Belgian Waffen-SS Legions
& Brigades, 1941 – 1944

Legion Wallonie, Sturmbrigade Wallonien,
Legion Flandern & Sturmbrigade Langemarck

This 48 page paperback book is number 539 in the Men-At-Arms series of books that are available from Osprey Publications.

The Contents of this book are;

Contents

• INTRODUCTION
  • Belgian fascist movements
  • After German occupation
• LÉGION WALLONIE
  • Formation and training
  • Eastern Front, 1941-42
    • Gromowaja – Balka, February 1942
    • Order of Battle, May 1942
    • Reinforcements, June 1942
    • Towards the Caucasus – Tjerjakow August 1942
    • The End in the Caucasus September –October 1942
• SS-STURMBRIGADE ‘WALLONIEN’, 1943-44
  • The Dnieper front, winter 1943/44
  • The Korsun Pocket, January – February 1944
  • Triumphal Reception Order of Battle , 30 June 1944
  • The Estonian Front August 1944
  • Aftermath
• SS-FREIWILLIGEN LEGION FLANDERN
  • Formation and training
  • Order of battle, October 1941
  • Eastern Front 1941 – 43
  • Koptsy January 1942
  • With Gruppe Debes – Zyempptitsy, March 1942
  • The Volkhov salient, March – June 1942
  • The Leningrad Front, July – December 1942
  • Krasny Bor, March 1943
• SS-FREIWILLIGEN STURMBRIGADE ‘LANGEMARCK’
• Training and organization
• Order of battle, July 1943
  • The Ukrainian front: Zhitomir, January 1944
  • Retreat from Jampol, TMarch 1944
  • The flak at Bilhorodka – Reorganized order of battle 30 June 1944
  • The Estonian front: the Tannenbergstellung July August 1944
  • Remi Schrijnen’s Knights Cross
  • Orphanage and Grenadier Hills
  • Aftermath
• SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
• PLATE COMMENTARIES
• INDEX

From the German occupation of Belgium in May 1940, Flemish recruits from northern Belgium – considered by the Nazis to be ‘Germanic’ – were accepted individually into Waffen-SS units. From Hitler’s invasion of the USSR in June 1941, additional recruits from the French-speaking south (Wallonia) were drafted. Both communities formed volunteer ‘Legions’, to fight (according to Goebbels’ propaganda machine) ‘for European civilization against the Bolshevik threat’; these were a Flemish Legion in the Waffen-SS and a Walloon Legion in the German Army. Both served on the Russian Front in 1942-43; the Walloon Legion was then also transferred into the Waffen-SS, and the decorated Walloon officer Leon Degrelle became a publicized “poster boy” for foreign SS volunteers. Both Legions were then redesignated as SS Assault Brigades, and thereafter saw extremely hard fighting in the Ukraine and on the Baltic front. In autumn 1944, their survivors were withdrawn from the front and incorporated into two new understrength SS Divisions, 27. ‘Langemarck’ and 28. ‘Wallonien’.

This new account, featuring detailed color plates of uniform and insignia, recounts the battle history of the French and Flemish-speaking Belgian SS, up to their final transformation into full divisions in the winter of 1944/45.

Summary

In addition to this informative Men At Arms book with the excellent written descriptions and colorful uniform plates, there are two other Men At Arms books that compliment this book. The two other books are Men At Arms 401 The Waffen-SS (1) and Men At Arms 404 The Waffen-SS (2). These three books together provide the reader with an excellent overview of these soldiers during World War II.

The Historian/Uniformologist will find these books interesting for their color plates of uniforms and insignia. The figure collector/painter will find the book especially interesting for the same reason. The wargamer will enjoy this book for its historical content and what it can add to a players wargame. Overall, whoever purchases this book will find that they will add to there knowledge of these important units that fought for Germany in World War II.

This book is available from Osprey Publications.