The 4th Mountain Division (german: 4. Gebirgs Division) was established in October 1940. It took part in the 1941
Balkans Campaign and then joined
Army Group South in
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
after it was already underway. In 1942 it participated in the failed attempt to seize the Caucasus in
Operation Edelweiss under
Army Group A. Following the operation's failure, the division was pushed back into the
Kuban bridgehead, then the
Crimean Peninsula, western
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, and
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
. The division surrendered to the Soviet forces near Czech city of
Olomouc when the war ended in May 1945.
During the war, 33 members of the division received the
Iron Cross Knight's Cross and two received the
Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.
Commanders
*Generalleutnant
Karl Eglseer __NOTOC__
Karl Eglseer (5 July 1890 – 23 June 1944) was a general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the XVIII Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Eglseer was killed in an air crash in Austria on 2 ...
, 23 October 1940 – 1 October 1941
*Oberst
Karl Wintergerst, 1 October 1941 – November 1941
*Generalleutnant Karl Eglseer, November 1941 – 22 October 1942
*Generalleutnant
Hermann Kreß, 23 October 1942 – 11 August 1943
(''Kreß was killed by a Soviet sniper on 11 August 1943, near
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...
on the
Kuban bridgehead'')
*Generalleutnant
Julius Braun
Julius Braun (16 July 1825 in Karlsruhe – 1869 in Munich) was a German historian, with an interest in art, culture and religion.
Biography
Braun was born in Karlsruhe and received his early education at the city's lyceum. He then studied at the ...
, 13 August 1943 – 6 June 1944
*Oberst
Karl Jank, 6 June 1944 – 1 July 1944
*Generalleutnant
Friedrich Breith, 1 July 1944 – 23 February 1945
*Oberst
Robert Bader
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, 23 February 1945 – 6 April 1945
*Generalleutnant Friedrich Breith, 6 April 1945 – 8 May 1945
Order of battle
*''Gebirgsjäger-Regiment'' 13
*''Gebirgsjäger-Regiment'' 91
*''Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment'' 94
*''Panzerjäger-Kompanie'' 94
*''Gebirgs-Pionier-Bataillon'' 94
*''Aufklärungsabteilung'' 94
*''Nachrichten-Abteilung'' 94
*''Gebirgsjäger-Bataillon'' 94
*''Divisions-Einheiten'' 94
References
*
*
4
Military units and formations established in 1940
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
{{Germany-WWII-stub