Hi,
I hope this puts to rest a controversy about a quote I have in my signature line.
Does anyone out their have the 2 part books by Mark Yerger, entitled Waffen-SS Commanders- Army, Corps and Division? In Part 2, Kruger to Zimmermann, go to Felix Steiner's section and you will see "Sweat saves Blood". This was about his philosophy of training troops hard in basic training so they will survive on the battlefield.
I hope this will let some people know that I do a lot of reading and a lot of research. And I try to get my information from neutral sources.



Chris- I gotta clue

Letter (3 April 1944): later published in War As I Knew It (1947) This was also used in his famous "Speech to the Third Army" in June 1944. The phrase is similar to one attributed to Erwin Rommel, "Sweat saves blood, blood saves lives, and brains saves both", and to an even older one by August Willich: "A drop of sweat on the drill ground will save many drops of blood on the battlefield" from The Army: Standing Army or National Army? (1866)
http://www.generalpatton.org/

If I remember correctly, Felix Steiner and his Wiking Division was never charged for any warcrimes, neither was the Nordland Division....
Were they better than the other SS Divisions??

Hi,
Herbert-Otto Gille replaced Steiner as division commander. Gille won the oakleaves, swords and brilliants to the Knight's Cross. Steiner went on to command the III SS-Panzerkorps "Germanische".

Wiking , Nordland and Gotz von Berlichingen were considered the fairest of the Waffen-SS. These three divisions had no war crimes charges against them. The only ones I believe.

Chris

Wiking didn't have crimes against them at Nurenburg, but there are well documented cases of atrocities and war crimes on the eastern front. But yes, it does have one of the better reputations and haas a thriving veterans organization here in Germany.

Reply for Jan




What criteria can we use to establish whether one Division is better than another? In the case of teh Wiking verses the other Waffen -SS premier divisions it is hard to judge simply based on the length of time the other premier Divisions were active before the Wiking was formed.

Do we judge them by the number of awards they won? If so i think Das Reich won the most medals, so does that make them the best? The Leibstandarte had the highest scoring Panzer Ace in Michael Wittmann, does that make them the best? Or do we judge them on how many war crimes they are accused of committing? If so then the Wiking would not be top of that list, so does that suggest they were the best?

Personally, i think it is a very difficult task to say which division was the best .I could nominate the Leibstandarte simply based on their perfroamnce at Kharkov '43 and Zitadelle '43. But what about the Wikings performance in the defence of Warsaw, of the relief attack on Budapest. How do we quantify the "best" in those circumstances?

I think it is safe to say that any of the premier Waffen-SS divisions, are worthy of respect for their battlefield achievments, but the war crimes many of them committted will forever tarnish the ultimate sacrifice of the men who fought in the Waffen-SS.

Regards from the Swamp

Hawkeye