Customer Reviews

Blue Division Soldier 1941-45: Spanish Volunteer on the Eastern Front (Warrior)

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The subject of the Spanish volunteer "Blue" Division serving with the Germans on the Eastern Front in the Second World War continues to attract far more interest than many other Axis minor allied formations. Osprey produced the earlier Men-at-Arms title Germany's Spanish Volunteers, but Blue Division Soldier 1941-45 in the Warrior series does not repeat much from the earlier volume. Instead, this book is written by a Spanish historian from a Spanish point of view and while it offers much less on the activities and equipment of the Blue Division, it provides a better glimpse into the human aspect of this story. The bulk of the volume consists of a discussion of how the Spanish volunteers were inducted, how they served in the division and what became of them. Readers looking for detailed tactical descriptions will not find them in this volume, but it has merit as an examination of Spanish volunteers on the Eastern Front. Overall, a decent volume that doesn't make me feel like I'm just getting an updated version of the MAA title.

After a brief discussion of why Spain felt compelled to send volunteers to fight with the Germans against the Soviet Union in 1941, the author moves into a section discussing how the recruits were drawn from the Falange Party as well as the Regular Army. The author makes some important points here, that the Falange and the Army had different visions for the division and some of these factors were not brought out in other books on the Blue Division. He provides only a brief section on training in Germany (a bit too brief), then spends about 10 pages discussing the composition of the division, broken down by ranks. The author makes the point that a major weakness of the division was the lack of a strong Spanish NCO corps, which made it difficult to fill out the large number of NCO slots based on German tables of organization. He discusses tactics in 3-4 pages, with one of the interesting items being that the Spanish use of bugles on the battlefield annoyed the Germans. Although he alludes to the Spanish aversion to static, trench warfare, he also points out that they lacked the training to conduct the German version of mobile warfare, so it's just as well they ended up at Leningrad.

The 10-page section on life at the front covers the effect of mud and cold on Spanish troops, trench warfare, replacements, support and medical services, and discipline. The next section on motivation and morale covers food, religious services, propaganda, mail and awards. Another section covers the relationship between Spanish troops and Germans and the local Russian population. A final section covers the volunteers after their return to Spain and post-war veterans organizations. The B/W photos throughout the volume are very good and most have not appeared before in English-language works. The volume has six color plates (the departure of the Blue Division; decorations and badges; Spanish infantry in the Battle of the Volkhov Pocket; the Battle of Krasny Bor; daily life in Russia; veterans). Overall, this is an interesting look at the men that formed the Spanish Blue Division, but it is a bit light in areas that many military history readers enjoy (weapons, training, battles), so it is best used as an adjunct to other works. There's nothing terribly new here, but it is an interesting read and provides some depth on the human dimension of the Eastern Front.

"gloria eterna a la division azul y a Francisco Franco, el español mas grande de todos los tiempos,unico vencedor del comunismo en los campos de batalla"

This book is a good summary of the facts and impressions of the Spanish volunteers in the German forces. I liked how it explained so much of the attitude and ideals of the Spaniards and drew the line between the different fascist groups of Germany and Spain. I'd like to meet the author one day.

I was intersted in the Blue Division, a unit which fought for the Germans on the Eastern Front during World War II, but found that most sources give it short shrift saying that it was an "ineffective unit" provided to Hitler by Franco in an effort to "buy" Hitler's assistance in regaining Gibralter at some future point or as a quid pro quo for Hitler loan of the Condor Legion to the Nationalists during the Civil War. This book, short as it is, gives a more complete picture.

When Germany invaded the USSR there were spontanious and Falangist-led demonstrations in support of the effort. Spain had just come out of a painful civil war, one in which Stalin had sent weapons and soldiers to bolster the Republic, which would come further and further under the sway of leftists as the war went on. Many in Spain believed that the war was prolongd by the Soviets and others were still bitter over the atrocities committed by leftists against the Catholic clergy prior to and during the war. It was not surprising then that many Spaniards volunteered to serve in the German Army in order to "finish off" Stalin.

This book discusses the organization, leadership and decorations of the division sent to fight on the Eastern Front. It also discusses the support contingents provided for the division inside German-occupied Europe. Lots of great artwork and photographs and a good illustration of the insignia worn by the unit. No maps though, which would have put the organization in better perspective. This is a great book!

After the help to FRANCO in Spain its natural that spanish volunteers fight with the germans against the russians, a good book with good drawings, photos and histories of the 250 division der infanterie in eastern front, a good source for begginers!

I found this book to be very informative on a heretofore little covered unit that fought with the Germans on the Eastern front.