Militaria Archive
Polizei Battalion 181, Kranj (Krainburg), Slovenia, anti-partisan activity - 1942
Polizei Battalion 181 was formed with personnel from the Salzburg, Austria area in the fall of 1939. July 1942 in Veldes, Polizei Battalion 181 became III./SS Polizei Regiment 19. The pictures in this photo album are believed to date from the years up to 1943.
In December 1939 the battalion was attached to Police Regiment Radom. The battalion was issued 18 light machine guns on May 5, 1941, (photographs from this training are featured in this album). April 1941: Transferred to Oberkrain during the second half of April. Initially tasked with maintenance of order and the deportation of ‘unreliable and undesirables’ among the Slovenian population. August 8 to 9, 1941: Took part in the first German operations against partisans in Slovenia with a sweep in the mountains southwest of Radovljica (Radmannsdorf). December 12, 1941: The Partisan Cankarev Battalion reportedly ambushed and “destroyed” a 52 man patrol from Police Battalion 181 near Škofja Loka, claiming 45 killed and 7 wounded. December 27, 1941 to January 12, 1942: The battalion together with Police Battalions 44, 93, 171, 325 and Landesschützen Battalion 322 and 857, took part in the first large antipartisan operation in Slovenia. Several photographs in this album show areas previously documented as used by the Polizei Battalion 325 and are possibly from this operation. December 31, 1941: The battalion is stationed in Kamnik. June 30, 1942: Elements of the battalion were supporting an Italian antipartisan operation in the Horjul area. August 1, 1942: The battalion is in Crainburg.
Locations featured; Graz, Austria (Wehrkreis XVIII), Kranj (Krainburg), Ljubljana (Laibach) Slovenia.
Sources: Rolf Michaelis ‘Combat Operations of the German Ordnungspolizei 1939-1945’.
Polizeiregiment 19 (181. Bataillon), 9. Kompanie,
