The 6th Mountain Division (german: 6. Gebirgs Division) was a

German army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

Division of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was established in June 1940, and was deployed to France for

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

duties. In December it was relocated to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, where it remained until the spring of 1941. It then took part in

Operation Marita The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Kingdom of Greece, Greece by Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy and Nazi Germany, Germany during Wo ...

, the invasion of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

during the Balkans Campaign. In September it was relocated to northern

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, where it operated in Lapland (west of

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

). From July 1942 onward it was part of the 20th Mountain Army along the

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coast. It withdrew into

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

when the Germans evacuated Finland in late 1944, and surrendered to the British at the end of the war in 1945.

Commanding officers

* Generalmajor

Ferdinand Schörner Ferdinand Schörner (12 June 1892 – 2 July 1973) was a German military commander who held the rank of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded several army groups and was the last Command ...

(1 June 1940 - 1 February 1942) * Generalleutnant

Christian Philipp __NOTOC__ Christian Philipp (3 September 1893 – 16 October 1963) was a German general during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Awards and decorations * K ...

(1 February 1942 - 20 August 1944) * Generalmajor

Max-Josef Pemsel __NOTOC__ Max-Josef Pemsel (15 January 1897 – 30 June 1985) was a ''Generalleutnant'' in the German Army during Second World War. After the war he became one of the very few senior officers who served in the Wehrmacht to serve in the West German ...

(20 August 1944 - 19 April 1945) * Oberst

Josef Remold Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura, and is the only company in Japan spe ...

(20 April 1945 - capitulation)

Order of battle

''As of 1 June 1940 (day of formation):'' * 141st Gebirgsjäger Regiment * 143rd Gebirgsjäger Regiment * 118th Mountain Artillery Regiment * 112th Reconnaissance Battalion * 47th Panzerjäger Battalion * 91st Pioneer Battalion * 91st Signals Battalion * 91st Divisional Support Units ''As of January 1941:'' * 141st Gebirgsjäger Regiment * 143rd Gebirgsjäger Regiment * 112th (tmot) Reconnaissance Battalion * 47th Panzerjäger Battalion * 85th Light (Luftwaffe) FlaK Battery * 118th Mountain Artillery Regiment * Gebirgs-Pionier-Battalion 91 * 91st Signals Battalion * Divisional Service Troops

References

* Pipes, Jason.
6th Gebirgsjager Division
. Retrieved May 11, 2005. *

. German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved May 11, 2005. 6 Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 {{Germany-WWII-stub