33rd SS Division “Charlemagne”
By William Sariego
November 2012

In the tragedy that was World War II, the sufferings of France may not be unique among the countries that fell beneath the Nazi jackboot, but she was the only “Great Power” conquered by Hitler. The conquest in the summer of 1940 further highlighted the social tensions of the 1930s, which had previously threatened to tear the country apart. Splitting the country into “Occupied France” and a token, independent government at Vichy was guaranteed to carry the animosity of Left versus Right into whatever future any post-war settlement held.

After the conquest many right-wing Frenchmen who thought they were joining the New World Order, along with prisoners of war whom preferred the life of a barracks over that of a labor camp, volunteered their services to the Third Reich. The Legion of French Volunteers (or LVF) was known as Infantry Regiment 638 to the Wehrmacht. The unit was specifically recruited as part of the “crusade against Bolshevism” and was committed to the Russian Front in 1941, seeing action as part of Operation Typhoon. In 1942 the unit was mainly used for anti-partisan activities. Afterwards the LVF fought in the Ukraine, being attached to various German divisions before being withdrawn in 1944. Another unit was specifically formed for the SS, and was made up of nearly 3,000 Vichy collaborators. This Sturmbrigade was attached to the Horst Wessel division, and would suffer heavy casualties before being disbanded.

In September 1944 the remnants of both units were brought together with new recruits. The latter came from various sources, more collaborators and Milice Française fleeing the Allied advance in the west, and Frenchmen whom had served Germany in other capacities (Organization Todt, for example). Edgar Puaud, who had been Colonel of the LVF, was placed in command, under SS supervision. Training continued over the winter of 1944 to 1945. The unit would be upgraded to division status, as the 33rd Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS "Charlemagne" in early February 1945. Puaud had been given assurance that the unit would never be committed to the Western Front, where they might have to face Free French units. The Division was badly under strength, with somewhat less than 8,000 Frenchmen accounting for the two infantry regiments (57th and 58th), the artillery battalion, engineer company and HQ staff. The Germans were to provide the heavy, divisional support.

The division was soon sent to fight the Red Army in Poland. Almost immediately upon being detrained the unit was involved in combat. From February 25th to March 3rd the division fought elements of the 1st Belorussian Front with bravery worthy of a better cause. These running battles left the division effectively destroyed, losing nearly 4,800 men, including Obenfuhrer Puaud. Survivors were split into three battle groups, only one of which made it out intact as a combat unit, which reformed in Denmark under German Brigadefuhrer Gustav Krukenberg.

In April 1945 this unit amounted to only 700 men. With Krukenberg unable to reconstitute the unit into a viable fighting force, the SS decided not to waste anti-tank guns and other equipment on a token unit that no longer had political value. Krukenberg would release nearly half the men to a construction battalion, and take the rest to Berlin. Arriving in Berlin on the 23rd, the Frenchmen were attached to the 11th SS Nordland division. They were among the last defenders at The Bunker, fighting until May 2nd before the few survivors were captured or tried to make their escape.

This ill-fated unit can be used in Design Your Own scenarios for Road to Berlin. The standard pieces in the game over-rate the French SS. You can now download new pieces here.

Order Road to Berlin now and put the updated 33rd into battle.