The 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian) (, ), originally called the Latvian SS Volunteer Division () was an infantry division of the Waffen-SS during World War II. It was formed in February 1943, and together with its sister unit, the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian) formed the Latvian Legion.
World War II
After the formation of Latvian Police Battalions in Reichskommissariat Ostland, Heinrich Himmler formed the Latvian legion (Lettische SS-Freiwilligen-Legion) in January 1943. In February 1943 Lettische SS-Freiwilligen-Division was formed, which later received the numerical designation 15. The Legion was renamed the Lettische SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade, with the numerical designation added soon after.
Unlawful conscription of Latvians for military service by the Germans was based on Alfred Rosenberg's compulsory labor decree of 19 December 1941. It was carried out by the Department of Labor of the Latvian Self Administration, commencing in early 1943 with the compulsory recruitment of Latvian citizens born between 1919 and 1924. The 15th Waffen SS, together with the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian) formed the Latvian Legion.
The 15th Waffen SS was swept up in the chaos of the collapse of the Eastern Front and lost much of its manpower fighting in districts surrounding Leningrad (Ostrov, Novosokolniki and Novgorod Oblast). In September 1944 the surviving elements of the division were sent by boat to Danzig. The division fought on the Pomeranian Wall defences and then retreated through Pomerania and Germany to Berlin.
Part of the division, with a total of 824 men under Waffen-Standartenführer Vilis Janums, surrendered on 27 April 1945 to the advancing Americans at Güterglück near the Elbe River. Other elements of the division, amounting to approximately 4,500 men, surrendered to the Americans south of Schwerin on 2 May 1945.
On 22 January 1945, Red Army soldiers killed over 100 unarmed men of the 5th Battalion of the 1st Construction Regiment in the Dąbrówka Nowa Massacre after mistakenly assuming that they were armed.
In popular culture
The Waffen Füsilier Battalion of SS 15 of the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division (1st Latvian) is notably featured as a playable unit in the game Enlisted
Commanders
SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor Peter Hansen (25 February 1943 – 1 May 1943) SS-Gruppenführer und Generalmajor Carl Graf von Pückler-Burghauss (1 May 1943 – 17 February 1944) SS-Oberführer Nikolaus Heilmann (17 February 1944 – 21 July 1944) SS-Oberführer Herbert von Obwurzer (21 July 1944 – 26 January 1945) SS-Oberführer Adolf Ax (26 January 1945 – 15 February 1945) SS-Oberführer, later Brigadeführer und Generalmajor Karl Burk (15 February – 2 May 1945)