25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian)

25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian)
Insignia of 25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian)
Active	1944 - 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Allegiance	Adolf Hitler
Branch	Waffen SS
Size	Division

The 25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian) (German language: 25. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS Hunyadi (ungarische Nr.1.)) was a Hungarian unit of the Waffen-SS. It was established on November 2, 1944 in Hungary.

The division personnel was formed from Hungarians, mainly army men, youngsters of Levente Institution and recruits. Officers and NCOs were transferred to the division by the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS as well as the Royal Hungarian Army. Elements of this and the other Hungarian SS division took part in rearguard defence operations around their training base near Neuhammer against the Red Army. The division was still forming when the Red Army reached Silesia, forcing the division to retreat to Bavaria and later to Austria. In Austria it fought against forces from the US Third Army before surrendering 4–5 May near the Attersee.

Commanders

• Oberfuhrer, Thomas Muller
• Gruppenfuhrer, József Grassy

Order of battle

• Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 61
• Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 62
• Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 63
• Waffen Artillery Regiment der SS 25
• Waffen Ski Battalion 25
• SS Division Füsilier Battalion 25
• SS Panzerjäger Battalion 25
• SS Veterinary Company 25
• SS-Feldersatz Battalion 25
• SS Versorgungs Regiment 25

Chronological History

• November 2, 1944: The division formed on paper by SS-Führungshauptamt
• November 18: 10 000 volunteers moved to area Bruck (Austria)
• December 12: Finishing transfer to Neuhammer Training Camp
• December 19: Arms distributed to division
• February 5, 1945: Elements of 25th "Hunyadi" and 26th "Hungaria" combine to form "Hungarian SS Alarm Regiment" under Standartenführer Bela Peinlich.
• This numbers between 2450 and 2600 men in 4 battalions
• Alarm Commander: Standartenfuhrer Bela Peinlich
• (Military operations) Chief Officer: Hauptsturmfuhrer Janos Zoltay
• SS I Waffen – Alarm battalion: Waffen - Hauptsturmfuhrer Erno Solti
• SS II Waffen – Alarm battalion: Waffen - Hauptsturmfuhrer Alajos Duska
• SS III Waffen – Alarm battalion: Waffen - Hauptsturmfuhrer Geza Pataki
• SS IV Waffen – Alarm battalion: Waffen - Hauptsturmfuhrer Gyorgy Hermandy – Berencz
• The 4 companies (sharing equally the heavy weapons) are allocated 2,000 rifles, 70 machine pistols (MP40’s?), 4 heavy machine guns, 21 light machine guns, as well as approximately 50 panzerfausts and 500 grenades. Each soldier was given approximately 200 rounds of ammunition.

I and II battalions are mostly from “Hunyadi” and III and IV are mostly from “Hungaria”.

Early May 1945: The Hunyadi division battle group which has been travelling from Denmark is in Berlin near to the Brandenburg gate and the Spree. They move near the Reichstag to face more Russian divisions. Some men fall in the vicinity of the SS Headquarters at the corner of Berliner Straße and the Kaiserallee. Some of the unit survives by getting out of the city by using the U-Bahn (Underground) but end up getting captured by the Russians. In the fighting 83 men (including 1 officer) were killed. 12 men (including 1 officer) are missing.

References

• Kovács Zoltán András—Számvéber Norbert: A Waffen-SS Magyarországon (The Waffen-SS in Hungary), Paktum, Budapest (2001), ISBN 963-00-8608-5
• Kosaras Péter Ákos: Magyarok a Waffen-SS kötelékében (Hungarians in the Waffen-SS), Nemzetek Európája Kiadó, Budapest (2005), ISBN 963-86489-2-9
• www.hunyadi.co.uk