Original Items: Only One Lot of 4 Available. Ostlegionen ("eastern legions"), Ost-Bataillone ("eastern battalions"), Osttruppen ("eastern troops"), and Osteinheiten ("eastern units") were units in the Army of NSDAP Germany during World War II made up of personnel from the Soviet Union. They were a large part of the Wehrmacht foreign volunteers and conscripts.

Ost-Bataillone wore German uniforms and equipment and were integrated into larger German formations. They began as the private initiatives of individual military commanders. Most were utilized on the Eastern Front and in the Balkans. As time went on more subdivisions were needed to avoid conflicts between the various groups, and a large number of insignia were developed.

In 1944, a number of Ost-Bataillone were stationed in northern France, in anticipation of an Allied invasion of Western Europe. Units that fought in Normandy against Allied Operation Overlord were part of the German 243rd and 709th Static Infantry Divisions, positioned in the vicinity of the Utah, Juno and Sword invasion beaches. Ost-Bataillone were also present in southern France, during the Allied landings codenamed Operation Dragoon (August 1944).

The items in this lot:

- Russo Liberation Army (ROA “POA”) sleeve patch: The Russo Liberation Army (ROA/POA), also known as the Vlasov army after its commander Andrey Vlasov, was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Soviets, that fought under German command during World War II.

Vlasov, a Soviet general, agreed to collaborate with NSDAP Germany after having been captured on the Eastern Front. The soldiers under his command were mostly former Soviet prisoners of war but also included White Russo émigrés, some of whom were veterans of the anti-communist White Army from the Russo Civil War (1917–23). On 14 November 1944, it was officially renamed the Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russo, with the KONR being formed as a political body to which the army pledged loyalty. On 28 January 1945, it was officially declared that the Russian divisions no longer form part of the German Army, but would directly be under the command of KONR.

In May 1945, members of the ROA switched sides and joined the anti-NSDAP Prague uprising. They began using the Imperial white, blue, and red Imperial Russian Civil Ensign as their flat, and an insignia that was a blue St. Andrew's cross on a white field inside a red shield. This shield sleeve patch measures 2 3/4”W x 2 7/8”H and does look to have been cut down and issued, indicated by the stitch markings around the edge.

- Georgian Legion Sleeve Patch: This is a lovely uncut original example that features the insignia of the Georgian Legion, a shield with the colors of the flag of the First Georgian Republic (Democratic Republic of Georgia), printed on a white background with GEORGIEN at the top, the German spelling of Georgia. The Georgian Legion (Georgische Legion) was a military formation of NSDAP Germany during World War II, composed of ethnic Georgians. It was formed by Georgian émigrés and prisoners of war, and its declared aim was the eventual restoration of Georgia's independence from the Soviet Union under NSDAP Party's doctrine and supervision. Some components of the Georgian Legion fell under the operational control of Waffen SS. Patch Measures 3"W x 3 1/8"H.

- 1st Pattern Azerbaijani Legion Sleeve Patch: This is the 1st pattern worn which was utilized from 1942 to 1943. This is an uncut and unissued example, printed on red fabric measuring approximately 3 1/4"W x 3". The design shows a shield with the blue, red, and green colors of the Azerbaijan, under ASERBAIDSCHAN, the name of the country in German. The later 2nd pattern design would add a white star and crescent moon to the red stripe on the shield.

The Azerbaijani (Aserbaidschanische) Legion was one of the foreign units of the Wehrmacht. It was formed in December 1941 on the Eastern Front as the Kaukasische-Mohammedanische Legion and was redesignated 1942 into two separate legions, the North Caucasian legion and the Azerbaijani legion. It was made up mainly of former Azerbaijani POW volunteers but also volunteers from other peoples in the area. It was part of the Ostlegionen. It was used to form the 162nd (Turkistan) Infanterie-Division of the Wehrmacht in 1943. Many Azerbaijanis joined here in hopes of liberating their homeland from Soviet rule.

- Armenian Legion Sleeve Patch: This is a lovely uncut original example that features the insignia of the Armenian Legion, a shield with the colors of the flag of the First Republic of Armenia, printed on a yellow background with ARMENIEN at the top, the German spelling of Armenia. Armenian Legion (Armenische Legion) was a military formation of NSDAP Germany during World War II, composed of ethnic Armenians. Most of these were Soviet Armenians, who wanted to fight the Soviets for an independent Armenia and were commanded by General Drastamat Kanayan. Patch Measures 3"W x 3"H.

All examples come more than ready for further research and display.