The Blue Legion (; ), officially called the Spanish Volunteer Legion (; ), was a volunteer legion created from 2,133

falangist Falangism () was the political ideology of three political parties in Spain that were known as the Falange, namely first the Falange Española, the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS), and afterwa ...

volunteers who remained behind at the Eastern Front after most of the Spanish

Blue Division The 250th Infantry Division (), better known as the Blue Division (, ), was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain operating from 1941 to 1943 within the German Army () on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated t ...

was withdrawn in October 1943 because

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

had started negotiations with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

. It officially consisted of two battalions. It was later estimated that the legion grew to over 3,000 Spaniards. A certain number of Spanish volunteers refused to return to Spain and remained on the Eastern Front, integrated into different German units. Some of them would continue to fight until the end of World War II. The 101st SS Spanish Volunteer Company () of 140 men, composed of four rifle platoons and one staff platoon, was attached to the 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division ''Wallonien'' (the Walloon Legion) and fought against the Soviets in

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. Under the command of Miguel Ezquerra, remnants of the legion defended Berlin against an overwhelming Soviet assault from April-May 1945. They fought in and around the central government district of Berlin (''Zitadelle'' sector), which included the

Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery () was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared since 1875, was the fo ...

and the Reichstag, being among the last defenders of the ''

Führerbunker The () was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters (''Führerhaupt ...

''. The troops bore the word ''ESPAÑA'' and a red/yellow/yellow/red horizontally striped shield worn on the upper right arm, and a helmet.

References

{{Mil-unit-stub Anti-communism in Spain Foreign volunteer units of the Wehrmacht Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 Military units and formations of the Soviet–German War Military history of Spain Spanish collaborators with Nazi Germany