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During World War II nearly 45,000 Spanish volunteers served with
the German Armed Forces (Wehrmacht) on the Eastern Front. These
men were formed into a volunteer fighting force largely due to
Germany’s alliance with Spain, as well as in recognition for
Hitler’s willingness to provide General Franco with military aid
during the Spanish Civil War. Many Spanish citizens saw Germany’s
conflict with Russia as a war against Communism. This produced a
large number of volunteers between 1941 and 1943.
The first 18,000 Spanish volunteers were organized in Madrid and
transported to
Grafenwohr,
Bavaria where they received their initial training. These men
were later integrated into the German Army and designated the
250th Infantry Division. The unit was formed into two regiments
which were deployed to Russia on
20 August, 1941. Volunteers wore standard German
military uniforms with the exception of an arm shield bearing the
words “España” centered over the red and gold colors of
Spain.
The Spanish “Blue Division” as it was called, was initially
destined to serve with Army Group Center near Smolensk, but was
instead transferred to Army Group North to support the assault on
Leningrad. The Spanish Blue Division fought through the winter of
1941/42 with heavy losses. As a result of these losses and a near
collapse of the entire Division, the Spanish government authorized
a rotational system where both volunteers and conscripts were sent
to the Eastern Front. In the Spring of 1943 General Franco began
negotiations with Hitler to withdraw his fighting men from the
conflict. This came as a result of increased Allied pressure on
the Spanish government as well as Franco’s realization that the
war in Russia would likely end with
Germany’s
loss.
In October of 1943 the first major withdraw of Spanish volunteers
began. However, nearly 3,000 men chose to remain on the Eastern
Front where they were they were later assigned to the 121st
Infantry Division. In an effort to remove
Spain
from what would certainly be a failed campaign, this group was
also recalled by Franco in March 1944. Despite their government’s
pressure to return, several hundred volunteers refused to abandon
the conflict against the Communists. These men were later
assigned to several different German Army units which included the
357th Infantry Division and the 3rd Mountain Division. A small
number were also assigned to specialized units within the Armed-SS
(Waffen-SS) and the elite Brandenburg Division.
In September 1944, one company of Spanish “Brandenburgers” was
sent to Austria where it was integrated into the Waffen-SS and
designated the “Spanische-Freiwilligen-Kompanie der SS 101.” This
unit was assigned to the 28th Waffen-SS Division “Wallonien.” The
same unit was later transferred to the 11th Waffen-SS Division
“Nordland” were it was destroyed in the final battles for Berlin. |
