Article of the day for August 15, 2016
The Article of the day for August 15, 2016 is 24th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Karstjäger.
The 24th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Karstjäger was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Formed in July 1944 from the SS Volunteer Karstwehr Battalion, it was a division in name only, and was soon reduced to a brigade. Built around a company in existence since 1942, the unit consisted mainly of Yugoslav Volksdeutsche and recruits from South Tyrol. It was primarily involved in fighting partisans in the Karst Plateau on the frontiers of Yugoslavia, Italy, and Austria; the mountainous terrain required specialized mountain troops and equipment. It also saw action in the wake of the Italian surrender when it moved to disarm Italian troops and protect ethnic German communities in Italy. At the end of the war it successfully fought to keep passes into Austria open, allowing German units to escape the Balkans and surrender to British forces. The remnants of the unit became some of the last Germans to lay down their arms when they surrendered on 9 May 1945.
The 24th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Karstjäger was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Formed in July 1944 from the SS Volunteer Karstwehr Battalion, it was a division in name only, and was soon reduced to a brigade. Built around a company in existence since 1942, the unit consisted mainly of Yugoslav Volksdeutsche and recruits from South Tyrol. It was primarily involved in fighting partisans in the Karst Plateau on the frontiers of Yugoslavia, Italy, and Austria; the mountainous terrain required specialized mountain troops and equipment. It also saw action in the wake of the Italian surrender when it moved to disarm Italian troops and protect ethnic German communities in Italy. At the end of the war it successfully fought to keep passes into Austria open, allowing German units to escape the Balkans and surrender to British forces. The remnants of the unit became some of the last Germans to lay down their arms when they surrendered on 9 May 1945.
