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Reichskommissariat Kaukasus

Reichskommissariat Kaukasus (Caucasus in English) was the name given to Nazi Germany's theoretical political division and supposed civilian occupation regime in conquered territories of the Caucasus inside the Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line during World War II.

Theoretical planning of German Caucasian province

Reichskommissariat Kaukasus theoretically included all territories outside of Reichskomissariats Ukraine, and Moscow: parts of Voronezh and Saratov, Stalingrad, Rostov, Krasnodar, Maykop and Stavropol in the east, controlling: Astrakhan, Elista and Makhachkala in the center and Grozny, Nalchik, Vladikavkaz, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia near the Turkish frontier. Civil administration of the territory was to be in Stalingrad (Tsaritsin).

Planners theorised about a possible advance to western Kazakhstan to secure the eastern frontiers. German plans to capture western Kazakhstan certainly existed as railway nets and territories in west Central Asian countries along lines of advance to the Middle East in order to aid the Afrika Korps in the African Campaign, with the additional purpose of seizing Persia.

Linked to these plans, the German Army planners conceived some operations to project Operation Barbarossa on a greater scale, extending to the Caucasus area, and other extensions of Barbarossa including Turkey, Iraq and Persia. Also, during General Von Kleist's Invasion (Operation Blue) of the Caucasus, there were German units (including certain Arabs, Caucasians and Central Asian SS volunteer groups) whose goal was to occupy the Caucasus region and Central Asia, enlarging General Erwin Rommel's forces in Alexandria via the Middle East. In relation to a German Persian invasion, a tripartite military pact was signed on January 18, 1942, where the three Axis Powers agreed to draw an operational line of demarcation at 70° east longitude (west of Bombay), which also was the frontier of their respective spheres of influence.

There was a power struggle between Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, the Mufti of Jerusalem, and Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, ex-Prime Minister of Iraq, for the control and political objectives of Arabian units (also known as "Legion Freier Araber" or "Arabian Korps"). It was sent to the Caucasus region in September 1942 for the planned invasion of the Arab lands and saw action against the Red Army.

The German regime was planning to encourage settlement of Germans in the region after the war ended, together with repatriating certain ethnic Germans to the territory; for example Herbert Backe was born in Batum, Georgia, to ethnic German parents. The alleged motives were that the region was the residence of ancient German Goth tribes, control of rich oil fields in Krasnodar, Maykop, Grozny and Baku and also the rich Ural mineral resources.

This planning did not advance much further than preliminary discussions and paper planning, due to the advance of Red Army forces during the war.

German Caucasian campaign

"Kaukasus - hin und zurück" (Caucasus - there and back) was an ironic motto of the German soldiers, when the Caucasus campaign was ending. The German invasion of Caucasus took only six months - in August 1942, the Wehrmacht occupied vast territories in this area, and evacuated under Soviet pressure between January and February 1943. The campaign was the southern extension of "Fall Blau" (Operation Blue) and also included the Battle of Stalingrad within Operation Barbarossa. Another objective was to put into practice the political aims of thinkers and planners for the creation of the "Reichskomissariat Kaukasus".

The German plan for the Caucasus was particularly ambitious, and was combined with the capture of Stalingrad, in order to gain control of the oil resources of the region. After the encirclement of Stalingrad, the German forces advanced into the Caucasus proper, beginning in July 1942, with the Soviet loss of Rostov, followed by the disorderly Russian retreat from the Kuban zone and territory of the North Caucasus. The advance possessed qualities of the "Blitzkrieg" tactic, with heavy aircraft, mobile artillery and armoured support against which the Soviets offered only sparse and sporadic resistance in the river valleys without any significant results, due to the absence of their own artillery and aircraft support.

The primary German objectives of Baku and Grozny, denying the Volga route to the Russians, was also a strategic objective of the Stalingrad campaign, which would have dealt the Russian logistical system a severe blow.

Russian accounts mention the desperation of local residents, and the roads in combat zones full with refugees, accompanied by their cattle, domestic animals or crops, and other property. Others attacked trains in stations. The Soviets were unable to coordinate a plan for removing their industrial infrastructure and petrol installations, but applied the defensive tactic of "scorched earth". The Russian Army caused some damage to local factories and burned petrol and gasoline depots; they also exploded the petrol pit towers in Maykop. German engineers promptly repaired such damage in order to return the local industry to production.

The Wehrmacht attack in the Caucasus proceeded on several fronts:

In the east, a thrust towards Grozny, and then on to the Caspian Sea coast at Baku.
An attack towards Vladikavkaz (Orjonikidze), crossing the Caucasus Range, and advancing down the ancient Georgian Military Road, into Transcaucasia. Moving into Ossetia, other German units advanced on Klukhor, Marukh and the Sancharo mountain passes to establish a route between Sochi and Sukhumi. The Germans planned to occupy all of Transcaucasia down to the Turkish frontier.
In the west, advances on the Black Sea at Novorossisk, and further south at Tuapse, preparing to control the Black Sea coast as far as Batumi.

Other strategists analyzed another simplified plan where Nazi forces were to be concentrated in the East Caucasus area, positioned to advance to Grozny and Baku. The strategists hoped some units of the German forces could be maintained in reserve for the so-called 1942 Barbarossa extension from the Caucasus to the Middle East and Persia, eventually to link up with Rommel's forces in Egypt.

On August 20, 1942 "Heeresgruppe A" of Von Kleist was ordered to advance to the west to the Black Sea coasts, to capture Krasnodar the capital of Kuban and Maykop, the third largest petrol center in the Caucasus. For inner west, the Wehrmacht if running over route in the direction of Grozny and Baku the other important petrol centers. More petrol installations and industrial centers were falling into German hands intact or lightly damaged during the Russian disorder retreat from the area. In the same month German forces captured the Taman Peninsula and partially the Novorossisk naval base, and continued their advance to Tuapse, the real key for domination of the Soviet Black Sea coast. In other German efforts units attempted to advance to Grozny and Tbilisi to establish another route, then met the Russians in Mozdok in the south.

In 1942, when Axis forces invaded the Volga Basin area, Hitler rejoiced with the idea of seizing the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, a considerable prize. If stay at at East with railway nets which offered the Nazis excellent ways to flank the Allied positions in Syria and Iraq and run to British India to establish contact with Japanese.

On November 2, 1942, they captured Nalchik, capital of Kabardo-Balkiar, for pressured to Vladikavkaz (Orjonikidze), capital of Ossetia north of the Georgian military pass. en route to Grozny in the south west area. Later the Germans decided to remain defensive in their posts at Mozdok and Nalchik waiting for the spring of 1943 to retake the offensive if the Stalingrad operations were successful.

The German units in Elista sent a light armored group on a recon mission to nearby Astrakhan, also Sandovska and Senseli, towns near Astrakhan. Similarly another unit attempted a recon mission from the Vladikavkaz-Grozny sector to Azerbaijan territory; another success was a Wehrmacht high mountain section from the Karachai-Cherkess area, raising Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Ranges. Some accounts mention a German visit to Mount Kazbek in North Ossetia.

German undercover operations in the Caucasian Campaign

The capture of the Maykop petrol pits, was another success of the Brandenburger Regiment. They were also known as "Lehr und Bau Kompagnie z.b.V.800" (Special Duty Training and Construction Company N° 800) or "Ebbinghaus Battalion", an armed branch of the "Abwehr".

They posed as "enemy" (Slavs and Baltics, among others) and Baron Adrian von Folkersam personally led the undercover section, disguised with "NKVD" uniforms with some "Red Army" deserters. He pretended to be "Major Truschin" from "Stalingrad" accompanied by his men, explained their role to recover deserters to the Soviet Commander in Maykop. The Russian General, believing their story, gave him a personal tour of the city defenses. By August 8, the German Army was only away so the "Brandenburgers" made their secret move. Using hand grenades to simulate an "artillery attack", these unit knocked out the Communications Center outside the city perimeter. Folkersam then went to the Russian defenders and told them that a "withdrawal" was taking place. Having seen Folkersam with their commander and lacking any communications to rebut or confirm his statement, Soviets began to evacuate Maykop; followed by the German advance which entered the city without a fight on August 9, 1942.

Caucasian and Cossack collaborators with the German Cause

When they invaded the Caucasus, the Germans attributed great importance to "natural disaffection" for Moscow on the part of the diverse Caucasian nationalities: Georgians, Armenians, Azeris, Kalmyks, overall at Kuban Cossacks. The Russians posed more preoccupations of Caucasian natives, more much respect for Islamic nationalities in the area and Central Asia more specifically for Uzbeks.

Unlike the German civil authorities, the Wehrmacht saw the Caucasians and Cossacks as potential friends, rather than considering them "Untermenschen". The German Army organized Caucasian and Cossack native police forces, promised agrarian reforms, the return to private properties, and recruited 25,000 Cossacks for service in the Wehrmacht under the command of the German General Helmuth von Pannwitz.

Adolf Hitler expected Turkey to enter the war, to advance from the Caucasus to the Middle East, with the formation of Islamic fighting units in the Caucasus, along with Arabian and other Islamic legions, taking part in the task of attracting the Middle East into the Nazi influence zone. Alfred Rosenberg mentioned the Berlin-Tbilisi Axis, and during the German invasion some Georgians, Armenians and others arrived to serve in their own countries. The Nazis established contact with some nationalities - Kalmyks, Chechens, Ingushes, Balkars, Karachays, Kabardins, Balkars and others. In Kalmykia was organized, with Prince Tundotov's patronage, some military units; in Karachai the population organized the Karachai National Committee in support of German policies. Germans in Islamic North Caucasus lands applied "liberal" policies: return of confiscated goods, the abolition of the Soviet kolkhoz system, the opening of mosques and temples, and some compensation for confiscated goods.

Regarding Muslims and Caucasian supporters the "Führer" commented to Martin Bormann: "Be astounded, Bormann!, I am a religious convert". Bormann responded: "always thought you were religious mein Führer"; Hitler said: "Promptly was great chief of Tatars, also exist Arabs and Moroccans who prayed for my name in their prayers. Between Tatars, if convert to "Khan", the unique thing why sense incapable to share was the "Metchiu" of "Sheiks". Their debt to eximed to meat, I am Vegetarian if no awaited much time, I to recoup me, with the "Harens".

In accord with the Wehrmacht such policies were for gaining these populations, with their own "intachable conduct" towards local women. In Karachai locals celebrated the "Bairam" feast, a great Muslim celebration on October 11th in Kislovodsk. The German high ranking officers receiving rich gifts from locals and they promised the implementation of liberal policies to gained their support against Soviet forces. On December 18, in Nalchik they celebrated the "Kurman" ceremony, capital of Kabardino-Balkaria. Other times, they exchanged gifts with notable locals who offered beautiful horses and received some captured Russian weapons and copies of the Koran. Otto Brautingam representing the German East civil authority led by Alfred Rosenberg gave an emotive public speech to praise the "eternal links" between German and Caucasian peoples. A local prince offered a beautiful horse as a personal gift to the German Führer.

Exactly two months later at an emotional ceremony in February 1943, the Germans abandoned Nalchik and started moving westward. Numbers of native collaborators and soldiers from their Caucasian friends followed during the retreat to the northern area. The greatest project of Middle East conquest with Caucasia Islamic support had vanished.

Russian Caucasian counteroffensive

The Red Army started its offensive, striking east from the Black Sea to Krasnodar, with unified effort with Russian Southern group to close the Rostov breach, to prevent the exit the enemy troops from the Taman Peninsula to the Crimea. But the Germans moved support forces from Caucasus to the Zimovniki-Salks-Tikhoretsk Triangle to prevent the Russian advance over Rostov and Tikhoretsk. General Manstein responded to the Soviet offensive in Kotelnikovo. The Soviet Black Sea group was in severe difficulties too, until February 12, when they retook the offensive.

German forces organized a strategic withdrawal when encircled by the Red Army Transcaucasian Front and North Caucasian Front, from combat in Mozdok. Soviet forces captured some German equipment including 1500 rail wagons in Mineralnye Vody, abandoned in retreat. The majority of German formations took the route to Rostov, via the Taman Peninsula.

Adolf Hitler was interested in maintaining the Taman Peninsula, as a possible "springboard" for future operations in the Caucasus area. So the Wehrmacht forces deployed 400,000 men to protect this land; these units changed the course of success in the Don river Battles and Eastern Ukraine campaign. In the long run this decision was futile, and German forces had to retreat from the Caucasus area. Germans could not apply the accustomed "Scorched Land" policy for their rapid retreat, only damaged some numbers of little cities and towns, along with the confiscation or "buying" of great quantities of cattle and farming resources in the Kuban region.

During the Von Manstein withdrawal, a considerable number of Caucasians, Crimean Tatars and Kossacks (or Pseudokossacks) followed in exodus in December 1943. A large number of such collaborators served in districts German units through the conflict until Berlin. General Krasnov and Vasili Glazkov, for the Kossacks, and the Prince Tundotov for Kalmuks, among others remained supporters.

The Russians took revenge on the collaborators from 1943, when they ordered the expulsion of all active or passive aides to the German cause, among other severe measures.

Cossacks, Crimean and Caucasian volunteer units in German forces

Arabian volunteers

Deutsch-Arabische Lehr Abteilung (Arabian Volunteers)
Deutsch-Arabisches Bataillon Nr 845 (Arab Volunteers)
Osttürkischer Waffen-Verband der SS or 1.Ostmuselmanisches SS-Regiment (Arabs, Turks and other Middle East volunteers)
Freiwilligen-Stamm-Regiment 1 (Turks volunteers)

Azerbaijani,Georgian and Armenians volunteers

Armenische Legion (Armenian volunteers)
30.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (russische Nr. 2)(Armenians, Tatars Volunteers units)
Azerbajdjanische Legion or Kaukasisch-Mohammedanische Legion (Azerbaijani volunteers)
Sonderverband Bergmann (Georgian and Azerbaijani Volunteers)
Georgische Legion (Georgian volunteers but also included volunteers from other peoples of the region)
Freiwilligen-Stamm-Regiment 1 (Georgians volunteers)
Freiwilligen-Stamm-Regiment 2 (Armenians & Azerbaijanis)
SS-Waffengruppe Georgien (Georgian volunteers)
SS-Waffengruppe Aserbeidschan (Azeri volunteers)
SS-Waffengruppe Armenien (Armenians volunteers)
Waffen-Gruppe Aserbaijan(Azeri volunteers)
I.Sonderverband Bergmann Battalion (Georgian volunteers)
II.Sonderverband Bergmann Battalion (Azerbaijani volunteers)

North Caucasian volunteers

Kaukasischer-Waffen-Verband der SS or Freiwilligen Brigade Nordkaukasien (volunteers from the North Caucasus region)
Nordkaukasische Legion (volunteers from the North Caucasus region)
Freiwilligen-Stamm-Regiment 1 (North Caucasians volunteers)
SS-Waffengruppe Nordkaukasus (North Caucasian volunteers)

Central Asian volunteers

16 (Turkistan) Infanterie-Division (Turkestani Volunteers)
Muselmanischen SS-Division Neu-Turkistan (Turkestani volunteers)
Turkestanische Legion (volunteers from Central Asia Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Turkomen, Dagestanis and Chechens).
Böhler-Brigade (Turkestani volunteers)
1.Turkestanisches-Arbeits-Bataillon (Turkestani volunteers)
2.Turkestanisches-Arbeits-Bataillon (Turkestani volunteers)
3.Turkestanisches-Arbeits-Bataillon (Turkestani volunteers)
Turkestanisches-Arbeits-Ersatz-Bataillon (Turkestani volunteers)
Waffen-Gruppe Turkistan (Central Asian volunteers)

Tatar Volunteers

SS-Waffengruppe Idel-Ural (Turkic volunteers from Volga/Ural area)

Kalmukian volunteers

Kalmüken Verband Dr. Doll (Kalmukian Volunteers)
Abwehrtrupp 103 (Kalmukian Volunteers)
Kalmücken-Legion or Kalmücken-Kavallerie-Korps (Kalmukian Volunteers)

Tatars volunteers

Waffen-Gebirgs-Brigade der SS (Tatar Nr. 1) (Tatarian Volunteers)
30.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (russische Nr. 2)(Armenians, Tatars Volunteers units)
Wolgatatarische Legion (Volga Tatars but also of other volunteers from the region)
Tataren-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment der SS (Crimean tatar volunteers)
Waffen-Gruppe Krim (Tatar crimean volunteers)
Schutzmannschaft Bataillone (Crimean Tatar volunteers)

Cossack volunteers

1.Kosaken-Kavallerie-Division (Volunteers from cossacks in Cherson, from February 1945 XV.Kosaken-Kavallerie-Korps
Kosaken-Reiter-Brigade Kaukasus II (Caucasus Cossack Volunteers)
Kuban-Kosaken-Reiter-Regiment 3 (Kuban Cossack volunteers)
Don-Kosaken-Reiter-Regiment 5 (Don Cossack volunteers)
Terek-Kosaken-Reiter-Regiment 6 (Terek Cossack volunteers)
Kosaken-Artillerie-Regiment 2 (Caucasian Cossack volunteers)
Sibirisches Kosaken-Reiter-Reigment 2 (Siberian Cossack volunteers)
XV.Kosaken-Kavallerie-Korps (Kotelnikovo Cossack volunteers)
Freiwilligen-Stamm-Regiment 5 (Cossack volunteers)

Caucasian mixed volunteers unit

Freiwilligen-Stamm-Division (Georgians, Turks, North Caucasians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis Volunteers)

Caucasian, Central Asian, Krimean and Ural mixed volunteers

Waffen-Gruppe Turkistan
Waffen-Gruppe Idel-Ural
Waffen-Gruppe Azerbaijan
Waffen-Gruppe Krim

Propaganda newspapers between Caucasian and Kossack units

Aserbaidschan (Azerbaizhan)

Azerbajçan - Aserbaidschanische Legionäre

Kalmyken (Kalmukia)

Kalmyckij Boec (Der kalmykische Kämpfer)-Kalmykisches Kavallerie-Korps

Kosaken (Kossack Nation)

Kosaken-Illustrierte (trilingual) - 1.Kosaken-Kavalleriedivision
La terra dei cosacchi (Das Land der Kosaken)- Cossack units in upper Italy

Krimtürken (Crimean Turks)

Kirim (Krim)-Weekly paper for the Crimean Turk volunteers, Berlin 1944-1945

Tataren (Tatar nation)

Deutsch-tatarisches Nachrichtenblatt (bilingual) - Wolgatatarische Legion, Monthly publication, Berlin 1944-1945

Turkestaner(Central Asian nation)

Yeni Türkistan (Neues Turkestan) - Turkestanische Legionäre
Svoboda (Die Freiheit) -162.Turk-Division
Türk Birligi (Türkische Einheit) - Osttürkischer Waffen-Verband der SS, Weekly publication, Berlin 1944-1945

German Commanders linked with Central Asian, Caucasian and Kossacks units

These German commanders also received honorary military or leading titles between their units at charge; for example Helmuth von Pannwitz received the title of "Ataman" between his Kossack units.

Generalleutnant Helmuth von Pannwitz
Oberst Hans-Joachim von Schultz
Oberstleutnant Günther von Steinsdorff
Oberst von Baath
Oberst Freiherr von Nolcken
Oberst Konstantin Wagner
Sonderführer Othmar Rudolf Wrba
Oberstleutnant Pipgorra
Oberst Raimund Hoerst
SS-Obersturmbannführer Andreas Meyer-Mader
SS-Hauptsturmführer Billig
SS-Hauptsturmführer Hermann
SS-Sturmbannführer der Reserve Franz Liebermann
SS-Hauptsturmführer Reiner Olzscha
SS-Hauptsturmführer Fürst
Generalmajor Prof. Dr. Oskar Ritter von Niedermayer
Generalleutnant Ralph von Heygendorff

German representative of East Affairs ministry

Otto Brautigam

Central Asian anticommunist commander

SS-Standartenführer Harun-el-Raschid Bey

Central Asian,Caucasian and Kossacks political leaders

Kossack Ataman General Pyotr Krasnov
Kossack Ataman General Andrei Shkuro
Kossack Ataman Vasili Glazkov
Kalmuk Prince Tundotov

Central Asian,Caucasian and Kossacks political Organizations

"Kossack Central Office"
"National Karachai Committee"

Sources

About German Invasion to Caucasus and forming Islamic volunteers in link with Middle East invasion:

Alexander Werth, "The Stalingrad Battle" and "From Stalingrad to Berlin" Chapter 7 "The Caucasus, there and back", P.648-668.
Ivan Tyulenev, "Cherez Tri Voyny" (Through Three Wars), Moscow,1960,

Brandenburg Unit operation in German Caucasian Campaign

World War II Magazine (Vol 11), N°2, By Cowles Enthusiast Media History Group, 1996. "Undercover" section, article by Christopher Lew, "The Brandenburg commandos were the warrior spies of the Abwehr's Intelligence agency", P.8 and 20.