Blue Division.

This is coolbert:

Also from the Military History article: "IN THE MARTIAL SENSE . . ."

"Or consider a dictator who withdraws his large volunteer force from a foreign campaign fought in concert with ideological brethren - - a campaign obviously doomed to failure. By withdrawing his support from the conflict, he dooms his allies to failure but preserves the troops that will enable him to maintain home rule."

This IS REFERRING TO FRANCISCO FRANCO AND THE SPANISH BLUE DIVISION DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [WW2]. 50,000 Spanish military personnel, fascist adherents volunteering to join the German during the invasion of the Soviet Union. Franco correctly perceiving a stalemated situation without resolution, that Blue Division consisting of those personnel most motivated to the fascist cause BETTER "PRESERVED" to fight another day on the home front under more auspicious circumstance if and when the need arose.

Regarding those Spanish Blue Division troops:

"To troops, the Spaniards are a crew of ragamuffins. They regard a rifle as an instrument that should not be cleaned under any pretext. Their sentries exist only in principle. They don't take up their posts, or, if they do take them up, they do so in their sleep. When the Russians arrive, the natives have to wake them up. But the Spaniards have never yielded an inch of ground. One can't imagine more fearless fellows. They scarcely take cover. They flout death. I know, in any case, that our men are always glad to have Spaniards as neighbors in their sector.: - - A. Hitler.

"Not one step backwards".

coolbert.