Gerald R. Kleinfeld - Hitlers Spanish Legion: The Blue Division in Russia in WWII

HITLERS
SPANISH LEGION

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HITLERS
SPANISH LEGION

The Blue Division in Russia in WWII

Gerald R. Kleinfeld

Lewis A. Tambs

STACKPOLE
BOOKS

Copyright 1979 by Gerald R. Kleinfeld and Lewis A. Tambs

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STACKPOLE FIRST EDITION

Cover design by Wendy A. Reynolds

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kleinfeld, Gerald R., 1936
Hitlers Spanish legion: the Blue Division in Russia in WWII / Gerald R. Kleinfeld, Lewis A. Tambs.
pages cm. (Stackpole military history series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Originally published: Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press,
c1979.
ISBN 978-0-8117-1391-7
1. World War, 19391945CampaignsSoviet Union. 2. World War, 19391945Regimental historiesGermany. 3. Worl dWar, 19391945Participation, Spanish. 4. Germany. Heer. Infanteriedivision (19411943), 250. 5. Soviet UnionHistoryGerman occupation, 19411944. I. Tambs, Lewis A., 1927 II. Title.
D764.K525 2014
940.54'1343dc23

2014000505

eISBN: 9780811759427

Contents

Preface

THE BLUE DIVISION, SPAINS CONTRIBUTION TO THE RUSSO-German war, 194145, is a microcosm of the Eastern Campaign. Joining Army Group North as the 250 Infantry Division in the German order of battle, this Spanish expeditionary force served continuously in the line for two years in the siege of Leningrad. Participating in efforts to envelop the city and repelling Red Army attempts to liberate the besieged metropolis, the Divisin Espaola de Voluntarios experienced some of the most bitter fighting on the Eastern Front. These Spanish volunteers give an entirely different perspective to the siege of Leningrad which is neither Communist nor Nazi, but Mediterranean. In culture, command structure, and tactics, the Blue Division was worlds apart from the other elements of the Wehrmacht. Their story is not merely of units and battles, but of human beings and of a great diplomatic struggle of World War IIAdolf Hitlers efforts to draw Spain into the conflict.