33rd SS Grenadier Division "Charlemagne"

The predecessor of the Charlemagne division was the Volunteer French Legion, created in 1941 under the control of the German army. It was originally called the 638th Army Infantry Regiment and first entered combat on Eastern Front during the winter 1941/42 offensive against Moscow as part of the 1st Infantry Division. The French unit suffered heavy losses and was withdrawn from the front from the spring of 1942 to the autumn of 1943, after which it was used mainly for anti-partisan operations. At this stage, it was divided to conduct operations in the rear against partisans and was used in the form of units, in terms of their quantitative composition equal to a battalion.

In January 1944, another reorganization of the battalion took place, but it was still used to fight partisans.

In June 1944, the battalion returned to the central sector of the Eastern Front to take part in offensive operations against the Red Army. His actions were so impressive that the Soviet command considered that they were dealing with not one, but two French battalions, although in fact the number of legionnaires corresponded to about half a battalion. In September 1944, French volunteers joined the Waffen-SS.

In France, recruitment into the SS began in earnest only in 1943, in Paris. In August 1944, the first 300 volunteers were sent to Alsace for training as part of the French SS Volunteer Assault Brigade. In September 1943, about 30 French officers were sent to military school SS to the Bavarian city of Bad Tölze, and about a hundred non-commissioned officers to various schools for junior officers in order to raise their training to the level of Waffen-SS standard requirements.

At this time, a group of French volunteers was on the Eastern Front as part of the 18th SS Volunteer Panzer-Grenadier Division Horst Wessel. After fierce battles with units of the Red Army, they were recalled to the rear for rest and reorganization. At this time, a decision was made - given the combat track record of the French, to combine them with the remnants of the legion and French militia units to create a new Waffen-SS division.

This most unusual of all divisions also included a number of soldiers from the French colonies, including from French Indochina and even one Japanese. Eyewitnesses claim that several French Jews managed to escape Nazi persecution by hiding in the ranks of the Charlemagne division.

The division was formed in the winter of 1944/45 and sent to the front in Pomerania at the very beginning of 1945. Constant fierce battles against the numerically superior units of the Red Army badly battered the French division and split it into three parts. One of the groups, numbering a battalion, retreated to the Baltic states and evacuated to Denmark, after which it ended up in Neustrelitz, not far from Berlin. The second group was completely exterminated by the furious volleys of Soviet artillery. The third managed to retreat to the west, where it was destroyed - its soldiers either died or were taken prisoner by the Russians.

Those who remained in Neustrelitz were rounded up by the divisional commander, SS Brigadenführer Gustav Krukenberg, who released from the oath those who no longer wished to serve in the SS. Nevertheless, about 500 men voluntarily followed their commander to defend Berlin. Approximately 700 people remained in Neustrelitz. The 500 volunteers who participated in the defense of Berlin fought with exceptional integrity, despite the fact that they knew that the battle was lost.

Their courage was awarded with three Knight's Crosses. One of them was awarded to SS Obersturmführer Wilhelm Weber, a German division officer, and two to French soldiers Unterscharführer Eugène Vallot and Oberscharführer Francois Apollo. All awards were honors for personal bravery shown in the destruction of several Soviet tanks alone. Three days later, Vallo and Apollo were killed. Weber was lucky to survive the war.

Those members of the Charlemagne division who chose not to go to the front made their way to the west, where they voluntarily surrendered. They undoubtedly believed that the Western Allies would treat them better than the Russians. Those of them who surrendered to their compatriots from the Free French army had to be very disappointed in their illusion. It is known that when they encountered the Free French soldiers, when asked by the latter why they wished to wear German uniforms, the French SS soldiers inquired about the uniforms of the American troops worn by the de Gaulles. Enraged by such a question, the commander of the de Gaulle troops on the spot, without any trial or investigation, shot his fellow SS men.

As for the Free French, it is itself guilty of the most terrible war crimes. It makes no sense to say that the murderers of the French SS went unpunished. Ironically, the French SS men who took part in the brutal destruction of Oradour in 1944 were treated much more leniently. They were considered people subjected to forced mobilization and thus "victims". The French court acquitted them. The reason for this surprising verdict seems to be purely political.

The French SS men who appeared before the court were from Alsace, which over the years of its history has repeatedly passed either to France or to Germany. There was an opinion that a guilty verdict against the perpetrators of the tragedy that broke out in Oradour could cause unrest in Alsace. Thus, a situation arose when the French SS men who took part in the execution a large number French citizens went unpunished, while members of the Charlemagne division, who fought with detachments of communist partisans in the East and against units of the Red Army, lost their lives after being captured.

Based on the book by G. Williamson "SS - an instrument of terror"

About the volunteers of the 3rd German Reich, who came to Russia to kill the inhabitants of Russia, and about the volunteers of the 4th American Reich - the heirs of ideas and symbols.

Consider the path for your foot, and all the ways

let yours be firm. Do not evade
right or left; remove your foot from evil.
(Prov. 4:26-27)

On January 30, 1943, the French government in Vichy created a "French militia" to fight the partisans, who had become very active after the Battle of Stalingrad.

The white ribbon became the symbol of the French militia. gamma stylized:

badge and patch

Police officer's certificate. On the left side is an excerpt from the oath: "I undertake to serve France with honor without sparing my life. I swear to make every effort to triumph the revolutionary ideals of the FRENCH POLICE, and voluntarily submit to discipline"

Police commander SS Obersturmführer Joseph Darnan (shot on October 10, 1945 for treason)

Under the shadow of Napoleon

Mostly LVF volunteers went to the police, who in various ways got away from exploits in the snows of Russia .

It is believed that as many as 35 thousand volunteers signed up for the French Militia, of which, however, only 13-15 thousand actually reached the service, of which 7-9 thousand white-ribbon men participated in the case, including about 3 thousand were sent to the Charlemagne SS ...

And these are LVF volunteers going to Russia

Among the feats of lovers of the "ribbon of the color of freedom" is the hard work of deporting Jews from France, the fight against partisans in Limousin, on the Glière plateau and the famous suppression of the "partisan republic of Vercors", where "white ribbons" cleared the rear of the Tatar Legion SS from partisans and civilians. ..

Some of the exploits of the "French Militia" were recorded in the monuments:

memorial sign in memory of the deputy mayor of the city of Dee:

"Frenchman!
remember that here on July 23, 1944
Patriot Camille Buffardel
member of the National Liberation Committee
was brutally murdered by German mercenaries from the French militia"

Dr. Medvedovsky, born in Kyiv in 1891, entered the Paris Medical Institute in 1911, and in 1914 voluntarily went to the front. From 1923 he lived in Vercors. Since 1940, he participated in the Resistance. In June 1944, he was extradited as a provocateur and, after being tortured and abused, was killed. He was posthumously awarded the "Military Cross" and the "Resistance" medal:

"Here died for France
doctor Medvedovsky,
killed 17 June 1944
Germans and French
changed their country"

Legion of French volunteers against Bolshevism

French soldiers fight side by side with the Germans against Bolshevism. The photo shows their oath to the Fuhrer, commander-in-chief of the German army. They are equipped as members of the Reichswehr and do not have other French insignia other than the tricolor emblem on their uniforms.

(French Legion des Volontaires Francais contre le Bolchevisme, or abbreviated French Legion des Volontaires Francais, LVF, abbr. LFD) is an infantry regiment formed in France and took part in the fighting on the Eastern Front of World War II on the side of Germany.

The organizers were Marcel Bucard ("Francisto Movement"), Jacques Doriot ("People's French Party"), Eugene Deloncle ("Social Revolutionary Movement"), Pierre Clementi ("French Party of National Unity") and Pierre Costantini ("French League") . With the outbreak of the war against the USSR, these political leaders, with the help of the German ambassador in Paris, Otto Abetz, obtained authorization to create such a formation to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front.

After receiving legal consent from Berlin on July 6, 1941, it was announced that a second conference of anti-Bolshevik forces would be convened the next day. On July 7, representatives of all political organizations that decided to participate in the creation of the LVF gathered at the Majestic Hotel, where they elected the Central Committee of the Legion, which included, in addition to the above-mentioned Clementi Clementi, and the top of the collaborationist administration and police of occupied France. Having completed the coordination of all issues among themselves, they fixed the decision on the formation of the LVF on July 18 and immediately began to implement the necessary organizational measures. Following the opening of the Legion's first office, housed in a former Soviet travel agency at 12 rue Auber in Paris, recruiting centers sprang up across the country. They rushed those who, in the fight against Moscow Bolshevism, tried to realize their special patriotic convictions and found a way out by their participation in the war of bitterness towards the Bolsheviks, Jews and liberals. Despite the relatively limited environment of the French who hold such views, they showed considerable activity, and after the announcement of recruitment, up to three thousand volunteers of the first wave joined the legion in three months. The barracks at Borgnis Desbordes located in Versailles were used to gather legion volunteers. Although during the entire existence of the LVF until the summer of 1944 more than thirteen thousand Frenchmen tried to enter its ranks, the Germans allowed only about six thousand people to be accepted and did not allow the legion to deploy forces larger than a regiment.

Until the summer of 1942, about 3,000 people joined the legion. The official name in the Wehrmacht is the 638th Infantry Regiment (German: Infanterie Regiment 638).

In early November 1941, the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 638th Infantry Regiment arrived in Smolensk. The number of arrivals was about 2352 soldiers. Almost the entire November 1941, the regiment was forced to make a heavy forced march to the front line, because of which it suffered the first losses in manpower, equipment and horses. The battalions of the regiment were greatly stretched, due to which only the 1st battalion reached the immediate front line, and the 2nd battalion remained as a reserve. In early December, the French from the 1st Battalion fought against the Red Army, but suffered heavy losses from Soviet artillery and suffered from frostbite.

From December 6 to 9, the losses amounted to 65 people killed, 120 wounded, and more than 300 sick or frostbitten. Reinforcements for the legion from France began to arrive only now, from the beginning of December, at the training ground in Debica, where they began to form the third battalion and train from 1400 fresh volunteers reinforcements for other units. The situation on the front line by that time was almost completely out of control. Especially when Colonel Labonnet, who had become completely helpless, withdrew from the leadership of his unit, and the officers and sergeants who remained in the ranks had to fight leading separate units. They were still able to conduct containment battles, until during the second stage the defeated French 638th regiment was withdrawn from the front line in February and, recognizing that it had completely lost its combat capability, was sent for reorganization, and Colonel Labonnet was removed from his post in March and returned to France.

As a result, the regiment was decided to withdraw back to Poland and reorganize.

The 638th Infantry Regiment was the only foreign unit in the Wehrmacht that advanced on Moscow in 1941.

In the legion, in addition to the French proper, there were several dozen white emigrants, subjects of the former Russian Empire(Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians). In addition to them, the regiment also included Arabs from the French colonies, a certain number of Negroes and Bretons. Most of the Russian emigrants and blacks were demobilized during the reorganization of the legion in March 1942.

In the winter and spring of 1942, the legion was reorganized: the 1st and 2nd battalions, which had suffered heavy losses near Moscow, were consolidated into one, which became the "new" 1st battalion; there was also a III battalion, created in December 1941. After additional training, both battalions were sent to Belarus to fight partisans and were used separately with different security divisions of the Wehrmacht, the 221st and 286th

Refusing to further use the 638th regiment in battles with regular Soviet troops, the German military leadership sent French legionnaires to fight the partisans in the rear of Army Group Center. They were given as a reinforcement in June 1942 to the 286th security division of the 286th Sicherungs Division under the command of Lieutenant General Richert Generalleutnant Johann Georg Richert, which ensured the security of communications in the operational rear of the German troops in the south of Vitebsk and in the territories adjacent to it. From the very beginning, the LVF soldiers were involved in a series of punitive operations conducted by Lieutenant General Richert from August 1942 to early 1943 in order to suppress the increasing partisan movement. Scattered at various points located in the network of operational lines of communication Vitebsk - Smolensk - Orsha - Borisov, small units of the legion carried out patrol service, constantly actively engaging in skirmishes with partisans and arranging local actions. They were, of necessity, assembled for large-scale operations into tactical groups, only occasionally at the beginning using the entire battalions. The task of the first operation, where the legionnaires were involved, under the name "Vulture" "Greif" included the destruction of partisans hiding in the forests between Senno and Orsha, whose actions threatened communications passing through Vitebsk and Orsha. For two weeks from August 16 to August 30, the punishers managed to thoroughly beat up the Zaslonov brigade and destroy the emerging Zyukov brigade, as well as killing about 900 local residents, for several months to "pacify" the area.

"The state of discipline of the legionnaires can be seen from the daily orders for the regiment, which usually ended with the section "Punitions" - "Penalties".

Volunteers with the banner of the legion. USSR, November 1941

Documents of the defeated regiment fell into the hands of Belarusian partisans

Here is a typical order dated December 6, 1943, which shows that legionnaire Louis Friess Louis Friess received 8 days of arrest for drinking alcohol in the company of local residents while on duty. Legionnaire Paul Ecurnier Paul Ecurnier addressed the commander with "inappropriate words" - 8 days of arrest. The same term was assigned to the legionnaire Andre Merle Andre Merlat for the story with a pair of boots, which he allegedly borrowed from a friend and did not return. I drank it, probably ... The order of December 23, 1943 announced 3 months of arrest for legionnaire Fernand Dugas Fernand Dugas because he got drunk to such a state that he could not go out with his platoon on a combat operation. All in all, a surprisingly lenient punishment. In other armies, they were shot in front of the ranks for this. Legionnaire Andre Granet Andre Granet left the location of the unit and, as stated in the descriptive part of the order, went to the village for entertainment, despite the strict prohibition of the non-commissioned officer and the fact that he should have stepped into the outfit. For this AWOL with aggravating circumstances, he received only 8 days. Legionnaire Pierre Guilbot Pierre Guilbot was found sleeping at his post - 10 days of arrest. And the completely unthinkable by the standards of wartime happened to legionnaire Jacques Greze Jacques Greze. He went to the village for 4 kilometers, was attacked there and received a wound that required hospitalization. Here's what you can notice here: if the villagers wanted to kill that Frenchman, they would certainly have killed him. And so, it seems, they just hit him well - do not poke your nose at our evenings! And what was his punishment from the authorities. All the same 8 days of arrest from the company commander, but, however, the battalion commander added two more. G. A. Kirpich, commander of the Chekist brigade, tells the French in his memoirs (“Memory: Historical and Documentary Chronicle of the Kruglyansky District”): “In the village of Novoye Polissya, the fascist command placed a garrison from among the French legion under the command of German Major Schwartzman .. The French legionnaires did not conduct their reconnaissance, they did not make ambushes on the way of the partisans. Once a detachment of Nazarov passed during the day. The French saw him, but did not shoot. Then the commander was given the task to establish contact with the French through local residents and win them over to our side. Once an old man was buried in an Orthodox cemetery. Our scouts approached the villagers, among whom were two Frenchmen in German uniforms. They noticed the partisans and, realizing who they were, took them under the hood. Ours answered with a nod of the head. The French immediately disappeared. Part of the French garrison was on the outskirts of the village in a large house, surrounded by a fence and an embankment, in the corners - 4 firing points with loopholes. Three days later, the security officer of the detachment Karpushenko took three submachine gunners and went to meet the French. The French handed over to the partisans 4 boxes of cartridges, 38 grenades, 2 portable radios and 4 tapes for the transmitter. The leader of their group explained that all this was attributed to the fight against partisans ... "

With the return to the LVF of the 2nd battalion, commanded by Major Tramu, Commandant Tramu, who arrived in Belarus at the end of November 1943, allowed Edgar Pua to expand the zone of active operations to the Tolochino region. Here the French faced the fighters of the brigade of Nikolai Petrovich Gudkov. The breakdown of forces for the restored 638 regiment was the punitive operation "Morocco" "Morocco" named after its commander. Its holding took place in late January - early February 1944 in the surrounding forests of the village of Somry. Shortly after the successful completion of the operation, the 3rd battalion returned from a business trip to the Mogilev region, the commander of which, Major Pane, was killed just before the departure. And now, when the legion had gathered in full force, it was possible to complete its reorganization into a stronger punitive unit, which received the name 638 reinforced French grenadier regiment 638 verstrktes Franzosisches Grenadier Regiment. As a reinforcement, from some auxiliary units disbanded in October 1943, the 4th battalion was prepared by April 1944. Less than a month later, at the beginning of May, the newly-minted French grenadiers were involved in the preparation and participation in the most significant punitive operation unfolded since May 15, carried out on the territory of occupied Belarus, during which it was planned to liquidate more than twenty partisan formations in the rear of the 3rd tank and 4th field armies. After blocking the forces of the partisans in the area of the Domzheritsky and Palik swamps, the occupiers began to implement the main plan of the operation "Baklan" "Kormoran", squeezing the partisans into a tight ring for cutting blows. But by June 15, despite serious losses and still maintaining combat effectiveness, up to twenty partisan brigades broke through in some places through the battle formations of the punishers. Attempts to destroy the soldiers of several brigades and scattered detachments who remained surrounded and fought back on the islands among the swamps were cut off on June 23 by Soviet units, which crushed the defenses of Army Group Center.

The surviving French grenadiers who left Belarus in disarray were sent to reorganize in the Greifenberg camp Greifenberg ( East Prussia). But the restoration of the military unit under the auspices of the LVF did not follow; the Germans, before their collapse, no longer needed the services of the legion. Ignoring the independent combat tradition of the 638th regiment, which had already taken place, the legionnaires were sent to the SS. They took part in organizing a new French formation of the Grenadier brigades SS "Charlemagne" Waffen Grenadier Brigade der SS "Charlemagne", in whose ranks they were united on September 1 with soldiers of the Volunteer Grenadier Regiment of the SS (formed in 1943 and also defeated in 1944) and the French from the Navy, the NSKK and the occupation police

The number of French prisoners prompted the Soviet command to create a separate camp for them near Tambov.

November 20, 1944 The Legion of French Volunteers has officially ceased to exist..

brigade consisted of two regiments, the veterans of the legion were staffed by the personnel of the 58th SS Grenadier Regiment Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 58. In the new rank of SS Oberfuhrer Edgar Pua, Oberfuhrer SS Edgard Puaud commanded a newly minted brigade

Colonel Pua on the Eastern Front

The French were thrown here to stop the Soviet offensive in February, having already formally reorganized into the 33rd SS Charlemagne Grenadier Division 33 Waffen Grenadier Division der SS "Charlemagne", leaving the number of soldiers in the former division about eight thousand. They were waiting for a complete defeat, after which the division actually ceased to exist, having lost more than half of its personnel killed, wounded, captured and missing. From the surviving several hundred fighters, a battle group was assembled for the defense of Berlin, where almost all of them were buried under the ruins of the capital of the Reich. The rest of the unfinished remnants of the French SS managed to surrender to the Allies. Even earlier, Jacques Doriot was shot dead in a car from an attack aircraft on the road between Meinau Mainau and Sigmaringen Sigmaringen on February 22, 1945.

About 20 thousand French prisoners of war were held captive in the USSR. 1945 - a representative of the French military mission, receives French prisoners prepared for being sent home by the Soviet authorities. After the war, the French were the first to be sent home unconditionally. For a curiosity, I will note in the Soviet military uniform. At the end of the 90s in France, 4,500 people received a pension as Tambov captives.

The French government issued a series of death sentences and prison terms to members of the Legion: for example, the first commander of the regiment, Colonel Labonne, was sentenced to life imprisonment, a member of the central committee of the Legion, Charles Lesca, was sentenced to death in May 1947 by the Supreme Court in Paris, but, despite extradition requests from France have never been issued by the Argentine government.

Standarten Oberjunker SS Sergei Protopopov (1923-1945)

Grandson last minister of the Interior of the Russian Empire Alexander Protopopov, who was shot by the Bolsheviks in October 1918, Sergei Protopopov was born in France. In 1943, at the age of twenty, like many other Russians, he joined the French Anti-Bolshevik Legion and was trained at its military school in Montargis near Orleans. In September 1944, the French Anti-Bolshevik Legion was included in the SS, first as a brigade, and from February 1945 as a division, called Charlemagne (Charlemagne). In December 1944, Sergei Protopopov graduated from the SS officer school in Kinschlag.

In February-March 1945, the Charlemagne division lost most of its personnel in heavy fighting with the advancing Red Army in Pomerania. In early April, only 700 people remained in its ranks, of which about 300 volunteered to go to the defense of Berlin. The assault battalion formed from them under the command of Hauptsturmführer Henri-Joseph Fene arrived in the besieged German capital on April 24, 1945. Sergei Protopopov was also part of it.

The Charlemagne battalion, attached to the SS Nordland division, was entrusted with the defense of Sector C. The French volunteers entered the first battle with the advancing Reds on April 26 near the Tempelhof airfield. On April 27, the fighting became especially fierce. During them, Sergei Protopopov personally knocked out five Soviet tanks with faustpatrons and shot down a Soviet reconnaissance aircraft from a MG 42 machine gun. On April 29, the detachment, which included the standard-oberjunker Protopopov, was covered by fire from Soviet mortars on Gendarmenmarkt Square. The Russian volunteer died from multiple shrapnel wounds and was posthumously awarded the Iron Cross First Class for his courage. His comrades-in-arms in the Charlemagne battalion turned out to be the last defenders of the Reich Chancellery bunker, the defense of which they held until May 2.

Obersturmführer Sergei Krotov(far left) among the soldiers of the SS division "Charlemagne" and the French Legion before being shot on May 8, 1945

Far left Sergey Krotov

While being treated in a German hospital in Bavaria after being wounded in the Battle of Berlin, 12 French volunteers were captured by the Americans on May 6 and were placed by them, along with other prisoners, in the barracks of the Alpine Riflemen in the city of Bad Reichenhall. Upon learning that the Americans were going to hand over the city to the French, they tried to escape, but were detained by an American patrol and handed over to the 2nd Free French Armored Division of General Leclerc. A general drove up to the place of transfer of prisoners of war.

Upon learning that the soldiers in German uniforms were French, he became indignant and began to vilify them in every possible way, calling them “Boches” and “traitors”. When he spoke the words:

How could you French wear a German uniform?

One of the prisoners could not stand it and boldly replied:

Just like you, General, you can wear an American one.

After these words, Leclerc exploded and ordered the prisoners to be shot. According to one version, the general gave the order, so cruel and contrary to the laws of the Geneva Convention, being under the painful impression of inspecting the death camp at Dachau, where Leclerc seemed to have been the day before. Be that as it may, the next day, May 8, 12 French SS-sheep were taken to be shot.
At their request, a Catholic priest spoke to them. Further, the condemned flatly refused to blindfold or “humanely” shoot them in the back. Immediately before the execution, they began to sing the Marseillaise and shout "long live France!", looking into the faces of the firing squad. Fierce by the "unrepentant" obstinate "Charlemagnes", the general ordered not to bury the bodies, but to leave them in the clearing. Only three days later, according to the local population, they were buried by the Americans.

In 1947, the Germans transferred the ashes to the monument. Several soldiers managed to find out the names. They were engraved on a granite board, which depicts one of the symbols of France, the “royal lily”, and the words “to the 12 brave sons of France” are written.

Here are the names of those whose documents were found:
SS Obersturmführer Serge Krotoff, (Serg Krotoff)
SS Untersturmführer Paul Briffaut
SS Untersturmführer Robert Doffat.
Grenadiers Jean Robert
and Raymond Pairas
Jacques Ponnau

Igor Knyazev. Appeal of Russian volunteers of the French SS division "Charlemagne", published in the Berlin newspaper "New Word" for October 31, 1943.

Russians in the Foreign Legion.

According to E. Nedzelsky, in 1924, 3,200 Russians were registered who passed through the base point of the Foreign Legion in Sidi Bel Abbes in Algeria, and of these, 70% were former officers, cadets and soldiers. In the third regiment, according to E. Nedzelsky, based in Morocco in 1924, out of 500 Russians, 2% were illiterate, 73% with incomplete secondary education, and 25% with secondary and higher education. Approximately the same ratio was maintained in the 2nd regiment. The oldest legionnaires were officers and soldiers of the expeditionary corps in France. They joined the legion back in 1918 and accounted for about 10% of the total number of Russian legionnaires. 25% accounted for those evacuated from Russia in 1919, 60% - for the ranks of the Russian army who left Russia in 1921, and 5% fell into the legion for various reasons, mainly from German captivity and tempted by "preferential" service19. After signing the contract, the volunteers were sent to the assembly camp for about a month, and then distributed in parts. So, out of 400 people who signed up for the legion at the same time as E. Giatsintov, 350 were sent to Syria, and the rest to Algeria. From the Syrian group, 90 people were later sent to Beirut to the 18th repair squadron of the 5th African Cavalry Chasseur Regiment (commander - Captain E. de Avaris), and 210 to the Mountain Company, formed in Damascus exclusively from Russian volunteers (commander — Captain Duval).

LIST OF RUSSIAN VOLUNTEERS,

DEAD IN THE RANKS OF THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION
From 1921 to 1945

Akimov - corporal of the 3rd company of the 2nd regiment. Died 11/13/1923 in Post Bader.

Alexandrov-Dolnik Vladimir Alexandrovich - lieutenant of the 2nd regiment. Killed 09/07/1932 in battle at Tazigzaout, Morocco.
- Andreev - legionnaire of the 12th company of the 3rd regiment. He died on April 20, 1921 in Kenara-Khenui.
-Andrienko - Corporal 5 S. Mont. 2nd regiment. He died on September 4, 1924 in Ishieraf.
-Antonov - legionnaire of the 24th company of the 1st regiment. Died 06/21/1925 in Bab Taza.
-nfilov - sergeant of the 26th company of the 1st regiment. Died 09/10/1925 in Jebel ne Negir.
- Arkadiev is a legionnaire. Died in Morocco.
-Afanasiev - legionnaire of the 1st company of the 2nd regiment. He died on May 20, 1923 in Recife Bou Arfa.
-Baranov - legionnaire of the 19th company of the 4th regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
- Berezin - legionnaire of the 24th company of the 1st regiment. Died 06/04/1925 in Astar.
-Bobovsky - sergeant of the 7th company of the 1st regiment. Died 06/14/1925 in Brikka.
-Bogdanchuk - sergeant of the 27th company of the 1st regiment. Died 08/17/1925 in Dzhebel Asdem .. Bondarev - legionary CM1 of the 1st regiment. He died on 07/14/1926 in Tizi N "Widei.
-Boritsky - legionnaire of the 9th company of the 2nd regiment. He died on 05/06/1922 in Tadu Skorra.
-Bubanov - legionnaire of the 1st battalion of the 4th regiment. He died on 10/19/1923 in Bu-Ishsamer.
-Bukovsky - corporal of the SMZ of the 2nd regiment. He died on 12/11/1926 in Jebel Ayad.
Bulyubash Vladimir - lieutenant of the 1st cavalry regiment - "an officer of exceptional courage." Died 11/28/1944
-Count Vorontsov-Dashkov Alexander is the grandson of the last Caucasian governor. Killed in Vietnam (?).
-Voroponov - legionnaire of the 9th company of the 2nd regiment. Died 06/24/1923 in El Mer.
Guyer is a legionnaire. He died on May 20, 1940 at Perron.
-Garbulenko - legionnaire of the 2nd company of the 3rd regiment. Died 10/27/1923 in El Mer.
- Geckner - sergeant. He died on 05/11/1943 in Tunisia. Gendrikson Vladimir - died on 07/06/1941 in Damascus in Syria.
-Glebov - legionary CM7 of the 1st regiment. He died on 09/10/1925 in Jebel Yei Negir.
-Gnutov - legionnaire of the 1st company of the 1st regiment. He died on May 25, 1925 in Biban.
-Goncharov - SM sergeant of the 4th regiment. Died 08/10/1933 in Ukzer
-Gorbachev - legionnaire of the 4th squadron of the 1st cavalry regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
- Mikhail Gorodnichenko - sergeant of the 5th regiment. Died of wounds on 09/15/1945 in Indochina.
-Graev - legionnaire of the 28th company of the 1st regiment. Died 09/30/1925 in Kerkur.
-Gusarov Alexander - died in Tunisia.
-Grunenkov Mikhail Fedorovich — participant of the Civil War in the 1st Kornilov Regiment, 1st Kuban campaign. He was badly wounded. Centurion. Evacuated to Bizerte. In March 1922 he was in the command of the Kornilov regiment. Served in the French Foreign Legion. Killed.
-Damagalsky - legionnaire of the 7th company of the 2nd regiment. Died 07/24/1925 in Tamzimet.
-Danilov - legionnaire of the 3rd company of the 2nd regiment. He died on May 25, 1925 in Biban.
-Doroshenko - sergeant of the 3rd company of the 1st regiment. He died on 07/18/1925 in Sof-El-Kazbar.
- Evreinov - legionnaire of the 7th company of the 2nd regiment. Died 01/10/1924 in Meckx.
-Edelov - legionnaire of the 7th company of the 2nd regiment. He died on April 24, 1925 in Tamzimet.
-Enin is a legionnaire of the 4th squadron of the 1st cavalry regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
-Enoshin - legionnaire of the 1st cavalry regiment.
-Efremov - lieutenant. Zaloka Nikolay - was born on December 25, 1916. He died on January 13, 1943 in Pont du Fage, Tunisia.
-Zanfirov - legionnaire of the 19th company of the 4th regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
-Zameshaev Ivan - buried at the military cemetery in Carthage in Tunisia.
Z-emtsov Ivan - Lieutenant of the Russian Imperial Army. Sergeant-Chief of the French Foreign Legion. He died on 06/1/1942 in Bir Gaheim (Libya). He was awarded the Military Cross.
-Ivankovich - legionnaire of the 22nd company of the 1st regiment. Died 08/13/1923 in Tafgirt Airt.
-Ivanov - sergeant of the 22nd company of the 1st regiment. He died on May 22, 1925 in AedAmeam.
-Ivanov - sergeant of the 24th company of the 1st regiment. Died 06/10/1925 in Mediun.
-Ivanov - legionnaire of the 8th company of the 1st regiment. Died 07/18/1925 in Terual.
-Ivanov - legionnaire of the 3rd battalion of the 4th regiment. He died on 07/12/1922 in Bou Drois de l "Hulges.
-Ivanov - legionnaire of the 1st cavalry regiment.
-Ivanov (pseudonym) - a former cadet of the Russian Corps in Versailles. Legionnaire of the Foreign Legion. Died 03/15/1945 in Ga Giang in Indochina.
- Ignatiev - legionnaire of the 3rd company of the 1st regiment. He died on 07/14/1926 in Tizi N "Widei.
-Izvarin - legionnaire of the 1st cavalry regiment. Kazarinov - sergeant of the 4th company of the 1st regiment. Died 06/24/1923 in El Mers.
-Kalashnikov is a legionnaire of the 7th battalion of the 1st regiment. He died on 08/17/1926 in Jebel Galaza.
- Kalinishchev - trumpeter of the 9th company of the 3rd regiment. Died 05/06/1922 in Tadu Skorra.
-Karneri (pseudonym) - a native of Moldova, graduated from a Russian gymnasium. Trumpeter of the French Foreign Legion. 03/10/1945 was wounded and finished off with a bayonet during the Japanese attack on the garrison in Tang in Indochina.
-Karnovsky (Karpovsky) Alexander - lieutenant. Died 08/25/1944 in Tunis.
-Karpov - legionnaire of the 5th company of the 2nd regiment. Died 08/11/1923 in Jebel Idlan.
-Kowalsky - corporal of the 19th company of the 4th regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
- Kodovsky Ivan - sergeant-chief. He died on 06/11/1942 in Bir-Gakom.
-Kozlov - a participant in the First World War and the Civil War. Colonel. Sergeant of the Foreign Legion. He died in 1923 (1926) in Morocco.
-Kolesnikov - legionnaire of the 4th squadron of the 1st cavalry regiment. Died 17.09. 1925 at Massifray in Syria.
-Kolotilin - legionnaire of the 4th squadron of the 1st cavalry regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
-Komarov Vladimir - former cadet of the Naval Corps. He emigrated to France, where in 1926 he graduated from a military school in Saint-Cyr. Captain, commander of the 6th company of the 2nd battalion of the 5th regiment of the Foreign Legion. He died on 04/01/1945 in Tuar Giao in Indochina.
-Konenko is a legionnaire. He died in 1926 in Morocco.
-Slanting - corporal-chief S. From. 1st regiment. Died 08/10/1933 in Kerduas.
- Kostrevsky Ivan - a former sailor. He died on 06/17/1941 in Damascus in Syria.
-Kostryukov - legionnaire of the 4th squadron of the 1st cavalry regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
- Kostevich Vladimir - legionnaire. He died on December 11, 1944 in Vieux Tgann.
-Kosyanenko - legionnaire SM5 of the 4th regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
- Kravchenkov Iosif Silych - died of wounds in 1943.
- Kreshenkov Joseph - was buried in a military cemetery in Carthage in Tunisia.
-Kudryavtsev is a legionnaire of the 21st company of the 1st regiment. Died 06/10/1925 in Mediun.
-Kuznetsov is a legionnaire of the 21st company of the 1st regiment. Died 06/10/1925 in Mediun.
- Kuznetsov Gennady Dmitrievich - adjudan (ensign). E Morocco died.
-Kuydenko - corporal of the 3rd battalion of the 4th regiment. Died 09/20/1922 in Bin El-Uidanq.
-Daniil Kulish is a legionnaire. He died on December 9, 1944 in Tgann.
-Ladzin is a legionary of the Mining Company. Shot for trying to escape from the Foreign Legion.
-Lakovlev (Yakovlev?) - legionnaire of the 6th company of the 3rd regiment. He died on 06/19/1929 in Ait-Yakub.
-Larin is a legionnaire of the 21st company of the 1st regiment. Died 06/10/1925 in Mediun.
-Larin is a legionary of the 6th company of the 2nd regiment. Died 07/24/1925 in Mediun.
-Larin is a legionary of the 6th company of the 2nd regiment. Died 07/24/1925 in Tamzimet.
- Levov - foreman of the 1st cavalry regiment. Lishaksky Alexander - lieutenant. Died of wounds in 1943.
-Lyubovitsky - foreman of the 3rd squadron of the 1st foreign cavalry regiment. He died on 07/03/1925 near Gersif.
- Lyashko - corporal of the 10th company of the 2nd regiment. He died on 07/23/1923 in Plateau d'Immuzert.
-Malev - legionnaire of the 23rd company of the 1st regiment. Died 16.10. 1923 in Akurirt.
-Malevsky - legionnaire of the 1st company of the 1st regiment. Died 07/14/1926 in Tizi N Widei.
-Maleyko - legionnaire of the 1st company of the 2nd regiment. Died 09/10/1925 in Jebel Ayad.
-Margulies Albert - killed 06/05/1940 on the Somme.
-Markov - legionnaire of the 21st company of the 1st regiment. Died 07/07/1925 in Sof-El-Kazbar.
-Markovich - SMM corporal of the 1st regiment. He died on February 28, 1933 in Jebel Sadgo.
-Masaev Vladimir - died on 06/08/1942 in Bir-Gasheim.
-Mausin is a legionnaire of the 4th company of the 3rd regiment. He died on 10/10/1923 in Tizi N "Zhuar.
-Mitriev - legionnaire of the 8th company of the 4th regiment. Died 04/25/1926 in Suida.
-Melnichuk Sergey - died on 12/10/1944 in Tgann.
Mishalsky is a legionnaire of the 19th company of the 4th regiment. Died 7/10/1925 in Jebel Druz.
- Mukhin - sergeant S.M. 1st regiment. He died on 10/14/1929. in Zguilma Dzhigani.
-Nankov - buried in the military cemetery in Carthage in Tunisia.
-Nikolaev - sergeant SM6 of the 1st regiment. He died on 10/16/1923 in Akurirt.
-Nikolov - legionnaire of the 12th company of the 3rd regiment. He died on October 27, 1922 in Ishieraf.
-Novarzin - legionnaire of the 24th company of the 1st regiment. Died 06/04/1925 in Astar.
- Novikov - legionnaire of the 1st Cavalry Regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
-Ogarovich - buried in the military cemetery in Carthage in Tunisia.
- Ogorodnoye - sergeant of the 23rd company of the 1st regiment. He died on May 22, 1925 in Aed Amzam.
- Orlov - legionnaire of the 23rd company of the 1st regiment. Died 07/25/1925 in Jebel Asdem.
-Pavlovsky - legionnaire of the 4th squadron of the 1st cavalry regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
-Pavlovsky Ivan - buried in a military cemetery in Carthage in Tunisia.
-Petrov - legionnaire of the 6th company of the 2nd regiment. Died 11/17/1923 in Jebel Idlan.
-Pleshakov - legionnaire of the 27th company of the 1st regiment. Died 07/24/1925 in Jebel Asdem.
-Pokrovsky - sergeant of the 9th company of the 3rd regiment. Died 05/20/1927 in Oued Dessaya.
-Povolotsky - mareshal of the 4th squadron of the 1st cavalry regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
-Popov - legionnaire of the 9th company of the 3rd regiment. Died 09/05/1922 in L "Aderzh.
-Popov - mareshal of the 4th squadron of the 4th cavalry regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
-Popov - legionnaire of the 1st cavalry regiment. Popov was born on August 25, 1905. in Moscow. Died of wounds on January 12, 1943.
- Punchin Georgiy - was born on February 11, 1905 in Kerch. Died of wounds on December 23, 1944.
-Raskin - legionnaire of the 23rd company of the 1st regiment. Died 23.07. 1923 in Ain Tagzut.
-Regema is a lieutenant. Killed in 1925
-Reshetnikov - Legionnaire SM. 3rd regiment. Died 07/14/1926 in Jebel Taster.
-Romanov - Legionnaire SM. 2nd regiment. Died 06/09/1923 in Izuko.
-Sapronov - corporal of the 2nd company of the 2nd regiment. Died 10/10/1923 in Ponzegu.
-Safonov Nikolai (?) - died in Tunisia in 1943.
- Sidelnikov - sergeant SM. 3rd regiment. Died 07/14/1926 in Jebel Taster.
-Siz is a native of the Terek region. During the Civil War, he was a lieutenant of the 10th Ingrian Regiment. He went missing on March 26, 1945 in Son La in Indochina.
- Siyanin - legionnaire of the 22nd company of the 1st regiment. He died on May 4, 1925 in Taunat.
-Soloviev - corporal of the 8th company of the 4th regiment. Died 09/13/1925 in Sker.
- Magpie - Corporal SM. 1st regiment. He died on 10/14/1929 in Zguilma Dzhigani
- Staroselsky (Starozelsky?) - legionnaire of the 5th company of the 3rd regiment. Died 01/17/1923 in Naegllin.
- Sukov - corporal of the 21st company of the 1st regiment. Died 06/04/1925 in Astar.
-Tabunshchikov - legionnaire of the 26th company of the 1st regiment. He died on 09/10/1925 in Jebel Yei Negir.
- Tanas Igor - was born on 03/24/1921 in Constantinople. In March 1941, he signed up for the Foreign Legion. Fought in Senegal. He died on 04/25/1943. He was awarded the Military Cross.
-Taranuka - legionnaire of the 25th company of the 1st regiment. He died on 09/10/1925 in Jebel Yei Negir.
-Tishevsky - legionary of the 23rd company of the 1st regiment. He died on May 22, 1925 in Aed Amzam.
-Tkachenko - Kuban Cossack. He died in June 1925 in a battle near the Turkish village of Mussey-Frey, taking command of the 4th squadron of the 1st cavalry regiment of the Foreign Legion.
-Trofimov Vyacheslav - buried in a military cemetery in Carthage in Tunisia.
- Tumanov - legionnaire of the 5th company of the 3rd regiment. He died on May 9, 1923 in Beni Buzert.
- Turutin - legionnaire of the 4th company of the 2nd regiment. He died on 07/01/1923 in El Mers.
-Prince Urusov Sergey - was born on 01/13/1916 in Moscow. St. George boarding school student. Killed in Africa in the ranks of the Foreign Legion.
- Utkin - corporal of the 25th company of the 1st regiment. Died 07/25/1925 in Jebel Asdem.
-Utcharenko - corporal of the 5th company of the 3rd regiment. He died on May 9, 1923 in Beni Buzert.
- Fedorov is a legionnaire. He died in 1926 in Morocco.
- Fedortsev Nikolai - died on 01/28/1944 in a hospital in Tunisia.
-Fomin - legionnaire of the 4th squadron of the 1st cavalry regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
-Kharitonov - legionnaire of the 24th company of the 1st regiment. Died 06/04/1925 in Astar.
-Hotcharenko - legionnaire of the 7th company of the 2nd regiment. Died 07/25/1925 in Tamzimet.
-Chernenko - legionnaire of the 4th squadron of the 1st cavalry regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
-Shamalov - legionnaire of the 10th company of the 3rd regiment. Died 01/17/1923 in Naegllin.
-Sharev is a legionnaire of the 19th company of the 4th regiment. Died 09/17/1925 in Massifre in Syria.
-Shillo - legionnaire of the 5th company of the 3rd regiment. He died on October 27, 1924 in P. Anuai.
-Shumeyko Dmitry - buried at the military cemetery in Maps in Tunisia.
-Yakov - Corporal S.M. 1st regiment. He died on 10/14/1929 in Zguilma Dzhigani.
-Yakushov - legionnaire of the 26th company of the 1st regiment. He died on 09/10/1925 in Jebel Yei Negir.
- Yasinsky Victor - died on 01/25/1945 in Syria.

The famous French military museum in the Palais des Invalides in Paris has a special Russian section, "where the memory of the valiant sons of Russia is kept, who managed to achieve glory for their homeland abroad."

And about one more interesting historical event, with which the Russian military in the Foreign Legion were associated. It refers to civil war in Spain 1936-1938

"On August 1, 1936, the Harbin newspaper" Our Way "published an interview with the Spanish professor E. Afenicio under the heading "The Spanish uprising was raised by Russian emigrants, ranks of the Foreign Legion in Morocco." As you know, the north of Morocco was under a special occupation regime due to the restless nature of the local tribes The Foreign Legion controlled the situation in these places, "where the Russians make up the largest percentage of both soldiers and officers.

... The first events began in Melilla and Ceuta, the garrisons ... where units consisting exclusively of Russian emigrants were stationed ... Therefore, I am convinced that the uprising in Morocco, which has now spread to the continent, is the work of your compatriots, who were the first to put their the real strength of the regiments ... of the Foreign Legion, "wrote the Spanish professor.

Russian emigrants, as opposed to the international brigades, fought on the side of Franco in Spain. One cannot deny the possible connection between the actions of emigrants from the Russian All-Military Union and the Russians from the French Foreign Legion. The version about the coordinated actions of two streams of Russian emigration, who decided to help the Spanish rebels who opposed the communist regime, is quite likely.

As you know, France entered the war with Germany on September 3, 1939. Military operations then affected the territory of North Africa. The Foreign Legion participated in the battles against the Nazis in Morocco. By the way, the fighting here continued for another two months after the surrender of France on June 22, 1940.

Some commanders of the Legion, including Zinovy Peshkov, refused to recognize the shameful truce for France. After the defeat of 1940, he escaped by night on a steamboat and was one of the first to arrive in London. He responded to the call of Charles de Gaulle and became one of his closest associates, and in this capacity returned to North Africa.

The Foreign Legion again took part in the hostilities against the German army, this time as an integral part of the formations of General de Gaulle. Many Russian legionnaires were awarded military decorations for their merits in the battles against the Nazis. The "Cross of Liberation" was awarded to Lieutenant Colonel D. Amilakhvari, who died in 1942 in Egypt; N. Rumyantsev, commander of the 1st Moroccan cavalry regiment; Captain A. Ter-Sarkisov.

V. Kolupaev's study reports the names of a number of Russian officers and soldiers who died in battle: Vashchenko, Gomberg, Zolotarev, Popov, Regema, Rothstein, Prince Urusov; Zemtsov, who was awarded two Military Crosses, the second cross - posthumously.

So, Belle France was trampled by a Teutonic boot, but some of the locals found this boot to their liking and even taste. It is about such Frenchmen (let's call them collaborators) that we will talk about ...

I want to briefly tell some of the units and organizations where French citizens are armed or with working tools in their hands. They served the Reich. I do not draw any conclusions, but I present the material purely informative.

Legion of French Volunteers - Fighters against Bolshevism

On June 22, 1941, the leader of the French fascist party PPF (Parti Populaire Francais), Jacques Doriot, announced the creation of the Legion of French Volunteers to participate in the war against the USSR. On July 5, Ribbentrop approved this idea in telegram No.3555.

The leaders of the pro-Nazi French organizations created the Central Committee of the Legion of French Volunteers (LVF), under which a recruiting center was established, housed in the former office of the Soviet travel agency Intourist.

Since July 1941, more than 13,000 volunteers have applied to the committee. The first combat French unit, formed in September 1941 in Poland, was called Franzosischer Infantry-Regiment 638 (French Infantry Regiment 638). 2,500 legionnaires wore German uniforms with the French tricolor on the right sleeve. The regimental colors were tricolor French and orders were also given in French. But all volunteers had to take an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler.

Marshal Petain sent a pompous message to the legionnaires: "Before you go into battle, I am glad to know that you do not forget that part of our military honor belongs to you" (the old man turned around sharply).

French volunteers at the Paris station before being sent to the eastern front.

The battle near Moscow took a heavy toll on the legionnaires. Total losses personnel reached 1000 people. German military inspectors reported to the Wehrmacht Joint Command about the French allies: “People showed, in general, good morale, but their level of combat training is low. The sergeants, in general, are not bad, but do not show activity, since the senior staff does not show effectiveness The officers are of little use and have clearly been recruited on a purely political basis." The conclusion was: "The Legion is not combat-ready. Improvement can only be achieved through the renewal of officers and forced training."

November 1941. Moscow region.

In 1942, the legion was reorganized, brought to the strength of 2700 bayonets and was already used only for anti-partisan actions. The descendants of the sans-culottes and the Marquis de La Fayette became ordinary punishers. On June 22, 1944, the legion was sent to the front to cover the German retreat along the Minsk highway, where it suffered heavy losses. The rest of the personnel were poured into the 8th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade France.

8th French Brigade of the Waffen SS (SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade France)

Within a month after the battle on the Beaver River (in Belarus), the recruitment of volunteers was activated. Due to heavy losses on the Eastern Front in Vichy France, about 3,000 more people were recruited from the collaborationist Militia and university students. From the remnants of the Legion and from these reinforcements, the 8th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade France was created. The brigade was led by a former officer of the Foreign Legion, Obersturmbannführer Paul Marie Gamory-Dubourdeau.

The brigade was included in the SS division Horst Wessel and sent to Galicia. In the battles against the advancing Red Army, the French suffered heavy losses.

SS Division Charlemagne (Waffen-Grenadier- Division der SS Charlemagne)

In September 1944, a new French military unit was created - the Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS Charlemagne (französische Nr.1, also known as the "Französische Brigade der SS"). It also included the remnants of the LVF and the French Sturmbrigade, which by that time had been disbanded.

The unit was joined by collaborators who fled from the Allied forces advancing from the west, former volunteers from the Kriegsmarine, NSKK, Todt organizations and others. Some sources claim that the unit had volunteers from the French colonies and Switzerland.

In February 1945, the unit's status was officially raised to the level of a division, which received the name 33. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS "Charlemagne". The number of the division was 7340 people.

The division was sent to Poland on the Soviet-German front and on February 25 entered into battle with the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front near the town of Hammerstein (now Czarne, Poland). Then the remnants of the division, which lost 4800 people, were sent to the city of Neustrelitz for reorganization.

In early April 1945, about 700 people remained from the division. The division commander Krukenberg seconded 400 people to the construction battalion, and the rest, about 300 people, chose to participate in the defense of Berlin.

On April 23, Krukenberg received an order from the clerk's office to arrive with his people in the capital. 320 - 330 French, bypassing Soviet checkpoints, arrived in Berlin on April 24.

The French unit, called Sturmbataillon "Charlemagne", was seconded to the command of the 11th SS Division Nordland, in which many Scandinavians served. After the removal of the previous commander Joachim Ziegler (Joachim Ziegler), Brigadeführer Krukenberg was appointed Sector Commander.

On the first day of fighting, the regiment lost half of its personnel. On April 27, the remnants of the Nordland division were pushed back to the area of government buildings (defense sector Z). Ironically, the French were among the last defenders of Hitler's bunker...

In total, after the last battles, about 30 French remained alive. Some of them managed to escape from defeated Berlin and return to France, where they ended up in prisoner of war camps controlled by the Allies. They were expected by the court, the death penalty or long prison terms. Many were shot simply without much delay.

According to one version, General of the Free French troops Leclerc, faced with a group of 10 - 12 French SS prisoners of war, asked them why they were wearing German military uniforms. According to some testimonies, they answered him: "Why are you wearing an American one?"

The witty SS men were shot on the spot. However, they shared the fate of many soldiers and officers of the Waffen-SS, who suffered this fate in the Soviet-German and western fronts. Neither the Soviet soldiers, nor the Anglo-Americans, nor, especially, the Poles, were particularly ceremonious with this kind of SS men. The SS was seen primarily as punishers. Regardless of the color of the uniforms.

Bretonishe Waffenverband der SS "Bezzen Perrot"

The nationalist party PNB (Parti National Breton), seeking independence from "colonial France", was favorably received by the Germans. Under the SD, the Bezen Perrot (Perrot Group) division was created, registered by the Germans under the name Bretonishe Waffenverband der SS. 80 volunteers were recruited there. They began to wear the SS uniform and the Celtic cross as a patch.

The unit took part in operations against French partisans starting in March 1944. Later they were included in special units SD.

21st Panzer Division (21 Panzer Division)

In the technical park of the 21st Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht, there were about 50 French trucks and a number of Somua and Hotchkiss armored vehicles. For their maintenance, French mechanics were required. The 2nd company of the Werkstattkompanie (supply, repairs) consisted of 230 French volunteers who did not have any patches on their German uniforms indicating their nationality.

Division Brandenburg

Division Brandenbourg (formerly regiment) - was a special reconnaissance and sabotage unit of the Abwehr.

In 1943, the 8th company of the 3rd regiment was formed from 180 French, stationed in Eaux-Bonnes at the foot of the Pyrenees (Southwestern France). Operating in southern France, the company imitated resistance units using captured radio stations and intercepted many transports of weapons and war materials, which led to numerous arrests.

The company also took part in the battles against the forces of the Resistance, which went down in history under the name "Battle of the Vercors" (June-July 1944). According to the historian Vladimir Krupnik, in these battles, significant forces of Germans and collaborators (more than 10,000 people) suppressed a major partisan action on the isolated Vercors mountain plateau, responding to de Gaulle's call to support the Allied landing in Normandy. Of the 4,000 partisans who took part in the fighting, 600 were killed.

German Navy (Kriegsmarine)

In 1943, the Kriegsmarine opened recruitment centers in several major French ports. Volunteers were enrolled in German units and wore German military uniform no extra patches.

The German summary of February 4, 1944, on the number of Frenchmen working in the ports of Brest, Cherbourg, Lorient and Toulon at the Kriegsmarine bases, gives the following figures: 93 officers, 3,000 non-commissioned officers, 160 engineers, 680 technicians and 25,000 civilians.

In January 1943, the Germans began to recruit 200 volunteers for guard duty at the naval base in La Rochelle. The unit was called Kriegsmarinewerftpolizei "La Pallice" and was commanded by Lieutenant Rene Lanz, a World War I and LVF veteran.

On June 30, 1944, the German command of the La Rochelle base gave the French volunteers a choice: to remain guarding the base or join the Waffen-SS. A similar offer was made to other Frenchmen who were serving in the Kriegsmarine at that time. About 1,500 of them were transferred to Greifenberg, where they joined the SS division Charlemagne.

Organization Todt (OT)

In France, OT was busy building submarine bases and coastal fortifications. 112,000 Germans, 152,000 French and 170,000 North Africans participated in the work. Approximately 2,500 French volunteers served in the armed protection of construction sites after being trained in the town of Celle Saint Cloud near Paris.

At the end of 1944, a certain number of the French were transferred to the construction of coastal facilities in Norway. Several hundred of them were sent to Greifenberg, where they joined the SS division Charlemagne.

NSKK (Nationalsocialistische Kraftfahrkorps) Motorgruppe Luftwaffe

The NSKK is a Luftwaffe logistics unit.

The NSKK had about 2,500 Frenchmen who served with the 4th NSKK Regiment in Vilvorde, Belgium. The non-commissioned officers of the regiment were represented by the Alsatian Germans.

In early 1943, the regiment took part in the fighting near Rostov.

In 1944, a battle group was formed from among the French who served in the NSKK, which took part in anti-partisan operations in northern Italy and Croatia.

In July 1943, 30 French NSKK soldiers, led by a man named Jean-Marie Balestre, deserted and joined the Waffen-SS. Most of them fought in the SS-Waffen until the end of the war.

African Phalanx (Phalange Africaine)

On November 14, 1942, the idea of creating an African unit, the African Phalange, was proclaimed in Paris.

In December, the German occupation authorities approved the plan and scheme for the material support of the unit. 330 volunteers were recruited, from which, after training, they formed a company of 210 people called Franzosische Freiwilligen Legion, which was included in the 2nd battalion of the 754th regiment of the 334th Panzer-Grenadier Division (5 Panzerarmee).

On April 7, 1943, the company entered the battle against the British (78th Infantry Division) in the Medjez-El-Bab area in North Africa. The Africans showed themselves well and the German General Weber presented Iron Crosses to several servicemen.

After 9 days, the allies launched a general offensive in this sector. Under artillery fire, the African Phalanx lost half of its people killed and wounded in one hour ... 150 surviving Africans were captured after the fall of Tunisia. Ten people who were captured by the Gaullists were shot, the rest were sentenced to long prison terms. About 40 Falangists, who were lucky enough to be captured by the Anglo-Americans, were later enrolled in Free French units and ended the war victorious in Germany ...

The article uses materials from the book J. Lee Ready. World War II. Nation by Nation. 1995

=======================================================

There were also other French people. But you need to remember both.

Captain Albert Littolf. Awarded with an order Patriotic War posthumously.

THIRTY-THIRD SS GREAT DIVISION "CHARLEMAGN"

The predecessor of this division was the "Volunteer French Legion", created in 1941 under the control of the German army. Initially, it was called the 638th Army Infantry Regiment and first entered combat on the Eastern Front during the winter 1941/42 offensive against Moscow as part of the 7th Infantry Division. The French unit suffered heavy losses and was withdrawn from the front from the spring of 1942 to the autumn of 1943, after which it was used mainly for anti-partisan operations. At this stage, it was divided to conduct operations in the rear against partisans and was used in the form of units, in terms of their quantitative composition equal to a battalion.

In January 1944, another reorganization of the battalion took place, but it was still used to fight partisans.

In September 1944, French volunteers joined the Waffen-SS. In France, recruitment into the SS began in earnest only in 1943, in Paris. In August 1944, the first 300 volunteers were sent to Alsace for training as part of the French SS Volunteer Assault Brigade. In September 1943, about 30 French officers were sent to the SS military school in the Bavarian city of Bad Tölze, and about a hundred non-commissioned officers were sent to various junior officer schools in order to improve their training to the standard requirements of the Waffen-SS. At this time, a group of French volunteers was on the Eastern Front as part of the 18th SS Volunteer Panzer-Grenadier Division Horst Wessel. After fierce battles with units of the Red Army, they were recalled to the rear for rest and reorganization. At this time, a decision was made - given the combat track record of the French, to combine them with the remnants of the legion and French militia units to create a new Waffen-SS division.

The second group was completely exterminated by the furious volleys of Soviet artillery. The third managed to retreat to the west, where it was destroyed - its soldiers either died or were taken prisoner by the Russians. Those who remained in Neustrelitz were rounded up by the divisional commander, SS Brigadeführer Gustav Krukenberg, who released from the oath those who no longer wished to serve in the SS. Nevertheless, about 500 men voluntarily followed their commander to defend Berlin. Approximately 700 people remained in Neustrelitz. The 500 volunteers who participated in the defense of Berlin fought with exceptional integrity, despite the fact that they knew that the battle was lost. Their courage was awarded with three Knight's Crosses. One of them was awarded to SS Obersturmführer Wilhelm Weber, a German division officer, and two to French soldiers Unterscharführer Eugène Vallot and Oberscharführer Francois Apollo. All three awards were distinctions for personal bravery shown in the destruction of several Soviet tanks alone. Three days later, Vallo and Apollo were killed. Weber was lucky to survive the war.

Those members of the Charlemagne division who chose not to go to the front made their way to the west, where they voluntarily surrendered. They no doubt expected the Western Allies to treat them better than the Russians. Those of them who surrendered to their compatriots from the Free French army had to be very disappointed in their illusion. It is known that when they encountered the Free French soldiers, when asked by the latter why they wished to wear German uniforms, the French SS soldiers inquired about the uniforms of the American troops worn by the de Gaulles. Enraged by such a question, the commander of the de Gaulle troops on the spot, without any trial or investigation, shot his fellow SS men. As for the Free French, it is itself guilty of the most terrible war crimes. It makes no sense to say that the murderers of the French SS went unpunished. Ironically, the French SS men who took part in the brutal destruction of Oradour in 1944 were treated much more leniently. They were considered people subjected to forced mobilization and thus "victims". The French court acquitted them. The reason for this surprising verdict seems to be purely political. The French SS men who appeared before the court were from Alsace, which over the years of its history has repeatedly passed either to France or to Germany. There was an opinion that a guilty verdict against the perpetrators of the tragedy that broke out in Oradour could cause unrest in Alsace.

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