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Dr Mindbender
15th November 2009, 19:47
Sorry if i sound a layman here, but i'm not a history buff.

Just found this snippet, apparently the cossacks fought for the Wehrmacht and viewed them as liberators rather than as invaders.

http://axis101.bizland.com/CossackShields02.htm
Drace
15th November 2009, 22:53
From what I saw elsewhere, Cossacks fought for the Motherland!
Partizani
15th November 2009, 22:56
They detested the soviet regime and openly welcomed the nazi invaders, many joining thier ranks. This is known as the 'Betrayal of the cossacks' in russian history. After the victory in europe, numerous cossacks like many third reich soldiers preffered to flee to the western allies than the advancing red army. Stalin requested the return of the cossacks of which was obeyed and he sent them packing to the gulags.
Panda Tse Tung
16th November 2009, 00:07
If i recall correctly a lo also helped the Mensheviks.
ComradeOm
16th November 2009, 17:54
I had thought the collaboration of Cossacks was relatively well known. IIRC it even got a mention in Goldeneye. It should be pointed out though that 'the Cossacks' is not a single entity and as many (if not more) served in the Red Army as the Wehrmacht


If i recall correctly a lo also helped the Mensheviks.The Whites. And even then the allegiance of the Cossacks during the Civil War years is not clear cut. Class and ethnic divisions were as present in the Cossack lands as anywhere else in Russia
Kayser_Soso
16th November 2009, 19:14
Actually, many, if not more Cossacks, were supporting the Soviet side. Aside from all the Nazi rhetoric on independence, what attracted most people to collaboration was simply survival. About three out of every one-hundred Soviet POWs survived the war; as a result to the Germans' cruel policies toward them. Collaboration offered food, shelter, and a tiny bit of dignity. Incidentally very few populations actually "greeted the Germans as liberators". This was largely Nazi propaganda(they showed those who greeted them, not all those they rounded up and shot on the spot.) Probably the most popularity for the Nazis was in the Baltic states, since these had only been recently annexed.