Gebirgsjäger in the Balkan Invasion 1941

Gebirgsjäger (German Mountain Troops) in the Balkan Invasion 1941. Studying the map in the Kompanietrupp, the company squad. The men were issued the tapered feldgrau M40 trousers for the campaign. The officers are wearing tailormade Bergmützen. In the foreground, the arm of the company adjutant (Spiess) is visible with his two silver stripes. During the Balkanfeldzug of 1941 the Gebirgsjäger of the Wehrmacht demonstrated their specialized training in mountainous terrain when German forces launched simultaneous invasions of Yugoslavia and Greece on 6 April. The 1. Gebirgs-Division, operating under the XXXXIX. Gebirgskorps of the 2. Armee, crossed from Carinthia near Bleiburg and advanced rapidly through the Slovenian Alps toward Cilli and Zagreb, with a Vorausabteilung under Major Lang reaching Karlstadt by 13 April and motorized elements pressing on to Bihać against limited resistance. Simultaneously the 4. Gebirgs-Division, attached to the XIV. Panzerkorps, struck from Bulgaria into southern Yugoslavia and marched at great speed across rugged country. In the Greek theater the XVIII. Gebirgskorps, comprising the 5. and 6. Gebirgs-Division, advanced from Bulgarian positions through the Rhodope Mountains amid snow blizzards and steep slopes to assault the fortified Metaxas Line. The 5. Gebirgs-Division conducted costly frontal attacks against determined Greek defenders before breaking through to the plains and advancing toward Salonika, while the 6. Gebirgs-Division forced a quicker penetration and pursued withdrawing British and Commonwealth forces southward toward Corinth. After the mainland campaign the 5. Gebirgs-Division reinforced the Fallschirmjäger during Unternehmen Merkur on Crete, arriving partly by fishing vessels that suffered heavy losses to the Royal Navy and partly by Ju 52 air landings at Maleme, where the Gebirgsjäger then fought New Zealand troops in the surrounding mountains until the Allied evacuation. Throughout the twelve-day Yugoslav campaign and the subsequent Greek operations these mountain troops, identifiable by their Bergmütze and Edelweiss insignia, overcame extreme terrain, weather, and fortified positions through rigorous mountain training, light equipment, and aggressive marching, contributing decisively to the rapid Axis victory before redeployment eastward.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/100076430438564/photos/gebirgsj%C3%A4ger-german-mountain-troops-in-the-balkan-invasion-1941-studying-the-map/912503424640664/