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Oxtane -> Cossack details (5/6/2002 1:26:39 AM)
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Prof,
Here is some more info for you from "The Calvary of World War II" Janusz Piekalkiewicz.
The German army was boosted in 1943 by the creation of a Cossack Cavalry Division under the leadership of Lt-Gen von Pannwitz. Later it became the 2nd Div and was subsequently combined with the 3rd Div, which was being formed during the later stages of the war and became the XV Cossack Calvary Corps.
Cossack horses were contorlled by weight of pressure and the "Nagaika" - the Cossacks thick plaited whip. The officers wore spurs as they had in the time of the Tsars. Curbs were scarcely used at all; the snaffle alone was suited to the Cossack style of riding. The horses were superbly trained. They would obey one rider alone, his voice or his whistle. There were about 160 Germans on the staff of a Cossack regiment of about 2000 horsemen. There were also "welfare officers" who looked after the Cossacks.
1st Cossack Div:
With the Von Pannwitz Mounted Force (formed on Nov 15, 1942) as part of Army group A) as the headquarters staff, two units were added on Aug 4, 43 to form a division. These were the Cossack Platow Cav Reg and the Von Jungschultz Cav Reg (formerly Prince von Urach).
1st Brigade. CO-Colonel Wagner - 1st Don Cossack Reg, 4th Kuban Cossack Reg, 2nd Siberian Cossack Reg, Caucaus Artillery Batalion.
2nd Brigade. CO-Colonel von Schulz. 3rd Kuban Cossack Reg, 5th Don Cossack Reg, 6th Terek Cossack Reg, Caucaus Artillery Battalion.
These two brigades were converted into division during the later months of 1943, with a fresh distribution of divisional troops and laster formed the Cossack Corps with Lt Gen von Pannwitz as commanding general. Both divisions saw action in 1944 in Croatia against Tito's partisans. The divisional command of the 2nd Div was stationed at Novo Gradiska. Except for the 5th Don Cossack Reg, which was led by the old Cossack General Kononov, all the regiments had German commanders. The language of command used in all regiments was Russian.
In December 1944, the Cossack Div was taken over by the Waffen-SS and converted by the SS command to form the 1st and 2nd Cossck Divisons of the XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps on Apr 30, 45.
2nd Cossack Cavalry Div:
The 2nd Cossack was taken over by the Waffen-SS. It included the 3rd Kuban Cossack Reg, the 5th Don Cossack Reg, the 6th Terek Cossack Reg, and the 2nd Divisional units.
Uniforms: There were two types of Cossack headress:
Kubankas - the traditional fur caps of the Kuban and Terek Cossacks
Papaschas - the taller caps of the Don Cossacks.
Officers fur caps were made of astrakhan or black lambs skin, with the badge of the German Army in the front. The Siberian Cossacks wore white fur caps. The fur was topped by cloth, in each case in the appropriate colour for the army the man came from. All ranks wore a silver embroidered cross on top of their caps. The Cossacks spurned the use of steel helments, even in action.
From 1944, the 2nd Div wore the uniform and badges of the German Army-that is, normal service blouse with braided collar; shoulder straps and the national emblem, and the badge of the appropriate army unit. For the Cossack regiments, the service colour was yellow-gold for the cavalry and bright red for the artillery. Badgesand symbols of rank were German, with Cossack NCOs and sergeant majors wearing silver-braided collars.
Various members of the Cossack regiments wore a special badge on their left sleeve-a diagonally quartered shield in two colours, with a field grey strip on its upper edge adorned with the Cyrillic initial of the relevant army in light grey. Officers wore officers brown belts, and other ranks had normal army belts. Often they would carry a Shashka-the Cossack sabre with a brass handle but no hand-guard, and black leather sheath. They wore either field-grey or dark blue riding breeches with a stripe down the outer seam, plus black riding boots with strap-on spurs.
Both in and out of service the Cossacks wore Purkas - stiff capes of black pressed camel's hair. The purka was held by a buckle atthe neck. When riding, it would cover the horse from the saddle to the croup, providing protection from damp and cold. The so-called Baschlyk, a big hood with two long scarf-like ends, worn round the neck and tied with a cord, would flutter from the shoulders during the ride.
From 1942, the Cossacks had been eligible for a decoration for "bravery and merit of the peoples of the east", and later they were also awarded the normal German medals.
Hope this is enough info for you! LOL
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