A Most Rare, Original, 1941 Third Reich Spanish Falangist Volunteer 'Blue Division' {Blaue Division} Badge of The División Azul. the Spanish Volunteers That Fought with Germany on The Eastern Front In Russia Against Stalin

German combat Helmet with Laurel wreath of Victory, against the Spanish Falangist arrow symbol. The rear of the badge was the Blue Division Volunteer's Filangist Member's number and his group, from an early volunteer, one of only 18,000 men.

Approximately only 47,000 men served in the Spanish Blue Division over the course of its existence. While the initial division had 18,000 volunteers, the total number includes all men who served in the unit between 1941 and 1943.
Initial force: The division was established in 1941 with an initial strength of about 18,000 volunteers.
By the end of its deployment, the total number of men who served in the unit reached approximately 47,000

The 250th Infantry Division (German: 250. Infanterie-Division), better known as the Blue Division (Spanish: División Azul, German: Blaue Division), was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain operating from 1941 to 1943 within the German Army (Heer) on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated the Spanish Volunteer Division (División Española de Voluntarios) by the Spanish Army.

Francisco Franco had secured power in Spain after the Nationalist victory in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), during which the Nationalists received support from Nazi Germany. Franco's authoritarian regime remained officially non-belligerent in World War II but sympathised with the Axis powers. After lobbying by the Spanish Foreign Minister Ramón Serrano Suñer and by senior figures within the Spanish Army following the 22 June 1941 launch of Operation Barbarossa, Franco agreed that Spanish people would be permitted to enlist privately in the German Army and undertook to provide tacit support. An infantry division was raised from Falangist and Spanish Army cadres and was sent for training in Germany. The unit fought on the Eastern Front, in the 1941–1944 siege of Leningrad, notably in the Battle of Krasny Bor. They eventually withdrew from the front after Allied political pressure on Spain in October 1943 and returned to Spain shortly afterwards. Several thousand non-returners were incorporated into the 121st Infantry Division, the short-lived Blue Legion, and eventually into the Waffen-SS.

Code: 25948