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''Ostlegionen'' ("eastern legions"), ''Ost-Bataillone'' ("eastern battalions"), ''Osttruppen'' ("eastern troops"), and ''Osteinheiten'' ("eastern units") were units in the
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
made up of personnel from the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. They were a large part of the Wehrmacht foreign volunteers and conscripts.


Background

Some members of the ''Ostlegionen'' units were conscripted or coerced into serving; others volunteered. Many were former
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
personnel, recruited from prisoner of war camps. ''Osttruppen'' were frequently stationed away from front lines and used for coastal defence or rear-area activities, such as security operations, thus freeing up regular German forces for front-line service. They belonged to two distinct types of units: * ''Ost-Bataillone'' were composed of various nationalities, raised mostly amongst
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
(POW) captured in
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...
, who had been formed into
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...
-sized units, which were integrated individually into German combat formations, and; * ''Ostlegionen'' were larger foreign legion-type units raised amongst members of a specific ethnic minority or minorities, and comprising multiple battalions. Members of ''Osteinheiten'' usually faced execution or harsh terms of imprisonment, if they were captured by Soviet forces or repatriated to the USSR by the western Allies.


''Ost-Bataillone''

''Ost-Bataillone'' wore German uniforms and equipment and were integrated into larger German formations. They began as the private initiatives of individual military commanders. Most were utilized on the Eastern Front and in the Balkans. In 1944, a number of ''Ost-Bataillone'' were stationed in northern France, in anticipation of an Allied invasion of Western Europe. Units that fought in Normandy against Allied
Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...
were part of the German
243 __NOTOC__ Year 243 ( CCXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Arrianus and Papus (or, less frequently, year 996 ''Ab u ...
rd and 709th Static Infantry Divisions, positioned in the vicinity of the
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
, Juno and
Sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
invasion beaches. ''Ost-Bataillone'' were also present in southern France, during the Allied landings codenamed
Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence ( Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord ...
(August 1944).


''Ostlegionen ''


See also

*
Hiwi (volunteer) Hiwi (), the German abbreviation of the word ''Hilfswilliger'' or, in English, auxiliary volunteer, designated, during World War II, a member of different kinds of voluntary auxiliary forces made up of recruits indigenous to the territories of Ea ...
*
German mistreatment of Soviet prisoners of war During World War II, Nazi Germany engaged in a policy of deliberate maltreatment of Soviet prisoners of war (POWs), in contrast to their general treatment of British and American POWs. This policy, which amounted to deliberately starving and wor ...
*
Nazi racial theories The Nazi Party adopted and developed several pseudoscientific racial classifications as part of its ideology (Nazism) in order to justify the genocide of groups of people which it deemed racially inferior. The Nazis considered the putative ...


References


Bibliography


Elizabeth M.F. Grasmeder, "Leaning on Legionnaires: Why Modern States Recruit Foreign Soldiers," International Security (July 2021), Vol 46 (No. 1), pp. 147–195.
* * * {{cite book , last = Thomas , first = Nigel , title = The German Army 1939–45 (5): Western Front 1943–45: Western Front, 1944–45 v. 5 (Men-at-Arms) , publisher = Osprey Publishing , year = 2000 , isbn = 978-1855327979 Foreign volunteer units of the Wehrmacht Collaboration with the Axis Powers