Brandenburg Division

Made up of volunteers who resolutely took the risk of fighting more aften than not on the fringes of the the laws of war, the Brandenburg units were initially subordinated to the Abwehr, the intelligence and counter-espionage agency of the Wehrmacht. Inconspicuous yet essential instruments of the Blitzkrieg between 1939 and 1942, the Brandenburgers opened the way everywhere for German forces, camouflaged in Dutch, British, Yugoslavian or Soviet uniforms. But it was in their national uniform in feldgrau that they chose to die. After El-Alamein and Stalingrad, in 1943-1944, the armies of the Reich retreated inexorably. Forming a division and from then on attached soleey to the Wehrmacht Operations Staff, the Brandenburgers were thrown into the worst of wars, against Russian or Serbian partisans, before fighting the very last battles of 1945 against the Red Army, transformed into elite Panzergrenadiers.

These highly uncommon fighting men, serving under the symbol of the sword and the question mark, remained faithful to their flag until the very end.