French and Spanish volunteers in OZAK (March 1945)

[K.Kocjancic]

Could WE read those reports?

I have only reports from this Rgt., which have (also) info on W-SS: I think there are 2-3 Latvians, and 1 German among them, but no Frenchman among them.

KK

[K.Kocjancic]

And BTW all these reports are in Slovene language.

[Mark V.]

Hello, do you know if testimonials of those Slovenians partisan exist about this subject ?

Another question : who were those "Frenchmen in SS-Pol.Rgt.10" ?

No, info on French and Spanish soldiers is from partisan weekly/monthly report(s).

Also these SS-Pol. Rgt.'s Frenchmen are mentioned in these reports. But IIRC there are some interrogation reports of the POW/deserters from this Rgt.

Could WE read those reports?

There's a partisan interrogation report of a group of 76 Frenchmen from Alsace who deserted from 3./SS-Pol.Rgt.10 in December 1944. It mostly describes unit's actions from summer to December 1944. The Frenchmen were recruited to "SS units" in April 1944 and were sent to the Polizeiwaffenschule Dresden, where they underwent 3 months of training, plus another 2 weeks at Mährisch Ostrau (with a z.b.V. unit). In July they were then transferred to SS-Pol.Rgt.10 in Gorizia.

[K.Kocjancic]

Klemen where was this French Legion stationed?

In 12.4.1945 report of OC 9. Corps for the UK military mission, they wrote: "In enemy's offensive from 20.3. to 7.4. were involved 18.000 - 20.000 men of enemy army from these units: 14. SS-Div., 28. SS-Pol. Rgt., 13. SS-Pol.Rgt., units of 24. SS Karstjäger Div., 10. SS-Pol. Rgt., 15. SS-Pol. Rgt., spanish and french volunteer legions, SiPo and BdO from Triest(e), Nedićevci, četniki, be-ga and Cossacks."

In "Informacijsko poročilo št. 71" (OC 9. Corps, 12.4.1945): on sector Grgar-Čepovan was first 710. Div., which was useless against the partisans and was replaced on 16.3. with 15. SS-Pol. Rgt. They also couldn't handle it, so they brought in 10. SS-Pol. Rgt. with "some spanish volunteer legion". They also recovered some documents from Spaniards and they realized, that they were previously in combat with partisans in Vojsko area.

So Vojsko is only reference point. I believe that these Spanish were most likely from Karstjäger.

Thanks for the link.

[K.Kocjancic]

OK, I went thru my files and found these info:
* in 31.7.1944 intel report there is info that in Prestranek were 700-800 men, among them were 100 Frenchmen (this is most likely 10. SS-Pol. Rgt.); from report of 23.7.1944 is noted that they came to Prestranek a day before (22.7.1944)
* in 1.8.1944 intel report they ID-ed in Naklo II./SS-Pol.Rgt. Todt (Stab, 8. Kmp. and half of 5. Kmp.) with 250 men and 30 vehicles. Men were Croatian Germans, Frenchmen and Rumanians.

[K.Kocjancic]

Plus there are 2 depeches from 9. Corps to OBOD, sent on 7.4., where they mentioned French Antibol. Volunteer Btl. and Spanish Volunteer Legion. Among the units, involved in the offensive, they also list "Rupnikov pokretni Btl." and Greeks from Borovnica. In 2 dispatches they mention both legions, but no other info.

I wonder, if there is possibility that some ex-LVF members were sent to SS-Pol. Rgt. 10 (or any of other involved SS-Pol. Rgt.)? When partisans found some documents (perhaps Wehrpass) with inscription of the LVF, they thought that the legion is still active and in OZAK.

[Mark V.]

They also couldn't handle it, so they brought in 10. SS-Pol. Rgt. with "some spanish volunteer legion".

This should be the Karstjäger brigade. I found in Stanko Petelin's Vojkova brigada (p.488) the claim that both "legions" were with the Karstjägers.

I wonder, if there is possibility that some ex-LVF members were sent to SS-Pol. Rgt. 10 (or any of other involved SS-Pol. Rgt.)? When partisans found some documents (perhaps Wehrpass) with inscription of the LVF, they thought that the legion is still active and in OZAK.

I agree. If any such French legion existed surely there would be more documents citing it, at least like for example this "Spanish legion". Happy hunting.

[K.Kocjancic]

Yeah, I have no luck with these captured docs. I found a lot of companion letters (spremna pisma) about the docs, but no docs. I think that they were sent further to Supreme Partisan HQ or were removed after the war and sent to Serbian archive.

[Mark V.]

See also if any intelligence reports of the subordinate partisan units mention it prior to April 1945.

[K.Kocjancic]

See also if any intelligence reports of the subordinate partisan units mention it prior to April 1945.

There are reports of 5. Kmp. of Spanish volunteers (KJ are not mentioned in report, but they of course belonged to the Brig.) in Sv. Lucija from March 1945. On 29. 3. 1945 partisans received intel, that there are 2000 Spanish volunteers on their way to Gorica. These are the 2 earliest reports on Spaniards in the OZAK.

Regards,
Klemen

[Alexderome]

There were actually some SS Spanish in a section of 81. Waffen-Grenadier Regiment of 29. Waffen-Grenadier der SS " (Italienische Nr 1) ".
On the other hand 250. Inf.-Div better known under the name of division Azul was dissolved on November 17th, 1943. The Azul legion was dissolved in April, 1944, but all these units belonged to the Wehrmacht. As for the Spanische-Friwillige-Kompagnie der SS joined the Belgian of the 'Wallonie'.
Thus not in the sector of Slovenia.
I think it's a confusion with the 3a Compagnia of bataillon' Fulmine ' called Volontari di Francia of the division ' Decima Mas '.
The only french units should be the 1er Bataillon Français de la Milice, commanded by Darnand but sent to Valtellina, in Northern Italy (not OZAV nor OZAK).
As for the OZAK, region including the Italian provinces (at this moment) of Trieste, Gorizia, Fiume, Udine, Pola and Lubiana means Operationzone Adriatische Küstenland and was administered by the Gauleiter Friedrich Rainer, italophobe and looking unfavorably on the coming of Decima Mas during Adler Aktion to prevent the Slovenian seizure of Gorizia and ended in their failure, thanks to the sacrifice of the battalion Fulmine at Tarnova. THE OZAK created after September 8th, 1943 was never the ground of the LVF ( Französische Antibolschewistische Freiwillige Legion) as indicated at the beginning of thefirst message.
Thus no French presence as unit in Slovenia and in the OZAK.

ALEX

[K.Kocjancic]

There were actually some SS Spanish in a section of 81. Waffen-Grenadier Regiment of 29. Waffen-Grenadier der SS " (Italienische Nr 1) ".
On the other hand 250. Inf.-Div better known under the name of division Azul was dissolved on November 17th, 1943. The Azul legion was dissolved in April, 1944, but all these units belonged to the Wehrmacht. As for the Spanische-Friwillige-Kompagnie der SS joined the Belgian of the 'Wallonie'.
Thus not in the sector of Slovenia.
I think it's a confusion with the 3a Compagnia of bataillon' Fulmine ' called Volontari di Francia of the division ' Decima Mas '.
The only french units should be the 1er Bataillon Français de la Milice, commanded by Darnand but sent to Valtellina, in Northern Italy (not OZAV nor OZAK).
As for the OZAK, region including the Italian provinces (at this moment) of Trieste, Gorizia, Fiume, Udine, Pola and Lubiana means Operationzone Adriatische Küstenland and was administered by the Gauleiter Friedrich Rainer, italophobe and looking unfavorably on the coming of Decima Mas during Adler Aktion to prevent the Slovenian seizure of Gorizia and ended in their failure, thanks to the sacrifice of the battalion Fulmine at Tarnova. THE OZAK created after September 8th, 1943 was never the ground of the LVF ( Französische Antibolschewistische Freiwillige Legion) as indicated at the beginning of thefirst message.
Thus no French presence as unit in Slovenia and in the OZAK.

ALEX

Is there any more info on Volontari di Francia, especially where they saw combat?

[Alexderome]

Yes, it's right. These young French soldiers were sons of italian migrants in France as Carlo Panzarasa and fought at Tarnova (Trnovo) near Gorizia 19-21 january 1945.

[TrondK]

Anyone knows what tribe the Cossacks came from?

[Alexderome]

The Cossacks who had set up in Kossackenland of Northern Italy ?
There were a division of Cossack from Don, Kuban and Terek Cossacks (Ataman Domanov)-18 000 men)
and a Caucasian division (Ataman Sultan Ghirei Klitsch) -4000 men-
in order to reach near 30 000 people with the families and other refugiees.
ALEX