Quote:
Originally posted by Basenshukai
During World War Two, Spain was neutral as well. However, from the period of 1939 to 1942, it was quite close to the Axis Powers. The rule of Franco and the economic destruction following its three-year civil war, took any incentive out of the Spanish government to involve itself into a destructive conflict. Nevertheless, Franco had entered into talks with Hitler in order to secure Spain’s security during the war (a pervasive attitude in Europe called “appeasement”).
|
The Division Azul ("Blue Division") was formed from volunteers in 1941. The first Spanish troops arrived at Grafenwöhr in July 1941. On 25 July, they were officially designated the 250. Infanterie-Division and reorganized on German lines (Spanish infantry divisions at the time were "square" divisions, with 4 regiments; German divisions were triangular, with 3 regiments). On the evening of 11-12 October 1941, the division conducted a relief in place of a German division of the XXXVIII Army Corps, 18th Army, Army Group North. The next night, the Spaniards saw their first combat. They would fight pretty much continuously through that first Russian winter and into 1942. By September 1942, they were part of the siege of Leningrad. Between February 9 and February 11, 1943, the Spaniards suffered heavy casualties (75%) in the battle of Krasny Bor. Fighting continued throughout the year and in October 1943, the division was withdrawn and began the return to Spain. Several thousand volunteers remained behind as a Spanish Legion (the "Legion Azul") and served into early 1944. By April 1944, the Spanish Legion returned to Spain, but several hundred Spaniards remained in German service, including SS-Obersturmbannführer Miguel Ezquerra's Sturmabteilung "Ezquerra", which fought until the end in the battle of Berlin (Ezquerra himself managed to get out of Berlin after the Soviet victory).