1st Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)
Mountain Brigade
1st Mountain Division
1st Volksgebirgs Division
The German 1st Mountain Division was created in in April from the existing Mountain Brigade (Gebirgsbrigade or Gebirgs-Brigade in German), an unnumbered unit that was created in June 1935 as the sole asset for mountain operations in the original Wehrmacht. In recognition of the high standards of the World War I era mountain troops, the division was given the number "1" in order to start a series of mountain divisions outside the series of other infantry-type divisions. (See List of German divisions in WWII.)
The division fought in the invasion of Poland (1939) and the Battle of France (1940). It was earmarked for assaults against England and Gibraltar, though neither operation 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 Operation Barbarossa. In 1942 it participated in the failed attempt to seize the Caucasus. In 1943 it was withdrawn to southeastern Europe where it was used for occupation and anti-partisan duties. In late 1944 it returned to the front line in Hungary.
In March of 1945 the division was redesignated 1st Volksgebirgs Division in analogy with the new trend of naming infantry divisions Volksgrenadier. (Gebirgs is "Mountain" in the names of the mountain divisions; Volks is "of the people", an appeal to German nationalism.)
The division surrendered to the Americans in Austria at the end of the war.
See also
References
Note: The Web references may require you to follow links to cover the unit's entire history.
- Pipes, Jason. "1.Gebirgs-Division". Retrieved April 12, 2005.
- Wendel, Marcus (2004). "1. Gebirgs-Divison". Retrieved April 12, 2005.
- "1. Gebirgs-Division". German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved April 12, 2005.
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