1942 Erangel WWII Pictorial Unit Route Map of the Spanish Blue Division on the Eastern Front

This is a unique 1942 World War II Axis-made unit route map illustrating the war experience of the Spanish Volunteer Division (Spanish Blue Division). The Blue Division was a group of staunchly anti-Bolsehevic Spanish volunteers who joined the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front against Communist Russia. It is one of VERY few examples of a WWII unit route map made by Axis forces.

Spanish blue Division

The Spanish Blue Division, officially known as the 250th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht, was a unit of Spanish volunteers that fought alongside Nazi Germany during World War II (1939 - 1945). Formed in 1941, the division was sent to the Eastern Front to participate in the invasion of the Soviet Union. Comprising approximately 47,000 men, the Blue Division was characterized by fervent anti-communist sentiment, driven by Spain’s recent Civil War and the Franco regime’s opposition to Bolshevism. The division saw significant action in key battles, including the siege of Leningrad and the Battle of Krasny Bor, where it earned a reputation for tenacity and resilience. In 1943, under diplomatic pressure from the Allies and recognizing the shifting tide of the war, Francisco Franco ordered the withdrawal of the division, although some volunteers continued to fight. The Blue Division remains a controversial chapter in Spanish history, reflecting the complex interplay of ideology, international alliances, and the legacies of the Spanish Civil War.

A Closer Look

The map follows the Blue Division's movements from its training base in Grafenwöhr, Germany, northeast to Novgorod. Berlin, Konitz, Treuburg, Grodno, Wilna (Vilnius), and Minsk are among the cities visited. The only illustrations unrelated to the Division's movements are a boy in a sailboat on the Baltic Sea, a Russian soldier fleeing German tanks, and an artilleryman.

From Grafenwöhr to Novgorod

The division began loading trains to head east on August 21, 1941. It took six days to load some 128 trains, then two days to reach Treuburg, the last station in East Prussia. The trains halted near Raczki, Poland, where the division began unloading supplies. It then marched overland several hundred miles to the front. The division left Grodno in the first days of September, heading towards Vilna (Vilnius). It never entered Vilna; instead, it detoured south toward Minsk to continue the march east. Once in Minsk, the division turned toward Smolensk for the planned attack on Moscow. However, while en route to Smolensk, the Blue Division was reassigned from Moscow to Army Group North to help fend off the Red Army's attempt to relieve Leningrad. By the end of September, the Blue Division was marching north to Vitebsk, reaching Novgorod and Lake Il'men on October 9. The map's coverage ends here, although the Blue Division and many of its soldiers continued to fight throughout the war.

A Rare Find

World War II American and British soldiers commonly produced unit route maps to celebrate their victories. Many of the Allied maps were published in Europe shortly after the war but before the units returned to the United States. However, maps in this genre drawn by Axis soldiers are exceedingly rare, as there is no martial spirit in commemorating defeat. Moreover, any surviving route map drawn by an Axis soldier invariably dates from 1941-42 when the war was going well for them. During the post-war denazification, no maps of this sort were created, and if any existed, they would have been censured and/or destroyed.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by Erangel in 1942. This is the only known surviving example.