GERMAN MOUNTAIN TROOPS IN WORLD WAR II

Under the emblem of the Edelweiss, the soldiers of the German mountain corps fought on every front in World War II - on the tundra of Lapland, in the gorges of the Balkans, on Crete, in the High Caucasus, at Monte Cassino and finally in upper Italy and the Western Alps, at the Semmering, in Bavaria and Tyrol. Mountain troops even formed part of Rommel's famed Deutsche Afrikakorps. During the war, the army alone formed a total of eleven mountain divisions, plus independent battalions and units. The accomplishment of the "men of the Edelweiss" are still held in high regard by historians and military experts. Armed forces and special units world-wide use their alpine and combat abilities as an example, for in mountain fighting the weather and the terrain often caused more casualties than the enemy. Through impressive photographs and brief, insightful text, this chronicle offers the reader an extraordinary view into the world of these elite troops, who were always committed where the outcome hung in the balance.