Spanish Blue Division

E117066

The Spanish Blue Division was a volunteer unit of Spanish soldiers who fought alongside Nazi Germany’s army on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union during World War II.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Spanish Blue Division canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf military unit
volunteer military formation
alliedWith Nazi Germany
alsoKnownAs 250th Infantry Division
surface form: 250. Infanterie-Division

250th Infantry Division
Blue Division
División Azul
approximateStrength 18000 soldiers
associatedWith Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista
surface form: Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS
authorizedBy Francisco Franco
branchOfWehrmacht German Army
casualties many wounded and missing
several thousand killed
commander Agustín Muñoz Grandes
Emilio Esteban-Infantes
conflict World War II
country Spain
decorationsReceivedFrom Nazi Germany
disbandedOn 1943-10-20
formedOn 1941-07-13
garrisonOrHeadquarters training in Grafenwöhr, Germany
ideology anti-communism
integratedInto Wehrmacht
language Spanish
legacy controversial in Spanish historical memory
notableAwardToMembers Iron Cross
notableBattle Battle of Krasny Bor
Siege of Leningrad
notableFor only large Spanish unit to fight on Eastern Front in WWII
operatedIn Leningrad Front (Soviet Union)
surface form: Leningrad Front

Novgorod Oblast
surface form: Novgorod region
opposedTo Soviet Union
partOf Spanish Army
peakStrength about 18000–20000 men
politicalContext Francoist regime sought to repay Hitler for aid in Spanish Civil War
purpose to support Germany against the Soviet Union
recruitmentBase Falangist volunteers
Spanish Civil War veterans
recruitmentType volunteer
sentByGovernment Francoist Spain
side Axis powers
successorUnit Blue Legion
theaterOfOperations Eastern Front
totalPersonnelServed over 45000 men
uniformFeature wore Spanish insignia on German uniforms
withdrawalReason diplomatic pressure from the Allies

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Axis forces on the Eastern Front included Spanish Blue Division