There were several different nations that fought on the side of the Germans against the Soviets during WWII. Some of them were nations in the Axis forces while others were volunteers who, for various reasons, chose to fight. In many cases, these volunteers were not so much pro-Nazi as they were anti-communist and were willing to help overthrow the communist regime in Russia and the other Soviet states. Such is the case of probably the best of these troops, the Spanish Blue Division.

These troops were initially made up of Falangist activists who wanted nothing more than to increase their power in Spanish politics. It was felt that by forming a distinct armed unit from the regular Spanish army (as in the Waffen SS) to fight against the communists, that this would help to increase their influence and perhaps provide them the basis for a loyal army if the time came to use it. However, the regular Spanish army wasn't stupid and successfully took over the volunteer process to ensure that it would not be totally Falangist.

Such was the fervor to get into the action once Germany invaded Russia, that many were turned away. Those that were accepted were generally well educated college students as well as Falangist sympathizers and some ex-army people. This first group of volunteers was sent off with much fanfare for their 1 year tour on the Eastern Front. Though they required training, they learned very quickly and unlike most of the other volunteer or Axis units, they were fully equipped with modern German weaponry. They turned out to be outstanding troops and while there was some friction between regular German officers and the Spanish, this quickly dissipated once they were thrown into battle. It is safe to say that the Blue Division was the only non-German unit that the German army trusted to do its job and stand firm when required. This not only gave them an outstanding reputation, but also resulted in a rather high casualty rate. While Spanish army doctrine was not the same as the Germans in terms of fluid fighting, when it came to defending territory, they were first rate.

In this book on the Blue Division, author C. Caballero Jurado covers a brief chronology that led up to the formation of the divsion, followed by a section on recruitment and organization. We then get to look at how their training went in Germany before seeing how the units were composed. Then it is on to life on the Eastern Front. The unit's motivation and morale is next and amongst all the volunteer units, they were probably the most motivated and with the highest morale. We then get to see how they operated while on campaign and then what happened when the war was over and they were repatriated. All of this is superbly illustrated by Ramiro Bujeiro and a superb collection of period photographs.

This makes for a most interesting read of a formation of troops of which few outside of Spain have ever heard. I thoroughly enjoyed this issue and I know you will as well.

December 2009

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