hi,
how many Germans served in spanish army / spanish foreign legion after ww2 ?
Wehrmacht/ Waffen SS veterans in Spain after wwII
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Mannet
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Ironmachine
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Re: Wehrmacht/ Waffen SS veterans in Spain after wwII
As I posted in another thread:
"It's possible that some German veterans may have served in the Spanish armed forces after WWII, but they must per force have been very few in numbers. The Spanish Army was a conscript army with a far-too-big officer corps, so there was really no place for many Germans. The size of the Spanish "Foreign Legion" [sic] was 11 infantry battalions and 3 mixed-weapons battalions (and in 1947 the infantry battalions were cut to 9) and were already manned, so again no place for many Germans. It should be also remembered that, unlike the French Foreign Legion, the Spanish Legión was never really much "foreign": IIRC at its foundation, when the number of foreigners was higher, only about 20% of the men were foreigners, and post-WWII this percentage was about 5% or less."
So perhaps a few officers in the Army, and perhaps a few soldiers in the Spanish Legion (it was never called "Foreign"), though those without political "problems" would have had few reasons to come to Spain instead of joining the French Foreign Legion.
"It's possible that some German veterans may have served in the Spanish armed forces after WWII, but they must per force have been very few in numbers. The Spanish Army was a conscript army with a far-too-big officer corps, so there was really no place for many Germans. The size of the Spanish "Foreign Legion" [sic] was 11 infantry battalions and 3 mixed-weapons battalions (and in 1947 the infantry battalions were cut to 9) and were already manned, so again no place for many Germans. It should be also remembered that, unlike the French Foreign Legion, the Spanish Legión was never really much "foreign": IIRC at its foundation, when the number of foreigners was higher, only about 20% of the men were foreigners, and post-WWII this percentage was about 5% or less."
So perhaps a few officers in the Army, and perhaps a few soldiers in the Spanish Legion (it was never called "Foreign"), though those without political "problems" would have had few reasons to come to Spain instead of joining the French Foreign Legion.