Part of the "French Volunteers and Collaborationist Forces" series by Daniel Laurent

The regiment, then division Brandenbourg, was a special unit of the Abwehr, the Wehrmacht intelligence service; trained for intelligence gathering, infiltration and sabotage.
In 1943, 180 French men formed the 8th company of the 3rd Regiment, based in Eaux-Bonnes, near from the Pyrenees mountains in Southwest France. Often engaged in Southern France, imitating resistants (with captured radios) they captured many equipment’s/weapons deliveries and proceeded to many arrests.
This company has also been engaged against the resistance in the Vercors battle. They organized the glider attack usually said as being a Waffen-SS attack but the French witnesses have probably taken the "Brandenburg" arm patch for SS insignias.