Bosnian Mountain Troops Trains in the Mountain

Bosnian volunteer soldiers from the Kroatische SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division (later renamed 13. Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS Handschar) conduct military training in the snowy mountains of Germany, before being deployed to their home, Balkan region. This photo was taken in the summer of 1943, with the original caption: "Leben sehen die Männer aus dem Süden Schneeberge im Sommer." (for the first time in their lives, these people from the South see snow-covered mountains in the summer!)

Source :
https://hindi.fansshare.com/community/uploads32/7110/ferid_d__ani__/?d=german.fansshare.com
https://oper-1974.livejournal.com/1453438.html

River Crossing Training

Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 137, April 1940: A river crossing with dinghies is practiced on the Moselle near Treis. They were scheduled to fight against France, but then had to go to Norway. The picture was taken by the member of 6.Kompanie, Rudi Margreiter.

Source :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/arkivinordland/albums/72157627291840604

Gebirgsjäger Studio Photos

Source :
https://www.ea-militaria.com/photographs?p=1

Oberst Albin Nake as Commander of Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 136

 

Oberst Abin Nake (right, Kommandeur Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 136 / 2.Gebirgs-Division) in Norway 1940. He would receive the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 29 November 1942 as Generalmajor and Führer 97.Jäger-Division. His last rank is Generalleutnant.

Source :
https://www.ebay.de/itm/313573082943?hash=item490269873f:g:H1oAAOSwofxgzzuB

Bio of Generalleutnant z.V. Hans von Hößlin

 

Generalleutnant Hans von Hösslin
Born: 20 Sep 1880 in Erbach, Odenwald
Died: 31 Dec 1947 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Yugoslavia (Executed)

Promotions:
Fähnrich (10 Mar 1899); Leutnant (24 Oct 1900); Oberleutnant (25 Jun 1910); Hauptmann (12 Oct 1914); Major (01 Dec 1920); Oberstleutnant (01 Apr 1924); Oberst (01 Feb 1928); Generalmajor (01 Apr 1931); Charakter als Generalleutnant (31 Mar 1932); Generalleutnant z.V. (01 Feb 1941)

Career:
Entered Army Service (01 Aug 1898)
Fahnenjunker in the 3rd Bavarian Infantry-Regiment (01 Aug 1898-01 Apr 1907)
Battalion-Adjutant in the 3rd Bavarian Infantry-Regiment (01 Apr 1907-01 Oct 1912)
Detached to the Bavarian War Academy (01 Oct 1912-02 Aug 1914)
In the Field as Company-Leader with the 3rd Bavarian Reserve-Infantry-Regiment (02 Aug 1914-12 Sep 1914)
2nd General-Staff-Officer in the Staff of the 1st Bavarian Reserve-Division (12 Sep 1914-23 Jan 1915)
Ordinance-Officer with the Staff of the 1st Bavarian Reserve-Division (23 Jan 1915-09 Sep 1915)
General-Staff-Officer with the Staff of South-Army (09 Sep 1915-24 Oct 1915)
Ordinance-Officer with the Staff of the 5th Bavarian Reserve-Division (24 Oct 1915-10 Feb 1916)
General-Staff-Officer in the Staff of the 6th Bavarian Reserve-Division (10 Feb 1916-31 Dec 1916)
Chief of Operations (Ia) in the Staff of the 2nd Bavarian Landwehr-Division (31 Dec 1916-05 Oct 1918)
Leader of I. Battalion of the 3nd Bavarian Infantry-Regiment (05 Oct 1918-19 Nov 1918)
Commander of I. Battalion of the 3rd Bavarian Infantry-Regiment (19 Nov 1918-29 Nov 1918)
Delegated with the Leadership of the 3rd Bavarian Infantry-Regiment (29 Nov 1918-27 Dec 1918)
Adjutant of the 3rd Bavarian Infantry-Brigade (27 Dec 1918-21 Feb 1919)
Delegated with the Leadership of the 3rd Bavarian Infantry-Brigade (21 Feb 1919-28 Apr 1919)
Chief of Operations (Ia) in the Staff of Group Bogendörfer (28 Apr 1919-08 Jun 1919)
General-Staff-Officer with the Staff of Dissolution-Staff 103 (08 Jun 1919-01 Oct 1919)
General-Staff-Officer with the Staff of the 23rd Reichswehr-Brigade (01 Oct 1919-01 Oct 1920)
General-Staff-Officer with the Staff of Military-District-Command VII (01 Oct 1920-01 Oct 1924)
Commander of II. Battalion of the 9th Infantry-Regiment (01 Oct 1924-01 Feb 1927)
Detached to Transport & Equipment Course (28 Feb 1926-07 Mar 1926)
Transferred to the Staff of the 19th Infantry-Regiment (01 Feb 1927-15 Nov 1927)
Transferred into the RWM (15 Nov 1927-01 Apr 1928)
Chief of Staff of the 7th Division (01 Apr 1928-01 Oct 1929)
Commander of the 19th Infantry-Regiment (01 Oct 1929-01 Feb 1931)
Detached to Firing-Course for heavy Infantry Weapons (07 Oct 1930-30 Oct 1930)
Infantry-Leader VII (01 Feb 1931-31 Mar 1932)
Retired (31 Mar 1932)
Placed to Disposal (Army) (01 Jul 1938)
Commander of Replacement-Troops in Military-District XVIII, Salzburg (26 Aug 1939-05 Nov 1939)
Commander of Division 188 (05 Nov 1939-01 Oct 1942)
Commander of Division 188 (23 Oct 1942-31 Mar 1943)
Führer-Reserve OKH (15 May 1943-22 May 1943)
Deputy Commander in Military-District XVIII (22 May 1943-06 Sep 1943)
Führer-Reserve OKH (06 Sep 1943-20 Nov 1943)
Commander of the 188th Reserve-Mountain-Division (20 Oct 1943-01 Mar 1945)
Commander of the 188th Mountain-Division (01 Mar 1945-08 May 1945)
In Yugoslav Captivity (08 May 1945-31 Dec 1947)
Sentenced to Death by a Yugoslav War Crimes Court and Executed (31 Dec 1947)

Awards & Decorations:
- Deutsches Kreuz in Silber: am 31.08.1943 als Generalleutnant z.V. und Kommandeur der Division Nr. 188
- 1914 EK I
- 1914 EK II
- Kgl. Bayer. Prinz-Regent-Luitpold Jubiläums-Medaille und mit der Krone
- Kgl. Bayer. Militär-Verdienstorden IV. Klasse mit Schwertern und mit der Krone
- Grossherzoglich Hessische Tapferkeitsmedaille
- Hamburgisches Hanseatenkreuz
- k.u.k. Österr. Militär-Verdienstkreuz III. Klasse mit der Kriegsdekoration
- Kgl. Bayer. Dienstauszeichnungskreuz II. Klasse
- Ehrenritter des Kgl. Preuss. Johanniter-Orden
- Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
- Kriegsverdienstkreuz II. bis I. Klasse mit Schwertern

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2316063#p2316063
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027112719fw_/http://www.geocities.com/~orion47/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generalleutnant/HOESSLIN_HANS.html

Germans Crossing Sabotaged Bridge in Yugoslavia

 

Gebirgsjäger in Yugoslavia: With a captured Italian AB.41 armoured car, the German forces crossing a sabotaged bridge under the watchful protection of an MG 42 crew. Notice the MG-Truppe: They seem to be wearing all Windblusen. As a schwere MG crew two have also been issued with the Koppeltragestell that is not often seen with the Gebirgsjäger. Both are the webbing variant but the right hand side is made of British material.

 

 

Source :

ECPAD Archive, courtesy of Blanluet Christophe

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10158877659343308&set=gm.2708289516104943

German Motorcycles in Action

German Heer motorcycles in action (possibly a Gebirgsjäger unit), both in training and at the front

Source :
http://www.military-antiques-stockholm.com/index.php?cPath=26_60

Bio of Generalleutnant Eduard Aldrian

Eduard Aldrian (born April 26, 1888 in Pula, Istria, † October 1, 1955 in Graz, Styria) was a lieutenant general of the German Wehrmacht from Austria in World War II.

Aldrian completed an officer training after attending school and was then an officer in the k.u.k. Infantry of the Joint Army of Austria-Hungary. After the end of the First World War, he was promoted to officer in the Federal Army of the Republic of Austria and the Ständestaates, and on June 26, 1936 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

After the annexation of Austria, Aldrian was taken over in the Wehrmacht on March 15, 1937 and assigned to the 35th observation battalion between June 5 and August 1, 1938. He was then commander of the 38th Mountain Observation Battalion from August 1, 1938 to October 25, 1939, and as such was promoted to colonel on August 1, 1939. He was commander of the 619th Special Artillery Regiment between October 25, 1939 and November 9, 1941, and artillery commander (Arko) 124 from November 9, 1941 to March 1, 1943. He was promoted to major general on September 1, 1942 . He was also acting commander of the 95th Infantry Division deployed in the southern section of the Eastern Front between February 8 and March 1, 1942 and again from July 20 to September 15, 1942. He was also acting commander of the 88th Infantry Division between October 19 and December 14, 1942.

Subsequently, from January 18 to February 19, 1943, Aldrian was the commander of the combat group named after him, Aldrian, and between March 1 and July 1, 1943, Higher Artillery Commander (HArko) 308, in which he served on June 1, 1943 was also promoted to lieutenant general. After he was temporarily in reserve, he took over from Lieutenant General Emil Zellner on August 5, 1943 as commanding officer of the 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division and held this position until he was replaced by Colonel Karl Hermann on October 20 1944. From May 25 to June 6, 1944, he took part in the Operation Rösselsprung alongside the units of Colonel-General Lothar Rendulic, General of the Infantry Ernst von Leyser and SS-Oberführer Otto Kumm, the aim of which was to capture Josip Broz Tito to take or kill and thus weaken the leadership structures of the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army (JVBA).

After he was again in reserve from October 20, 1944 to January 20, 1945, he became Higher Artillery Commander 306. In May 1946 he was released from prison.

Sources :
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Aldrian
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14230&p=1954129&hilit=eduard+aldrian#p1954129

Gebirgsjäger with Sami Women

A Gebirgsjäger (mountain ranger) posing together with a couple of young Sami women (in traditional clothing), Finnish Lapland, probably the winter of 1941-42. The truck to the left and the trailer carry the Edelweiss flower emblem of the 6. Gebirgs-Division. The other truck has the tactical sign of a mountain ranger motorized signals company vehicle. The firewood on the trailer and in the sack will be welcome in the sub-Arctic cold. It might appear strange that at least four mountain ranger divisions were sent to the Finnish Lapland front, as the tallest mountain in that part of Finland is Korvatunturi (486 meters/1594 feet over the sea), which to people raised in the Alps is nothing more than a speed bump. The reason was that they were considered experts in winter warfare, but as their Finnish brothers-in-arms were under diplomatic pressure to not launch any major offensive on the port city of Murmansk or the railroad carrying supplies to the south, the front was relatively quiet for long periods of time. A little-known fact is that Sweden allowed the Germans to use a couple of large warehouses outside the port of Luleå for storing supplies (mostly foodstuff) for the troops in Norway and Finland. They were destroyed in a fire in 2016.

Source :
Photo collection Björn Hellqvist
https://ww2inphotos.wordpress.com/2017/07/26/north-by-northeast/

Gebirgsjäger Ski Patrol

This picture was taken by Kriegsberichter Finke, with the original caption: "Auf dem wege zur Front" (On the way to the front). It shows a Gebirgsjäger ski troopers in a patrol through the forest and snow. The NCO at front wearing Narvik Shield in his arm.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_skiing

A Pack-Mule Unit Takes a Much Needed Respite

The arduous terrain in which the German Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops) advanced into Poland in September 1939 can well be imagined and, as a consequence, sapped the strength from many of the men participating in the long march. In this photograph, a pack-mule unit takes a much needed respite.

Source :
"Images of War: Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter

Gebirgsjäger Cleaning Their Weapons

German Gebirgsjäger (Mountain troops) have occupied a village somewhere in southern Poland in September 1939, and are seen cleaning their weapons. This was known to the soldiers as, ‘Clean and patch hour’, which was a period of time allowed in order to clean weapons and repair clothes before resuming operations.

Source :
"Images of War: Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter

Gebirgs Motorcyclists Crossing the River

Two motorcyclists, wearing their distinctive rubberised coats, wade across a stream during a Gebirgs units drive through southern Poland, September 1939. A pioneer with a spade has been attempting to erect a temporary crossing for the motorcycles, but without much luck.

Source :
Book "Images of War: Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter

Gebirgsjäger in a Rubber Boat

German Mountain troops (Gebirgsjäger) are seen paddling across a river in a pneumatic boat during invasion of Poland, 1939. These 18 feet boats could carry a multitude of equipments up to 1.35tons. They were also used to construct pontoon bridges. In this photograph, bicycles can be seen stacked onboard.

Source :
Book "Images of War: Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter

Civilian Carts of 1. Gebirgs-Division

Two photographs taken in sequence showing local civilian carts pressed into service and being used by Gebirgstruppen of the 1. Gebirgs-Division in September 1939. Local civilians were often hired to drive the wagons and were paid very well for their services. However, it was frequently a dangerous preoccupation with a number of them being killed by enemy fire.

Source :
Book "Images of War: Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter

Gebirgs Engineer Fixing a Telephone Line

Poland 1939: One of the most important aspects of military synchronization was effective communication. Here, in this photograph, a Gebirgsjäger signalman engineer is seen fixing a telephone line so that the various commands could communicate between themselves.

Source :
Book "Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter

Gebirgsjäger Medical Stretcher Bearers

Poland 1939: Two Gebirgsjäger medical stretcher bearers are seen moving an injured comrade to one of the hastily erected field hospitals in the rear. An officer overlooks the procedure, possibly wearing the Gebirgs wind jacket.

Source :
Book "Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter

Gebirgs Pioneer Erecting a Bridge

A Gebirgsjäger pioneer unit are seen erecting a bridge equipment "C" across a river in Poland, 1939. Much of the wood obtained to construct these bridges were commandeered from lumber stocks and followed the advancing column into Poland.

Source :
Book "Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter

Gebirgs Engineers at Work

Gebirgsjäger engineers have set to work preparing ground, probably for a bridging section across a river in Poland, 1939. Many of the bridges in southern Poland were destroyed by Polish demolition teams which often hindered German movement.

Source :
Book "Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter

Adler 3 Gd of Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 139 Towing Anti-Tank Gun

Despite the poor roads, the Germans were ready to rely on their Mittlere Kübel-Personenwagen (medium car) Kfz.12 Adler (3 Gd) "Geländewagen", a precursor to modern-day SUVs. Following up a report of the enemy in the direction of Lake Jelettijärvi, the squad from Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 139 / 3.Gebirgs-Division shown here is trying to tow a desperately needed anti-tank gun to the front near Louhi on 15 May 1942. The Finnish hinterlands were to prove a poor operating theatre for the Wehrmacht’s advanced war machinery, designed for more accessible fronts.

Source :

Book "Finland at War: The Continuation and Lapland Wars 1941-45" by Vesa Nenye, Peter Munter, Toni Wirtanen and Chris Birks

http://www.militaryimages.net/media/adler-car-of-german-gebirgsjger-regiment-139.10955/