Although Spanish dictator Field Marshal (Generalísimo) Francisco Franco did not enter World war II on the side of Nazi Germany, he permitted volunteers to join the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) on the clear and guaranteed condition they would fight against Bolshevism (Soviet Communism) on the Eastern Front, and not against the Western Allies or any Western European occupied populations. In this manner, he could keep Spain at peace with the Western Allies whilst simultaneously repaying Adolf Hitler for his support during the Spanish Civil War (see Condor Legion). Spanish foreign minister Ramón Serrano Súñer made the suggestion to raise a volunteer corps, and at the commencement of Operation Barbarossa, Franco sent an official offer of help to Berlin.




Hitler approved the use of Spanish volunteers on June 24, 1941. Volunteers flocked to recruiting offices in all the metropolitan areas of Spain. Cadets from the officer training school in Zaragoza volunteered in particularly large numbers. Initially, the Spanish government was prepared to send about 4,000 men, but soon realized that there were more than enough volunteers to fill an entire division: 18,104 men in all, with 2,612 officers and 15,492 soldiers.




Fifty percent of officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) were professional soldiers, many of them veterans of the Spanish Civil War. Many others were members of the Falange (the Spanish Fascist party). Others felt pressure to join because of past ties with the Republic or—like Luis García Berlanga, who later became a well-known cinema director—to help their relatives in Franco's prisons. The division also included a number of Portuguese volunteers.




General Agustín Muñoz Grandes was assigned to lead the volunteers. Because the soldiers could not use official Spanish army uniforms, they adopted a symbolic uniform comprising the red berets of the Carlists, khaki trousers used in the Spanish Legion, and the blue shirts of the Falangists—hence the nickname "Blue Division." This uniform was used only while on leave in Spain; in the field, soldiers wore the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) field grey uniform with a shield on the upper right sleeve bearing the word "España" and the Spanish national colours.




































































 

A bump!

Wild

Interesting topic...  thanks for posting.

 

The only thing that makes me happier than a dead communist? Two dead communists.

And I never tire of reading about the brave men who killed them.

Never.  

dead commie is best commie...

Good book.  Historical novel.   Battle of Kursk.  Central character is a Blue Division guy.  It's actually where I learned about the Blue Division.

Franco's maneuvering during WWII was really interesting, and driven as much by balancing his internal constituencies as the global war itself.

He and Hitler both hated each other.

Interestingly, Franco used Spanish diplomatic missions to get Sephardic Jews out of German-occupied areas and into Spain.

You have to give credit to Franco. Hitler said he'd rather have his teeth pulled than deal with Franco. Not many leaders got away with that.

Interesting, taking out commies is a good thing.

Spain heard there was missing gold in the area.

Thats interesting. I learned something new today.

very interesting read, thanks!

From the Wiki page linked by the OP (emphasis mine):

"The casualties of the Blue Division and its successors included 4,954 men killed and 8,700 wounded. Another 372 members of the Blue Division, the Blue Legion, or volunteers of the Spanische-Freiwilligen Kompanie der SS 101 were taken prisoner by the victorious Red Army; 286 of these men were kept in captivity until April 2, 1954, when they returned to Spain aboard the ship Semiramis, supplied by the International Red Cross.[6]"

How does that date (or length of captivity) compare to other German POWs being released by the Soviets?  Better, worse?  I'd imagine that SS POWs were probably never released.

Good read, OP, thanks!

Everyone hated the commies except the Allies. Funny how that worked out.

About the same.

Cool thread


bump

Canaris supposedly gave Franco tips about what to ask for from Hitler as a condition to go "all in" with the Axis that would never be granted-like Tiger tanks, multi-engined bombers, etc.



 

A shitload never came back.

 

Fascists flocked to serve the Nazis.
France had the Charlemagne Division.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/33rd_Waffen_Grenadier_Division_of_the_SS_Charlemagne_(1st_French)

About the same.  They held Germans captive for years. Payback



 

All fun and games until you end up on the losing end of the stick, now years of being a POW



 

I knew from one of Paul Carrell's books about the Blue Division, but wasn't aware that any of them survived.

Well that's one thing I've never imagined before....bunch of dudes in Wehrmacht uniforms fighting Russians on the eastern front while shouting commands in Spanish

And were some hard fighting fuckers.

 

Great book.

Why after suffering through the Spanish Civil War would you sign up to fight on the Russian Front?

Franco played Hitler like a fiddle.  From what I've read, Hitler wanted Spain  to take Gibraltar from the British to tie up the Mediterranean and Franco
strung him along without commitment.

How well did they fight?

They definitely fared better than many German POWs.  Germans from eastern Germany who were captured by the Western allies stayed in captivity usually for four years.  When they were released they went back to their homes in the Soviet zone, where they were arrested and imprisoned *again*.

Holy shit, I didn't know that!  That had to suck.  I also didn't know that we kept that long after the war.  I just *assumed* that we pretty much let them go as soon as the war was over and we could get them back to Germany.

The Soviets kept some German prisoners until the end of the 1950s.  It's not outside the realm of imagination that some were kept longer and never made it home.  Many did die before they ever had a chance to be repatriated.  A few managed to escape.

 

The ones that did were extensively represented in Franco's government and held numerous senior posts up until he died.

 


Mannerheim played the Germans like a fiddle.  He took Hitler to school.

 


Because the Soviets bankrolled, equipped and propped up the Spanish "Republicans" during the Spanish Civil War.



The Spanish republic and the "heroes" of the "international brigades" were fucking commies.


Abraham Lincoln Brigade (US Brigade who fought for the "Republicans" and have been celebrated ever since) were fucking commies.


They all should have been shot.

 


They acquitted themselves like elite troops.


Many were combat experienced from the Spanish Civil War.

and it was all fun and games until these guys joined up...

 



Bosnian muslims.  Propaganda only.  Served no military meaningful purpose.

Relegated to dealing with Yugoslav partisans, and they were fucking atrocious at that.

As much as I hate Fascists, commies are another shade shittier. Fuck 'em both, but I'm glad some Spaniards lent a hand to give the Reds some high speed lead implants.

The Blue Division liked to party hard too, one time when one of their battalions (or even a regiment, been a while since I read it) was in an R&R area the local German commander complained that the Spaniards spent too much time drinking and taking up with loose women than doing respectable things like watching Nazi propaganda films and learning how to cook strudel; shortly thereafter the entire unit marched in review for the German commander...with rubbers tied to the ends of their rifles.



I'll have to dig out the book I read that in to find out the exact circumstances, but it amused me greatly.



If I'm remembering right one of the regiments of the Blue Division also has the record for longest distance moved solely on foot in WWII.