30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS The 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS ( ) was a German Waffen SS infantry division formed largely from Belarussian , Russian and Ukrainian personnel of the Schutzmannschaft - Brigade Siegling in August 1944 at Warsaw , Poland . The division was moved by rail to southeastern France by mid - August 1944 to combat the French Forces of the Interior ( FFI ) . The division ' s performance in combat was poor , and two battalions mutinied , murdered their German leaders , and defected to the FFI . Other troops of the division crossed the Swiss border and were interned . The remainder of the division saw little subsequent combat and eventually relocated in January 1945 to Grafenwöhr , a large military training camp north of Nürnberg . Finally , some of the division ' s personnel were transferred to the Russian Liberation Army while others were retained to form the SS " White Ruthenian " infantry brigade from January 1945 . This brigade in its turn was retitled as the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS in March 1945 , but was disbanded in April 1945 before the unit saw combat . Formation and initial organization . On 31 July 1944 orders were issued to form a division from the personnel of the Schutzmannschaft - Brigade Siegling , who were subsequently organized into four infantry regiments ( numbered 1 through 4 ) . The initial organization of the division also included an artillery battalion , a cavalry battalion , and a training battalion . At this time , the division ' s full name was " 30 . Waffen - Grenadier - Division der SS ( russische Nr . 2 ) " . The term " Waffen - Grenadier " was used to denote SS infantry divisions manned by personnel of other - than - German ethnicity . At the end of August 1944 , division strength was estimated as 11 , 600 with the bulk originating from Belarussia . The leadership cadre of the division was primarily German . In mid - August 1944 , the division was moved by rail to southeastern France in the region of Belfort and Mulhouse . By October , the organization of the division had been altered to three infantry regiments of three battalions each , a motorcycle ( reconnaissance ) battalion , an artillery battalion , and a field replacement battalion . The artillery battalion consisted of two batteries of captured 122 - mm Soviet artillery pieces . Mutiny and desertion . Subsequent events proved the division to have serious issues of disaffection and even outright disloyalty to the Nazi cause . German leadership failed to realize that while anti - communist , former Red Army soldiers might engage in ruthless combat on the eastern front , the same behavior on the part of these soldiers was not guaranteed in the notably different ideological situation of the western front . Elements of the division arrived in Vesoul on 20 August 1944 and were charged with the security of the Belfort Gap , particularly against operations conducted by the French Forces of the Interior ( FFI ) . The same day , other elements of the division occupied the area around Camp Valdahon , about thirty kilometers southeast of Besancon . On 27 August 1944 , under the direction of Major Lev ( Leon ) Hloba , a Ukrainian battalion of the division at Vesoul shot their German leadership cadre and defected to an FFI unit in the Confracourt Woods , bringing 1 , 200 men , 45 - mm antitank guns , 82 - mm and 50 - mm mortars , 21 heavy machine guns , as well as large amounts of small arms and small - caliber ammunition . A similar defection occurred the same day near Camp Valdahon brought over hundreds of men , one antitank gun , eight heavy machine guns , four mortars , and small arms and ammunition . The defectors were subsequently inducted into the FFI as the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Battalions and many were later amalgamated into the 13th Demi - Brigade of the French Foreign Legion , itself subordinated to the 1st Free French Division . On 29 August 1944 , the first and third battalions of the division ' s 4th Regiment deserted and crossed the border into Switzerland . On 2 September , two squadrons ( companies ) of the division ' s cavalry battalion ( formerly " Kosaken - Schuma - Abteilung 68 " and redesignated the " Waffen - Reiter - Abteilung der SS 30 " ) were surrounded and destroyed in a surprise attack at Melin by the Ukrainians who had defected in the Confracourt Woods . The subsequent investigation of these events by German authorities resulted in some 2 , 300 men in the division being deemed " unreliable " . As punishment , these personnel were transferred to two field entrenchment construction regiments ( ) subordinated to the Karlsruhe Transport Commandant , leaving some 5 , 500 men still in the division . The extraordinary events in the division also led to it being placed in Army Group G reserve and being viewed by senior German leadership in Alsace as an unreliable unit . On 24 October 1944 , the division had reorganized into three regiments , numbered 75 to 77 , each of two infantry battalions . This organization accorded with the orders for formation of the division that had been issued in August 1944 by the SS Führungshauptamt . Because of losses , however , the 77th Regiment was disbanded on 2 November . Combat . The success of the French breakthrough in the Belfort Gap starting on 13 November 1944 created a crisis in the German defenses from Belfort to Mulhouse . With defending units under severe pressure by the French advance , the Germans committed the 30th SS Division to counterattack the French attack at Seppois . The advance of the SS division on 19 November reached a point roughly a mile north of Seppois , but was held there and pushed back by French counterattacks . The 30th SS Division went on the defense in the area around Altkirch , forcing the French 1st Armored Division to fight a sharp action in order to capture the town on 21 November . On 22 November 1944 , Army Group G issued a report which noted the achievement of the 30th Division in destroying six French tanks and inflicting significant losses on advancing French forces . As the German situation in lower Alsace solidified into what would become known as the Colmar Pocket , the 30th SS Division remained in the German front line north of Huningue and west of the Rhine River . In late December 1944 , with its manpower down to 4 , 400 men , the division was withdrawn from the front and ordered to the Grafenwöhr training area deep inside of Germany . Disbandment and second formation . Orders to disband the division were issued on 1 January 1945 , and the division arrived at Grafenwöhr on 11 January . Russian personnel in the division were transferred to the 600th Infantry Division , a unit of Russians organized by Nazi Germany and belonging to the Russian Liberation Army . On 15 January 1945 , the non - Russian personnel of the division were organized into the 1st White Ruthenian SS Grenadier Brigade , a unit that had only a single regiment of infantry ( the 75th ) with three battalions as well as some other units such as an artillery battalion and a cavalry battalion . While still organizing , the brigade was retitled the 30th SS Grenadier Division ( 1st White Ruthenian ) ( ) on 9 March 1945 , but it still had only a single regiment of infantry . Finally , in April 1945 , this iteration of the division was also disbanded , with the German cadre being sent to the 25th and 38th SS Grenadier Divisions . Ethnic composition . Although part of the German forces , the division ' s German cadre was always only a small part of the unit ' s strength with the bulk of the personnel originating from ( current ) Belarus , Russia , and Ukraine . Known war crimes . Soldiers of the division together with an unspecified Italian unit killed 40 civilians in Étobon , France on 27 September 1944 , in retaliation of the support given by villagers to the French partisans . An additional 27 were taken from the village to Germany ; of them seven were shot ten days later . Order of battle . As planned on August 1 , 1944 : < br > As of September 12 , 1944 : < br > As of October 24 , 1944 : < br > As of November 2 , 1944 : Insignia . The symbol chosen was a double cross with two bars equal in length and parallel to each other . After January 29 , 1945 , a white - red - white stripe on right side was adopted with the phrase " Weissruthenien " ( White Ruthenia ) emblazoned .