Alternate Waffen SS

I was watching a documentary on the Russian VDV, which in reality fulfils a role similar to the USMC for the Russian state.

So instead of the Waffen SS being another army, what if it assumed the paratrooper role thereby still fulfilling its mission as being an elite formation and providing the Third Reich a ready reaction force?

First of all is this possible and if so how would it work in reality?
 
But it was ment to be another army. USMC and VDV fill a specific role within their national militaries (as do large airborne and marine forces in different militaries). They are better trained, better equiped, more motivated etc and rely on all that to fulfill their missions even if these missions are not what they are actually ment for.

W-SS were not supplement to Heer or another branch in Wehrmacht, they were party army for different purposes. With their own origin and developent and pzrpose. To create different W-SS you need to change a lot during early Nazism, i.e. early 20s, and change soem of their leadership, mostly Himmler. And that could mean Nazis and Nazi Germany are very different.
 
Himmler wanted the Waffan-SS to eventually replace the standing army, but if they're just another part of the Heer (all be it an elite one) that can't happen, so I doubt Himmler would accept that. Also the full range military the Waffan SS became acted as a counter balance the the army who (since it was the one state organisation he could not fully control) Hitler never fully trusted. You'd need either a more submissive Heer or a more amicable Hitler (neither of which are going to happen.)

Also late in the war the Waffan-SS became a dumping ground for all the non-german's they were having to recruit if the SS only has a marine corps role they may not have space for all of them. I'm not sure what effect having non german nationals in the Heer would have.
 

Redbeard

Banned
But it was ment to be another army. USMC and VDV fill a specific role within their national militaries (as do large airborne and marine forces in different militaries). They are better trained, better equiped, more motivated etc and rely on all that to fulfill their missions even if these missions are not what they are actually ment for.

W-SS were not supplement to Heer or another branch in Wehrmacht, they were party army for different purposes. With their own origin and developent and pzrpose. To create different W-SS you need to change a lot during early Nazism, i.e. early 20s, and change soem of their leadership, mostly Himmler. And that could mean Nazis and Nazi Germany are very different.

Exactly! Taking SS out of the Nazis is like taking porn out of a porn movie, not much is left...;)

Sorry, couldn't resist, but like others have already said SS was meant to be what it was - a party army. The Nazi party never had any prominent confidence in the army.

The only way I can see a Nazi Germany without the SS is if Röhm and the SA win the powerfight vs. Hitler and companions. Then there will be no SS nor Army, but only a huge revolutionary SA acting not unlike the Redguards during Mao's "Culture Revolution".
 
Exactly! Taking SS out of the Nazis is like taking porn out of a porn movie, not much is left...;)

Sorry, couldn't resist, but like others have already said SS was meant to be what it was - a party army. The Nazi party never had any prominent confidence in the army.

The only way I can see a Nazi Germany without the SS is if Röhm and the SA win the powerfight vs. Hitler and companions. Then there will be no SS nor Army, but only a huge revolutionary SA acting not unlike the Redguards during Mao's "Culture Revolution".

Well, not entirely. You cold have different SS if different people are in charge. Remove Himmler and SS takes a very different route and either remains small elite protection force or evolves into something different from OTL SS and SS-related organisations.

I really wonder how she's going to be able to pay for that pizza when she doesn't have the cash! I guess we'll never know.

https://youtu.be/DE616wfY5c0?t=1m25s
 
I was watching a documentary on the Russian VDV, which in reality fulfils a role similar to the USMC for the Russian state.

So instead of the Waffen SS being another army, what if it assumed the paratrooper role thereby still fulfilling its mission as being an elite formation and providing the Third Reich a ready reaction force?

if Goering was the leader he probably would have built up the paratrooper force as his guard, along with his panzer division (which grew into corps anyway.)

he also controlled 100s of thousands in the Flak corps and before it was transferred to Himmler the Gestapo.
 
Maybe change the wartime role of the SS to use them as shock troops with the Wehrmacht acting to mop up whatever the SS did not get the first time. Have the SS suffer disproportionately heavy casualties with a martyr complex among the SS and disbelief and unspoken theories of lunacy among some of the rest of the German populace.
 
Maybe change the wartime role of the SS to use them as shock troops with the Wehrmacht acting to mop up whatever the SS did not get the first time. Have the SS suffer disproportionately heavy casualties with a martyr complex among the SS and disbelief and unspoken theories of lunacy among some of the rest of the German populace.

Heer is not going to stand for it. besides, early in the war they W-SS were small and badly equiped.
 
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