Georgia Legion links Polish / French / Dutch Resistance

[alan newark]

Dear All

Indulge me...

Across Europe, especially in Italy and France, Georgian soldiers in the German Armed Forces deserted in droves to and fought with the Partisans.

I have ample information, though handled cautiously and would prefer SOE/ OSS source materials, from Soviet sources of the (claimed) extent of such activity. The Dutch Communist Resistance was particularly proud of these links.

The 822nd Georgia Bataillon vets have claimed, and this still causes queer looks, that during their screening and training period in Poland (Kruzhina near Deblin) and during a period of, say, a few months in the Lyon ( or Leon) district of Southern France, that they (a) helped the Polish Resistance and engaged in joint sabotage ops (b) had close ties with the Maquis / French Resistance.

There is some speculation that they also had ties with the Georgian emigre communities in Paris and other French cities.

Eddie Teske, a wartime Reich labour evader from Leiden who was allegedly a pacifist but engaged in modest sabotage activities and political newspaper deliveries in the Leiden and Freisland regions, was arrested on the Franco - Swiss border, in 1943-44 while on an Englandvaarder escape route run with a senior Dutch Resistance member who, I think, was a member of the Bos family (Dutch East Indies connections?).

This has never been proved but Eddie , who first told me (1989) of the Texel Mutiny, insisted that some Texel 'Cossacks' / Georgians escaped to the Dutch mainland and were sent south to the obviously underground Georgian community in Paris.

Can anyone provide evidence of of any of the above ?

What similar ties existed between other Georgian / North Caucasian troops and the Polish / French / Dutch Reistance movements? Anyone have unit Diaries / ops histories of Georgians employed by Germans as anti-partisan troops in Italy and France?

Alan

[Lau]

Hello,

I know this answer comes a long time after, but i'm looking some informations in the same subject and may be i can give you some informations.

In spring/summer 1944 in south-east of france there was armenian ost legion, two batallion at Sainte Maxime ( Département du Var ) near Hyères ( 242 or 148 infantry division ).

At marseille ( 80 km of Ste Maxime ) there was a Franc Tireur et Partisans, Main d'Oeuvre Immigrés ( FTP-MOI -- Communist ) group with fews armenians partisans. Armenian's FTP talk with armenian ost legion and try to motivate them to mutiny/revolt against german's officer.

They try to, the 14 july 1944 ( on month before landing on provence) but they was beat.

After the landing some of them ( 30 ) fight with partisans against axe's army on retreat near Barjols ( Var ).

I have just this fragmented informations on armenians ost legion.

I know too that's polish volkdeustche and armenian's ost legion surrender easly during the landing and the days after. There's some case where they killed there officers before surrending.

I'm looking informations about ost legion in this period on french riviera.

My principal answer is was happened to there man after there was capturing ? And if they fought with partisans there was consider like allied or enemy ? They was sent back to armenia ? Prisonner in algeria like georgian ( http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21368 )?

Thank you for future informations !

Sorry for my english



Source : " L'innocence et la ruse", G. Georges-Picot.
" Le front oublié des Alpes Maritimes" P.-E. Klingbeil. p. 40.