How effective was the Waffen-SS as a fighting force?

>>3332313
about 3 or 4 divisions were very good, another 3 or 4 were avarage, comparable to any standart divisions of WW2. Rest were Volksturm with shitty weapons and judeo-negroid soldiers

>>3332346
This. Only a few divisions were good.

>>3332346
Volk grenadiers in the battle of the bulge were a fairly effective fighting force

But then again they were outfitted with the best equipment

>>3332398
They were bottom of the barrel infantry.

literally a meme

>>3332346
I would say Das Reich, Liebstandarte, Hitlerjugend, Charlemagne, Wiking were superior forces. The rest were average to poor.

>>3335358
Totenkopf, Hohenstaufen, Florian Geyer, Frundsberg, Polizei
hitlerjugend out, charlemagne aswell

the volunteers and multi nationality divisions were meme divisions

>>3335376
I've just been reading about the Florian Geyer. I'd agree.

There was Dirlewanger's group too, but they were more of a smaller, special forces outfit. They had a bad reputation also.

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>>3332313
crappy fanatical political arm of the nazi party
the good ones were the one with lavish equipments,the rest has to make do with shit weapons

>>3335404
> political arm of the Nazi party
What?

The Waffen-SS were more political than the regular army, but they were by no means 'crappy'. The Das Reich and Hitlerjugend were feared by all the allies and for good reason.

>>3332313
wildly variable.

its good units were very good, its bad units were only fit for rear area security and war crimes, although could be used for last stands on the basis that surrender wasnt a option for them, as their enemies would rightly execute them anyway

>>3335376
>the volunteers and multi nationality divisions were meme divisions

Wiking was considered top notch amongst skill and the finnish branch of that battallion was hailed even by Himmler

>Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, Order of the day, July 11, 1943: "Where a Finnish SS-man stood, enemy was always defeated."

>Felix Steiner, commander of the Panzer Division Wiking: "My Führer, where Finns stand, there stand our best soldiers!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2epIe3oxbM

(Can't tell if it's Goebbels holding the speech or Hitler)

>>3332313

it's easy to look semi competent when you're sandbagging and defending

>>3335409
>can't even lead a war without war crimes
>still losed the war
Highly simplified post. Early SS were street thugs. Early 40s Waffen-SS was highly capable due to elite training. Later on it stopped being a voluntairy force for people of "Aryan" origin and turned into the foreign legion of Germany. They also started so suck.

>>3335878
>trusting a Finnish youtuber who used a Hitler speec underlined with epic music
>high level of discourse

>>3335878
himmler is not a soldier, has no military education
, his words worth as much as a goat

furthermore, it was a panzergrenadier division in reality, with only 1 panzerregiment, instead of 2-3

the finns were removed from the division in 1943, those quotes are from there, its also the time where the division underwent reorganization and is supposed to become a panzer one

they signed a 2 year contract to fight the USSR, and they were let go unless they wanted to continue serving which some of them did under the newly organized Nord division, which also became a meme division

just for the record none of the Wiking regiments exceeded 1000 man of volunteers from their respective nationality, you can respect their determination but just that doesnt make them an "elite" fighting force

>>3335409

> The Das Reich and Hitlerjugend were feared by all the allies and for good reason.

Hitlerjugend failed to break through a single regiment from a completely green division. So much for "feared".

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>>3332313
varies from really good to really bad

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>>3335389
>There was Dirlewanger's group too, but they were more of a smaller, special forces outfit.
special forces, as in they slaughtered civvies instead of fighting the Russians