42nd ''Jäger Division'' () was a light infantry formation of the

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

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It can trace its origins to the 187th Infantry Division which was based in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

until September 1942, when it was redesignated as the 187th Reserve Division. The 187th was sent to

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and was redesignated the 42nd ''Jäger Division'' in January 1944. ''42. Jäger-Division'' was formed 22 Dec 1943 in Croatia from the ''187. Reserve-Division''. After taking part in Operation ''Margarthe'', (the military occupation of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

) in March 1944, and then returned to

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in May. In July 1944 the division was transferred to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

where it remained for the rest of the war and surrendered in April 1945.

Background

The main purpose of the German ''Jäger'' Divisions was to fight in adverse terrain where smaller, coordinated formations were more facilely combat capable than the brute force offered by the standard infantry divisions. The ''Jäger'' divisions were more heavily equipped than their 'mountain' counterparts, but not as well armed as a larger infantry division. In the early stages of the war, they were the interface divisions fighting in rough terrain and foothills as well as urban areas, between the mountains and the plains. The ''Jäger''s (meaning ''hunters'' in German) relied on a high degree of training and slightly superior communications, as well as their not inconsiderable artillery support. In the middle stages of the war, as the standard infantry divisions were downsized, the Jäger structure of divisions with two infantry regiments, became the standard table of organization.

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

declared that all infantry divisions were to be ''Grenadier'' Divisions in 1943 except for his elite ''Jäger'' and Mountain ''Jaeger'' divisions.

War crimes

The division is one of several implicated in the ,

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

between 28 and 30 November 1944, when 66 civilians were executed.

Commanders

* ''

General der Infanterie General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

Walther Graeßner __NOTOC__ Walther Graeßner (31 January 1891 – 16 July 1943) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the XII Army Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Graeßner was wounded in mid-Febr ...

(15 October 1939 - 6 February 1940) * ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

'' Konrad Stephanus (7 February 1940 - 15 August 1942) * ''Generalleutnant'' Josef Brauner von Haydringen (15 August 1942 - 26 April 1944) * ''Generalleutnant'' Walter Jost (26 April 1944 - 24 April 1945)

Area of operations

As 187th Division
Austria (October 1939 - August 1942) As 187th ''Reserve Division''
Austria (August 1942 - September 1942)
Croatia (September 1942 - January 1944) As 42nd ''Jäger'' Division
Croatia (January 1944 - March 1944)
Hungary (March 1944 - May 1944)
Yugoslavia (May 1944 - July 1944)
Italy (July 1944 - April 1945)

Order of battle (1944)

* '' Jäger Regiment 25'' * ''Jäger Regiment 40'' * Reconnaissance Battalion 142 * Artillery Regiment 142 * Pioneer Battalion 142 * ''

Panzerjäger ''Panzerjäger'' (German: literally "armor hunter", more broadly "anti-tank") is a term used for an anti-tank vehicle (self-propelled anti-tank gun), as well as anti-tank units. The term was first used in the Wehrmacht (German armed forces, 19 ...

'' (anti-tank) ''Kompanie 142'' * Mountain ''

Flak Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...

Kompanie 142'' * Signals Battalion 142 * ''Feldersatz Battalion 142'' * ''Versorgungseinheiten 142''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:42nd Jager Division (Wehrmacht) Jäger Divisions Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945