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The Blue Division, an outstanding debt from Franco to Hitler

The Blue Division, an outstanding debt from Franco to Hitler

By train they crossed all of Europe, but when they reached Russia they had to travel almost 900 kilometers in long and exhausting journeys. Problems soon arose between German discipline and Hispanic disorganization (Hitler came to describe them as “ragged”). They fraternized with the Jewish girls, with the Russian prisoners and especially those who did not comply with the strict German clothing protocols but soon these misunderstandings would be left behind when the members of the Blue Division they went into combat and showed their unflinching courage in action.

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After a time in Smolensk, the bulk of the Spanish troops were assigned to the siege of Leningrad. It was a long battle for positions in the middle of a paralyzing cold that touched -40°. His maximum exposure came on February 10, 1943 when four thousand Spaniards stopped the advance of 40,000 Soviets in Krasni Bor, a small town 30 kilometers from Leningrad. The determination of the Spanish prevented the collapse of the German line. The commanding general was Emilio Estaban Infante, a civil war veteran who sustained a Soviet attack that included hundreds of tanks, a thousand guns, and hundreds of mortars. At one point these young people, mostly Falangists, endorsed the slogan of the Republicans who fought on the Ebro… “Not pass!”

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Five days later the Blue Division it had suffered more than 3,500 casualties, 70% of the troops that had gone into action (one of the highest numbers in the war), but the Soviets had suffered more than 11,000 casualties. the Spanish held the siege of Leningrad and showed courage and determination…

Due to these large losses, the Franco regime withdrew this Blue Division which was decorated by the German high command. The Führer himself had to back down and publicly acknowledge the courage of the Spaniards. Germany awarded 4,732 decorations among the volunteers.

Throughout the conflict, the casualties of the Blue Division they added 22,7000, almost 4,000 dead, 320 captured, 8,500 wounded and 1,600 frozen. Only 200 of the captured Spaniards returned to their country in 1954.

While Falangist Spaniards were giving their lives in the frozen Russian steppes, a group of Republican fighters were from General Leclerc’s group of soldiers who took over the German headquarters in Paris. Both one and the other showed the fierceness of the Spanish soldier.

In 2004, both Spaniards from the Blue Division as members of the Leclerc Division they paraded together as a symbol of unity of the Spaniards who had “put down their differences” although the controversy continues, because these ideological disagreements are not settled with a parade, nor with camaraderie meetings, nor in an open dialogue. Only time, a lot of time dilutes the passions..

Source: Ambito

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