3rd Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)

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3rd Mountain Division
3. Gebirgs-Division
VerbAbz3GebDivW.jpg
Unit badge 1940
Active1 April 1938 – 8 May 1945
CountryFlag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
BranchWar ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  German Army
Type Gebirgsjäger
Role Mountain warfare
Size Division
Garrison/HQ Graz
Engagements World War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Generaloberst Eduard Dietl
General der Gebirgstruppen Julius Ringel
Generalleutnant Hans Kreysing
Generalleutnant August Wittmann
Generalleutnant Paul Klatt

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.

Contents

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 The division was withdrawn to Germany for rehabilitation at the end of the year, but left its 139th Mountain Infantry Regiment behind to operate independently.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 19393rd Mountain Division 19423rd Mountain Division (end 1944)
Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 138Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 138Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 138
Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 144Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 144Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 144
Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment 112Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment 112Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment 112
Aufklärungs-Abteilung 112Radfahr-Abteilung 95Aufklärungs-Abteilung 83
Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 48Panzerjäger-Abteilung 95Panzerjäger-Abteilung 95
Gebirsg-Pionier-Bataillon 83Gebirgs-Pionier-Bataillon 83Gebirgs-Pionier-Bataillon 83
Divisioneinheiten 68Divisioneinheiten 68Divisioneinheiten 68

Commanders

Footnotes

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

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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.
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