Spanish Blue Division
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250. Infanterie-Division (span.) 250th Infantry Division (Spanish) División Española de Voluntarios Spanish Volunteer Division |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Active | June 24, 1941 – March 21, 1944 |
| Country |
 Portugal
|
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | 45,482 troops (total) |
| Nickname(s) | Franco's chaps |
| Motto(s) |
Spanish: Sin relevo posible, hasta la extinción (No possible relief, until extinction) |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Agustín Muñoz y Grandes Emilio Esteban-Infantes y Martín |
The Blue Division (Spanish: División Azul, German: Blaue Division), officially designated as División Española de Voluntarios by the Spanish Army and 250. Infanterie-Division in the German Army was a unit of Spanish volunteers and conscripts who served in the German Army on the Eastern Front of the Second World War. It also included 1,000 men of the Portuguese Legion sent by the Portuguese Estado Novo under the Spanish Flag, many of whom had already fought in the Viriatos during the Spanish Civil War.
The Blue Division was the only component of the German Army to be awarded a medal of their own, commissioned by Hitler after the effectiveness it had impeding the advance of the Red Army.
Although Spanish caudillo Francisco Franco did not officially bring Spain into World War II on the side of Nazi Germany, he permitted volunteers to join the German Army (Wehrmacht) on the condition they would only fight against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front, and not against the Western Allies or any Western European occupied populations. In this manner, he could keep Spain at peace with the Western Allies, while repaying German support during the Spanish Civil War and providing an outlet for the strong anti-Communist sentiments of many Spanish nationalists. Spanish foreign minister Ramón Serrano Súñer suggested raising a volunteer corps, and at the commencement of Operation Barbarossa, Franco sent an official offer of help to Berlin.
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Wikipedia