German Mountain & Ski Troops, 1939-45

Osprey Elite #63

by Gordon Williamson, Stephen Andrew (Illustrations)

Osprey's study of Germany's mountain and ski troops of World War II (1939-1945). Fighting in every theatre from the burning sands of North Africa to the icy wastes above the arctic circle the German Army's Gebirgstruppen troops were some of the most effective in the whole of the Wehrmacht. Their esprit de corps and morale were extremely high and their commanders, men such as Eduard Dietl, the 'Hero of Narvik', and Julius 'Papa' Ringel, were idolised by their men. Dietl himself was the first soldier of the Wehrmacht to be awarded the coveted Oakleaves to the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. In this book Gordon Williamson details the uniforms, organisation and combat histories of these elite troops.

Genres: History, Military History, World War II, Nonfiction, War, 20th Century

64 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 1996

About the author

Gordon Williamson (born 1951) is a military history writer and author based in the United Kingdom. Williamson spent seven years with the Military Police in the British Territorial Army and resides in Scotland. Williamson's works focus primarily on German military forces during the Second World War.

Williamson has worked with several publishers but is perhaps best known for his continuing partnership with Osprey Publishing, with whom he has produced over 40 books.

Reviews

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book lists the divisions and corps that made up the German mountain units. Unfortunately, it had a habit of using untranslated German words and phrases instead of their English equivalents (for example, I have no idea what a "Nachrichtenabteilung" is). Several pages were used to cover uniforms, which I understand to be the purpose of the Men-at-Arms series; these pages probably could have been better used to explain how mountain corps and divisions were used differently than other types of corps.