Between 1941–45, the Germans recruited around 175,000 men from a number of minorities in the USSR, distinguishing between 'Turkomans' (predominantly Muslims) and 'Caucasians' (predominantly Orthodox Christians). Of these, many formed rear-area auxiliary units, but at least 55,000 were combat troops. The first recruits formed two battalions in the 444th Security Division raised as early as November 1941; during 1942–­43 seven legions were formed, each of several battalions, eventually totalling some 53 battalions (equivalent to about 6 full divisions). However, with one exception (162nd Turkoman Division), they were not deployed as whole formations; after training in Poland, individual battalions were posted to fill out German regiments in the front lines, at first in Army Group South but later in all three Army Groups fighting on the Eastern Front. Units were also sent to Yugoslavia, Italy and the Western Front. This fully illustrated history of the Eastern legions details the organization, battle orders, combat history, uniforms and insignia of these unique units, combining contemporary photographs and full-colour illustrations with expert research from military historian Dr Nigel Thomas.

Given the merciless way in which the war on the Eastern Front of World War II was conducted, it is difficult to envisage anyone changing sides during the conflict. Yet after the German invasion of Russia in Operation Barbarossa, well over 400,000 former Soviet citizens went on to fight for Nazi Germany. These included not only the 'legions' recruited from non-Russian ethnic groups eager for freedom from Stalin's dictatorship, but also some 100,000 Russians and Cossacks. What began as small local security units of 'Ostruppen', enrolled for the ongoing campaigns against Soviet partisans, were later reorganized, given special systems of uniform and insignia, amalgamated into larger formations, and eventually committed to the front line. This book offers up an essential guide to the appearance, formation and equipment of the myriad Russian and Soviet units that fought for the Germans. It uses rare photographs and revealing colour illustrations to create a peerless visual reference to the troops who switched from one ruthless superpower to another and met with a horrific fate when the fighting was over.

The Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler’s armies in World War II, but the most fanatical were not even German. This is a comprehensive examination of every foreign Waffen-SS formation, including infamous divisions such as Wiking and Prinz Eugen, units such as the Kaminski Brigade and the British-recruited Britisches Freikorps.

A ground-breaking study that looks at why European nations sent troops to take part in Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union.

Born in Margilan, Central Asia on the eve of the Russian Revolution of 1917, Ruzi Nazar had one of the most exciting lives of the twentieth century. Charming, intellectually brilliant and passionately committed to the liberation of Central Asia from Russian rule, his life was a series of adventures and narrow escapes. He was successively a Soviet student, a Red Army officer, an officer in the German Turkestan Legion during World War II, a fugitive living in postwar Germany's underworld, and finally an immigrant to the United States who rose high in the CIA. Here he mixed with the powerful and famous, represented the US as a diplomat in Ankara and Bonn, and became an undercover agent in Iran after the hostage crisis of 1979-81. Nazar's foresight was formidable. He predicted that communism would collapse from within, briefing Reagan on the weakness of the Soviet system before the Reagan-Gorbachev talks. A Muslim who rejected Islamism, his warnings to the US government about the dangers of Islamic radicalism fell on deaf ears. This remarkable biography casts unique light on the lives of people caught up in the turmoil of the Soviet Union, World War II, the Cold War, and the struggle of nationalities deprived of their freedom by communism to regain independence.

The Bolshevik takeover of Russia created an alternative Russia in exile that never laid down its arms. For two decades, expelled White Russians sought ways to retaliate against the Soviet Union and return home. Their irreconcilability was galvanized by a superstructure, the dominant military organization, the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS). Eventually, militant anti-Bolshevism led the exiled Russians into alliance with Nazi Germany, despite the latter’s anti-Slavic stance. For Russia with Hitler tells the story of how thousands of White Russian émigrés joined the German invasion of the Soviet Union as soldiers, translators, and civilian workers. Oleg Beyda investigates and contextualizes émigré collaboration with National Socialist Germany, explaining how it was possible for Russians to fight against the Russians. The book reveals that the exiles, although united ideologically by Russian nationalism in a general sense, did not establish one single, clear-cut political solution for a future “liberated Russia.” Drawing on wide archival material, For Russia with Hitler details the background and ideological framework of the émigrés, how they rationalized their support for Nazism, and what they did on the Eastern Front, including their reactions to life in occupation, war crimes, and the Holocaust.

The divisions of the Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler's armies in World War II, but some of the most fanatical of these were not even German. SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions is an in-depth examination of the approximately 350,000 foreign volunteers from German-occupied countries who opted to fight for the Third Reich as members of the Waffen-SS. The book explores the background to their recruitment and describes-on a unit-by-unit basis-their history, structure, and combat record in the war. Despite their non-Germanic background, the Norwegians, Dutch, Danes, Belgians, Latvians, Estonians, Cossacks, Ukrainians, and other nationalities-often motivated by an extreme anti-Communist zeal- fought hard on the Eastern Front for the Nazi cause, even when their position was hopeless. Often treated badly by their German commanders, the foreign SS units were not all excellent combat formations, however. some, like the British and Indian volunteers, were used for propaganda purposes only, while others, like the notorious Dirlewanger Brigade, who helped brutally suppress the Warsaw Rising, were nothing more than murderous criminals in uniform. Other divisions-such as the Russian-recruited 30th Waffen- Grenadier Division der SS, formed in the final months of the war-never reached a functional strength, and were disbanded before they saw action. Illustrated with rare photographs and written by an acknowledged expert, SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions is a definitive history of the foreign SS units who fought for Hitler and Germany in World War II.