The Allgemeine-SS order of battle comprised the mustering formations of SS units in Nazi Germany and Austria that existed prior to and during World War II.
The basic mustering formations were made up of part-time SS members, considered the core of the Allgemeine-SS. The primary unit was the regiment sized Standarten and extending upwards to division strength Oberabschnitt commands. Within the Allgemeine-SS Standarten there were in turn subordinate battalions of Sturmbann, themselves divided into company sized Sturme.
The Sturm was further divided into platoon sized Truppen which were in turn divided into squad sized Scharen. For larger Allgemeine-SS commands, the Scharen would be further dividied into Rotte which were the Allgemeine-SS equivalent of a fire team.
Senior-level commands
The two senior-level formations of the Allgemeine-SS were the division sized Oberabschnitt and the brigade sized Abschnitt.
Oberabschnitt commands
The highest command level of the Allgemeine-SS formations. Many of the SS-Oberabschnitt commanders also served as SS and Police Leaders. The SS-Oberabschnitt was formed in the mid-1930s from older formations known as SS-Gruppen. By 1942, the existing Oberabschnitt commands were as follows:
Abschnitt commands
An intermediate command level existed between the supreme Oberschnitt commands the local Allgemeine-SS regiments. Known as the SS-Abschnitt these commands were formed between 1933 and 1935 from the older SS-Brigaden. SS-Abschnitts were identified by Roman numeral designators, which were also displayed on the cuffbands of the Abschnitt member's SS uniform.
The SS also maintained the following brigade cavalry commands for Allgemeine-SS cavalry units:
Reiterabschnitt I
Reiterabschnitt II
Reiterabschnitt V
Reiterabschnitt VI
Reiterabschnitt VII
Reiterabschnitt VIII
Reiterabschnitt IX
Regimental commands
The core units of the Allgemeine-SS were the regiment sized Standarten which were divided into "foot regiments" and "cavalry units".
Standarten commands
In all, the SS formed a total of one hundred and twenty seven "Fuß Standarten" some of which were accorded honor titles.
1st SS-Standarte (Julius Schreck)
2nd SS-Standarte (Hessen)
3rd SS-Standarte
4th SS-Standarte (Schleswig-Holstein)
5th SS-Standarte (Mosel)
6th SS-Standarte (Eduard Felsen & Charlottenburg)
7th SS-Standarte (Fritz Schlegel)
8th SS-Standarte (Niederschlesien)
9th SS-Standarte (Pommern)
10th SS-Standarte (Pfalz)
11th SS-Standarte (Planetta & Burgenland)
12th SS-Standarte (Niedersachsen)
13th SS-Standarte (Württemberg)
14th SS-Standarte (Gothaland & Thüringen)
15th SS-Standarte (Brandenburg)
16th SS-Standarte (Unterelbe)
17th SS-Standarte
18th SS-Standarte (Ostpreußen)
19th SS-Standarte (Westfalen-Nord)
20th SS-Standarte (Fritz Weitzel)
21st SS-Standarte
22nd SS-Standarte (von der Schulenburg & Mecklenburg)
23rd SS-Standarte (Oberschlesien)
24th SS-Standarte (Ostfriesland)
25th SS-Standarte (Ruhr)
26th SS-Standarte (Paul Berck)
27th SS-Standarte (Ostmark)
28th SS-Standarte
29th SS-Standarte (Schwaben)
30th SS-Standarte (Adolf Höh & Westfalen-Süd)
31st SS-Standarte (Niederbayern)
32nd SS-Standarte (Baden)
33rd SS-Standarte (Rhein-Hessen)
34th SS-Standarte (Oberbayern)
35th SS-Standarte
36th SS-Standarte
37th SS-Standarte (Ob der Enns)
38th SS-Standarte
39th SS-Standarte (Ostpommern)
40th SS-Standarte
41st SS-Standarte (Oberfranken)
42nd SS-Standarte (Fritz von Scholz)
43rd SS-Standarte
44th SS-Standarte (Uckermark)
45th SS-Standarte (Neisse)
46th SS-Standarte
47th SS-Standarte
48th SS-Standarte
49th SS-Standarte (Braunschweig)
50th SS-Standarte (Nordschleswig)
51st SS-Standarte (Harz)
52nd SS-Standarte (Unter-Enns)
53rd SS-Standarte (Dithmarschen)
54th SS-Standarte (Seidel-Dittmarsh)
55th SS-Standarte (Weser)
56th SS-Standarte (Franken)
57th SS-Standarte (Thüringer Wald)
58th SS-Standarte
59th SS-Standarte (Loeper)
60th SS-Standarte
61st SS-Standarte (Masuren)
62nd SS-Standarte
63rd SS-Standarte (Württemberg Süd)
64th SS-Standarte (Marienburg)
65th SS-Standarte (Schwarzwald)
66th SS-Standarte (Friedland)
67th SS-Standarte (Wartburg)
68th SS-Standarte (Oberpfalz)
69th SS-Standarte (Sauerland)
70th SS-Standarte
71st SS-Standarte (Weichsel)
72nd. SS-Standarte (Lippe)
73rd SS-Standarte (Mittelfranken)
74th SS-Standarte (Ostsee)
75th SS-Standarte (Widukind & Tempelhof)
76th SS-Standarte
77th SS-Standarte
78th SS-Standarte
79th SS-Standarte
80th SS-Standarte (Groß-Beeren)
81st SS-Standarte
82nd SS-Standarte
83rd SS-Standarte (Oberhessen)
84th SS-Standarte (Saale)
85th SS-Standarte
86th SS-Standarte (Hanauer Land)
87th SS-Standarte (Tirol)
88th SS-Standarte (Stedingen)
89th SS-Standarte (Holzweber)
90th SS-Standarte (Franz Kutschera & Kärnten)
91st SS-Standarte
92nd SS-Standarte (Alt-Bayern)
93rd SS-Standarte
94th SS-Standarte (Obersteiermark)
95th SS-Standarte
96th SS-Standarte
97th SS-Standarte
98th SS-Standarte
99th SS-Standarte
100th SS-Standarte
101st SS-Standarte
102nd SS-Standarte
103rd SS-Standarte
104th SS-Standarte
105th SS-Standarte
106th SS-Standarte
107th SS-Standarte
108th SS-Standarte
109th SS-Standarte
110th SS-Standarte
111th SS-Standarte
112th SS-Standarte
113th SS-Standarte
114th SS-Standarte
115th SS-Standarte
116th SS-Standarte
117th SS-Standarte
118th SS-Standarte
119th SS-Standarte
120th SS-Standarte
121st SS-Standarte
122nd SS-Standarte
123rd SS-Standarte
124th SS-Standarte
125th SS-Standarte
126th SS-Standarte
127th SS-Standarte
The Allgemeine-SS maintained twenty four cavalry regiments which were organized in the same manner as the regular SS-Standarten but used a special collar patch, displaying crossed lances, as a unit insignia. The Reiter-SS came to an effective end at the start of World War II, as most of its members transferred into the Waffen-SS as cavalry officers. After this point, the Allgemeine-SS cavalry existed on paper only. At the Nuremberg Trials, special mention was made that the General-SS cavalry was exempt from the classification as a "criminal organization" which had been applied to the rest of the SS.
The Reiter-SS units were as follows:
SS-Reiterstandarte 1
SS-Reiterstandarte 2
SS-Reiterstandarte 3
SS-Reiterstandarte 4
SS-Reiterstandarte 5
SS-Reiterstandarte 6
SS-Reiterstandarte 7
SS-Reiterstandarte 8
SS-Reiterstandarte 9
SS-Reiterstandarte 10
SS-Reiterstandarte 11
SS-Reiterstandarte 12
SS-Reiterstandarte 13
SS-Reiterstandarte 14
SS-Reiterstandarte 15
SS-Reiterstandarte 16
SS-Reiterstandarte 17
SS-Reiterstandarte 18
SS-Reiterstandarte 19
SS-Reiterstandarte 20
SS-Reiterstandarte 21
SS-Reiterstandarte 22
SS-Reiterstandarte 23
SS-Reiterstandarte 24
Specialty commands
In addition to its regular formations, the Allgemeine-SS maintained special-purpose units for transport, signals, and engineering. A brief experiment in 1931 also attempted to form an SS-flight unit. These units were known as:
SS-Kraftfahrstürme
Nineteen transport companies were formed by the SS throughout Germany. The areas of responsibility were:
1st KfS (München & Augsburg)
2nd KfS (Erfurt)
3rd KfS (Berlin & Senftenberg)
4th KfS (Hamburg, Kiel & Bremen)
5th KfS (Düsseldorf, Buer, & Dortmund)
6th KfS (Dresden & Chemnitz)
7th KfS (Königsberg)
8th KfS (Linz & Wien)
9th KfS (Breslau)
10th KfS (Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, & Freiburg)
11th KfS (Magdeburg & Hannover)
12th KfS (Bamberg, Schweinfurt, & Nürnberg)
13th KfS (Schwerin & Stettin)
14th KfS (Frankfurt-am-Main, Wiesbaden, & Pirmasens)
15th KfS (Graz & Innsbruck)
16th KfS (Danzig & Elbing)
17th KfS (Posen & Litzmannstadt)
18th KfS (Never formed)
19th Kfs (Asch, Reichenberg, & Brünn)
SS-Nachrichtensturmbanne
The following signal battalions were formed throughout Germany and Austria by the Allgemeine-SS. A single signal battalion was also formed in Czechoslovakia.
1st NrS (München)
2nd NrS (Stuttgart)
3rd NrS (Arolsen)
4th NrS (Düsseldorf)
5th NrS (Braunschweig)
6th NrS (Hamburg)
7th NrS (Königsberg)
8th NrS (Berlin)
9th NrS (Dresden)
10th NrS (Breslau)
11th NrS (Nürnberg)
12th NrS (Stettin)
13th NrS (Wiesbaden)
14th NrS (Wien)
15th NrS (Never formed)
16th NrS (Danzig)
17th NrS (Posen)
18th NrS (Never formed)
19th NrS (Prague)
SS-Pioniersturmbanne
Engineering battalions were maintained by the Allgemeine-SS in the following cities:
1st PsB (München)
2nd PsB (Stuttgart)
3rd PsB (Arolsen)
4th PsB (Köln)
5th PsB (Harburg-Wilhelmsburg)
6th PsB (Stettin)
7th PsB (Königsberg)
8th PsB (Berlin)
9th PsB (Dresden)
10th PsB (Breslau)
11th PsB (Never formed)
12th PsB (Magdeburg)
13th PsB (Frankfurt-am-Main)
14th PsB (Wien)
15th PsB (Salzburg)
16th PsB (Danzig)
SS-Fliegersturm
In November 1931, the SS briefly commissioned a flight unit consisting of a small number of SS personnel trained to fly powered aircraft. An extremely rare SS badge, known as the SS-SA Fliegerabzeichen, was issued to most members of the SS-Fliegersturm. The Fliegersturm was disbanded after only a few months and its members merged into other Nazi organizations such as the National Socialist Flyers Corps.
SS Naval Units
In the mid-1930s, there was some discussion in SS leadership circles to form a special corps of SS-naval units, mainly due to the SA, the early rival to the SS, having formed its own marine unit (SA-Marine). However, due to Heinrich Himmler's general disinterest in naval affairs, an SS naval corps was never founded although many members of the Allgemeine-SS did serve on active duty in the Kriegsmarine.
