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Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Assessment/21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian)

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 09:28, 27 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian) edit

Nominator(s): 23 editor and Peacemaker67 (send... over) 12:17, 19 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]


We are nominating this article for A-Class review because it was recently listed at GAN and has subsequently been improved significantly. Another short-lived non-German Waffen-SS division, this time recruited from mainly Kosovar Albanians. Not considered a success, the division mainly slaughtered local Serbs and deserted, taking their weapons with them. The division was disbanded and the German cadre then formed a kampfgruppe which fought well during the withdrawal of German troops from the the Balkans. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 12:17, 19 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments

  • "invaded the Albania": invaded Albania
  • "Increasing difficulties and support from the Albanian government meant that Himmler soon changed his mind,": In general, avoid "meant" in this sense. "But the Albanian government supported the idea; Himmler soon changed his mind,"
  • "were not fulfilled. However, in": were not fulfilled, but in
  • "Photographs exist ... , however this was awarded": ... but this was awarded
  • Support on prose per new standard disclaimer. - Dank (push to talk) 15:32, 27 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support: I believe that this meets the criteria. I have a few suggestions, though:

  • "The division never reached divisional strength" --> "The unit never reached divisional strength"?
  • this seemed a bit passive: "Based in the Albanian capital of Tirana were a Wehrmacht plenipotentiary general and a special representative of Heinrich Himmler, SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS und Polizei Josef Fitzthum". Perhaps if the names were placed at the start it might seem a bit more punchy;
  • "In February 1944, Adolf Hitler approved" (I suggest moving the link for Hitler from here to the earlier mention in the paragraph above);
  • "Most[13] or all of the" --> I wonder if a comma shouldn't be inserted after "Most";
  • "Most of the Muslim Albanian members of the division..." --> "Most of the division's Muslim Albanian members..."?
  • there is a slight mixture of US English and British English variation. For example, "maneuvers" (US) but also "coloured" (British)
  • "In mid-October the division was engaged in heavy fighting around Đakovica". Can we say how they acquitted themselves here? Is anything written on this? Given that the next sentence mentions that they were ordered to disband, the implication is that they didn't do so well, but it is not expressly stated...
  • "II battalion of the 14th SS Volunteer Mountain Infantry Regiment" --> "II Battalion..."?
  • It might be worthwhile linking "cadre" to En cadre.
  • Image licencing and referencing seemed fine to me. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 22:41, 6 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • All done [2]. Re: the second lot of fighting around Đakovica, Kaltenegger (who is the source) doesn't say, and I'm not aware of any source that does. Thanks very much for the review! Regards, Peacemaker67 (send... over) 23:30, 6 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • CommentsSupport
    • No dab links [3] (no action req'd).
    • External links all check out [4] (no action req'd).
    • Some of the images lack Alt Text so you might consider adding it [5] (not an ACR requirement - suggestion only).
    • The Citation Check Tool reveals no issues with reference consolidation (no action req'd).
    • Images are all PD/free and are appropriate for the article. One minor issue:
      • File:Skenderbeis.JPG needs a US tag added to say why it is PD there. Suggest {{PD-1923}} would probably be appropriate as image appears to have been published in 1909-1910. (that said I'm not really all that knowledgeable about Wikipedia's image policies).
    • The Earwig Tool reveal no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing (only a wiki mirror) [6] (no action req'd).
    • No duplicate links per WP:REPEATLINK (no action req'd).
    • Feels like this might need a comma: "The 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian) was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the German Nazi Party that served alongside but was never formally part of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War." Consider "The 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian) was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the German Nazi Party that served alongside, but was never formally part of, the Wehrmacht during the Second World War."
    • No expert on royal styles but this sounds a little redundant: "and the Italian King, Victor Emmanuel III of Italy,", consider perhaps: "and ...the Italian King, Victor Emmanuel III..."
    • "... and form two corps of two divisions...", consider "...and form two corps of two divisions each..." (suggestion only)
    • this seems awkward to me: "...and Himmler saw the Muslim Albanians as a potential source of manpower in Germany's war against the Yugoslav Partisans,[9] who were having difficulty recruiting Kosovo Albanians to join their ranks." Consider: "...and Himmler saw the Muslim Albanians as a potential source of manpower in Germany's war against the Yugoslav Partisans, due to the difficulties experienced recruiting Kosovo Albanians to join their ranks."
    • "...was only of use for basic guarding duties....", considered instead: "...was only of use for basic garrison duties..." (suggestion only)
    • "...killing their German officers and NCOs...", abbrev NCO should be formally introduced at first use per WP:MOS.
    • A little repetitive here: "By this time, the division numbered less than 7,000 men, which was less than one-third of its intended strength." (Less used twice in one sentence). Consider: "By this time, the division numbered fewer than 7,000 men, which was less than one-third of its intended strength."
    • Otherwise a very good article completed with the usual attention to detail. Anotherclown (talk) 04:48, 27 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]
      • Thanks for the review and suggested amendments, Ac. I'be adopted most of them. My edits are here. I didn't modify the guarding/garrisoning issue as I see a subtle difference between the two. I have now added the PD-1923 tag to the Commons file, it was clearly published in 1909-1910. Regards, Peacemaker67 (send... over) 05:11, 27 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
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