The German Gebirgsjäger, elite mountain infantry units of the Wehrmacht renowned for their expertise in high-altitude warfare, played a distinctive role throughout World War II, distinguished by their Edelweiss insignia and rigorous training in alpine tactics. Formed in the interwar period and expanded into divisions such as the 1. Gebirgs-Division, these troops excelled in challenging terrains, participating in the invasion of Norway in 1940 where they secured vital mountain passes, the rapid conquest of the Balkans in 1941 with daring assaults on fortified Greek positions, and grueling campaigns on the Eastern Front, including the Caucasus Mountains where they pushed toward the oil fields of Grozny under extreme conditions of snow and ice. Equipped with specialized gear like ice axes, crampons, and pack mules, the Gebirgsjäger demonstrated remarkable endurance, often operating independently in small Kampfgruppen. Many earned high decorations such as the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold, and the Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen, reflecting their bravery in close-quarters combat and defensive stands against overwhelming Soviet forces. Despite their tactical prowess, the Gebirgsjäger also faced the brutal realities of attrition and war crimes allegations in occupied territories, ultimately fighting rearguard actions in the Alps and Italy until the final surrender in 1945, leaving a legacy as one of the most adaptable and resilient formations in the German army.
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SCHWERTERTRÄGER
General
der Gebirgstruppe Hans Kreysing (1890-1969) was born on 17 August 1890
in Göttingen and entered the Preußische Armee in 1909 as a Fahnenjunker
in the Hannoversches Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 10, with which he served
throughout the First World War on multiple fronts including Verdun where
he was severely wounded, rising to Hauptmann and receiving the Eisernes
Kreuz both classes as well as the Ritterkreuz des Königlichen
Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern. After the war he remained in
the Reichswehr, advancing through battalion and regimental commands to
become Oberst and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 16 of the 22.
Infanterie-Division by the outbreak of the Second World War. During the
campaign in the West in May 1940 he led his regiment with bold and
successful leadership, recognizing an impending flank threat early and
preventing the advance of an enemy division through swift
countermeasures during the airborne operations around Waalhaven in the
Netherlands, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen
Kreuzes on 29 May 1940 as Oberst. Promoted to Generalmajor on 1 July
1940 he took command of the 3. Gebirgs-Division on 23 October 1940,
leading it in Norway, Lapland and later on the Eastern Front. In the
critical fighting around Millerovo in early 1943 his division stood firm
against three Soviet corps, tying them down and thereby relieving the
army sector while he himself broke through an encirclement to relieve
another threatened strongpoint, earning him the Eichenlaub to the
Ritterkreuz on 20 January 1943 as Generalleutnant, the 183rd recipient.
In November 1943 he was promoted to General der Gebirgstruppe and
appointed Kommandierender General of the XVII. Armeekorps, under whose
command he conducted determined defensive operations that prevented
Soviet breakthroughs in the Nikopol and Zaporozhye bridgeheads from
November 1943 to February 1944, for which he was mentioned in the
Wehrmachtbericht and awarded the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz mit
Eichenlaub on 13 April 1944 as the 63rd recipient. He later
assumed command of the 8. Armee in Hungary and the Carpathians until the
end of the war, after which he marched west and entered British
captivity until 1948. In later life he engaged in voluntary work with
the Deutsches Rotes Kreuz and died in Oldenburg on 14 April 1969.
Generaloberst
Eduard Dietl (1890-1944), the "Hero of Narvik," was born on 21 July 1890 in Bad Aibling, Kingdom of Bavaria, and entered the Bavarian Army on 1 October 1909 as Fahnenjunker in the 5. Infanterie-Regiment “Großherzog Ernst Ludwig von Hessen”. He served on the Western Front in the First World War, receiving the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse and I. Klasse, and later joined the Freikorps of Franz Ritter von Epp. Rising through the ranks of the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht, he commanded Gebirgsjäger units and, as Generalmajor, led the 3. Gebirgs-Division in the Polish campaign of 1939. Promoted to Generalleutnant, he directed the same division during the invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, when most of his troops were landed at Narvik by ten destroyers under Commodore Friedrich Bonte. After all ten destroyers were sunk in the Battles of Narvik, Dietl’s outnumbered Gebirgsjäger, reinforced by sailors from the wrecked ships, withdrew into the surrounding hills and conducted a skilful defence against superior Norwegian, British, French and Polish forces for nearly two months under extreme Arctic conditions. This prolonged resistance, which held the vital iron-ore port until Allied forces withdrew following German successes in the West, earned him the nickname “Hero of Narvik” and the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 9 May 1940 as Kommandeur of the 3. Gebirgs-Division. For the same Narvik achievement he became the first Wehrmacht officer to receive the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz on 19 July 1940, simultaneously being promoted to General der Infanterie (later General der Gebirgstruppe) and appointed Kommandierender General of the Gebirgs-Korps Norwegen. Subsequently he commanded German forces in northern Norway and Finland, rising to Generaloberst and Oberbefehlshaber of the 20. Gebirgs-Armee on the Arctic Front, where operations against Murmansk proved unsuccessful. On 23 June 1944, while returning from a conference with Hitler, the Ju 52 carrying Dietl and several other generals crashed near Rettenegg in Styria; he was posthumously awarded the Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz on 1 July 1944 for his overall leadership of the 20. Gebirgs-Armee.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
General
der Gebirgstruppe Hubert Lanz (1896-1982) was born on 22 May 1896 in
Entringen in the Kingdom of Württemberg and entered military service on
20 June 1914 as Fahnenjunker in the Infanterie-Regiment „Kaiser
Friedrich, König von Preußen“ (7. Württembergisches) Nr. 125 at
Stuttgart, serving on the Western Front in the First World War where he
was severely wounded in September 1914, later promoted to Leutnant and
ending the conflict as Oberleutnant before being retained in the
Reichswehr and rising through staff and command positions including that
of Oberstleutnant and Chef des Stabes of the IX. Armeekorps as well as
Kommandeur of the Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 100. In the Second World War he
was appointed Chef des Generalstabes of the XVIII. Armeekorps on 15
February 1940 and received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 1
October 1940 as Oberst im Generalstab for his outstanding achievements
during the Battle of France, in which his personal reconnaissance of the
Meuse River enabled a rapid advance across it, he contributed
decisively to the capture of Léon, and at the Chemin des Dames he
personally led an assault with rifle and grenade to seize a key
strongpoint while restoring a critical situation after an enemy
counterattack, further distinguishing himself by holding off attackers
with a machine gun at the Yonne River long enough to evacuate the
mortally wounded commanding general. On 26 October 1940 he assumed
command of the 1. Gebirgs-Division, leading it through the Balkans
Campaign and from June 1941 in the invasion of the Soviet Union, where
the division captured Lvov, broke the Stalin Line, advanced to the
Dnieper and Mius, fought in the Second Battle of Kharkov, and
participated in the drive into the Caucasus during Operation Edelweiss,
including the symbolic raising of the German flag on Mount Elbrus. For
his successful leadership of the 1. Gebirgs-Division in these
operations, particularly the winter battles at Stalino, the Second
Battle of Kharkov, and the mountain fighting northeast of Tuapse, he was
awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 as
Generalleutnant. Subsequently promoted to General der Gebirgstruppe, he
commanded the Armeeabteilung Lanz, the XXXXIX. Gebirgskorps, and from
September 1943 the XXII. Gebirgskorps in Greece before surrendering to
American forces in May 1945; after conviction for war crimes in the
Hostages Trial and release in 1951 he advised the Free Democratic Party
on military matters and died in Munich on 12 May 1982.
Generalleutnant
Harald von Hirschfeld (1912-1945) was born on 10 July 1912 in Weimar
and received much of his education abroad in South America, Spain,
London and Paris before voluntarily joining the Wehrmacht on 23 October
1935 with Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 98 of the 1. Gebirgs-Division.
Commissioned Leutnant der Reserve in 1937 and taken into the active
officer corps the following year, he served as Adjutant of the II.
Bataillon and later as company commander during the campaigns in Poland
and the West. As Oberleutnant and Chef of the 7. Kompanie of
Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 98 he distinguished himself in September 1941 when
Soviet forces encircled the village of Alexandrowka and launched
repeated attacks with superior numbers; remaining constantly at the
critical points of the fighting, he inspired his men to launch immediate
counterattacks that destroyed every enemy penetration and held the
position, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes
on 15 November 1941. Promoted to Hauptmann, he assumed command of the
II. Bataillon and in May 1942 led a bold forward thrust during the
battle of Barwenkowo that advanced ten kilometres into enemy lines.
Later that year, during the offensive northeast of Tuapse in the
Caucasus, his Gebirgsjäger under his personal leadership broke through
twelve successive Soviet defensive positions and stormed more than 350
bunkers in two weeks of continuous hard fighting despite the difficult
mountain terrain. For these achievements, and having already been
wounded eight times, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942
as the 164th recipient. Rising rapidly through the ranks to Major,
Oberstleutnant and Oberst, he later commanded Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 98
and from late 1944 led the 78. Sturm-Division, becoming the youngest
general officer in the Heer when promoted to Generalmajor on 15 January
1945. Only three days later, on 18 January 1945, he was mortally wounded
by a Soviet low-level aerial attack near the Dukla Pass and died the
same day while being evacuated to a field hospital; he was posthumously
advanced to Generalleutnant.
Hauptmann
Rudolf Schlee (1913-1979) was born on 10 November 1913 in Ludwigshafen
and entered military service on 5 April 1934 with the 5. Kompanie of
Infanterie-Regiment 13 in Ludwigsburg, later redesignated
Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 13 of the 4. Gebirgs-Division. Promoted to
Unteroffizier in 1936, he took part in the Western Campaign, receiving
the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 8 June 1940 and the Eisernes Kreuz I.
Klasse on 3 August 1940. As Zugführer in the 6. Kompanie from November
1940 he fought in the Yugoslav campaign and then on the Eastern Front.
During the advance of his regiment toward Pultowzy on the road to
Winniza in 1941, Oberfeldwebel Schlee, through prudent leadership of his
men, thrust to the southern edge of the town within an hour,
neutralizing well-equipped enemy positions armed with heavy weapons and
thereby opening the vital march route for the entire 4. Gebirgs-Division
far sooner than the expected two-day battle; for this decisive action
he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 23 October 1941.
After further fighting and wounds he continued to distinguish himself in
the Caucasus, particularly on 26 and 28 August 1942 during the advance
on Ssuchum, where his determination forced the enemy to abandon a
logistics-critical village, eliminated a flank threat that secured a key
supply route, and resulted in many prisoners and captured weapons; on
29 October 1942 he assumed temporary command of the 6. Kompanie before
Tuapse and was wounded the following day. These repeated acts of
personal bravery earned him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (222nd
award) on 6 April 1943 while still serving as Oberfeldwebel und
Zugführer in the 6./Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 13. After recovery he was
promoted to Leutnant in May 1943 and transferred in August to the
Wach-Bataillon “Großdeutschland,” later rising to Hauptmann. He was
captured by Soviet forces near Frankfurt an der Oder on 30 April 1945
and released in 1947, dying in Ludwigshafen on 19 June 1979.
RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
Source :
https://www.tracesofwar.com/books/3246/Die-Ritterkreuztr%C3%A4ger-der-Deutschen-Wehrmacht-1939-1945.htm
https://www.weitze.com/militaria/08/Ritterkreuz_des_Eisernen_Kreuz_1939_Grosser_Nachlass_aus_dem_Besitz_von_Oberstleutnant_Franz_Poeschl_nbsp_Gebirgsjaeger_Regiment_100_nbsp_zuletzt_6_Gebirgs_Division__473608.html?token=95c4abc51f8aa5dcee437be951b10fdd&t=1778588629
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