Gebirgsjager - German Mountain Infantry

Long before the edelweiss was made famous in "The Sound of Music", this mountain flower was the symbol of Germany's Gebirgstruppen (Mountain Troops)! Especially trained and equipped to operate in alpine regions, these were elite troops of the German army. Incidentally, the common ascription of "Gebirgsjager" actually only refers to "mountain infantrymen". In fact, units were composed of the whole plethora of military occupations such as infantry, artillery, antitank, signals and engineer, for these divisions were self-contained. Gebirgstruppen really had their origin in WWI when fighting against Italian troops in the Alps, and interestingly they still exist today in the Bundeswehr.

This latest volume from Gordon Rottman examines the whole range of Gebirgstruppen in a series of fascinating photos. The book is replete with black and white photos showing these German mountain soldiers in all kinds of environments - sometimes in their natural element on snowy peaks, and at other times at lower altitudes. The photos include details of uniforms, weapons and vehicles used by Gebirgsjager. They also give a representative look at the different geographical regions that these mountain troops operated in. Additionally, each photograph is accompanied by a detailed caption that offers insight into how these soldiers operated and were organized. The usual section of four color plates is the centerpiece of the book, and these high-quality illustrations by Stephen Andrew portray typical details of uniforms and personal equipment.

A number of Gebirgs-Divisions were created as WWII progressed, and all of the divisions are summarized in the introductory text. The same commentary gives a useful explanation of how these divisions were organized. Following in the successful vein of preceding titles in this Concord series, this book is another very helpful work for modelers and military enthusiasts to have on their bookshelves. In"Gebirgsjager - German Mountain Infantry", these soldiers that proudly wore the edelweiss receive the attention they are due.