Named after the 9th-century Frankish emperor, it superseded the existing Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism formed in 1941 within the German Army ( Wehrmacht) and the SS-Volunteer Sturmbrigade France ( SS-Freiwilligen Sturmbrigade 'Frankreich') formed in July 1943, both of which were disbanded the same month. The Waffen Grenadier Brigade of the SS Charlemagne (German: Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS 'Charlemagne') was a Waffen-SS unit formed in September 1944 from French collaborationists, many of whom were already serving in various other German units.
