Germany's French Allies 1941-45

 Having reviewed the story of Free French volunteer pilots in the Soviet Union, this new Osprey on the other side of the ideological divide caught my eye. Massimiliano Afiero looks at the various Vichy and collaborationist units that supported the German war effort during WW2.

Vichy France retained some control of its colonial forces and was allowed a 100,000-strong 'Armistice Army' in the unoccupied zone of France. However, this book looks at the units created to fight alongside the Germans on the Eastern Front in 1941. The Légion des Volontaires Français (LVF) was given the Wehrmacht designation Verstaerktes Französische Infanterie-Regiment 638 (638th French Reinforced Infantry Regiment) and reached the Moscow front in time for the 1941/42 winter campaign. It was rebuilt after suffering crippling losses and then employed on security operations. Very strangely, for the master race, they included 200 black soldiers from North Africa. The Germans were complimentary about the volunteers but scathing about the officers, calling them 'moronic'.

In August 1943, a Waffen SS unit was created, Französisches SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment, for French volunteers. This was expanded into a brigade in 1944 and largely destroyed in fighting against the Soviets in Galicia. In 1944, all volunteer units were combined into the Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS ‘Charlemagne', this time destroyed on the Pomerian Front. A small number ended up defending Berlin, with 60-120 being captured by the Soviets. Being a French fascist was no picnic! However, they did get proper equipment, with good numbers of Panzerfausts, new Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifles and MG42s.

Other units included the very brief la Phalange Africaine (‘the African Phalanx’), primarily recruited in Tunisia after Operation Torch. The survivors were either captured or released by the Allies, although 14 were convicted of treason and shot.

The author gives a detailed account of the fighting these units were involved in. There are plenty of illustrations, and the recruitment posters are fascinating. The usual colour plates complete the book for the wargamer. The uniforms were almost all German, so just a shoulder flash is required in the largest scales to differentiate them. If, like me, you enjoy reading about obscure WW2 units, this is the book for you.

The 'Charlemagne' shoulder flash