Waffen SS Reconnaissance Battalion 13

The Bosnian SS Recon battalion had the luck of being one of the best and most dependable units within Handschar, it proved itself exceptional from training to the fighting on the eastern front in Hungary towards the end of the war.

From it’s foundation at Neuhammer it’s leadership was mostly Volksdeutsche and Bosnian, so there was no language barrier as there was in some of the regular infantry companies. At Neuhammer they focused on small arms training and patrolling. Its motorized sections practiced driving.

During operations in Bosnia, it was common for them to operate separately from the infantry regiment and were very often the first into unknown territory.
In June of 44, Aufklarunds Abt. 13 became the nucleus of the newly formed 2nd Bosnian SS division nicknamed “Kama.” Fortunately for them, they didn’t have to move to Hungary and join their new unit in training there. They remained in action in Bosnia.

AUFKLARUNGS!

Summed up as the eyes and ears of their parent unit, Waffen SS Aufklarungs were always abteilung (battalion) sized. They rarely worked at company strength. They enjoyed superior mobility with their Schwimmwagens. The amphibious car would most often carry a fire team (4 men with a light machine gun – MG42) Textbook tactic was to attack the enemy’s flanks and rear, achiever surprise, probing attacks, repeated attacks to quickly destroy isolated enemy pockets. Aufklarungs units would also be tasked with pursuing fleeing enemies.

Ambushes would only be executed if a live prisoner could be captured. At the same time it was not uncommon for them to overrun enemies, if a weak point along the front was discovered by the spahtruppen, larger recon elements would be called in to try take the position through heavier firepower and hold it until reinforcements could be moved in.
They themselves were always exposed, vulnerable to attack and being overrun so pitched battles were avoided whenever possible.
Unpredictability was their favorite weapon in the offense. Artillery could be called in on adjacent units prior to an attack but a different section of the front would be actually assaulted, throwing the enemy off. For tougher jobs they were accompanied by pioniers (combat engineers)

The smallest unit was the size of a German rifle squad, 8 men and an NCO. In a sense it was the continuation of the Sturmtruppe legacy of WW1.
A huge empahsis was placed on teamwork within this community
“Teamwork is a secret of successful reconaissance. Haphazardly formed recon, made up on men who have never worked together before were of little value” they had to be resourceful under pressure, functioning as a unit under a leader with confidence.”

SS issue smocks were a favorite among Aufklarungs troops.

Their primary mission was gelandeerkundung (terrain reconnaissance) Objectives had to be clear and communication good. As a normal practice, backpacks, letters, epaulletes, written documents and other unnecessary equipment was left behind. In case of capture, personal documents could reveal a lot of information to the enemy, so no written orders concerning their operations was ever written.
To cover the objective from all possible angles the group would be split up and provided a challenge and password. Calling out in the enemy’s language (which in the case of the Bosnians or Volksdeutsche members wasn’t hard) would cause further confusion. Opening fire prematurely was discouraged, and as a general rule of ambushing in danger of being compromised, fire should be held until the last possible moment, always a second longer.
After action reports were immediately written down following their return. Information gathered often changed the outcome of the battles to come. Uncertainty and 3rd party info had to be clearly stated and not taken in as truth.

Example of an after action report:

“Cunning, versatility, ability to grasp orders rapidly, skill at driving vehicles across any type of terrain, the offensive spirit, resourcefulness under all circumstances and especially at night, cold bloodedness, and ability to act quickly and independently should be characteristics of men selected for reconnaissance units.”

– German handbook.

A patrol on horseback conferring with a Chetnik about partisan whereabouts.