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.
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
( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...
. The
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
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
Lapland may refer to:
Places
*Lapland or Sápmi, an ethno-cultural region stretching over northern Fennoscandia (parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia)
**Lapland (Finland) (''Lappi''/''Lappland''), a Finnish region
*** Lapland (former pr ...
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 The division was withdrawn to Germany for rehabilitation at the end of the year, but left its 139th Mountain Infantry Regiment behind to operate independently.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 the Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, and finally surrendering to the Soviets in
Silesia at the end of the war.
Commanders
*
Generaloberst Eduard Dietl (1938 – 14 June 1940)
*
General der Gebirgstruppe Julius Ringel (14 June 1940 – 23 October 1940)
*
General der Gebirgstruppe Hans Kreysing (23 October 1940 – 10 August 1943)
*
Generalleutnant Egbert Picker (10 August 1943 – 26 August 1943)
*
General der Infanterie Siegfried Rasp (26 August 1943 – 10 September 1943)
*
Generalleutnant Egbert Picker (10 September 1943 – 29 September 1943)
*
Generalleutnant August Wittmann (29 September 1943 – 3 July 1944)
*
Generalleutnant Paul Klatt (3 July 1944 – 8 May 1945)
References
*
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Military units and formations established in 1938
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945