German 172nd Anti-Aircraft (Flak) Battalion

172nd Anti-Aircraft (Flak) Battalion (mixed)

gemischte Flak-Abteilung 172 (v)

History

Formed in June 1944 with 3 heavy and 2 light batteries, located in Zemun as part of the 38th Anti-Aircraft Regiment of 20th Anti-Aircraft Division and seems to be the only know unit formed entirely from Croatian Anti-Aircraft Legion personnel (listed as Croatian volunteers but this is doubtful since Flak Legion received few volunteers and was largely filled with Serb or physically unfit Croat conscripts and reservists). Battalion was scheduled for transfer to East Prussia which was threatened by Red Army after destruction of German Army Group Center in Operation Bagration.

This caused mass desertion and by 27 July 287 out of 600 soldiers were gone, some giving up their weapons to the peasants and some even engaging German patrols in combat. 4 soldiers were executed in Belgrade. Fearing large scale uprising Germans disarmed entire unit at 23:00 on 27 July and sent it to East Prussia with their weapons and equipment in a separate train on the following day.

Stevan GavriÄ‡: Deseta vojvoÄ‘anska brigada, Novi Sad, 1980, pages 83-84