The 3rd Mountain Division was a formation of the
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was created from the Austrian Army's 5th and 7th Divisions following the
AnschlussThe ' , also known as the ', was the 1938 de facto annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the Nazi regime....
in 1938.
The division took part in the
Invasion of PolandThe Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II...
1939 as part of
Army Group SouthArmy Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
, but was transferred to garrison the West Wall before that campaign was over. In 1940 it joined the invasion of Norway, most famously sending its 139th Mountain Regiment under General
Eduard DietlEduard Dietl was a German general of World War II. He was born in Bad Aibling, Bavaria.Eduard Dietl was the son of a Bavarian finance official . In 1909, at his second attempt to join 5. Bavarian Infanterie Regiment, he entered as an officer cadet. After studying at the Kriegschule in Munich, he...
to seize the ice-free Arctic port of
Narvikis a town and municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
.
The 3rd Mountain Division was a formation of the
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was created from the Austrian Army's 5th and 7th Divisions following the
AnschlussThe ' , also known as the ', was the 1938 de facto annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the Nazi regime....
in 1938.
History
The division took part in the
Invasion of PolandThe Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II...
1939 as part of
Army Group SouthArmy Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
, but was transferred to garrison the West Wall before that campaign was over. In 1940 it joined the invasion of Norway, most famously sending its 139th Mountain Regiment under General
Eduard DietlEduard Dietl was a German general of World War II. He was born in Bad Aibling, Bavaria.Eduard Dietl was the son of a Bavarian finance official . In 1909, at his second attempt to join 5. Bavarian Infanterie Regiment, he entered as an officer cadet. After studying at the Kriegschule in Munich, he...
to seize the ice-free Arctic port of
Narvikis a town and municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
. The
AlliesThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . The involvement of the Allies in World War II was either natural and inevitable they were invaded or under the direct threat of invasion by the Axis or compelled by concerns that the Axis powers...
briefly
managed to take the town backThe Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April until 8 June 1940 as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian city of Narvik as part of the Norwegian Campaign of World War II....
, but abandoned it to the Germans after the invasion of France.
In 1941 the division moved into Lapland to participate in Operation Silberfuchs, the attack on the Soviet Arctic as part of
Operation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km front...
, but failed to capture
MurmanskMurmansk is a city and seaport in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, 12 km from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland....
. The division was withdrawn to Germany for rehabilitation at the end of the year, but left its 139th Mountain Infantry Regiment behind to operate independently. After rehabilitation, the division returned to Norway in 1942, where it served as a reserve. It was then transferred to the Eastern Front, where it served as a reserve for
Army Group NorthArmy Group North was a strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics....
near
LeningradSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
. In November 1942 it was committed to the front where the Soviets had surrounded
Velikiye LukiThe Velikiye Luki offensive operation was executed by the forces of the Red Army's Kalinin Front against the Wehrmacht's 3rd Panzer Army during the Winter Campaign of 1942-1943 with the objective of liberating the Russian city of Velikiye Luki as part of the northern pincer of the Rzhev-Sychevka...
, and then transferred to the far south to help in the attempt to relieve
Stalingrad.The Battle of Stalingrad was a battle of World War II between Nazi Germany and its allies and the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 17 July 1942 and 2 February 1943....
It fought the remainder of the war in the south, retreating with the front lines through the Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, and finally surrendering to the Soviets in
SilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany....
at the end of the war.
Commanders
- Generaloberst Eduard Dietl
Eduard Dietl was a German general of World War II. He was born in Bad Aibling, Bavaria.Eduard Dietl was the son of a Bavarian finance official . In 1909, at his second attempt to join 5. Bavarian Infanterie Regiment, he entered as an officer cadet. After studying at the Kriegschule in Munich, he...
(1938 - June 14, 1940)
- General der Gebirgstruppe
General der Gerbirgstruppe was a rank of German Army General introduced by the Wehrmacht in 1940....
Julius RingelJulius "Papa" Ringel was an Austrian-born German General of Mountain Troops . He commanded the 3. Gebirgs-Division, 5. Gebirgs-Division, LXIX Armeekorps, Wehrkreis XI and the Korps Ringel...
(June 14, 1940 - October 23, 1940)
- General der Gebirgstruppe
General der Gerbirgstruppe was a rank of German Army General introduced by the Wehrmacht in 1940....
Hans KreysingHans Kreysing was a German general who commanded the 3. Gebirgs-Division. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.- Awards :...
(October 23, 1940 - August 10, 1943)
- Generalleutnant Egbert Picker (August 10, 1943 - August 26, 1943)
- General der Infanterie
A general officer is an officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is simply called general.-All general officer...
Siegfried RaspSiegfried Rasp was a German general of infantry, serving during World War II. Born in Munich, Rasp became an officer aspirant on September 6, 1915 and earned his commission as a Leutnant on June 24, 1916 in the 1st Bavarian Infantry Regiment.He was promoted to Oberst in July 1941, Generalmajor in...
(August 26, 1943 - September 10, 1943)
- Generalleutnant Egbert Picker (September 10, 1943 - September 29, 1943)
- Generalleutnant August Wittmann (September 29, 1943 - July 03, 1944)
- Generalleutnant Paul Klatt (July 03, 1944 - May 08, 1945)
Order of Battle
138. Gebirgsjäger Regiment
139. Gebirgsjäger Regiment
Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment 112
Aufklärungs-Abteilung 12
Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 48
Gebirgs-Pionier-Bataillon 83
Gebirgsjäger-Feldersatz-Bataillon 68
Gebirgs-Divisions-Nachschubtruppen 68
Gebirgs-Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung 68
Radfahr-Abteilung 68
Aufklärungs-Abteilung 83
See also
- 9th Mountain Division
The German 9th Mountain Division was a Nazi Germany military division . It was formed in 1945 from the "Shadow Division" Steiermark...
(more about the 139th Mountain Regiment)
- Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps...
, Military unit, List of German divisions in WWII
- Heer
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Traditionally the German military forces have been composed of Army, the Navy, and an Air Force after World War I. It was reinstalled in 1955 as the West German Army and as a part of the newly formed...
, WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....