Waffen SS comparison to Wehrmacht at the eastern front

Question to the history people out there:

How big was the number of SS ground forces at the eastern front in comparison to the wehrmacht?

From my internet research i found these numbers of Waffen SS increase of numbers over years:


1940: 100.000 soldiers
1941: 220.000 soldiers
1942: 330.000 soldiers
1943: 540.000 soldiers
1944: 910.000 soldiers

These numbers are ofc the total number, not specific to the eastern front.

Waffen SS were more like Nazi fanatics than soldiers, they were favored by Hitler and they were receiving better equipment than Wehrmacht.

In late war, like 43-45 number of SS increased because requirements were lowered significantly

Not sure specifically on the eastern front, but the general information I have goes something like this:

The Waffen SS was the military arm of the Nazi party, basically a political tool for bragging rights, propaganda, etc. As such, they had very strict requirements at first, similar to many elite troops: specific height requirements, confirmed Aryan heritage, membership in the Party, etc. Many of the recruits came from the Nazi Youth camps.

As the war progressed, naturally casualties began to rise, particularly after the Eastern Front. It's no surprise their numbers rose: They probably used membership into the SS as an effective recruitment tool.

Here's a fun fact about the Waffen SS: They were not really elite. Sure, they had specialized training and had priority on most equipment, but apparently, reports from veteran officials and Generals during the initial blitzkrieg on Poland indicated that the Wehrmacht wanted the SS out of combat immediately (or at least out of their same operational area). Their fanaticism and zeal worked at first, but after the initial engagements they were just throwing themselves into fights blindly, messing up flanks, breaking all sort of organization, overextending and committing all sorts of unnecessary havoc on the civilian population.

Unless you were a veteran of WWI with direct affiliation to the Nazi party, most of the truly elite were in the Wehrmacht or recruited into the Brandenburg and Luftwaffe (Fallschirmjägers)

Waffen SS were more like Nazi fanatics than soldiers, they were favored by Hitler and they were receiving better equipment than Wehrmacht.

In late war, like 43-45 number of SS increased because requirements were lowered significantly

Thats a pure pathetic commentary.
Wafenn SS were the élite force of the Germany Army.

thx for your answers, but i was not asking what the Waffen SS is, but how many Waffen SS soldiers in comparison to Wehrmacht at the eastern front.

Thats a pure pathetic commentary.
Wafenn SS were the élite force of the Germany Army.

before you post some worthless commenets, learn history

Thats a pure pathetic commentary.
Wafenn SS were the élite force of the Germany Army.

Well that's a pretty broad statement to be honest.

I remember reading up on the invasion of France, and the Waffen-SS suffered huge loses due to reckless attacks and the will to stay on and fight against impossible odds. Also the Wehrmacht were reluctant to supply the Waffen SS with good equipment as most thought of them as fanatics and poorly trained as soldiers.

That being said as time went on they were developed into an effective fighting machine, that was due to a number of factors such as finally receiving the latest equipment and superior armour in some cases.

I don't think that you can generalise the Waffen-SS as being "elite" there were certainly extremely decorated and effective divisions such as Leibstandarte, Wiking, Das Reich and Hitlerjugened. Notice how I left out Totenkopf, as I believe that they were destroyed and reformed 3 times during their life span. By the end of the war they were made up of SS camp guards, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine (Much like the majority of German units in 45' on the Eastern Front).

So, like all units in World War Two there were good divisions and bad divisions, although I think this idea of the Waffen-SS being somehow superior to the Wehrmacht is quite strange.

Question to the history people out there:

How big was the number of SS ground forces at the eastern front in comparison to the wehrmacht?

From my internet research i found these numbers of Waffen SS increase of numbers over years:


1940: 100.000 soldiers
1941: 220.000 soldiers
1942: 330.000 soldiers
1943: 540.000 soldiers
1944: 910.000 soldiers

These numbers are ofc the total number, not specific to the eastern front.

Considering that there are various sources, some of them contradictory, I guess the numbers you listed are roughly correct as far as I can tell.

Waffen - SS were more resilient because of the stronger indoctrination they received. Since they are derived from the SA ( sturmabteilung) which is the military wing of the political party, SS-Divison put more emphasis on politics and indoctrination. The reason they were often more effective then their Whermacht kameraden is because they kept on fighting, often reluctant to retreat. Therefore, they suffered heavier casualities compared to "normal" divisions. Whether they are considered as Elite I don't know. They were considered better trained because they represented the finest the Third Reich had to offer in terms of fighting power en true belief in the good cause of Lebensraum. This made them more ferocious when fighting untermenschen because they believed themselves to be God's chosen warriors, this is represented in the Gott Mitt Uns belief stated by Hitler himself. Regarding numbers, they certainly grow during the war because as stated, the requirements dropped significantly. They were a force to be reckonned with.
(note of importance : I only want to discuss their fighting capabilities, political BS is out of the question.)

before you post some worthless commenets, learn history

You must be looking at a mirror .
Even a common person or a 5 years old kid have access of what the Wafenn SS become during WW2 history by using wikipedia .
And if your trying to offend me,youre just wasting your time with the short knowledge you have ,but that i already saw on your first troll comment.

Kurt Jager ,by youre logic the British,Russian armies never had elite forces since they suffered several huge defeats.
We are talking about humans and the meaning of élite doesn't mean they are invictus (even if the German army had that prestige and fame since 18 century) or immortals ,only if a new dictionary have been released.

You have to know and deep more the knowledge of things.
My statement is correct at certain point,but,yes they were first created to be the politic party "police" SA,then more guard of honour like royal guard in ancient eras but they were rapidly transformed as the élite army of the German Army.

"By the end of the war, non-Germans made up approximately 60 percent of the Waffen-SS."
So again the idea of being made of fanatics ,its just a pure pathetic comment.
And even before the war begun , in all the world ,the idea of a nation being superior than is neighbor country,a old enemy,a great enemy, its part of the Human kind Warfare history since the Neanderthal times.
The "fanaticism" of being superior than others is the main cause of all wars.
Even today we deal with that "fanaticism" on all aspects of our lifes,on work,with friends,with our wifes,fathers, on sport and so on .But since we tend to learn sometimes, that "fanaticism" of being superior or better than the next one have been transformed to a civilized aspect without the wars.But lets see for how long.

I don´t think i would had to have write all i have till now as its a common knowledge at least for me and I always assume that it was a common knowledge from people that like this era .

Now of course ,in all wars of human kind, the defeated are always humiliated and have to accept the conditions,stories and history from the winners.

Thats what i know by reading several books written from those times.

dude, wtf... i said everything correctly, so as all others here, and you offend only me.

Your point is that Waffen-SS was elite german forces. But in reality they were only good equipped and were taking huge casualties - elite forces dont take huge casualties

Waffen SS divisions took heavier losses I think because they were seen as either breaktrough or stopgap forces. Sent to different sectors of the frontline where they were needed the most. Their radical fanatisism made it harder for them to back down in the face of overwhelming numbers thus making their losses more severe.

As for Barton, I didn't mean to offend you if you meant me by your comment, I was just stating my toughts, as I did once again.

level of history professionals seems quite high in here. go on.

level of history professionals seems quite high in here. go on.

+1, grab popcorn to improve experience!

Any ww2 games will involve everyone in it's community knowing about military tactics, historical warfare, or ww2 facts.

Does the OP have a satisfactory answer, or are we going to argue about the relative mertis of the SS v Wehrmacht

Glantz knows his stuff

http://sti.clemson.edu/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_details&gid=189&Itemid=310

No, I don't know your source for the SS figures or when they relate to (or if they are overall SS strength or just that in the East), but if I drop them in with Glantz you get this

	Axis	         German	         SS	% SS		Soviet
Jun-41	3,767,000	3,117,000	220,000	7%		5,500,000
Jun-42	3,720,000	2,690,000	330,000	12%		5,313,000
Jul-43	3,933,000	3,483,000	540,000	16%		6,724,000
Jun-44	3,370,000	2,520,000	910,000	36%		6,425,000
Jan-45	2,330,000	2,230,000		0%		6,532,000
May-45	1,960,000	1,960,000		0%		6,410,000

So you are going to need to specify where your figures for the SS come from and what they relate to.

When they are from?

Are the total strength or Ostfront only?

Are they referring only to the Waffen SS, or to the SS as a whole?

Thou shalt not ask a simple question expecting a simple and relevant answer.

So you are going to need to specify where your figures for the SS come from and what they relate to.

When they are from?

Are the total strength or Ostfront only?

Are they referring only to the Waffen SS, or to the SS as a whole?

THx for the link. I just wanted a general overview about how many SS Soldiers in comparison to wehrmacht.
My data are the total number of Waffen SS over the years, not specifically eastern front.

Glad to be of assistance, when I get back in I'll contribute to the seperate discussion on unit quality.