Ritterkreuzträger of 5. Gebirgs-Division

The 5th Mountain Division (5. Gebirgs-Division) of the German Wehrmacht was an elite mountain infantry formation established in October 1940 in the Austrian Tirol region, primarily drawing experienced personnel and units from the 1st Mountain Division and the 10th Infantry Division. Under the long-time command of Generalleutnant Julius “Papa” Ringel, the division specialized in high-altitude and rugged-terrain warfare, with its troops recruited mainly from Bavaria and Austria. It first saw combat during the 1941 Balkans Campaign as part of Operation Marita in Greece, before playing a critical role in Operation Merkur, the airborne invasion of Crete, where it was airlifted as reinforcements to support the hard-pressed Fallschirmjäger, helping secure the island after fierce fighting. Transferred to the Eastern Front in 1942, it fought with Army Group North on the Volkhov sector near Leningrad, engaging in defensive and counter-offensive actions around Mga, Shlisselburg, and Kolpino. In late 1943, the division was redeployed to Italy, where it distinguished itself in the brutal mountain battles of the Italian Campaign, notably holding positions around Monte Cassino against Allied forces including French colonial troops. It continued fighting in northern Italy until the final weeks of the war, eventually surrendering to U.S. forces near Turin in May 1945. Renowned for its toughness, endurance, and alpine expertise, the 5th Gebirgs-Division exemplified the Wehrmacht’s mountain troops throughout World War II.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


General der Gebirgstruppe Julius “Papa” Ringel (1889-1967) was born on 16 November 1889 in Völkermarkt, Carinthia, then part of Austria-Hungary, and died on 11 February 1967 in Bayerisch Gmain, Bavaria. He entered military service in the Austro-Hungarian Army around 1909, fought as an officer with mountain troops in Galicia and on the Alpine front during the First World War, and continued in the Austrian Bundesheer after 1918. Following the Anschluss he transferred to the Wehrmacht, was promoted to Oberst on 1 February 1939, and at the outbreak of the Second World War served with the 268. Infanterie-Division, commanding the Infanterie-Regiment 266 during the campaign in the West. In 1940 he briefly commanded the 3. Gebirgs-Division before taking charge of the newly formed 5. Gebirgs-Division as Generalmajor from November 1940. With this division he participated in the Balkan campaign, breaking through the Metaxas Line and advancing through Greece. During the airborne invasion of Crete in May 1941 Ringel led the main group; employing the Fallschirmjäger who had secured Maleme airfield together with the Gebirgsjäger airlifted there, he repulsed enemy counter-attacks, smashed the stubborn defence near Canea and seized the western part of the island, ensuring that only part of the British-Greek garrison could be evacuated by sea while strong elements fell into German captivity. For this decisive leadership he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 13 June 1941 as Generalmajor and Kommandeur of the 5. Gebirgs-Division. The division later moved to the Eastern Front, fighting in the sectors of the Newa, Wolchow and Lake Ladoga against the Soviet Volkhov Front. Promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 December 1942, Ringel was awarded the Eichenlaub (312th award) to the Ritterkreuz on 25 October 1943 as Generalleutnant and Kommandeur of the 5. Gebirgs-Division in recognition of the unit’s continued distinguished performance, including its earlier successes in the Balkans and Crete and its dependable fighting on the Eastern Front. He subsequently commanded the LXIX. Armeekorps from spring 1944, was promoted to General der Gebirgstruppe on 1 June 1944, and later led the XVIII. Armeekorps as well as Korps Ringel before the war’s end.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RITTERKREUZTRÄGER

Oberstleutnant Franz Pöschl (1917-2011), a highly decorated officer in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War, earned his Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes through exceptional leadership and bravery while serving with Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 100 of the 5. Gebirgs-Division. Born in Munich in 1917, Pöschl had already distinguished himself in earlier campaigns, including the invasions of Poland, Greece, and Crete, as well as intense fighting on the Eastern Front where he received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold. His defining moment came during the Battle of Monte Cassino in January 1944, when, as Hauptmann and commander of I. Bataillon/Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 100, he personally led multiple counterattacks under heavy fire to repel assaults by Allied forces, including the French Expeditionary Corps, holding critical positions such as Monte Cifalco and preventing the outflanking of German lines despite sustaining serious wounds. For this extraordinary valor and decisive action that helped stabilize the Gustav Line defenses, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 23 February 1944. Later commanding Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 143 in the Lapland War, Pöschl rose to the rank of Oberstleutnant before the war's end, his Ritterkreuz standing as a testament to his frontline heroism amid some of the conflict's most grueling mountain and defensive battles.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_Mountain_Division_(Wehrmacht)