Service Record
With about 1,000 recruits, the corps was sent to Langenhorn barracks near Hamburg for basic training in late July 1941. It was considered ready for action by September 15 and sent to Owinska in Poland.
C.P. Kryssing was dismissed in February 1942 for insufficient ideological adherence to Nazism. He was transferred to the artillery where he actually ended his career as a general.
Christian Frederik von Schalburg — a Danish-Russian aristocrat, anti-communist and member of the DNSAP. He had been raised in Russia and had seen the aftermath of the Russian revolution in 1917 — replaced Kryssing as the leader of Frikorps Danmark.
On May 8, 1942, the corps was ordered to the front line. The corps fought near Demyansk south of Lake Ilmen and Novgorod. During the night of June 2, Schalburg was killed. Hans Albert von Lettow-Vorbeck, his German replacement, was killed only a few days later. On July 11, 1942, Knud Børge Martinsen took command of the corps.
From August to October, the corps returned to Denmark, and met much hostility from the civilian population. On November 13, 1942, the corps was deployed to Jelgava in Latvia. Originally it was intended for anti-partisan activities, but was then moved up to the frontline. In December the corps engaged in the Battle of Velikiye Luki in intense fighting, alongside the 1 SS Infantry Brigade.
In March, the corps was transferred to Grafenwöhr near Nuremberg in Germany. Then on June 6, 1943, the corps was disbanded. Most soldiers were transferred to "Regiment 24 Dänemark" in "Division Nordland". Others joined groups such as the HIPO Corps or Schalburg Corps.
Read more about this topic: Free Corps Denmark
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