into hiding. Using a forged paybook under the name of Sergeant Heinrich Hitzinger, he fled south on 11 May to Friedrichskoog. On 21 May, Himmler and two aides were detained at a checkpoint set up by former Soviet POWs and then handed over to the British Army. On 23 May, after Himmler had admitted his real identity, a doctor attempted to examine him. However, Himmler bit into a hidden cyanide pill and collapsed onto the floor. He was dead within 15 minutes. Divisions All divisions in the Waffen-SS were ordered in a single series of numbers as formed, regardless of type. A total of 39 were formed, beginning with the initial three in 1933 and ramping up to nine alone in 1945. Those tagged with nationalities were at least nominally recruited from those nationalities. Many of the late-formed higher-numbered units were in fact small battlegroups (Kampfgruppen), and divisions in name only. Commanders Josef "Sepp" Dietrich, a former army sergeant with a peasant background, commanded the forerunner of the Waffen-SS, the Sonderkommando Berlin. He would command the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler from its inception to regiment, brigade, and division. He was then given command of the I SS Panzer Corps and by the end of the war was the commander of the 6th SS Panzer Army. Hermann Fegelein commanded the SS Totenkopf Reiterstandarte (Death's-Head Horse Regiment). He was a member of Adolf Hitler's entourage and brother-in-law to Eva Braun through his marriage to her sister Gretl. Paul Hausser, a former general in the regular army, was chosen by Himmler to transform the SS-VT into a credible military organisation. He was the first divisional commander of the Waffen-SS when the SS-VT was formed into a division for the Battle of France. He went on to command the II SS Panzer Corps and the 7th Army. Artur Phleps, a former Romanian general who joined the Waffen-SS, raised and commanded the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen then rose to command the V SS Mountain Corps which fought the Yugoslav Partisans. Felix Steiner, another former army officer and veteran of World War I. He was given command of the SS Regiment Deutschland. He is credited with the creation of small mobile battle groups. He armed his men with submachine guns and grenades instead of rifles and issued camouflage clothing. He commanded the SS Division Wiking and the III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps. Casualties