Full Description
A fully illustrated study of the Wehrmacht's French volunteer units and their actions on the Eastern Front and in North Africa during World War II.
It is little known that, in late 1941, French volunteer units were among Wehrmacht troops defending Germany in the first bitter winter on the Eastern Front, and also among the last fighting for Berlin in April 1945. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, some 13,000 Frenchmen enlisted in the 'Légion des volontaires français contre le bolchévisme' (LVF), which was reformed as the Wehrmacht's Infanterie-Regiment 638 and posted to Russia.
This volume examines the involvement of French volunteers, not only on the Eastern Front, but also in the 'Phalange Africaine' in Tunisia and in the 'Légion Tricolore', a short-lived military organization under the control of the French Vichy government. Using archive photographs and specially commissioned artwork, it casts a new light on forces fighting for the Axis and studies the French personnel's equipment, insignia and uniforms while describing their involvement in some of the most gruelling battles of World War II.
Contents
[subject to confirmation]
Introduction
France after the 1940 armistice
Formation and recruitment of the LVF
To the Moscow front, November 1941
Anti-partisan operations, March 1942-June 1943
Reorganization and consolidation, 1943-1944
Operations, June-August 1944
Operations in the Carpathians, August-September 1944
Formation of 33. SS-Division 'Charlemagne', winter 1944/45
Operations in Pomerania, February-March 1945
Operations in Berlin, April-May 1945
The Tricolour Legion, 1942
The African Phalange, 1942/43
Select Bibliography
Plate Commentaries
Index
