As Europe descended into war the newly formed state of Croatia found itself an ally in Nazi Germany. Tens of thousands of Croatians volunteered for the German Wehrmacht, with Croatian-badged units created within the Army, Navy, Luftwaffe, Waffen-SS and Police force. When Hitler turned his attention to Stalin's Soviet Union many of these men found themselves thrown into the fray, with Croatian soldiers serving at Stalingrad, fighting Tito's Partisans in the Balkans and battling against the advancing Red Army in Hungary. Aided by detailed illustrations, author Vladimir Brnardic explores the uniforms and equipment of World War II Croatian Legionaries.

Vladimir Brnardic was born in Zagreb in 1973. After graduating from the University of Zagreb with a History degree, he trained as a journalist in the Documentary Program of Croatian Television. He has a keen interest in the history of Central and Eastern European military organisations from the 15th to19th century, especially those of the Napoleonic period. He is married and currently lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia.

Introduction - April 1941: Ante Pavelic and the Independent State of Croatia/ June 1941, Operation 'Barbarossa' - call for Croatian volunteers to fight in Russia/ Organization, campaign history, uniforms and insignia of (in chronological order)/ Croatian Legion/ 369th Infantry Regiment - service with 100. Jäger Division/ Italian/ Croatian Light Transport Brigade/ Croatian Air Force Legion - service with JG52 & KG3/ Croatian Anti-Aircraft Legions/ Croatian Naval Legion - 23rd Sub-Hunter Flotilla in Black Sea/ 369th (Croatian) Infantry Division - 'Devil's Division'/ 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division - 'Tiger Division'/ 392nd (Croatian) Infantry Division - 'Blue Division'/ 13th Waffen-SS Mountain Division 'Handschar' (Croatian Nr.1)/ 23rd Waffen-SS Mountain Division 'Kama' (Croatian Nr.2)/ Croatian Police Regiments/ Gendarmerie Division 'Croatia'/ Plate Commentaries