SS uniforms used a variety of insignia, the most standard of which were collar patches, to denote rank, and shoulder knots (which acted as shoulder boards), to denote both rank and position, along with sleeve cuff titles and "sleeve diamond" patches, to indicate membership in specific branches of the SS. Himmler's military formations at the outbreak of the war comprised several subgroups that would become the basis of the Waffen-SS:

The East Pomeranian Offensive lasted from 24 February to 4 April, in Pomerania and West Prussia. The Waffen-SS units involved were the 11th SS Nordland, 20th SS Estonian, 23rd SS Nederland, 27th SS Langemark, and 28th SS Wallonien Divisions all in the III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps and the X SS Corps, which did not command any SS units. [150] Kershaw, Ian (2008). Hitler: A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06757-6. Hannes, Heer; Naumann, Klaus (2000). War of Extermination: The German Military in World War II 1941–1944. Berghahn. ISBN 1-57181-232-6. Under the above system, basic SS troopers were organized into 10-man Staffeln, each under the authority of a Staffelführer. SS districts, known as SS-Gaus, were under the authority of a Gauführer while all SS district leaders answered to a national leader of the SS called the Reichsführer, at this time Josef Berchtold. [9] In line with the Führerprinzip ("leader principle") of the Nazi Party's ideology, the word Führer was incorporated into all ranks except those for basic SS troopers. Artur Phleps, a former Romanian general who joined the Waffen-SS, raised and commanded the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen then rose to command the V SS Mountain Corps which fought the Yugoslav Partisans. [177]

Open Library

Tessin, Georg (1970). Die Landstreitkräfte 15–30. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945 (in German). Vol.4. Leipzig: Mittler. SS uniforms of World War II (1939–1945) [ edit ] SS rank insignia for enlisted personnel and officers SS senior and general officer rank insignia, before (top row) and after (bottom row) April 1942

Schutzstaffel der NSDAP, SS Officers List, Berlin (1942), Reprinted by Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA (2000) Ustinow, D. F (1981). Geschichte des zweiten Weltkrieges 1939–1945 (in German). Vol.X. Berlin: Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik. Pieper, Henning (2015). Fegelein's Horsemen and Genocidal Warfare: The SS Cavalry Brigade in the Soviet Union. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-45631-1.Balkans [ edit ] Troops of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Division advancing into the Balkans, 1941 Wiederschein, Harald (21 July 2015). "Mythos Waffen-SS: Von wegen "blonde Götter" - Hitlers Elitetruppen sind bis heute überschätzt"[Myth of the Waffen-SS: Because of the "blond gods" – Hitler's elite troops are still overrated]. Focus (in German) . Retrieved 22 September 2018.

a b c d e f "Richtlinien zur Aufstellung von 'Schutzstaffeln' der Nationalsozialistischen Deutschen Arbeiter-Partei", August 26, 1926, in: Longerich, Peter: Heinrich Himmler, Biografie, Siedler, München2008, ISBN 978-3-88680-859-5, p.120 Wilke, Karsten (2011). Die "Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit" (HIAG) 1950–1990: Veteranen der Waffen-SS in der Bundesrepublik[ HIAG 1950–1990: Waffen-SS veterans in the Federal Republic] (in German). Paderborn: Schoeningh Ferdinand GmbH. ISBN 978-3-506-77235-0. Farmer, Sarah (1994). Oradour: Arrêt sur mémoire (in French). Paris: Calmann-Lévy. ISBN 978-2-70212-316-4.Another result of the Stennes Revolt was Hitler's recall of his old Putsch comrade Ernst Röhm from South America to take over the day-to-day running of the SA with the title of SA-Stabschef. While Hitler thought that this would bind the SA more firmly to him, Röhm had other ambitions, including the conversion of the paramilitary Sturmabteilung into an army. With his expansions, promotions, and changes to the SA, a revision of the SA rank system was required although the uniforms and titles essentially stayed the same. The first major change was the addition of new ranks modeled on the original titles created in 1928 but with the addition of "senior" and "head" designators ( ober and haupt): these were Oberscharführer, Obertruppführer and Sturmhauptführer. The new rank insignia were created by adding a silver stripe to the collar pips of the next-lower rank. In 1924, while the Nazi Party was legally banned following the Beer Hall Putsch, Frontbann (underground SA) leader Gerhard Roßbach located a large store of war-surplus brown denim shirts in Austria, originally intended for tropical uniforms. [4] When the SA (which included the nascent SS) was re-founded in 1925 following Hitler's release from prison, these brown shirts were issued as uniforms.

On 26 May, the German advance resumed. On 27 May, the Deutschland Regiment of the SS-VT Division reached the Allied defensive line on the Leie River at Merville. They forced a bridgehead across the river and waited for the SS Totenkopf Division to arrive to cover their flank. What arrived first was a unit of British tanks, which penetrated their position. The SS-VT managed to hold on against the British tank force, which got to within 15 feet of commander Felix Steiner's position. Only the arrival of the Totenkopf Panzerjäger platoon saved the Deutschland Regiment from being destroyed and their bridgehead lost. [57] By this time, with influences from the Stahlhelm, the SA leadership adopted its first collar insignia and also added a new SA rank of Standartenführer (" standard leader") in charge of regiment-sized Standarten (incorporating the company sized Staffeln); the SS at this time adopted the same rank as well. Mitcham, Samuel (2001). The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders. Greenwood. ISBN 0-313-31640-6. At the higher end of the organization, in 1928 the SA Gau-Stürme were restructured into regional Gruppen, each commanded by a leader with a new general-officer rank, Gruppenführer; its insignia was the three oak leaf collar patch. At this time the former rank of Gauführer was renamed Oberführer ("senior leader").Hastings, Max (2006) [1985]. Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy. Vintage. ISBN 0-307-27571-X.