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Men-at-Arms PUBLISHING
US 10th Mountain
Division in
World War II
Gordon L. Rottman • Illustrated by Peter Dennis
© Osprey Publishing •
Men-at-Arms • 482
US 10th Mountain
Division in World War II
Gordon L. Rottman • Illustrated by Peter Dennis
Series editor Martin Windrow
© Osprey Publishing •
US 10th MOUNTAIN DIVISION
IN WORLD WAR II
INTRODUCTION
he employment of mountain troops has a long tradition in
Europe. The Italian Corpo Alpini (Alpine Corps) established in
1872 was the anization of specialist mountain troops;
TFrance formed the Chasseurs Alpins (Alpine light infantry) in 1888, to
counter the Italians if necessary, and Austria-Hungary raised several
Gebirgsbrigaden (mountain brigades) in 1907. After engaging French
mountain troops in the Vosges Mountains in 1914, Germany decided to
raise a division-sized Alpenkorps to fight alongside the Austro-Hungarians
German mountain troops, against the Italians in 1916.
identified by the Edelweiss After World War I, Germany possessed no mountain units other
badge on the right sleeve and
on the left of the Bergmütze than three Bavarian regiments with mountain training. These
mountain cap, are congratulated were consolidated into the Gebirgs-Brigade in 1935; this expanded into
during an awards ceremony. The 1. Gebirgs-Division in 1938, and later that year two additional mountain
Gebirgsjäger divisions, largely divisions anized from Austrian units. No other mountain
manned by Bavarians and divisions would be raised until 1940, but by 1944 Germany had ten such
Austrians, influenced the
American decision to raise formations. Although only one of them fought in Italy (5. Gebirgs-
mountain warfare units. Division, from late 1943 to the end of the war), two of the 11
(Courtesy Concord Publications) Jäger-Divisionen (42. and 114.) fought on that front; these, too, were light
divisions designed for rough-terrain operations.
The US Army had had little or no historical