Panzer Division (initially Motorized) SS Wiking (Ger. 5. SS-Panzerdivision "Wiking" ) is the name of a German tactical association that was part of the Waffen SS from the Second World War. The unit was formed in mid 1940 on the basis of the SS-Standarte Germania regiment. Its first commander was Feliks Steiner. The division was formed not only of Germans, but also volunteers from countries such as Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Norway. The origin of its soldiers, mainly from northern Europe, could also explain its name. The division began its combat route by taking part in Operation Barbarossa of 1941, when it fought in the Army Group South in Ukraine, where it reaches the Don and Mius rivers. In 1942, the division continued to fight in the south of the USSR, carrying out the so-called Fall Blau. At the end of this year, the unit took part in an operation aimed at capturing Grozny in Chechnya, but was completely defeated. At the end of 1942, the Viking SS Division managed to withdraw from the Caucasus. In 1943, he successfully fought at Kharkiv and participated in the Battle of Kursk, and later in repelling the Soviet counter-offensive. In 1944, she took part in anti-partisan activities in Poland and fought with the Red Army in the Warsaw region. At the beginning of 1945, the division fought in Hungary and ended its combat route in Austria by surrendering to the Allied forces. The soldiers of the division during the fighting on the Eastern Front committed numerous war crimes and participated in the crime of genocide committed against the Jewish population.
Panzergrenadier is a German term for a formation of panzer grenadiers, i.e. infantry units trained to fight in close cooperation with their own tanks. This term was officially used in 1942, when infantry divisions were renamed grenadier divisions and motorized infantry divisions into panzer grenadier divisions. It is worth adding that in the years 1937-1942, the Schützen Regiment was used to describe the infantry regiments serving in armored units. Theoretically, the basic equipment of armored grenadier divisions was to be armored half-tracked transporters, especially Sd.Kfz.251, but due to insufficient production, these infantry were often transported by trucks. As a standard, an armored grenadier division consisted of three infantry regiments, two battalions in each regiment and numerous support units, including anti-tank, anti-aircraft, sapper and communication units. Self-propelled guns, such as the StuG III, were often used in these formations. It is worth adding that the armored grenadier divisions were formed not only in the Wehrmacht, but also in the Waffen SS - for example the Totenkopf Division or the Hohenstaufen Division.
