The 1. Gebirgs-Division was an elite mountain infantry formation of the German Wehrmacht, established on 9 April 1938 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen from the earlier Gebirgs-Brigade that had itself been created on 1 June 1935, and it drew mainly upon Bavarian and Austrian personnel who wore the distinctive Edelweiß badge as their unit symbol. Under its first Kommandeur Generalleutnant Ludwig Kübler the division took part in the invasion of Poland in September 1939 as part of Heeresgruppe Süd, distinguishing itself in the fighting through the Carpathians and around Lwów while already committing early excesses against civilians and prisoners. After the Westfeldzug of 1940 it was prepared for possible operations against Britain or Gibraltar that never materialised, then in April 1941 advanced into Yugoslavia under the 2. Armee. From June 1941 the division joined Operation Barbarossa with Heeresgruppe Süd, capturing Lviv, participating in the Uman pocket, reaching the Dnieper and Mius rivers, and later fighting in the Second Battle of Kharkov. In the summer of 1942, now under Generalleutnant Hubert Lanz, it advanced into the Caucasus as part of Operation Edelweiß, where a detachment raised the Reichskriegsflagge on the summit of Mount Elbrus on 21 August 1942 in a widely publicised propaganda action that nevertheless drew Hitler’s private anger. Withdrawn from the Kuban bridgehead in early 1943, the division under Generalleutnant Walter Stettner Ritter von Grabenhofen was transferred to the Balkans for anti-partisan operations, taking part in Unternehmen Schwarz in Montenegro and later in Greece and Albania. There units of the 1. Gebirgs-Division were responsible for the massacre of 317 civilians in the village of Kommeno on 16 August 1943 and for the killing of approximately 5,200 surrendered Italian soldiers of the 33rd Infantry Division “Acqui” on Cefalonia in September 1943. After further fighting in Yugoslavia, Serbia and Hungary, where Stettner was killed near Belgrade in October 1944, the formation was redesignated 1. Volks-Gebirgs-Division in February or March 1945 and ended the war in defensive battles around Lake Balaton and in Austria before surrendering to American forces in May 1945.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Mountain_Division_(Wehrmacht)
No comments:
Post a Comment