th Corps Unit lxxii 6th German Army along the Bug River in southern Russia during February and early March , was ordered to report to the 2nd Regiment Freiwillige - Stamm - Division ( Division Depot Volunteers ) in Mende , France , on March 12 .
In August , the Azerbaijani battalion moved to Warsaw , where they were involved in the German operation to suppress the uprising in the Polish capital that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians . According to German records , the Azerbaijani soldiers have good skills for such an operation .
Meanwhile , in late October 1943 , the 1st Battalion along with a squadron of cavalry regiment under the command of Bergmann moved to the 153 Infantry Division in Perekop Isthmus . They then engaged a fierce battle against the Red Army during the winter of 1943-1944 . In March 1944, the 1st Battalion and 3rd Bergmann sent to Romania before finally moved to southern Greece , where they served under German LXVIII Corps . There they were reinforced by the remnants Nordkaukasiche Infanterie Bataillon 802 . Both Bergmann battalion itself was in Greece until September 1944.
When the Germans pulled out of Greece , 1st Battalion Bergmann which are under the control of the Luftwaffe Field Division 11th in Macedonia were ordered to retreat to Croatia . In late December 1944 , the battalion then combined with his colleague , 3rd Battalion , in the Visegrad region ( in the southeast of Sarajevo ) . Both battalions were then placed under the command of 181 Infantry Division . In March 1945, the 1st Battalion Syrmia placed under temporary XXXIV Corps 3rd Battalion was in Slavonia under LXXXXI Corps .
On February 12, 1945 , the headquarters of the regiment and squadron Bergmann 13th and 14th they disbanded . But the third battalion continued to operate independently.
Meanwhile , after putting out the Polish uprising in Warsaw , 2nd Battalion Bergmann sent to Modlin and placed under the command of IV SS Panzer Corps . After fighting on the front of the Vistula , in April 1945 they were sent to Denmark and placed under the command of 599 Brigade which fought on the Russian side of Germany . They served in the Scandinavian country until the end of the war . Both of the other battalions fought in Croatia until the end of World War II and surrendered to the Western Allies in Austria .