28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien The 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division " Wallonien was formed from the 5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade " Wallonien which was a Belgian Waffen SS volunteer brigade comprising volunteers of Walloon background . It saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II . In September 1944 , the Sturmbrigade had its status raised to that of a division , but its strength never reached more than a brigade . Concept and formation . Before the outbreak of World War II , Fascism was quite popular in Belgium , including the French speaking region of Wallonia . Leon Degrelle , owner of a newspaper , and before the war known as an ardent Catholic , had founded the Rexist party in 1930 . The Rexists watched the rise of Adolf Hitler ' s NSDAP in Germany through the 1930s and campaigned strongly for similar changes in their own country , some even striving for the establishment of an independent Walloon nation . When the Germans launched Fall Gelb in May 1940 , the Belgian authorities placed Degrelle in custody to prevent him assisting the advancing enemy by raising dissent . Soon after Belgium ' s capitulation , Degrelle was released and he immediately set about the work of furthering the Rexist party ' s aims of an independent Walloon state . Despite his efforts , Degrelle ' s Rexists were largely ignored by the Germans , who were focusing their efforts on rousing the Flemings to their cause . Degrelle , seeing that Germany was not interested in his Rexists , began using his excellent oratory powers to gather a fighting force together for the expected " Crusade against Bolshevism " . The unit , consisting mostly of men from the Formations de Combat , the paramilitary arm of the Rexist Party , was christened Corps Franc Wallonie ( Walloon Free Corps ) . While Degrelle was in Paris campaigning for recognition of his party , the Germans ordered the formation of Wallonische Legion for service in the east . Degrelle rushed back to find that his pretensions of military leadership were not to be . Command of the Legion , which had absorbed the " Corps Franc Wallonie " , was to go to Captain - Commandant Georges Jacobs , a retired Belgian colonial officer . Degrelle ' s lack of military training meant that his request to be commissioned as an officer was denied , and so he signed on as a private soldier . On 8 August 1941 , the Legion , now 860 strong , was sent to Meseritz in East Prussia for basic training . In early October , the Legion was incorporated into the Heer as 373 . ( Wallonische ) Infanterie Battalion . On 15 October , the Battalion was ordered to the front , to operate as a part of Army Group South currently advancing through Ukraine . A shaky beginning – career with the Heer . Upon its arrival at the front , the Battalion was assigned to the rear area to participate in anti - partisan duties . At this stage , the German commanders saw the undersized Battalion as a political statement , rather than a combat worthy formation , and so were hesitant to commit it to a major action . After a brief stint serving under Panzergruppe 1 , the Battalion was attached to the 17 . Armee . During this period , the Walloons were the subject of ridicule by their German counterparts , and several complaints were filed with the OKW . The Battalion suffered casualties during the winter of 1941 – 42 , and the combination of this and the ridicule of the Walloons by the Germans meant that the Battalion ' s morale plummeted . To make matters worse , on 10 December all the Battalions heavy weapons were confiscated and distributed to combat units . With the Walloons close to outright mutiny , the Germans appointed a new commander , Belgian staff officer Hauptmann B . E . M . Pierre Pauly and attached a German liaison officer . Before these changes could take effect , the Battalion was thrown into the line to halt a Soviet breakthrough near Dnepropetrovsk on the Donets River . Fighting alongside the SS " Germania " regiment from the SS - Division " Wiking " , the Walloons defended the village of Gromovayabalka from attacks by large enemy forces . After a second attack on 28 February 1942 took most of the village , Pauly rallied his men and in fierce house to house fighting recaptured the position . On 2 March , the Battalion was relieved . During this action , the Walloons had lost over a third of their strength , but gained the respect of their Heer counterparts . Among those who received decorations was Leon Degrelle , who was also promoted to " Feldwebel " for his bravery in the action . The action at Gromovayabalka had restored the Battalion ' s morale , and soon after Pauly was replaced by Hauptmann Georges Tchekhoff , a former Imperial Russian Naval officer who had emigrated to Belgium after the October Revolution . More recruits from the Rexists arrived to restore the strength of the Battalion , and in May it was attached to the 97th Jäger Division . Hauptmann Lucien Lippert replaced Tchekoff as the formations commander , and he proved popular with the men . During the reforming of the Battalion , Degrelle was finally commissioned as a " Leutnant " . During Fall Blau offensive into the Caucasus , the Walloons were positioned to guard the supply lines of the assault , seeing little action . In early August , the Walloons were called upon to clear a small village . During this battle , Degrelle was awarded the Iron Cross second class . In late August , the Battalion was pulled out of action and posted to flank security . During this time it came into contact with Felix Steiner ' s SS - Division " Wiking " . Degrelle and Steiner got along well , and Degrelle was impressed by the ethos of the Waffen - SS . In December , Degrelle was ordered to Berlin to coordinate the formation of a second Walloon Battalion , but Degrelle had already decided to take his Walloons to the Waffen - SS . Transfer to the Waffen SS – Dnieper battles . In June 1943 , after arranging the transfer with Heinrich Himmler , the Battalion was transferred to SS command . Around 1 , 600 volunteers who had been assembled in Meseritz to form the second Army battalion were also transferred to the SS training area at Wildflecken . Over the next few months , the Army Battalion was transformed into the SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade " Wallonien " , commanded by Oberst ( now SS - Sturmbannführer ) Lucien Lippert with SS - Hauptsturmführer Leon Degrelle as second - in - command . In October , the " Wallonien " was redesignated 5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade " Wallonien " , and was to be equipped as a fully motorized brigade with a complement of 250 vehicles . By November 1943 , the " Wallonien " was deemed fit for combat and was sent to Ukraine to fight alongside the " Wiking " , now designated 5th SS Panzer Division " Wiking " . On December 24 , 1943 the Soviets launched the Dnieper - Carpathian Offensive , an operation aimed at clearing the area west of the Dnieper of German forces . Involving four Ukrainian Fronts and one Byelorussian Front , these operations would last until April 24 , 1944 . The " Wallonien " and the " Wiking " , along with eleven other German divisions of 1 . Panzer Army and 8 . Army were positioned in a salient based on the western bank of the river , and so were naturally the first target for the Soviet operations . Soviet forces occupied the strategically important forest near Teklino , and threatened to sever communication lines between Smila and Cherkassy . After three failed assaults by " Wiking ' s " " Germania " and " Narwa " SS - Panzergrenadier Regiments , the " Wiking ' s " commander ordered the " Wallonien " into action . The day before the assault , skeptical " Wiking " veterans posted signs around the assembly area : In temperatures below freezing , with 2 feet of snow on the ground , " Wallonien " attacked across an open field towards the forest , clearing the treeline and advancing into the forest , being halted just short of their objective . Realising that enemy reinforcements were reacting quickly to any attack and stalling the " Wallonien ' s " attacks , Lippert ordered a dozen three man machinegun teams to infiltrate the enemy lines and take up positions covering the route the Soviets used to bring up reinforcements . He then ordered the " Wallonien " to attack again . Over 700 Soviet log - pits and bunkers were destroyed during the attack . Despite this victory , the Soviets soon encircled the forces of XLII and XI Army Corps near Korsun . Korsun pocket – Battle of Narva . While " Wallonien " and " Wiking " were engaged defending the brunt of the Soviet attack , several Soviet Tank formations had advanced along the side of the salient and succeeded in encircling the German forces . During the battle of the Korsun - Cherkassy Pocket , the " Wallonien " was given the task of defending against Soviet attacks on the Eastern side of the pocket . After the 105 . Regiment of the 72 . Infanterie Division became exhausted defending Novaya - Buda from Soviet attacks , the " Wallonien " was sent to relieve them . While General der Artillerie Wilhelm Stemmermann , the overall commander for the trapped forces , moved his forces to the west of the pocket in readiness for a breakout attempt , " Wallonien " and " Wiking " were ordered to act as a rearguard . During the desperate fighting , Lippert was killed . Degrelle quickly took command of the Brigade , and after repulsing all Soviet attempts to break through near the town of Novaya - Buda , the " Wallonien " began withdrawing one platoon at a time , under cover of darkness . Advancing through " Hell ' s Gate " , the brigade came under heavy enemy fire with little or no cover . Of the brigade ' s 2 , 000 men , only 632 survived the carnage of the Korsun Pocket . For his actions in the battle , Degrelle was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and promoted to SS - Sturmbannführer . A propaganda campaign was launched which successfully portrayed Degrelle as a hero to pro - German Europeans . The gravity of the Korsun disaster was downplayed , and Degrelle took an active role in promoting the " Wallonien " , addressing 10 , 000 people at the Brussels Sports Stadium . When he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross in Berlin , Hitler said to him of the Korsun affair " You had me worried . " The veterans of the 6 . SS Freiwilligen Sturmbrigade " Langemarck " , the other Belgian SS formation , caustically remarked that they too had suffered at Korsun , but they had no Degrelle to make a fuss about it . The ragged remains of the " Wallonien " was sent back to Wildflecken to be reformed . Large numbers of new recruits were arriving thanks to the propaganda campaign , which had been augmented by a widely attended march of the " Wallonien " survivors through Brussels . In June 1944 , the Battles around Narva ( Known as the Battle of the European SS ) were beginning to go badly for the German Army Group North . A 440 man battalion of the " Wallonien " was sent to Estonia to assist in the defence of the Tannenberg Line . Operating under SS - Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner ' s III ( Germanic ) SS Panzer Corps , the battalion was thrown into the line near Dorpat , attempting to halt a Soviet breakthrough at Pskov . On 10 August , the battalion joined Kampfgruppe Wagner , and for three weeks fought against Soviet tank , infantry , artillery and air attacks . By the end of the month , only 200 men remained . After Operation Bagration , Army Group North began to fall back into the Kurland Pocket . During the retreat , the battalion escaped entrapment by leaving through the port of Tallinn ( Reval ) on the Baltic . During this period , the leader of the Panzerjäger platoon , SS - Untersturmführer Léon Gillis , received the Knight ' s Cross for his actions in single - handedly destroying a number ( anywhere from 14 to 19 ) of T - 34 s . In early August , Degrelle was flown out of the Kurland Pocket to receive the Oakleaves to his Knight ' s Cross for his actions during the Battle of Narva . The shattered remnants of the Battalion were sent back to join the rest of the Brigade , which was located at Breslau . Upgrade to division – final battles . As was the case with " Langemarck " , the Allied invasion of Belgium in 1944 had resulted in an influx of new volunteers . Together with the " Langemarck " , the " Wallonien " Sturmbrigade was upgraded to become the 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division " Wallonien " in October 1944 . Despite this upgrade in status , the actual strength of the " Wallonien " remained that of a reinforced brigade , around 8 , 000 men . The division was first sent to Southern Hanover then to Braunschweig to continue training . The new Walloon recruits were joined by Frenchmen from the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism and Spaniards of the Blue Division . Most of the new recruits lacked any military training , so only about 4 , 000 men were ready for action . These men were formed into a Kampfgruppe and sent to the region near Stargard and Stettin in Pomerania , joining the XXIX Panzer Corps , a part of Felix Steiner ' s XI SS Panzer Army . The " Wallonien " was scheduled to take part in Operation Sonnenwende , the major offensive to relieve German troops encircled at Arnswalde . " Wallonien " was to operate in the area between the Madu See and the Plone See ( Pomerania ) , covering the flank of the main attack . The offensive was launched on the 15th of February 1945 , and met with initial success . However , after the III SS ( Germanic ) Panzer Corps reached Arnswalde , the situation changed and the Soviet defence began to solidify . Despite the XI Panzer Army causing heavy casualties , the offensive stalled . In heavy fighting , the " Wallonien " sustained as well as inflicted heavy losses , and eventually began a fighting withdrawal . The Soviet counter - offensive , launched on 1 March , pushed the " Wallonien " before it , and over the next few weeks was in almost constant combat throughout Central Pomerania until it reached the Oder near Stettin . The " Wallonien " , fighting alongside the " Langemarck " managed to hold a thin strip of land on the eastern bank of the Oder until it was forced back across the river in early April , 1945 . At this point the Walloons held a council of war and released those volunteers who no longer wished to continue the hopeless fight . 23 Officers and 625 men chose to remain , and they assembled in one last battalion , plentifully equipped with machine guns , panzerfaust s , mortars , and automatic rifles . At the end of March , a second battalion had been formed from men of the artillery and engineer units who had come forward from their technical schools , but this formation appears to have never been committed to battle . The " Langemarck " ( Flemish ) , who had also consolidated their remaining troops into two heavily armed battalions and an artillery section , was merged with the " Wallonien " under command of its tactical leader , SS - Sturmbannführer Franz Hellebaut . Joining the French - and Dutch - speaking Belgians was one German battalion and a section of tank destroyers . " Langemarck ' s " SS - Standartenführer Schellong commanded the artillery and one of the Flemish battalions . After the final Soviet offensive of 20 April 1945 , the Belgians held as best they could , but were soon swept aside by the advancing Soviets . After several unsuccessful counter - attacks , the Belgian units realised all was lost and Degrelle ordered his troops to make it to Lübeck , where they eventually surrendered to British troops . Degrelle himself then drove with his bodyguard into Denmark . In a very risky action with a Heinkel He - 111 aeroplane with very little fuel , Degrelle then flew from Norway to Spain where he spent the rest of his life in exile . Belgium convicted him of treason in absentia and condemned him to death by firing squad . Degrelle died in 1994 .