Hitlers French Volunteers

Christophe Leguérandais

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781473856561
• eBook ISBN: 9781473856578
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

From 1941 to 1945, a large number of foreign soldiers were incorporated into the ranks of the German army in order to compensate for the enormous losses suffered by the Wehrmacht, including thousands of French. Whether fighting against the Soviets on the Eastern Front, with the Afrika-Korps in Tunisia or fighting with the occupying army in France, these volunteers generally took the plunge to join the Germans with the authorization of their own government, even though there was never any 'formal link' to the Vichy regime.For the first time in the English language, this book provides details of the units' various insignias, along with rare and previously unpublished and personal photographs of the few surviving members interviewed by the author. As a result, a new vision of these collaborators emerges, allowing them to be regarded as adventurers or even nationalists. After all, despite being clothed in the enemy's uniform, the majority of these soldiers respected their oath of allegiance, often giving their lives in return.

Chapter One

The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (LVF)

The LVF was created in Paris after being approved by Adolf Hitler in the summer of 1941, on the condition that the initiative would follow the collaborationist pro-German political parties, with no commitment to the French government, who instead preferred to keep its distance. These political groups were entrusted with recruiting volunteers for a new regiment in the German Army that was to fight in Russia. At the same time, anti-Communist White Russians arrived en masse from their motherland with the aim of fighting the Bolshevist Red Army.

The Deba camp near Krakow, in occupied Poland, was the chosen location for the training of the officially named Französischer Infanterie-Regiment 638, commanded by the French Colonel, Roger Labonne. The first contingent of 803 men and 25 officers arrived on 8 September 1941 to form the 1st Battalion, but a surprise awaited them; they learnt that they would have to fight whilst wearing a German Army uniform, the same uniform they had been fighting against for the past year and not the French Army uniform that had been promised them when they signed up. France was not at war with Russia and consequently the Hague Convention forbade them from fighting in their national uniform. This clause likewise affected the Spanish, Belgians, Danish and Dutch, who were also involved in the same struggle. A concession was made allowing them to wear a tricolour cloth badge on the right sleeve of their field uniform, thus distinguishing them from other soldiers. A second contingent of nearly 800 volunteers arrived on 20 September to form the 2nd Battalion. On 5 October the recruits were faced with a new challenge; they had to swear an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler, as was usual practice for the German Army. After several weeks of training, the 1st and 2nd Battalions set off for the front at the end of October. The legionnaires, divided into fourteen companies under the command of French officers, retained their flag and the use of weapons currently used by the French Army. By late November they were attached to the 7th Division of the 7th Bavarian Infantry Corps, commanded by General von Gablenz, and found themselves in the front-line facing the 32nd Siberian Division, near Djukowo, 70km from Moscow. Despite the exceptional cold and fatigue caused by severe hunger, they fulfilled their mission and were replaced by a German unit in early December. Nevertheless, a reorganisation of the unit was needed as a result of the missing, and dead, soldiers, as well as the incompetence that had been revealed at several levels, including management. A severe purge was carried out at the Kruszyna camp, in the General Government of Poland, and many ‘political’ soldiers took the opportunity to discharge themselves from the army and fight for their homeland once more. The 2nd Battalion was disbanded with all the men being put into the 1st Battalion and training began from scratch. Meanwhile, a third battalion had been in training at Deba since December 1941, and during all the years of its existence, the legion in the East would regularly receive new recruits from France.

In spring 1942 the two battalions of the LVF (1st and 3rd) were assigned to the Army Group Centre in the Steppes, although they were curiously sent to two different locations and therefore operated separately. From now on, the ‘Great Front’ was at an end and now their task was to fight the partisans behind the Reich forces. Meanwhile in France, the government carried out various upheavals to the LVF, including renaming it the Tricolour Regiment, but after initial success, the operation was denied by Hitler and it ended in failure. The volunteers in the East were not affected by these changes and were more preoccupied with the dangers that surrounded them, rather than what was happening at home. They witnessed the arrival of new comrades, including officers, who thanks to their previous military experience, were now put at the service of the Legion.

Since early 1943 the French government had funded an intense propaganda programme using meetings, posters and other publications to recruit new members to make up for the losses incurred. From its creation, some members of the Legion had seen their windows smashed by opponents to the new order, and those on leave often found themselves targets of snipers or attacks. The general public were more concerned with finding food to eat for themselves, rather than worrying about the fate of their sons in the land of Stalin. In October one of the most important figures in the story of the French volunteers, Colonel Edgar Puaud, arrived in Russia. As head of the entire Legion, his aim was to bring together the 1st and 3rd Battalions, who at this point were still fighting separately. He also started to put together a new 2nd Battalion which was to be attached to the other two, straddling the main road between Moscow and Minsk, in Belarus. However, the three battalions were still understaffed.

1944 was a turning point for the LVF, after the French maquis [rural guerilla band of French Resistance fighters] began to intensify their operations and a deal was made to combat the so-called ‘terrorists’ (supporters of General de Gaulle, who had been living in exile in London since 1940, communists, apolitical resistors etc.). In the East, the LVF continued to fight the Soviet partisans behind the 4th German Army, but by late June its fate had been decided; it was to return to France. A few hours before its departure, the ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (LVF)
• Chapter 2: The Tricolour Regiment
• Chapter 3: The African Phalanx
• Chapter 4: The NSKK-Motorgruppe Luftwaffe
• Chapter 5: The Todt Organisation
• Chapter 6: The Kriegsmarine
• Chapter 7: The Franzosische-SS-Freiwilligen-Sturmbrigade No.8
• Chapter 8: The 33rd Waffen-Grenadier-Division of the SS Charlemagne (French No.1)
• Afterword