The 2nd Mountain Division () was a ''

Gebirgsjäger ''Gebirgsjäger'' () is a German language, German military term for light infantry trained in mountain warfare. Currently used in the militaries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the term includes the word ''Jäger (military), jäger'', anot ...

'' division of the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

which served in World War II, mainly in the northernmost sector of the Eastern Front, near the Arctic. Formed in 1938, the division was disbanded at the end of the war in 1945.

Operational history

Following the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

'', the annexation of Austria by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in March 1938, the 2nd Mountain Division was formed on 1 April 1938, with personnel of the 6th Division of the Austrian Army. Based at

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, part of Wehrkreis XVIII, most of its men were from the

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

and

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

region of Austria. Commanded by ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

'' (Lieutenant General)

Valentin Feurstein Valentin Feurstein (1 January 1885 – 8 June 1970) was an Austrian military officer who served in the Austrian and German armies. Feurstein joined the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1907, he served in World War I and in the Austrian Bundesheer in th ...

, it fought as part of

Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...

during the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

and then took part in

Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung ( , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was the invasion of Denmark and Norway by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 April 1940 (, "Weser Day"), Ge ...

, the Norwegian Campaign in 1940. It carried out a cross country march to rescue the 3rd Mountain Division, which was under siege from British forces during the

Battles of Narvik The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. Th ...

. The division moved into Lapland as part of

Mountain Corps Norway Mountain Corps Norway () was a German army unit during World War II. It saw action in Norway and Finland. The corps was formed in July 1940 and was later transferred to Northern Norway as part of '' Armeeoberkommando Norwegen'' ("army high comm ...

in 1941, to participate in ''

Operation Silberfuchs Operation Silver Fox (; ) or Murmansk operation () from 29 June to 17 November 1941, was a joint German– Finnish military operation during the Continuation War on the Eastern Front of World War II against the Soviet Union. The objective of the ...

'' (Operation Silver Fox), the attack on the Soviet Arctic as part of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

. It drove for

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

but was unsuccessful in the face of strong

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

defence. It continued to serve in the Arctic region until late 1944, when the Finns negotiated the

Moscow Armistice The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of modi ...

with the Soviet Union. The division had to withdraw to Norway, fighting off Soviet forces as it did so. Back in mainland Europe, its depleted infantry regiments were brought back up to strength. In 1945, the division was transferred to the Western Front, where it fought in the Saar-Moselle Triangle against US troops. During this period, its commander, ''Generalleutnant''

Hans Degen __NOTOC__ Hans Degen (18 February 1899 – 8 November 1971) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Life and career Hans Degen was born in Rosenheim in Upper Bavaria in 1899. He ...

, was wounded and had to be replaced by ''Generalleutnant'' Willibald Utz. While earlier in the war it was considered an elite unit, the 2nd Mountain Division was well below strength and combat effectiveness. It finished the war in

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

where Utz surrendered it to the Western Allies.

Commanding officers

The following officers commanded the division: * ''Generalleutnant''

(1 April 1938 – 4 March 1941) * ''Generalleutnant'' Ernst Schlemmer (4 March 1941 – 2 March 1942) * ''Generalleutnant''

Georg Ritter von Hengl Georg Ritter von Hengl (21 October 1897 – 19 March 1952) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the XIX Mountain Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. During World War I, ...

(2 March 1942 – 23 October 1943) * ''Generalleutnant''

(1 November 1943 – 6 February 1945) * ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

'' (Colonel) Hans Roschmann (6 February 1945 – 9 February 1945) * ''Generalleutnant'' Willibald Utz (9 February 1945 – German capitulation)

Notes

References

* {{Authority control 2 2 Military units and formations established in 1938 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945