Georgia

Allegiance

Role in WW2

Main articles: Georgia under the Soviet Union and Military history of Georgia

Although the Axis powers never penetrated the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR), Soviet Georgia contributed to the war effort almost 700,000 officers and soldiers (about 20% of the total 3.2–3.4 million citizens mobilized), of which approximately 300,000 were killed. 137 Georgians were awarded Hero of the Soviet Union having been the most numerous recipients of this award in the Caucasus.[114][115][116] The country was also a vital source of textiles as well as one of the most important manufacturers for warplanes of almost all Soviet types, including the Yak-3, LA-5 and the LaGG-3.[117][118]

Aside from Joseph Stalin and Lavrentiy Beria, who served under the Soviet Union, other Georgians were involved:


Around 30,000 volunteers and emigrants, but also captured Georgian Soviet soldiers, chose to fight for the Germans, in such units as:


  • Georgische Legion (Georgian volunteers but also included volunteers from other peoples of the region)
  • Freiwilligen-Stamm-Regiment 1 (Georgians volunteers)
  • SS-Waffengruppe Georgien (Georgian volunteers)
  • I. Sonderverband Bergmann (2 Georgian, 1 Azeri and 2 North Caucasian battalions)

People joined the Axis for various reasons. Captured Soviet soldiers were forced to switch sides or die. Hitler promised that Georgia would become independent again, at twice its size as a Soviet Republic.[citation needed]




One Georgian battalion in the Netherlands (822nd Infantry Battalion) staged what is described as Europe's last battle of World War II.[124] This event was the Georgian Uprising of Texel. When it became clear that the Germans were losing, the collaborationist Georgians of the "Queen Tamar" Battalion[125][126] decided to switch sides. On 6 April 1945, more than 400 German officers and soldiers were killed. After the failed attempt of the Georgians to take heavily fortified coastal batteries, a heavy counterattack led to fierce fighting. 565 Georgians, 117 Dutch inhabitants, and about 800 Germans died during this battle.[124][126]


Alexander Kartveli was an immigrant from Georgia who designed the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane. He experiment on and implement jet engines into aircraft in 1944.


Alexander Nadiradze, later a leading Soviet missile engineer, developed anti-tank shells during WW2. After being appointed chief of an OKB he took on various other projects.


Nikoloz Muskhelishvili was a Soviet scientist whose theories and research in several fields contributed to the Soviet Union's general advancement in the development of military hardware, especially during WW2, and in the Cold War.
​