The 3rd Mountain Division () was a formation of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was created from the Austrian Army's 5th and 7th Divisions 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 ...

in 1938.

History

The division took part in the Invasion of Poland 1939 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 ...

, but was transferred to garrison the West Wall before the end of the campaign. In 1940 it joined the invasion of Norway, most famously sending its 139th Mountain Regiment under General

Eduard Dietl Eduard Wohlrat Christian Dietl (21 July 1890 – 23 June 1944) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 20th Mountain Army. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Military career Born in ...

to seize the ice-free Arctic port of

Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...

. The

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

briefly managed to take the town back, but abandoned it to the Germans after the invasion of France. In 1941 the division moved into Lapland 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 ...

, 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 ...

, but failed to capture

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 ...

. 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 North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...

near

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. In November 1942 it was committed to the front where the Soviets had surrounded

Velikiye Luki Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-� ...

, and then transferred in mid-December to the far south to help in the attempt to relieve Stalingrad. It fought the remainder of the war in the south, retreating with the front lines through Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, and finally surrendering to the Soviets in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

at the end of the war. On 1 January 1945, the 3rd Mountain Division (then under

Army Group Heinrici An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by p ...

Army Group A Army Group A () was the name of three distinct army groups of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'', the ground forces of the ''Wehrmacht'', during World War II. The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from Oct ...

) had a strength of 9,805 men.

Organization

Organization of the Division:

Commanders

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German '' Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank w ...

(1938 – 14 June 1940) *

General der Gebirgstruppe ' (English: General of the Mountain Troops) was a category of German Army three-star, a new example of the traditional German '' 'General der'' rank introduced by the ''Wehrmacht'' in 1940, comparable to the NATO grade OF-8. Rank and rank in ...

Julius Ringel Julius 'Papa' Ringel (16 November 1889 – 11 February 1967) was an Austrian general in the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. He fought in the Western and Eastern fronts, as well as the Balkan Campaign.Williamson 2012. Ringel c ...

(14 June 1940 – 23 October 1940) *

Hans Kreysing (23 October 1940 – 10 August 1943) *

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 ...

Egbert Picker __NOTOC__ Egbert Martin Picker (15 February 1895 – 27 March 1960) was a general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Awards and decorations * Knight's ...

(10 August 1943 – 26 August 1943) *

General der Infanterie General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

Siegfried Rasp __NOTOC__ Siegfried Rasp (10 January 1898 – 2 February 1968) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Awards and decorations * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 15 April 1944 as Generalmajor is the Germanic l ...

(26 August 1943 – 10 September 1943) *

(10 September 1943 – 29 September 1943) *

August Wittmann __NOTOC__ August Wittmann (20 July 1895 – 29 March 1977) was a general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Life and career August Wittmann was born in Munich on 20 July 1895. He ent ...

(29 September 1943 – 3 July 1944) *

Paul Klatt __NOTOC__ Paul Klatt (6 December 1896 – 6 June 1973) was a German general who commanded the 3rd Mountain Division during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Klatt surrend ...

(3 July 1944 – 8 May 1945)

Footnotes

The Gebirgsjäger-Ersatz-Bataillon I./138 was responsible for ordering replacements for the staff.

References

* {{Authority control 3 3 Military units and formations established in 1938 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945