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{{EngvarB|date=October 2024}}
{{Short description|WWII German military unit}}
{{Short description|WWII German military unit}}
{{Infobox military unit
{{Infobox military unit
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| dates = 1941–1945
| dates = 1941–1945
| country =
| country =
| allegiance ={{Flag|Nazi Germany}}
| allegiance = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| branch = [[Wehrmacht]]
| branch = {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg}} [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|Wehrmacht]]
| type =
| type =
| role =
| role =
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| identification_symbol_label =
| identification_symbol_label =
}}
}}
The '''Free Arabian Legion''' ({{lang-de|Legion Freies Arabien}}; {{lang-ar|جيش بلاد العرب الحرة|''Jaysh bilād al-ʿarab al-ḥurraẗ''}}) was the collective name of several [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] units formed from Arab volunteers from the [[Middle East]], notably [[Kingdom of Iraq|Iraq]], and [[North Africa]] during [[World War II]].
The '''Free Arabian Legion''' ({{langx|de|Legion Freies Arabien}}; {{langx|ar|جيش بلاد العرب الحرة|''Jaysh bilād al-ʿarab al-ḥurraẗ''}}) was the collective name of several [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] units formed from Arab volunteers from the [[Middle East]], notably [[Kingdom of Iraq|Iraq]], and [[North Africa]] during [[World War II]].


==Operational history==
==Operational history==


===Origins===
===Origins===
At the beginning of April 1941, Iraqi politician [[Rashid Ali al-Gaylani]], along with several more Iraqi officers who were part of the nationalist group [[Golden Square (Iraq)|Golden Square]], overthrew the pro-British regime in the [[Kingdom of Iraq]]. The new pro-Nazi government sought German and Italian support for an Iraqi revolt against [[United Kingdom|British]] forces in the country. Contact was established with the [[Axis powers]] with the help of the [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]] [[Amin al-Husseini]], a Nazi supporter who had been living in Iraq since he had fled imprisonment from [[Mandatory Palestine]] shortly before the war.<ref>Churchill, Winston (1985) [1950]. "14: The Revolt in Iraq". The Grand Alliance. The Second World War. III. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. {{ISBN|0-395-41057-6}}.</ref>
At the beginning of April 1941, Iraqi politician [[Rashid Ali al-Gaylani]], along with several more Iraqi officers who were part of the nationalist group [[Golden Square (Iraq)|Golden Square]], overthrew the pro-British regime in the [[Kingdom of Iraq]]. The new pro-Nazi government sought German and Italian support for an Iraqi revolt against [[United Kingdom|British]] forces in the country. Contact was established with the [[Axis powers]] with the help of the [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]] [[Amin al-Husseini]], who had been living in Iraq since he had fled imprisonment from [[Mandatory Palestine]] shortly before the war.<ref>Churchill, Winston (1985) [1950]. "14: The Revolt in Iraq". The Grand Alliance. The Second World War. III. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. {{ISBN|0-395-41057-6}}.</ref>


In May 1941, the [[Anglo-Iraqi War]] began with British forces entering Iraq. [[Adolf Hitler]] had agreed to send [[Luftwaffe]] squadrons to support Iraq as well as ''[[Special Staff F|Sonderstab F]]'', a special mission headed by [[Hellmuth Felmy]] which was to support the revolt and raise a German-led Arab brigade.
In May 1941, the [[Anglo-Iraqi War]] began with British forces entering Iraq. [[Adolf Hitler]] had agreed to send [[Luftwaffe]] squadrons to support Iraq as well as ''[[Special Staff F|Sonderstab F]]'', a special mission headed by [[Hellmuth Felmy]] that intended to support the revolt and raise a German-led Arab brigade.

⚫
By the end of May, the Iraqi forces had been beaten by the British, and al-Husseini and al-Gaylani fled to Iran and then Italy, and later Germany. After the defeat, a number of Arab sympathizers were shipped out of the Middle East through [[Mandatory Syrian Republic|French Syria]] and ended up in [[Sounion|Cape Sounion]], [[Axis occupation of Greece|Greece]].<ref name="G. Williamson">{{cite book|last=Williamson|first=Gordon|title=Afrikakorps 1941-43|year=1991|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=1-85532-130-0}}</ref>


⚫
By the end of May, the Iraqi forces had been beaten by the British, and al-Husseini and al-Gaylani fled to Iran and then Germany. After the defeat, a number of Arab sympathisers were shipped out of the Middle East through [[Mandatory Syrian Republic|French Syria]] and ended up in [[Sounion|Cape Sounion]], [[Axis occupation of Greece|Greece]].<ref name="G. Williamson">{{cite book|last=Williamson|first=Gordon|title=Afrikakorps 1941-43|year=1991|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=1-85532-130-0}}</ref>
⚫
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-177-1465-04, Griechenland, Soldat der Legion "Freies Arabien".jpg|thumbnail|left|A soldier from the Free Arabian Legion in German-occupied Greece in September 1943]]
{{multiple image
{{multiple image
| align = right
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| direction = vertical
| width = 230
| width = 230
| image1 = Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-561-1148-04, Ausbildung arabischer Luftwaffensoldaten.jpg
| image1 = Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-177-1465-04, Griechenland, Soldat der Legion "Freies Arabien".jpg
⚫
| caption1 = A soldier from the Free Arabian Legion in German-occupied Greece in September 1943.
| caption1 = Training of {{Ill|Sonderverband 287|de}}
| image2 = Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-177-1465-16, Griechenland, Soldaten der "Legion Freies Arabien".jpg
| image2 = Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-561-1148-04, Ausbildung arabischer Luftwaffensoldaten.jpg
| caption2 = A black soldier of the Free Arabian Legion in Greece
| caption2 = Training of {{Ill|Sonderverband 287|de}}
| image3 = Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-177-1465-31, Griechenland, Soldaten der "Legion Freies Arabien".jpg
| image3 = Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-177-1465-16, Griechenland, Soldaten der "Legion Freies Arabien".jpg
| caption3 = Soldiers of the Free Arabian Legion distributing hand grenades in Greece. Note the original Sonderverband 287 arm-patch on the German NCO
| caption3 = A black soldier of the Free Arabian Legion in Greece
| image4 = Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-177-1465-31, Griechenland, Soldaten der "Legion Freies Arabien".jpg
| caption4 = Soldiers of the Free Arabian Legion distributing hand grenades in Greece. Note the original Sonderverband 287 arm-patch on the German NCO.
}}
}}


===Units===
===Units===
[[Hellmuth Felmy]] had by June been given command of ''Army Group Southern Greece'' and was to continue the raising of the German-Arab units through ''Sonderstab F'', which had now been expanded and "should be the central field office for all issues of the Arab world which affect the Wehrmacht".<ref>Zitiert nach Walther Hubatsch (Hrsg.): ''Hitlers Weisungen für die Kriegführung 1939–1945. Dokumente des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht.'' Bernard & Graefe, Frankfurt a.&nbsp;M. 1962</ref> Consequently, the two units {{Ill|Sonderverband 287|de}} and {{Ill|Sonderverband 288|de}} were created. Sonderverband 288 contained only a small proportion of Arab soldiers. However, the term ''Free Arabian Legion'' was not the name of any specific unit, but an all-encompassing name for all Arabic units in the German Army.<ref name="Rolf Stoves 1986">Rolf Stoves: ''Die gepanzerten und motorisierten deutschen Großverbände.'' Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Friedberg 1986. {{ISBN|3-7909-0279-9}}. Seiten 288–289.</ref><ref name="C. Caballero Jurado">{{cite book|last=Jurado|first=Carlos Caballero|title=Foreign Volunteers of the Wehrmacht 1941-45|year=1983|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=0-85045-524-3}}</ref>
[[Hellmuth Felmy]] had by June been given command of ''Army Group Southern Greece'' and was to continue the raising of the German-Arab units through ''Sonderstab F'', which had now been expanded and "should be the central field office for all issues of the Arab world which affect the Wehrmacht."<ref>Zitiert nach Walther Hubatsch (Hrsg.): ''Hitlers Weisungen für die Kriegführung 1939–1945. Dokumente des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht.'' Bernard & Graefe, Frankfurt a.&nbsp;M. 1962</ref> Consequently, the two units {{Ill|Sonderverband 287|de}} and {{Ill|Sonderverband 288|de}} were created. Sonderverband 288 contained only a small proportion of Arab soldiers. However, the term ''Free Arabian Legion'' was not the name of any specific unit, but an all-encompassing name for all Arabic units in the German Army.<ref name="Rolf Stoves 1986">Rolf Stoves: ''Die gepanzerten und motorisierten deutschen Großverbände.'' Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Friedberg 1986. {{ISBN|3-7909-0279-9}}. Seiten 288–289.</ref><ref name="C. Caballero Jurado">{{cite book|last=Jurado|first=Carlos Caballero|title=Foreign Volunteers of the Wehrmacht 1941-45|year=1983|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=0-85045-524-3}}</ref>


====Sonderverband 287====
====Sonderverband 287====
{{Ill|Sonderverband 287|de}} was formed on 4 August 1942, with much help from [[Amin al-Husseini]] and [[Rashid Ali al-Gaylani]] and consisted of mostly of Iraqi and Syrian Muslims, bolstered by former [[prisoners of war]] and other volunteers.<ref name="R. Kaltenegger"/>
{{Ill|Sonderverband 287|de}} was formed on 4 August 1942, with much help from [[Amin al-Husseini]] and [[Rashid Ali al-Gaylani]] and consisted of mostly of Iraqi and Syrian Muslims, bolstered by former [[prisoners of war]] and other volunteers.<ref name="R. Kaltenegger"/>


The 3rd battalion of Sonderverband 287 was taken from the unit and sent as the ''Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung'' to the [[Caucasus]] in September 1942. It was part of the [[Battle of the Caucasus|Axis offensive]] into the region and the German plan to raise an Iraqi [[government-in-exile]] there. It was then to use the region as a springboard for conquering Iraq. The plan never came to be and the unit never saw action following [[Operation Little Saturn|heavy German setbacks]] in late 1942. The unit was sent to the [[Tunisian Campaign|battle in Tunisia]] via Italy in January 1943. There, the ''Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung'' was placed on the southern flank of the [[Panzer Army Africa|Axis army]] and was used to recruit more local Arabs who formed a second battalion of auxiliaries, who were used for guard duty and as construction troops. The whole unit was captured along with the rest of the Axis forces in Africa in May 1943.<ref name="N. Thomas">{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Nigel|title=The German Army 1939-45 (2) North Africa & Balkans|year=1998|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=1-85532-640-X}}</ref>
The 3rd battalion of Sonderverband 287 was taken from the unit and sent as the ''Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung'' to the [[Caucasus]] in September 1942. It was part of the [[Battle of the Caucasus|Axis offensive]] into the region and the German plan to seat the Iraqi [[government-in-exile]] there. It was then to use the region as a springboard for conquering Iraq. The plan never came to be and the unit never saw action following [[Operation Little Saturn|heavy German setbacks]] in late 1942. The unit was sent to the [[Tunisian Campaign|battle in Tunisia]] via Italy in January 1943. There, the ''Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung'' was placed on the southern flank of the [[Panzer Army Africa|Axis army]] and was used to recruit more local Arabs who formed a second battalion of auxiliaries, which were used for guard duty and as construction troops. The whole unit was captured along with the rest of all Axis forces in Africa in May 1943.<ref name="N. Thomas">{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Nigel|title=The German Army 1939-45 (2) North Africa & Balkans|year=1998|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=1-85532-640-X}}</ref>


The remaining soldiers of the 3rd battalion, i.e. the ''Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung'', who had not been sent to North Africa, were used, together with Muslims from French North Africa, to form the ''German-Arab Battalion 845'' in the summer of 1943.<ref name="C. Caballero Jurado"/> It served in the [[Peloponnese]] region of Greece as part of the [[41st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|41st Fortress Division]] from November 1943. It participated in the [[Greek Resistance|Greek partisan war]], particularly against [[Greek People's Liberation Army|ELAS]].<ref name="N. Thomas"/><ref name="G. Williamson"/> In October 1944, it was withdrawn from Greece to [[World War II in Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], and in early 1945 was strengthened with the addition of Arabs from a battalion of Arab volunteers that was disbanded before it was fully formed. It ended the war near [[Zagreb]] as part of the [[104th Jäger Division (Wehrmacht)|104th Jäger Division]].
The remaining soldiers of the 3rd battalion, i.e. the ''Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung'', who had not been sent to North Africa, were used, together with Muslims from French North Africa, to form the ''German-Arab Battalion 845'' in the summer of 1943.<ref name="C. Caballero Jurado"/> It served in the [[Peloponnese]] region of Greece as part of the [[41st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|41st Fortress Division]] from November 1943. It participated in the [[Greek Resistance|Greek partisan war]], particularly against [[Greek People's Liberation Army|ELAS]].<ref name="N. Thomas"/><ref name="G. Williamson"/> In October 1944, it was withdrawn from Greece to [[World War II in Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], and in early 1945 was strengthened with the addition of Arabs from a battalion of Arab volunteers that was disbanded before it was fully formed. It ended the war near [[Zagreb]] as part of the [[104th Jäger Division (Wehrmacht)|104th Jäger Division]].


The 1st and 2nd battalions of the Free Arabian Legion who had not been part of the ''Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung'' were used to replace losses and rebuild ''Grenadier Regiment 92'' together with a light battery and light pioneer company on 2 May 1943, which was then renamed ''Grenadier Regiment 92 (MOT)'' on 5 June 1944. The regiment moved to Yugoslavia to fight against [[Yugoslav Partisans|Partisans]] and was part of [[Army Group F]]. The regiment suffered heavy losses in the [[Belgrade Offensive|fighting near Belgrade]] in October 1944, and what remained of it became part of the [[2nd Panzer Army]], where it was rebuilt into ''Panzergrenadier Brigade 92'' in January 1945. The whole army capitulated in disarray in [[Austria under National Socialism|Austria]] in May 1945.<ref name="Rolf Stoves 1986"/>
The 1st and 2nd battalions of the Free Arabian Legion which had not been part of the ''Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung'' were used to replace losses and rebuild ''Grenadier Regiment 92'' together with a light battery and light pioneer company on 2 May 1943, which was then renamed ''Grenadier Regiment 92 (MOT)'' on 5 June 1944. The regiment moved to Yugoslavia to fight against [[Josip Broz Tito]]s [[Yugoslav Partisans|National Liberation Army]] and was part of [[Army Group F]]. The regiment suffered heavy losses in the [[Belgrade Offensive|fighting near Belgrade]] in October 1944, and what remained of it became part of the [[2nd Panzer Army]], where it was rebuilt into ''Panzergrenadier Brigade 92'' in January 1945. The whole army capitulated in disarray in [[Austria under National Socialism|Austria]] in May 1945.<ref name="Rolf Stoves 1986"/>


====Sonderverband 288====
====Sonderverband 288====
{{Ill|Sonderverband 288|de}} consisted mostly of Germans, but with a cadre of Arab translators and a mobile printing company that could produce Arabic-language leaflets as well as a squad for the operation of oil production facilities.<ref name="R. Kaltenegger">Roland Kaltenegger: ''Die deutsche Gebirgstruppe 1935–1945.'' Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 2000, {{ISBN|3-8289-0351-7}}.</ref> By January 1942, the whole unit was transferred to [[Italian Libya|Libya]] to defend against British forces in the [[North Africa Campaign]]. The unit was planned to eventually be used in an invasion of the Middle East via [[Kingdom of Egypt|Egypt]], but this never came to be. After several months of fighting, the unit was renamed ''Panzer Grenadier Regiment Africa'', and was eventually captured by [[United States of America|American]] forces following the capitulation of all Axis forces in North Africa in May 1943. <ref>Gregory Douglas - Sonderverband 287 & 288 (in The Military Advisor, Vol 4, No 3)</ref>
{{Ill|Sonderverband 288|de}} consisted mostly of Germans but with a cadre of Arab translators and a mobile printing company that could produce Arabic-language leaflets as well as a squad for the operation of oil production facilities.<ref name="R. Kaltenegger">Roland Kaltenegger: ''Die deutsche Gebirgstruppe 1935–1945.'' Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 2000, {{ISBN|3-8289-0351-7}}.</ref> By January 1942, the whole unit was transferred to [[Italian Libya|Libya]] to defend against British forces in the [[North Africa Campaign]]. The unit was planned to eventually be used in an invasion of the Middle East via [[Kingdom of Egypt|Egypt]], but this never came to be. After several months of fighting, the unit was renamed ''Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment Afrika'', and was eventually captured by [[United States of America|American]] forces following the capitulation of all Axis forces in North Africa in May 1943.<ref>Gregory Douglas - Sonderverband 287 & 288 (in The Military Advisor, Vol 4, No 3)</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 101: Line 104:
*{{cite journal |last1=Kehoe |first1=Thomas J. |last2=Greenhalgh |first2=Elizabeth M. |title=Living Propaganda and Self-Serving Recruitment: The Nazi Rationale for the German-Arab Training Unit, May 1941 to May 1943 |journal=War in History |date=November 2017 |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=520–543 |doi=10.1177/0968344516641457|s2cid=159514420 }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Kehoe |first1=Thomas J. |last2=Greenhalgh |first2=Elizabeth M. |title=Living Propaganda and Self-Serving Recruitment: The Nazi Rationale for the German-Arab Training Unit, May 1941 to May 1943 |journal=War in History |date=November 2017 |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=520–543 |doi=10.1177/0968344516641457|s2cid=159514420 }}


==External link==
==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Commonscatinline}}


{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Far-right politics in Africa]]
[[Category:Foreign volunteer units of the Wehrmacht]]
[[Category:Foreign volunteer units of the Wehrmacht]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1941]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1941]]

Latest revision as of 15:27, 30 October 2024

Free Arabian Legion
Free Arabian Legion Insignia
Active1941–1945
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Branch Wehrmacht
EngagementsWorld War II

The Free Arabian Legion (German: Legion Freies Arabien; Arabic: جيش بلاد العرب الحرة, romanized: Jaysh bilād al-ʿarab al-ḥurraẗ) was the collective name of several Nazi German units formed from Arab volunteers from the Middle East, notably Iraq, and North Africa during World War II.

Operational history

[edit]

Origins

[edit]

At the beginning of April 1941, Iraqi politician Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, along with several more Iraqi officers who were part of the nationalist group Golden Square, overthrew the pro-British regime in the Kingdom of Iraq. The new pro-Nazi government sought German and Italian support for an Iraqi revolt against British forces in the country. Contact was established with the Axis powers with the help of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Amin al-Husseini, who had been living in Iraq since he had fled imprisonment from Mandatory Palestine shortly before the war.[1]

In May 1941, the Anglo-Iraqi War began with British forces entering Iraq. Adolf Hitler had agreed to send Luftwaffe squadrons to support Iraq as well as Sonderstab F, a special mission headed by Hellmuth Felmy that intended to support the revolt and raise a German-led Arab brigade.

By the end of May, the Iraqi forces had been beaten by the British, and al-Husseini and al-Gaylani fled to Iran and then Italy, and later Germany. After the defeat, a number of Arab sympathizers were shipped out of the Middle East through French Syria and ended up in Cape Sounion, Greece.[2]

A soldier from the Free Arabian Legion in German-occupied Greece in September 1943.
Training of Sonderverband 287 [de]
A black soldier of the Free Arabian Legion in Greece
Soldiers of the Free Arabian Legion distributing hand grenades in Greece. Note the original Sonderverband 287 arm-patch on the German NCO.

Units

[edit]

Hellmuth Felmy had by June been given command of Army Group Southern Greece and was to continue the raising of the German-Arab units through Sonderstab F, which had now been expanded and "should be the central field office for all issues of the Arab world which affect the Wehrmacht."[3] Consequently, the two units Sonderverband 287 [de] and Sonderverband 288 [de] were created. Sonderverband 288 contained only a small proportion of Arab soldiers. However, the term Free Arabian Legion was not the name of any specific unit, but an all-encompassing name for all Arabic units in the German Army.[4][5]

Sonderverband 287

[edit]

Sonderverband 287 [de] was formed on 4 August 1942, with much help from Amin al-Husseini and Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and consisted of mostly of Iraqi and Syrian Muslims, bolstered by former prisoners of war and other volunteers.[6]

The 3rd battalion of Sonderverband 287 was taken from the unit and sent as the Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung to the Caucasus in September 1942. It was part of the Axis offensive into the region and the German plan to seat the Iraqi government-in-exile there. It was then to use the region as a springboard for conquering Iraq. The plan never came to be and the unit never saw action following heavy German setbacks in late 1942. The unit was sent to the battle in Tunisia via Italy in January 1943. There, the Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung was placed on the southern flank of the Axis army and was used to recruit more local Arabs who formed a second battalion of auxiliaries, which were used for guard duty and as construction troops. The whole unit was captured along with the rest of all Axis forces in Africa in May 1943.[7]

The remaining soldiers of the 3rd battalion, i.e. the Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung, who had not been sent to North Africa, were used, together with Muslims from French North Africa, to form the German-Arab Battalion 845 in the summer of 1943.[5] It served in the Peloponnese region of Greece as part of the 41st Fortress Division from November 1943. It participated in the Greek partisan war, particularly against ELAS.[7][2] In October 1944, it was withdrawn from Greece to Yugoslavia, and in early 1945 was strengthened with the addition of Arabs from a battalion of Arab volunteers that was disbanded before it was fully formed. It ended the war near Zagreb as part of the 104th Jäger Division.

The 1st and 2nd battalions of the Free Arabian Legion which had not been part of the Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung were used to replace losses and rebuild Grenadier Regiment 92 together with a light battery and light pioneer company on 2 May 1943, which was then renamed Grenadier Regiment 92 (MOT) on 5 June 1944. The regiment moved to Yugoslavia to fight against Josip Broz Titos National Liberation Army and was part of Army Group F. The regiment suffered heavy losses in the fighting near Belgrade in October 1944, and what remained of it became part of the 2nd Panzer Army, where it was rebuilt into Panzergrenadier Brigade 92 in January 1945. The whole army capitulated in disarray in Austria in May 1945.[4]

Sonderverband 288

[edit]

Sonderverband 288 [de] consisted mostly of Germans but with a cadre of Arab translators and a mobile printing company that could produce Arabic-language leaflets as well as a squad for the operation of oil production facilities.[6] By January 1942, the whole unit was transferred to Libya to defend against British forces in the North Africa Campaign. The unit was planned to eventually be used in an invasion of the Middle East via Egypt, but this never came to be. After several months of fighting, the unit was renamed Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment Afrika, and was eventually captured by American forces following the capitulation of all Axis forces in North Africa in May 1943.[8]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Churchill, Winston (1985) [1950]. "14: The Revolt in Iraq". The Grand Alliance. The Second World War. III. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-395-41057-6.
  2. ^ a b Williamson, Gordon (1991). Afrikakorps 1941-43. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-130-0.
  3. ^ Zitiert nach Walther Hubatsch (Hrsg.): Hitlers Weisungen für die Kriegführung 1939–1945. Dokumente des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht. Bernard & Graefe, Frankfurt a. M. 1962
  4. ^ a b Rolf Stoves: Die gepanzerten und motorisierten deutschen Großverbände. Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Friedberg 1986. ISBN 3-7909-0279-9. Seiten 288–289.
  5. ^ a b Jurado, Carlos Caballero (1983). Foreign Volunteers of the Wehrmacht 1941-45. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-524-3.
  6. ^ a b Roland Kaltenegger: Die deutsche Gebirgstruppe 1935–1945. Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 2000, ISBN 3-8289-0351-7.
  7. ^ a b Thomas, Nigel (1998). The German Army 1939-45 (2) North Africa & Balkans. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-640-X.
  8. ^ Gregory Douglas - Sonderverband 287 & 288 (in The Military Advisor, Vol 4, No 3)

Further reading

[edit]
  • Kehoe, Thomas J.; Greenhalgh, Elizabeth M. (November 2017). "Living Propaganda and Self-Serving Recruitment: The Nazi Rationale for the German-Arab Training Unit, May 1941 to May 1943". War in History. 24 (4): 520–543. doi:10.1177/0968344516641457. S2CID 159514420.
[edit]

Media related to Legion "Freies Arabien" at Wikimedia Commons

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