33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne ( 1st French ) The 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS " Charlemagne " ( 1st French ) and " Charlemagne " Regiment are collective names used for units of French volunteers in the " Wehrmacht " and later " Waffen - SS " during World War II . From estimates of 7 , 400 to 11 , 000 at its peak in 1944 , the strength of the division fell to just sixty men in May 1945 . They were arguably the last German unit to see action in a pitched battle during World War II , where they held central Berlin and the " Führerbunker " against the onslaught of Soviet infantry . Knowing that they would not survive should Germany be defeated , they were among the last to surrender in the brutal house - to - house and street - to - street fighting , during the final days of the Battle in Berlin . Its crest is a representation of the dual empire of Charlemagne , which united the Franks in what would become France and Germany . The Imperial eagle on the left - side represents Germany and the fleurs - de - lys on the right - side represents France . Formation and history . The " Charlemagne " division was formed in 1944 , combining troops serving in other French units of the German armed forces , as well as from the paramilitary " Franc - Garde " of the " Milice " . LVF . The original French unit in the German army was the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism ( " Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchévisme " , or LVF ) . The LVF was also known by its official German designation , the 638th Infantry Regiment ( " Infanterieregiment 638 " ) . The LVF was mainly made up of right - wing Frenchmen and French prisoners of war who preferred fighting to forced labor in Germany . The LVF fought near Moscow in November 1941 as part of the 7th Infantry Division . In 1942 the men were assigned to anti - partisan duties in the Byelorussian SSR ( Belarus ) . At the same time , another unit was formed in France , " La Légion Tricolore " ( Tricolor Regiment ) but this unit was absorbed into the LVF six months later . The LVF ' s French commander , Colonel Roger Labonne , was relieved in mid - 1942 , and the unit was attached to various German divisions until June 1943 when Colonel Edgar Puaud took command . The LVF fought well on the Ukraine front against the Soviet s . In June 1944 , hours before the LVF ' s planned departure to France , it was called into action when Army Group Centre ' s front crumpled under the Red Army ' s summer offensive . On 25 June , at the Bobr River , elements of the LVF under Major Bridoux fought for 48 hours against a Soviet assault . Attached to the 4th SS - Police Division and supported by Stukas and five Tiger I tanks , they checked a number of attacks in what is generally regarded as the LVF ' s most successful operation . Forty or more Soviet tanks were destroyed in front of the French position . Testimony to the ability of the LVF came from a Soviet communique which spoke of their forces being stopped by the sacrifice of " two French divisions " . Within a month , a new recruiting drive in Vichy France attracted 3 , 000 applicants , mostly members of collaborating militias and university students . This unit , the 8th " SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade France " was led by a former Foreign Legionnaire , SS - " Obersturmbannführer " Paul Marie Gamory - Dubourdeau . The 1st battalion , of about 1 , 000 men , was attached to " SS Division Horst Wessel " and sent to Galicia to fight the Soviet advance . In fierce fighting the battalion suffered heavy casualties . Charlemagne . In September 1944 , a new unit , the " Waffen - Grenadier - Brigade der SS " Charlemagne " " ( " französische " Nr . 1 ) , also known as the " Französische Brigade der SS " was formed out of the remnants of the LVF and French " Sturmbrigade " , both of which were disbanded . Joining them were French collaborators fleeing the Allied advance in the west , as well as Frenchmen from the German Navy , the National Socialist Motor Corps ( NSKK ) , the " Organisation Todt " , a construction unit and the Vichy French " Milice " . Some sources claim that the unit also included volunteers from some French colonies and Switzerland . SS - " Brigadeführer " Gustav Krukenberg took actual command with Puaud ( now an SS - " Oberführer " ) , as nominal French commander . The two main infantry regiments were " Waffen - Grenadier Regiment der SS 57 " and " 58 " . Veterans of the " Sturmbrigade " were the nucleus of " Regiment 57 " and the LVF formed the core of " Regiment 58 " . The LVF also manned the artillery battalion , the headquarters company and the engineer company . The reaction of the LVF to their transfer into the SS was mixed . In early 1945 , SS - " Oberführer " Puaud received assurance from " Reichsführer - SS " Heinrich Himmler that his men would not be sent to the western front , where they might have to fight fellow Frenchmen . He was also told that they would fight under the French flag and continue to have Catholic military chaplains . Himmler promised that France would regain its sovereignty after Germany ' s victory . In February 1945 , the unit was officially upgraded to a division and renamed " 33 . Waffen - Grenadier - Division der SS " Charlemagne " " . However , this division was severely undermanned with only 7 , 340 men . The Charlemagne Division was sent to fight the Red Army in Poland , but on 25 February it was attacked while deploying from the railhead at Hammerstein ( present day Czarne ) in Pomerania , by troops of the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front . Opposing the Frenchmen were four Red Army infantry divisions and two tank brigades . The lightly armed French troops had not re - equipped prior to their departure , and they had no radios and few maps . The only bright spot for the Frenchmen was that they managed to stop the tanks with " Panzerfaust " s ( a type of one man anti - tank weapon ) . On the night of 3 March , the Charlemagne survivors were sent to defend the nearby town of Körlin with orders to " hold at all costs " . At noon the next day , a strong Red Army force hit Körlin from the southwest . The French fought back desperately and were able to hold their positions throughout the day . The Division was ordered to immediately withdraw to the west , to avoid being trapped , and was broken into three battlegroups ( " Kampfgruppe n " ) . Only the battlegroup commanded by Krukenberg survived , as they retreated to the Baltic coast , and were evacuated by sea to Denmark and later sent to Neustrelitz for refitting . Around 4 , 800 men had been lost , including SS - " Oberführer " Puaud . Defence of Berlin . In early April 1945 , Krukenberg now commanded only about 700 men organized into a single infantry regiment with two battalions ( Battalions 57 and 58 ) and one heavy support battalion without equipment . He released about 400 men to serve in a construction battalion ; the remainder , numbering about 350 , had chosen to go to Berlin and conduct a delaying action against the approaching Soviet Army . On 23 April the Reich Chancellery in Berlin ordered Krukenberg to proceed to the capital with his men , who were reorganized as " Sturmbataillon " ( " assault battalion " ) " Charlemagne " . Between 320 and 330 French troops arrived in Berlin on 24 April after a long detour to avoid Soviet advance columns . ( The French SS men had been attempting to cross the Falkenrehde canal bridge which was blown up under them by men of the " Volkssturm " who thought they were a Soviet column ) . " Sturmbataillon " " Charlemagne " was attached to the 11th SS Volunteer " Panzergrenadier Division " Nordland " " . The arrival of the French SS men bolstered the " Nordland " Division whose " Norge " and " Danmark " " Panzergrenadier " regiments had been decimated in the fighting . Both equaled roughly a battalion . SS - " Brigadeführer " Krukenberg was appointed the commander of ( Berlin ) Defence Sector C on 25 April . This command included the " Nordland " Division , following the dismissal of its previous commander , SS - " Brigadeführer " Joachim Ziegler on the same day . The soldiers noted that the first night in Berlin was unnaturally quiet . They heard people dancing and laughing , but no sounds of fighting were audible except for the occasional distant sound of Soviet artillery . They walked from West to East Berlin , to a brewery near the Hermannplatz . Here the fighting began , with Hitler Youth firing " Panzerfausts " at Soviet tanks belonging to advance guards near the Tempelhof Aerodrome . Soon some members of the " Sturmbataillon " joined the Hitler Youth in tank hunting sorties . Supported by Tiger II tanks and the 11th " SS Panzer - Battalion " Hermann von Salza " " , the " Sturmbataillon " took part in a counterattack on the morning of 26 April in Neukölln , a district in southeastern Berlin near the Sonnenallee . The counterattack ran into an ambush by Soviet troops using a captured German Panther tank , although this may have been a ' friendly - fire ' incident . The regiment lost half of the available troops in Neukölln on the first day . It later defended Neukölln ' s Town Hall . Given that Neukölln was heavily penetrated by Soviet combat groups , Krukenberg prepared fallback positions for Sector C defenders around Hermannplatz . He moved his headquarters into the opera house . As the " Nordland " Division withdrew towards Hermannplatz the French SS and one - hundred Hitler Youth attached to their group destroyed 14 Soviet tanks with " panzerfausts " ; one machine gun position by the Halensee bridge managed to hold up any Soviet advance in that area for 48 hours . The Soviet advance into Berlin followed a pattern of massive shelling followed by assaults using battle groups of about 80 men in each , with tank escorts and close artillery support . On 27 April , after a spirited but futile defence , the remnants of " Nordland " were pushed back into the central government district ( Zitadelle sector ) in Defence sector Z . There , Krukenberg ' s " Nordland " headquarters was a carriage in the Stadtmitte " U - Bahn " station . Fighting was very heavy and by 28 April , approximately 108 Soviet tanks had been destroyed in the southeast of Berlin within the " S - Bahn " . Sixty - two of those were destroyed by the efforts of the Charlemagne " Sturmbataillon " alone , which was now under the command of Henri Joseph Fenet . Fenet and his battalion were given the area of Neukölln , Belle Alliance Platz , Wilhelmstrasse and the Friedrichstrasse to defend . Fenet , who was now wounded in the foot , remained with his battalion as they withdrew to the vicinity of the Reich Aviation Ministry in the central government district under the command of SS - " Brigadeführer " Wilhelm Mohnke . For the success of the battalion during the Battle in Berlin , Mohnke awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross to Fenet on 29 April 1945 . On 28 April , the Red Army started a full - scale offensive into the central sector . Fighting was intense , the " Sturmbataillon " Charlemagne was in the center of the battle zone around the Reich Chancellery . SS - " Unterscharführer " Eugene Vaulot , who had destroyed two tanks in Neukölln , used his " Panzerfaust " s to claim six more near the " Führerbunker " . He was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross by Krukenberg during a candlelight ceremony on a subway platform on 29 April . Vaulot did not survive the battle . The French Charlemagne SS were the last defenders of Hitler ' s " Führerbunker " , remaining there until 2 May to prevent the Soviets from capturing it on May Day . Reduced to approximately thirty able men , most members of the " Sturmbataillon " had been captured or escaped Berlin on their own , or in small groups . Most of those who made it to France were denounced and sent to Allied prisons and camps . For example , SS - " Hauptsturmführer " Henri Joseph Fenet ( 1919 in Ceyzériat - 2002 ) , was sentenced to 20 years of forced labour , but was released from prison in 1959 . Others were shot upon capture by the French authorities . General Philip Leclerc , the French divisional commander who had served under the Americans , was presented with a defiant group of 11 - 12 captured Charlemagne Division men . The Free French General immediately asked them why they wore a German uniform , to which one of them replied by asking the General why he wore an American one ( the Free French wore modified US army uniforms ) . The group of French " Waffen - SS " men was later executed without any form of military tribunal procedure . ( For their grave site , see Third Reich in Ruins : " Memorial Sites " ) . Not all the survivors of the Division were as unrepentant as post - war Nazi apologists like Fénêt . In Marcel Ophüls ' documentary " The Sorrow and the Pity " Christian de la Mazière , a surviving Charlemagne " Sturmbataillon " volunteer , was interviewed and asked why he joined the " Waffen - SS " , and whether he regretted having done so . He replied that he was raised in a rightist family before the war , and read right - wing dailies full of alarming news about communist atrocities in the Soviet Union and Spain , and that he fell victim to the racial intolerance prevalent at the time . He openly expressed regret for his actions and acknowledged the shortcomings of the cause for which he had fought . Interviewed on French radio , Fenet stated that his only regret was that he had not joined earlier . Different names . During their existence the units were known by various names including : " Französisches Grenadier - Infanterie - Regiment 638 " ( " Légion des Volontaires Français " ) < br > " Französische SS - Freiwilligen - Sturmbrigade " < br > " Französisches SS - Freiwilligen - Grenadier - Regiment " < br > " Waffen - Grenadier - Brigade der SS " Charlemagne " ( französische Nr . 1 ) " < br > " 33 . Waffen - Grenadier - Division der SS " Charlemagne " ( französische Nr . 1 ) "