3rd Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)

The 3rd Mountain Division (German: 3. Gebirgs-Division) was a formation of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. It was created from the Austrian Army's 5th and 7th Divisions following the Anschluss in 1938.

3rd Mountain Division
3. Gebirgs-Division
Unit badge 1940
Active1 April 1938 – 8 May 1945
Country Nazi Germany
Branch German Army
TypeGebirgsjäger
RoleMountain warfare
SizeDivision
Garrison/HQGraz
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Generaloberst Eduard Dietl
General der Gebirgstruppen Julius Ringel
Generalleutnant Hans Kreysing
Generalleutnant August Wittmann
Generalleutnant Paul Klatt

History

The division took part in the Invasion of Poland 1939 as part of Army Group South, 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 to seize the ice-free Arctic port of Narvik. The Allies 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, the attack on the Soviet Arctic as part of Operation Barbarossa, but failed to capture Murmansk. The division was withdrawn to Germany for rehabilitation at the end of the year, but left its 139th Mountain Infantry Regiment behind to operate independently.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 near Leningrad. In November 1942 it was committed to the front where the Soviets had surrounded Velikiye Luki, and then transferred 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 at the end of the war.

On 1 January 1945, the 3rd Mountain Division (then under Army Group Heinrici of Army Group A) had a strength of 9,805 men.[2]:504

Organization

Organization of the Division:[3]

3rd Mountain Division 1939 3rd Mountain Division 1942 3rd Mountain Division (end 1944)
Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 138 Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 138 Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 138
Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 144 Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 144 Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 144
Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment 112 Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment 112 Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment 112
Aufklärungs-Abteilung 112 Radfahr-Abteilung 95 Aufklärungs-Abteilung 83
Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 48 Panzerjäger-Abteilung 95 Panzerjäger-Abteilung 95
Gebirsg-Pionier-Bataillon 83 Gebirgs-Pionier-Bataillon 83 Gebirgs-Pionier-Bataillon 83
Divisioneinheiten 68 Divisioneinheiten 68 Divisioneinheiten 68

Commanders

Footnotes

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

References

  1. German Mountain & Ski Troops 1939–45. Bloomsbury. 20 May 2012. ISBN 9781780967912.
  2. Lakowski, Richard (2008). "Der Zusammenbruch der deutschen Verteidigung zwischen Ostsee und Karpaten". In Müller, Rolf-Dieter (ed.). Die Militärische Niederwerfung der Wehrmacht. Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg (in German). Vol. 10/1. München: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. pp. 491–681. ISBN 9783421062376.
  3. "3. Gebirgsdivision - Lexikon der Wehrmacht". www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  • Tessin, Georg (1965). "Die Landstreitkräfte 1—5". Die Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939—1945 (in German). Frankfurt/Main: E.S. Mittler. pp. 169–170.
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