28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien
| 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien |
|
|---|---|
Division insignia
|
|
| Active | 1941–1945 |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Branch |
 Waffen-SS
|
| Size | Division (though only ever brigade-strength) |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Léon Degrelle |
The Walloon Legion (French: Légion Wallonie) was a collaborationist volunteer unit recruited from Belgium's French-speaking population in Wallonia and Brussels during the German occupation of World War II. The Walloon Legion served in the Wehrmacht, later in the Waffen-SS, on the Eastern Front on both front line and reserve duties.
The unit had its origins in Corps Franc Wallonie (Walloon Free Corps), consisting of men from the Formations de Combat, the paramilitary arm of the Rexist Party. The German occupation authorities ordered the formation of Wallonische Legion for service in the east. Command of the Legion, which had absorbed the Corps Franc Wallonie, went to Captain-Commandant Georges Jacobs, a retired Belgian colonial officer.
Leon Degrelle, the leader of the Rexist Party, who later became known for his service with the legion, requested to be commissioned as an officer; he was denied for lack of military training, forcing him to sign up as a private. On 8 August 1941, the Legion, now 860 strong, was sent to Meseritz in East Prussia for basic training. In early October, the Legion was incorporated into the German Army as the 373rd (Wallonische) Infantry Battalion. On 15 October it was ordered to the front, to operate as a part of Army Group South currently advancing through Ukraine.
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