1st Mountain Division (Germany)

The German 1st Mountain Division or 1.Gebirgs-Division was a mountain infantry division within the Wehrmacht during the WWII.

Formation

The division was created in April 1938 from the existing Mountain Brigade ("Gebirgsbrigade" or "Gebirgs-Brigade") which had been formed in June 1935.

It was given "1" as the first in a series of new mountain divisions independently numbered from other German infantry divisions. This was in recognition of the military skills and tactics shown by Alpine troops in World War I.

Combat history

The 1st Mountain Division fought in the Invasion of Poland (1939) and the Battle of France (1940). It was earmarked to take part in Operation Sealion, the invasion of England, and also an attack on Gibraltar in Operation Felix, though neither attack was ever carried out.

In the spring of 1941 the division took part in the Balkans Campaign, and in June it joined Army Group South for the invasion of Soviet Russia.

In 1942 it participated in the failed attempt to seize the Caucasus under Army Group A. But a year later it was withdrawn to Montenegro and Greece where it was used for occupation and anti-partisan duties.

By late 1944, during the retreat of Wehrmacht forces from the Balkans the division, as part of Army Group E, withdrew to Hungary.

The division's final major operation was during Operation Spring Awakening in March 1945 when it was heavilly mauled by Soviet forces from the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

A month later, the shattered division surrendered to the Americans in Austria.

War crimes

During the Invasion of Poland, soldiers from the division assisted in the round-up of Jewish civilians from Przemyśl for forced labour. This event was documented in the divisional photographic album. Picture captions demonstrate strong anti-semitism from the authors. [http://www1.yadvashem.org/about_holocaust/studies/ordinary/temp_levein_uziel_full.html Photos 7 and 8]

In September 1943 - after Italy surrendered - soldiers of the 1st Gebirgs-Division, along with other units took part in the organised killing of between 4,500 and 5,300 Italian soldiers on the Greek island of Cephalonia. The atrocities included the cutting of Italian soldiers' throats and forcing others to dump bodies into the sea before being killed themselves. [http://www.nrw.vvn-bda.de/texte/mittenwald_engl.htm] [http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=2098]

See also

* Division (military), Military unit, List of German divisions in WWII
* Heer, Wehrmacht

References

Note: The Web references may require to follow links to cover the unit's entire history.
* Pipes, Jason. " [http://www.feldgrau.com/1hg.html 1.Gebirgs-Division] ". Retrieved April 12, 2005.
* Wendel, Marcus (2004). " [http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=1044 1. Gebirgs-Division] ". Retrieved April 12, 2005.
* " [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Gebirgsdivisionen/GebDiv1.htm 1. Gebirgs-Division] ". German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved April 12, 2005.