The confused situation in the closing stages of the war led
to two divisions being allocated this same number. The first 9.Gebirgs-Division
(Nord) was in fact only of Kampfgruppe strength, and was commanded by Generalmajor
Krautler. It was formed in Norway from troops who had taken part in the
Retreat though Finland, and it surrendered to the British in 1945.
The second unit (Ost) was also merely a small battle group, Kampfgruppe
Semmering, formed to defend the Semmering Pass in Austria from the advancing
Soviets. An ad hoc unit, it included personnel from the Gebirgs-Artillerie-Schule
in Dachstein, the SS-Gebirgs-Ersatz Batallion-Leoben and even redundant
Luftwaffe personnel from Jagdgeschwader Boelke. Officially it formed part
of III Panzerkorps, in 6.Armee.
By the end of the war, the unit had became fragmented; some even
managed to escape westwards into the American zone; others were less fortunate
and went into Soviet captivity. |
