Next day the French succeeded in embarking on a steamship for Denmark, where they disembarked at Copenhagen at 1600 hours on 5 April. After two short stops at Copenhagen and Fredericia, the Martin Battalion rejoined the remains of the Charlemagne at Neustrelitz in Meckenburg some five days later.
Chapter Six
Reorganisation
Various elements of the Charlemagne began assembling near Anklam, only 30km west of Swinemünde. Already present were the officers and about 200 men of the transport column and Divisional service elements that had left Gross Jestin with Russian tanks on their heels at 0200 hours on 4 March.
SS-Major General Krukenberg and the 23 officers and 701 men surviving of the Fenet Battalion arrived at about noon on the 16th but, for some inexplicable reason, those who had escaped the siege of Kolberg and had just disembarked at Swinemünd were sent straight to the Replacement Battalion at Wildflecken.
Krukenberg reported to Himmler’s field headquarters near Prenzlau on the 18th, returning with a batch of promotions and decorations, including many posthumous awards. Proud of his Frenchmen, Krukenberg was now wearing the Tricolore badge on his sleeve.
That same day, SS-Major Katzian was despatched to Wild-flecken with orders to return with the Training and Replacement Battalion.
Then on the 21st the troops set off on a four-day march to Neustrelitz in Mecklenburg, there being no trains available. Upon arrival, the Divisional headquarters were established in the village of Carpin, 10km east of the town and the various elements distributed among the surrounding villages.
Orders were then received from SS Headquarters for the re-organisation of the Division by 15 April into a Grenadier Regiment in accordance with the 1945 establishment of two Grenadier Battalions and a Heavy Battalion.
The Divisional units were quartered successively at Bergfeld (Bn 57), Grunow (Bn 58) and Ollendorf (Training Coy) before reaching their specific areas:
Grammerthin: Charlemagne Regimental Headquarters (SS-Colonel Zimmermann, later SS-Captain Kroepsch)
Georgenhof: Divisional Combat School (SS-Lieutenant Weber)
Goldenbaum: Heavy Battalion (Captain Boudet-Gheusi)
Fürstensee: 57th Battalion (Captain Fenet)
Wokuhclass="underline" 58th Battalion (SS-Captain Jauss, later SS-Captain Kroepsch)
Drewin: Construction Battalion (Captain Roy)
Zinow: MT and Workshop Section
Thurow: Feldgendarmerie (SS-Lieutenant Görr)
Rodlin: (Lieutenant Fatin)
The Division remained part of Panzer-General Hasso von Manteuffel’s 3rd Panzer Army, which, together with the 9th Army, formed Army Group Weichsel, now under the command of Colonel-General Gotthardt Heinrici, who had meanwhile taken over from Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler.
In expectation of the Russians crossing the Oder, the Division, which was now subordinate to the Rear Area Command with its headquarters at Feldberg, began working on anti-tank defences from 31 March in the area of the lakes east and south of Neustrelitz.
With the Division down to about 700 men, SS-Major-General Krukenberg’s first task, was to gather in all his isolated detachments, of which the two most important were those at Wildflecken of regimental size now enlarged by those that had escaped from Kolberg, and the Martin Battalion at Gotenhafen, of which there was still no news.
On 27 March, Krukenberg issued the following order of the day:
We have just lived through days interspersed with fighting after some hard marching. We did not fight as a small unit merged within the German Army, but as an autonomous French division. It is with the name Charlemagne that the fame for bravery and French determination has been renewed. With pride we recall how we stopped the enemy south of Bärenwalde when he penetrated the German lines. Within an hour we destroyed 16 enemy tanks near Elsenau and Bärenwalde. At Neustettin too we demonstrated our gallantry.
But it was above all at Körlin that we proved that we know how to fight to the last on the field of battle when the rest of the army fled. By holding on until the early hours of the 5th March, we gave part of the German Army and ourselves the chance to get out of the Russian encirclement. We rejoined the German positions near Dievenow after traversing several enemy cordons. It was not only our fighting spirit that gave us success, but also our discipline.
We will not forget our comrades at Kolberg who have been cited several times by the commandant of that fortress for their particularly remarkable bravery. At this very moment, elements of our Division are defending the city of Danzig alongside their German comrades.
Everywhere we have contributed to checking the Bolshevists’ breaking wave. This fight could not have taken place without serious losses, but numerous comrades that have succeeded in rejoining our lines. Let us hope that General Puaud will be among those heroic combatants rejoining us soon. Battle has unified us. The fact that our Division has been reduced by glorious battles should incite us again to form only one unit, one team.
So far away from our country, we have been able to surround our flag with a new glory; we know that all Frenchmen, who like us and for the freedom of the country, want a new European order look upon us with pride.
We have always said that the only ones that can take part in restoring France are those who have proved themselves as soldiers under the hardest circumstances. After long months of training, we have been able to show the spirit that animates us, a spirit that in the days to come will lead us to new successes right until the long awaited day when we can participate in the liberation of our country.
History has taught us that after a battle we must not feel fatigue but, on the contrary, gather up all our energy for another fight. The time in which we now live is decisive. Now that we have gained the esteem of the Waffen-SS, no soldier conscious of his honour can leave the ranks.
The glory of the LVF in the east, the success of the French SS-Storm Brigade in the Carpathians, the battles fought by the Militia in our country, should create a unit sealed by the French blood lost in Pomerania and give birth to a tradition worthy of the revolutionary idea for which we are fighting.
Your faith in national-socialist victory is unwavering, even more ferociously if the situation becomes more difficult! Alongside our German comrades fighting for the same ideal, we follow the Führer, liberator of Europe!
More French volunteers continued to arrive to swell the numbers at Carpin, as well as returning wounded and various trainees and specialists that had been detached on various courses, and by early April the Charlemagne could muster about 1,000 men. However, there were some serious problems of morale, with contentions between the factions within the ranks, and some lapses in discipline that led to several men being executed by firing squad for offences such as desertion and looting.
Orders for the men of the Charlemagne to work on the constructions of field fortifications and anti-tank ditches brought a wave of discontent and the newly promoted Captain Fenet was only able to get his men’s cooperation in this matter by setting a personal example.