Blue Division
Francisco Franco secured power in Spain after the Nationalist victory in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939. More than 300,000 people died during that conflict while lasting damage struck the country's economy. The Nationalists received support from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy throughout their struggle against left-leaning factions. These communist and anarchist groups backed the republican army with Soviet aid. Franco seriously contemplated joining the Axis Powers following the Fall of France in 1940. He met Adolf Hitler on 23, the 24th of October 1940 at Hendaye to discuss Spanish belligerency but failed to gain promises for colonial territories. Hitler feared delegitimizing the new Vichy regime in France so no agreement emerged. Franco sympathized with many aspects of fascist ideology especially its anti-communism stance.
The German invasion of the Soviet Union began on the 22nd of June 1941 leading to renewed interest in participating as an anti-communist crusade. Foreign Minister Ramón Serrano Suñer first proposed a Spanish contribution within hours of the invasion. Recruitment began on the 27th of June 1941 and 18,373 men had volunteered by the 2nd of July 1941. Fifty per cent of officers and NCOs were professional soldiers given leave from the Spanish Army including many veterans of the Spanish Civil War. Almost a fifth of early volunteers were students while others came from Falangist movement cadres. General Agustín Muñoz Grandes was assigned to lead the volunteers. Soldiers could not use official Spanish Army uniforms so they adopted a symbolic uniform comprising red berets of the Carlists. They wore khaki trousers of the Spanish Legion and blue shirts of the Falangists hence earning the nickname Blue Division. This uniform appeared only while on leave in Spain since field operations required German Army field grey uniforms.
On the 31st of July after taking the Hitler Oath the Blue Division became formally incorporated into the German Wehrmacht as the 250th Division. The division was initially assigned to Army Group Center advancing towards Moscow before being rerouted to Army Group North closing on Leningrad. Headquarters settled in Grigorovo on the outskirts of Novgorod along the banks of the Volkhov River and Lake Ilmen. Division soldiers used the iconostasis of the Church of Saint Theodore Stratelates on the Brook for firewood during harsh winters. The high cupola of the Church of the Transfiguration on Ilyina Street served as a machine-gun nest resulting in serious damage to medieval icons by Theophanes the Greek. In August 1942 the unit transferred north to the southeastern flank of the siege near Pushkin Kolpino and Krasny Bor. General Emilio Esteban Infantes took command when the Soviet 55th Army attacked Spanish positions at the Battle of Krasny Bor in February 1943. Despite very heavy casualties Spaniards held their ground against a Soviet force seven times larger supported by tanks.
Franco initiated negotiations in the spring of 1943 after Allied pressure mounted on Spain regarding its quasi alliance with Germany. He gave an order to withdraw on October 10 but some Spanish volunteers refused to return home. On the 3rd of November 1943 the Spanish government ordered all troops to return to Spain ending the main division's service. The total of non-returners was close to 3,000 men mostly Falangists who joined other German units instead. Fresh volunteers slipped across the Spanish border near Lourdes in occupied France forming new pro-German Spanish units collectively called the Blue Legion. Spaniards initially remained part of the 121st Infantry Division before this meagre force returned home on the 21st of March 1944. Platoon members served in the 3rd Mountain Division and the 357th Infantry Division while one unit went to Latvia. Two companies joined the Brandenburger Regiment and the 121st Division in Nazi security warfare in Yugoslavia. Through rotation as many as 45,000 Spanish soldiers served on the Eastern Front over time.
Hundreds of Blue Division prisoners of war were held by Soviet authorities after the conflict ended. Francoist Spain and the Soviet Union did not have diplomatic relations so most prisoners from other nations faced different repatriation timelines. Soviet camps held together staunch anti-Communist prisoners alongside those who collaborated with Soviets through hidden ideology or captivity. Republican sailors whose ships had been requisitioned after the fall of the Republic also found themselves detained there. In 1954 after the death of Stalin the French Red Cross arranged for the ship Semiramis to bring prisoners desiring repatriation to Barcelona. 286 men remained in captivity until the 2nd of April 1954 when they finally returned to Spain aboard that vessel supplied by the International Red Cross. The division suffered 22,700 casualties while inflicting 49,300 casualties against the Red Army during their service period.
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Common questions
What was the Blue Division and when did it form?
The Blue Division was a unit of Spanish volunteers in the German Wehrmacht that formed after the German invasion of the Soviet Union began on the 22nd of June 1941. Recruitment started on the 27th of June 1941 and 18,373 men had volunteered by the 2nd of July 1941.
Why did Francisco Franco allow Spain to join World War II as part of the Blue Division?
Francisco Franco sympathized with fascist ideology especially its anti-communism stance which motivated his decision to support Germany after the Fall of France in 1940. He met Adolf Hitler on the 24th of October 1940 at Hendaye but failed to gain promises for colonial territories before allowing volunteers to fight against the Soviet Union.
How many casualties did the Blue Division suffer during their service period?
The division suffered 22,700 casualties while inflicting 49,300 casualties against the Red Army during their service period. Through rotation as many as 45,000 Spanish soldiers served on the Eastern Front over time.
When did the main Blue Division unit return to Spain from the Eastern Front?
On the 3rd of November 1943 the Spanish government ordered all troops to return to Spain ending the main division's service. Fresh volunteers formed new pro-German Spanish units collectively called the Blue Legion and some returned home on the 21st of March 1944.
What happened to Blue Division prisoners of war held by Soviet authorities after World War II ended?
Hundreds of Blue Division prisoners of war were held by Soviet authorities after the conflict ended because Francoist Spain and the Soviet Union did not have diplomatic relations. 286 men remained in captivity until the 2nd of April 1954 when they finally returned to Spain aboard a vessel supplied by the International Red Cross.