The Finnisches Freiwilligen-Bataillon der Waffen-SS was a Finnish volunteer combat battalion of the German Waffen-SS. It saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. Formed in 1941 as SS Freiwilligen-Battalion Nordost, the battalion was made up of 1,200 Finnish volunteers who had signed to fight against the Soviet Union for two years. While many Finns were already serving with the SS-Division Wiking, the battalion differed in that it was staffed with Finnish officers and NCOs (Wiking being commanded by Germans).
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| - Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS
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| - The Finnisches Freiwilligen-Bataillon der Waffen-SS was a Finnish volunteer combat battalion of the German Waffen-SS. It saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. Formed in 1941 as SS Freiwilligen-Battalion Nordost, the battalion was made up of 1,200 Finnish volunteers who had signed to fight against the Soviet Union for two years. While many Finns were already serving with the SS-Division Wiking, the battalion differed in that it was staffed with Finnish officers and NCOs (Wiking being commanded by Germans).
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| - Arm badges of Finnish Waffen-SS
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| - Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS
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| - The Finnisches Freiwilligen-Bataillon der Waffen-SS was a Finnish volunteer combat battalion of the German Waffen-SS. It saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. Formed in 1941 as SS Freiwilligen-Battalion Nordost, the battalion was made up of 1,200 Finnish volunteers who had signed to fight against the Soviet Union for two years. While many Finns were already serving with the SS-Division Wiking, the battalion differed in that it was staffed with Finnish officers and NCOs (Wiking being commanded by Germans). The mathematician Rolf Nevanlinna was chairman of the Committee for the Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS. After initial training in Vienna the battalion was transferred for more training to Stralsund in June 1941 and at the beginning of August to the infantry barracks at Gross-Born, Pomerania, where it was attached to SS Division Wiking. The battalion was sent to the Eastern front in January 1942 and took part in battles along the Mius River and later in the Caucasus campaign of 1942, forming the southernmost vanguard made by the Germans during the campaign. The battalion reached the Grozny oil fields before finally being pushed back by the Soviets. In May 1943 the battalion was transferred away from the front, as the two years was at an end, and was disbanded in July 1943. Those members of the battalion who wanted to stay in Waffen-SS joined SS Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier Division Nordland or SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers. The unit lost 255 men killed in action, 686 wounded and 14 missing during its service. The battalion was praised by many Waffen-SS commanders, even Heinrich Himmler, for its combat performance. Himmler said "Where a Finnish SS-man stood, the enemy was always defeated." Neither the unit nor any of its members were ever accused of any war crimes.
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