The 6th Mountain Division () was a

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 ...

Division of

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 established in June 1940, and was deployed to France for occupation duties. In December it was relocated to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, where it remained until the spring of 1941. Having formed

XVIII Mountain Corps XVIII. ''Armeekorps'' was formed in Salzburg, Austria, on 1 April 1938, following the Anschluss of Austria into the German Reich. During the life of the XVIII. Armeekorps, they took part in the Polish campaign, Fall Weiss, and the campaign in ...

with the 5th Mountain Division, it then took part in

Operation Marita The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasio ...

, the invasion of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

during the Balkans Campaign. In September it was relocated to northern

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, where it operated in Lapland (west of

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 ...

). From July 1942 onward it was part of the 20th Mountain Army along the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

coast. It withdrew into

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

when the Germans evacuated Finland in late 1944, and surrendered to the British at the end of the war in 1945.

Commanding officers

* Generalmajor

Ferdinand Schörner Ferdinand Schörner (12 June 1892 – 2 July 1973) was a German military commander and convicted war criminal, who held the rank of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was the on ...

(1 June 1940 - 1 February 1942) * Generalleutnant

Christian Philipp __NOTOC__ Christian Philipp (3 September 1893 – 16 October 1963) was a German general during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Awards and decorations * Kn ...

(1 February 1942 - 20 August 1944) * Generalmajor

Max-Josef Pemsel __NOTOC__ Max-Josef Pemsel (15 January 1897 – 30 June 1985) was a ''Generalleutnant'' in the German Army during Second World War. After the war he became one of the very few senior officers who served in the Wehrmacht to serve in the West Germa ...

(20 August 1944 - 19 April 1945) * Oberst

Josef Remold Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura and is the only company in Japan spec ...

(20 April 1945 - capitulation)

Order of battle

''As of 1 June 1940 (day of formation):'' * 141st Gebirgsjäger Regiment * 143rd Gebirgsjäger Regiment * 118th Mountain Artillery Regiment * 112th Reconnaissance Battalion * 47th Panzerjäger Battalion * 91st Pioneer Battalion * 91st Signals Battalion * 91st Divisional Support Units ''As of January 1941:'' * 141st Gebirgsjäger Regiment * 143rd Gebirgsjäger Regiment * 112th (tmot) Reconnaissance Battalion * 47th Panzerjäger Battalion * 85th Light (Luftwaffe) FlaK Battery * 118th Mountain Artillery Regiment * Gebirgs-Pionier-Battalion 91 * 91st Signals Battalion * Divisional Service Troops

References

* Pipes, Jason.
6th Gebirgsjager Division
. Retrieved May 11, 2005. *

. German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved May 11, 2005. 6 Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 {{Germany-WWII-stub