Totenkopf SS Division

Gary Grigsby’s War in the East: The German-Soviet War 1941-1945 is a turn-based World War II strategy game stretching across the entire Eastern Front. Gamers can engage in an epic campaign, including division-sized battles with realistic and historical terrain, weather, orders of battle, logistics and combat results.

The critically and fan-acclaimed Eastern Front mega-game Gary Grigsby’s War in the East just got bigger and better with Gary Grigsby’s War in the East: Don to the Danube! This expansion to the award-winning War in the East comes with a wide array of later war scenarios ranging from short but intense 6 turn bouts like the Battle for Kharkov (1942) to immense 37-turn engagements taking place across multiple nations like Drama on the Danube (Summer 1944 – Spring 1945).

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Titanwarrior89
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Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Titanwarrior89 »

What does- Totenkopf-mean?
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Mifune
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Mifune »

Deaths Head
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Adam Parker
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Adam Parker »

Identifiable by their wearing the deaths head on their lapels rather than SS runes.

The unit also provided the guard manpower for the Concentration Camps.
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Titanwarrior89 »

Thanks guys.[:)]
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by turska »

ORIGINAL: Adam Parker

Identifiable by their wearing the deaths head on their lapels rather than SS runes.

The unit also provided the guard manpower for the Concentration Camps.

I think it was so that Totenkopf division was formed from SS-Totenkopfverbände wich provided manpower to concentration camps. Also wounded men from the division were used as a camp guards for lighter duty until recovered for front line duty.
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by kfmiller41 »

Now there is a light duty assignment you don't see every day[:-]
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by hgilmer3 »

Does anyone have a picture of one of them in their uniform?  Would like to see how it looked.
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Terminus »

Nothing different about their uniforms from other Waffen SS units, aside from the death's head replacing the SS runes:


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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Titanwarrior89 »

What is the breast plate on the soldier to the top left?
ORIGINAL: Terminus

Nothing different about their uniforms from other Waffen SS units, aside from the death's head replacing the SS runes:


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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Montbrun »

Feldgendarmerie - Military Police - also known as "Chained Dogs" because of the gorget that they wear.
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Cerion »


Is from the Feldgendarmerie (Military Police).
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Titanwarrior89 »

Ive spent most of my gaming time over the years with the Pacific-Civilwar-Scifi. I am going to have to get on line and study the german military rank structure.
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by hgilmer3 »

This is a great informative thread. Thanks.
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by raizer »

Well totenkoph was formed from men that worked the camps.  Its first commander, pappa Eicke (the guy who put a bullet in Ersnts Rohms head) was the original commander at Dachau and later  became the inspector of the entire camp system....so other big wigs in the SS were forming waffen units-Das Riech and LAH were formed up prior to Totenkoph and Toten's noobness showed in France.  They were average at best...in fact there are numerous reports of them refusing to fight, cowering to french/brit fire.  In any case they were terribly ill trained at first,  below average troops who were an undisciplined lot.  Totenkoph was responsible for 2 massacres of british soldiers who surrendered after running out of ammo.  The brits inflicted heavy causalities and after they gave up, Totenkoph lined them up against the farm walls and Mg'd 200 of them.  After the war the regimental commander was hung by the brits.  So dont let anyone try to tell you that the Eastern front was responsible for hardening the Waffen SS...they were committing atrocities in France '40.

Now Eicke realized he was embarrassing the SS and had to get his troops some real combat leaders- so by the time the Russian War rolled around, Totenkoph was well trained, well equipped and very well led-made all the difference because it became a true fire brigade-brutal, tireless and a real force multiplier...
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Smirfy »


Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death's Head Division, 1933-1945 by Charles W. Sydnor

Title is a bit misleading as it is nowhere near as detailed after Eicke's death in 43 as before but still a good read.
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Puhis »

All that reminds me of this Mitchell & Webb sketch. They are SS soldiers wondering "why skulls???"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEle_DLDg9Y
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Terminus »

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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by notenome »

The only atrocity I know of Das Reich comiting in France is in 44, the destruction of the village during a partisan hunting operation. As far as I know, the only Waffen-SS unit to commit atrocities in 40 was Totenkopf. As for Tontenkopf's performance, they suposedly fought fanatically, suffered incredibly heavy losses, but that is in great part due to them running headlong into Allied tanks that were impervious to their AT weapons (they improvised and used artillery in a direct fire role, foreshadowing what was to come on the eastern front). They did take 16k prisoners at Cambrai, and by the time of the French surrender they had reached the Spanish border, which is fairly impressive. As for panicking, I don't know of a single combat formation that doesn't have reports of soldiers and officers panicking, especially when the division is green. Just part of the deal.
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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Walloc »

Just for infomations sake the skulls thing isnt some thing that was "invented" by the SS.

It has been used since Frederick the Great in the prussian military. Most famously by the "deathhead hussars". Also other nations has used it among poles in 1920s and baltic states.

More info on

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopf

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RE: Totenkopf SS Division

Post by Terminus »

Well, duh.
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